"Like all art, cinema must continue to challenge audiences to remain essential."
Around midyear we received from a regular lamenting that our movie line-up was a distant departure from what they recalled seeing in years previous. Putting aside the inevitable impact of the past four years as well as our individual perspectives of past and present, it caused me to reflect on the suggestion at length.
After some time, I had no choice but to agree with the customer, but unlike them I saw these changes as welcome and inevitable. After all, many master filmmakers of the nineties and noughties have ed away, prolific producer Harvey Weinstein is in jail, niche themes have crossed over into the mainstream, and the gender balance among directors is improving (26% of all films in Nova’s top 30 films this year were directed by women, versus a mere 10% in 2013).
Movie-going audiences are also shifting, with younger Australians re-embracing the immersive nature of cinema despite the proliferation of small screens and in-home options. This led to some seismic shifts in 2023, including Barbie and Everything Everywhere All At Once becoming our second and third biggest films ever, respectively. Bong Joon Ho’s psychodrama Parasite remains in top spot, possibly until director Bong’s new film, Mickey 17 releases in early 2024.
The prior year’s award season kicked off 2023 with TÁR, Women Talking and Living all making an impact. Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale not only saw a career renaissance for Brendan Fraser, but also won the actor an Oscar. Fellow nominee Paul Mescal’s performance in Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun announced a major new star, with Mescal then appearing in Australian-made dramas Carmen and Foe. Don’t miss him in January’s awards-contender All Of Us Strangers.
Melbourne’s own Goran Stolevski’s romance Of An Age foreshadowed a prolific year for Australian features, including Warwick Thornton’s Cate Blanchett-starrer The New Boy, Bob Brown documentary The Giants and nation-wide hit John Farnham: Finding The Voice. Making waves globally was supernatural sensation Talk To Me, which debuted at Sundance before becoming a major hit at home and in the USA.
Nova’s retrospective of Wong Kar Wai saw many enjoy the lyrical director’s works on the cinema screen for the first time. Chungking Express and Fallen Angels blitzed their initial release’s grosses while beloved romances Happy Together and In The Mood For Love played for months on-end. Repertory screenings of filmmaker David Lynch’s works were similarly popular, as were anniversary seasons of anime Akira, Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy and pagan-thriller The Wicker Man.
Saying much about the Barbenheimer phenomenon would be repeating oneself, except to say that the global blockbusters look certain to duke it out for the Best Picture Oscar in March.
The arrival of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City saw the Cinema Nova Bar transformed into the film’s titular setting, rivalling prior ‘takeover’ homages to Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, Blade Runner 2049 and The French Dispatch. The Asteroid City Canteen (as the bar was re-christened) even received the filmmaker’s personal stamp of approval.
As the 2023 award-season continues its six month marathon to the Oscar podium (unofficially starting with September’s Venice Film Festival), Celine Song’s moving Past Lives was given a vote of approval by Nova audiences, as was Martin Scorsese’s epic Killers Of The Flower Moon and Emerald Fennell’s black comedy Saltburn. April release Air, directed by Ben Affleck and starring Matt Damon, should also figure in the race thanks to a cracking screenplay and terrific ensemble cast.
The final weeks of 2023 sees master animator Hayao Miyazaki come out of retirement with The Boy And The Heron, witty Paris-set comedy Coup de Chance, Bradley Cooper step behind the camera for the first time since A Star Is Born for acclaimed Leonard Bernstein biography Maestro, Timothée Chalamet portray magical chocolatier (Willy) Wonka, and the reteaming of Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos for surrealist comedy Poor Things.
Like all art, cinema must continue to challenge audiences to remain essential. Thanks to Nova’s repertory seasons, Anniversary Party screenings and double features, we can always appreciate the finery of the past. However, as the year’s biggest hits and the current award-season’s provocative players have demonstrated, there is something very exciting about the shock of the new. Even if we need a little bit of time to ultimately appreciate its value.
- KC, Cinema Nova CEO
