The 50 best films of 2023 in the UK – 50 to 41 | Film

50

The Beasts

Middle-class incomers to a remote village in Spain’s ‘wild west’ expose fear, resentment and nationalism in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s disturbing true-crime drama. Read the full review

49

Mother and Son

A son reflects on the struggles he faced with his brother and wayward mother after they moved to France from Ivory Coast, in a meditative coming-of-age story. Read the full review

48

War Pony

The tenderness, wisdom and instinct to survive of two teenage Native Americans is beautifully observed in actor turned director Riley Keough’s debut feature. Read the full review

47

Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

Documentary about the awe-inspiring vocation of the Korean avant garde disruptor, who foresaw the internet and meme culture’s importance in the 1970s. Read the full review

46

Tish

Gripping portrait of a passionate photographer of austerity Britain who lived a life as tough as those she shot in different eras of deprivation and marginalisation. Read the full review

45

The Damned Don’t Cry

Fyzal Boulifa explores the decisions forced on a poverty-stricken Moroccan family in this vivid and powerful drama of colonial tension. Read the full review

44

The Future Tense

Semi-dramatised essay film by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy explores complicated national loyalties alongside those of an extraordinary rebel. Read the full review

43

The Deepest Breath

The dangerous act of freediving is explored in a visually immersive new film taking us down to the depths and examining what causes those involved to take such major risks. Read the full review

42

On the Adamant

Nicolas Philibert offers art and soul in a warm and sympathetic documentary about a boat for mental-health patients on the Seine. Read the full review

41

Rodeo

Real-life motorbike racer Julie Ledru plays a young tearaway on the outskirts of Bordeaux, drawn to take desperate risks with a criminal biker gang. Read the full review