The 5 best films of 2023 to meet cinema lovers at Istanbul Modern Cinema
Istanbul Modern Cinema is closing the season with five hit films that left their mark on 2023. Selected among the best by film critics, the films will meet audiences between June 8–13 under the title 'TOP 5'.
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The 'TOP 5' program prepared by Istanbul Modern Cinema begins on June 8.
The program includes “The Zone of Interest,” which was awarded “Best International Feature Film” at the Oscars following its “Grand Prix” win at Cannes; Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which was named “Best Animated Feature” at this year’s Academy Awards; master director Martin Scorsese’s latest historical epic “Killers of the Flower Moon”; “May December,” which was chosen as the best film of 2023 by Film Comment magazine; and Romania’s Oscar entry “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World.”
MAY DECEMBER
June 8, 2024, Saturday Time: 13.00
June 9, 2024, Sunday Time: 15.15
Director: Todd Haynes
Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton
Elizabeth is preparing to star in a film about Gracie, whose marriage to a 13-year-old boy years ago caused a scandal, and her life. While visiting Gracie and her family to research her role, she observes them to understand the essence of their relationship. The film, in which Haynes draws on soap opera aesthetics, avoids taking a moral stance while addressing Gracie and Joe’s relationship, prompting the audience to think. May December was chosen as the best film of 2023 by Film Comment magazine.
June 9, 2024, Sunday Time: 13.00
June 13, 2024, Thursday: 15.00
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki’s film, which contains autobiographical elements, takes place during the Second World War. Having lost his mother, Mahito moves to the countryside to live with his father. While playing near an abandoned tower there, he befriends a grey heron he encounters. The film, which was completed in seven years, shows that Miyazaki is at the peak of his powers visually with its striking compositions and vibrant colors. This film, likely the last we will see from one of cinema’s greatest artists, was named “Best Animated Feature” at this year’s Academy Awards.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
June 9, 2024, Sunday Time: 17.30
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone
In his latest historical epic, master director Martin Scorsese tells the story behind the Osage Indian murders in 1920s Oklahoma, where the Osage people were massacred due to the oil found on their land. The film carries the responsibility of serving as a reference for how these brutal murders committed by the American government should be explained to the public; it is as concerned with how these events are recorded in American history as it is with what actually happened.
DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
June 8, 2024, Saturday Time: 17.30
June 13, 2024, Thursday Time: 17.15
Director: Radu Jude
Cast: Ilinca Manolache, Ovidiu Pîrşan, Nina Hoss
Taking its name from the lines of Polish poet Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, the film is a feminist work that intersects comedy with the road movie genre, and the digital world with political social critique. The film has two parts. Angela in the first part is a flighty production assistant who works 16 hours a day. She traverses the streets of Bucharest in her car to shoot a film about workplace safety on behalf of a multinational company. The other Angela is a taxi driver who acted in an old film. Parallel-editing these two stories while filtering the exhausted state of the world through sharp humor, this unique film was Romania’s Oscar entry.
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
June 8, 2024, Saturday Time: 15.15
June 13, 2024, Sunday Time: 13.00
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Cast: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Freya Kreutzkam
In this film adapted from Martin Amis’s novel of the same name, Jonathan Glazer focuses on the daily life of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, his wife Hedwig, their children, and their servants. While they continue their happy family life in their magnificent home overlooking the wall of the death camp, sounds of torture and screams rise from the other side of the wall. Awarded “Best International Feature Film” at the Oscars following its “Grand Prix” win at Cannes, The Zone of Interest is a film that will stay with you, for better or worse, with Mica Levi’s haunting score and Lukasz Zal’s cinematography.