The former US president has been sharing his annual lists since he was in the White House – and his tastes are, if we may say so, dependably excellent.
ADVERTISEMENTAs is his yearly custom, Barack Obama has published his list of his favourite films of 2023.
The former US president has long been publishing his personal lists of favourite music, films and books at the end of every year.
In a post on X, Obama introduced his list by writing: “Earlier this year, writers and actors went on strike to advocate for better working conditions and protections. It led to important changes that will transform the industry for the better.”
Obama included 13 films in his list, starting with the three produced by Higher Ground, the production company that he founded alongside his wife Michelle. He prefaced those three with: “I’m biased since these movies were produced by Higher Ground, but these are in fact three of the best films I saw this year.”
Those three are Rustin, Leave The World Behind, and American Symphony – none of which have yet to get major European releases.
The rest of his full list of favourite 2023 films is as follows:
- The Holdovers
- BlackBerry
- Oppenheimer
- American Fiction
- Anatomy of a Fall
- Monster
- Past Lives
- Air
- Polite Society
- A Thousand and One
Terrific tastes as usual, and it’s worth noting that five of his 10 films appear on our very own Best Films of 2023 – with Past Lives claiming the top spot on our list.
We're also thrilled that British writer-director Nida Manzoor's Polite Society made the cut, as it's one of this year's best comedies - asatirical South Asian take on Scott Pilgrim - meets - Get Out about crane-kicking the patriarchy with a solid heaping of genuine punk exuberance. It's a Jane Austen remix well worth your time.
Obama also added an update that he had just seen The Color Purple "and loved it."
"I'm adding it to this list as one of my favorite movies of the year."
Elsewhere, he shared his favourite books of the year:
Earlier in 2023, Obama refuted any suggestion that he does not compile these lists himself.
When asked, he said: “Listen, I am so glad that I have this opportunity. People believe the books and the movies, but the playlists, they somehow think — and this is mostly coming from young people like you — somehow, y’all think you invented rock ‘n’ roll. You invented hip-hop.”
He continued: “And so the fact that my lists are, you know, pretty incredible — people seem to think, well, he must’ve had some 20-year-old intern who was figuring out this latest cut. No, man! It’s on my iPad right now.”
We believe you, sir. And congrats on the impeccable picks.
