John Waters Crowns Ari Aster’s ‘Beau Is Afraid’ as the Best Film of 2023

John Waters isn’t afraid to name Ari Aster’s existential dark comedy “Beau Is Afraid” as the best film of 2023.

The “Pink Flamingos” director shared his annual list of favorite movies of the year with Vulture, crowning the A24 film as his number one pick.

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“A superlong, super-crazy, super-funny movie about one man’s mental breakdown with a cast better than ‘Around the World in 80 Days’: Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Parker Posey, Nathan Lane, and Amy Ryan,” Waters wrote. “It’s a laugh riot from hell you’ll never forget, even if you want to.”

Pierre Croton’s “A Prince,” Paul Schrader’s “Master Gardener,” “Fallen Leaves,” “Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World,” “Last Summer,” and “Strange Way of Life,” the short film directed by Pedro Almodóvar, were all included in Waters’ list. The director additionally included Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which Waters wrote “deserves the Oscar for being a big-budget, star-studded, intelligent action movie about talking.”

Last year, Waters named François Ozon’s “Peter Von Kant” as “by far the best movie of the year” in 2022 for a list shared with Artforum. Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All” and “EO” by Jerzy Skolimowski were additionally among Waters’ top 2022 picks.

“Beau Is Afraid” writer-director Aster told Vanity Fair that he was “disappointed” by the film’s reception and called the movie a social “experiment” for audiences.

“I always knew the film was going to be polarizing and it’s designed to be divisive. […] When you make a film like this, it feels in some ways like you’re just pulling yourself inside out. With this film especially as it came out, I felt very protective of it,” Aster said. “I’ve said this before, but it’s absolutely my favorite of my own films and I think the furthest I’ve been able to go.”

Here’s Waters’ full top 10:

1. “Beau Is Afraid”

2. “A Prince”

3. “Master Gardener”

4. “Full Time”

5. “Last Summer”

6. “Sparta”

7. “Fallen Leaves”

8. “Strange Way of Life”

9. “Oppenheimer”

10. “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World”

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