The Best Films and Performances of 2023.

 I do love my superlatives. This is the big one (from my perspective).

At the movies: Clouds of Sils Maria.

One of the best films I've seen in ages. So much going on about identity and persona and the escape and prison of the theatre versus film. It gets exponentially better with each subsequent viewing, and it was damn masterful on the first viewing. Do not miss this.

Famous People talked to me: Adele Exarchopoulos.

While my response to Blue is The Warmest Color/La Vie d'Adele is measured, there's one aspect of it that I am completely bowled over by, and that is the central performance of Adele Exarchopoulos. After the film's tempestuous post-Cannes history, it was nice to be able to hear from Adele herself. This article in the online version of the Scene (supplementing Jim Ridley's exceptional review of the film, which makes me want to rewatch the second half, keeping some of his points in mind) was taken from the press conference interview with Exarchopoulos and Abdellatif Kechiche, whom I have omitted from the piece because he is dickish and kept dodging thoughtful questions. But enough of that- on to Adele.