2023 Chicago International Film Festival: 10 Movies To Be Excited About

Posted on by Kevin Wozniak

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The 2023 Chicago International Film Festival kicks off this week and it is a film festival that I truly love. This was the first festival that I ever attended back in 2008 and it is one I have attended every year since. It is a great film festival that does not get the love and attention of some higher-profile festivals but deserves to be mentioned as one of the best film festivals in North America. It highlights so many unique movies from all around the world and showcases some of the best filmmakers working today.

This year’s festival includes 99 feature films and 58 shorts from around the world. Like most years, the festival features some of the biggest and buzziest titles of 2023, featuring films from David Fincher, Alexander Payne, Emerald Fennell, and Yorgos Lanthimos, among others. Here are my picks for the most exciting movies playing at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival.

You can find the full schedule of everything that is playing at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival here.

Film descriptions courtesy of IMDb.

 

Anatomy of a Fall

A still from Justine Triets ANATOMY OF A FALL. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
A still from Justine Triet’s ANATOMY OF A FALL. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: A woman is suspected of her husband’s murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness.

Why I’m Excited: Justine Triet’s courtroom thriller won the Palme d’Or (best film) at Cannes this year and has earned praise for the performance of its lead actress Sandra Hüller.

The Boy and the Heron

A still from Hayao Miyazaki's THE BOY AND THE HERON. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
A still from Hayao Miyazaki’s THE BOY AND THE HERON. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: Through encounters with his friends and uncle, follows a teenage boy’s psychological development. He enters a magical world with a talking grey heron after finding an abandoned tower in his new town.

Why I’m Excited: The Boy and the Heron is director Hayao Miyazaki’s first film in a decade and is being touted as another masterpiece from one of the best to ever do it.

Evil Does Not Exist

A still from Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's EVIL DOES NOT EXIST. Image courtesy of
A still from Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s EVIL DOES NOT EXIST. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi’s house offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to nature.

Why I’m Excited: Though not getting the buzz of his last film, Drive My Car, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s latest film has earned some nice word of mouth during its film festival run and is said to have an ending that everyone will be talking about.

The Holdovers

A still from Alexander Payne's THE HOLDOVERS. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
A still from Alexander Payne’s THE HOLDOVERS. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: A cranky history teacher at a prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a student who has no family plans.

Why I’m Excited: Oscar-winner Alexander Payne’s first film since 2017 got rave reviews out of TIFF this year and should put Payne and stars Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph near the top of year-end awards lists.

The Killer

A still from David Fincher's THE KILLER. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago
A still from David Fincher’s THE KILLER. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago

What It’s About: After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal.

Why I’m Excited: Besides the fact that David Fincher is one of my favorite directors working today and I will be excited for any movie he has coming out, The Killer finds Fincher working with a script from Andrew Kevin Walker, who wrote one of Fincher’s most iconic films, Se7en.

May December

A still from Todd Hayne's MAY DECEMBER. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago
A still from Todd Hayne’s MAY DECEMBER. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.

Why I’m Excited: With performances from Oscar-winners Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore and a breakout turn from Charles Melton that is said to be one of the best of the year, May December finds director Todd Haynes delivering another melodrama that is sure to be as biting as it is gorgeous.

Monster

A still from Hirokazu Koreeda's MONSTER. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
A still from Hirokazu Koreeda’s MONSTER. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: A mother demands answers from a teacher when her son begins acting strangely.

Why I’m Excited: Hirokazu Koreeda has had two films land in my year-end top ten over the last five years (Shoplifters in 2018, and Broker in 2022, respectively). If Monster lives up to the early word out of Cannes, it could very well be the third.

Poor Things

A still from Yorgo Lanthimos's POOR THINGS. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
A still from Yorgo Lanthimos’s POOR THINGS. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.

Why I’m Excited: The winner of the Golden Lion (best film) at this year’s Venice Film Festival went to Yorgos Lanthimos’s Frankenstein-esque story that’s being heralded as one of the year’s best films and the best performance of Emma Stone’s career.

Saltburn

A still from Emerald Fennell's SALTBURN. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
A still from Emerald Fennell’s SALTBURN. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.

Why I’m Excited: Writer/director Emerald Fennell follows up her Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman with this dark comedy that has been compared to The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The Zone of Interest

A still from Jonathan Glazer's THE ZONE OF INTEREST. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.
A still from Jonathan Glazer’s THE ZONE OF INTEREST. Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago.

What It’s About: The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.

Why I’m Excited: Director Jonathan Glazer is one of the most unique voices working today. While the subject of the film might be challenging, The Zone of Interest is sure to make it riveting and artistically stunning.

 

The 2023 Chicago International Film Festival takes place October 11th to the 22nd at the AMC NEWCITY 14, Music Box Theatre, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago History Museum, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Illinois. 

 

Make sure to follow all of Kevflix’s coverage of the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd, @kevflix, and on Facebook by searching Kevflix.

 

 

 

 

 

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