Culture Fix’s Top 20 Films of 2013

This gripping and ultimately moving story looks at the unlikely friendship between an Israeli pilot and a Palestinian youth, handled with complete delicacy from director, Eran Riklis, and cast, Stephen Dorff and Abdallah El Akal.


15 The Place Beyond the Pines

Albeit slightly overlong in its last chapter, The Place Beyond the Pines is a staggering ambitious piece of American cinema. Derek Cianfrance tackles simple yet powerful themes in an authentic and affecting style, with Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper delivering some of their most electrifying performances.

14 Bernie

Bernie’s mix of light comedy and true crime story resulted in an offbeat but instantly loveable combination. Richard Linklater directs Bernie as a docudrama with Jack Black in truly marvelous form as the camp title-character, perhaps the nicest American killer of all time. 


13 Don Jon

Don Jon is a staggeringly impressive directorial debut from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and certainly has us excited for what’s to come in the future. It is undoubtedly insightful, heartfelt, authentic, edgy, and has just made us love Joseph Gordon-Levitt even more.

Lovelace is an intelligently-crafted and emotionally raw look at the life of Linda Lovelace that simultaneously captures the glitz and sleaze of the porn-industry, perfectly showcased through a sublime performance from Amanda Seyfried. The sassy ageing waitress photo of Sharon Stone above is probably not the most relevant, but we liked it. 

11 Only God Forgives

Many will be tired by the ambiguous nature of Only God Forgives, others will be mesmerised by Refn’s astounding visual style and poignant, intense, ultra-violent tale of vengeance in the Bangkok underworld. 


10 The Butler

The Way Way Back is filmmaker with true heart and soul, a gorgeous coming of age story that is as amusing as it is touching. Warning, likely to make you yearn for your lost childhood or make you want to work in a water park with Sam Rockwell.


8 Philomena

Jon S. Baird has crafted an electrifyingly stylish, darkly comic feature that proves to be the strongest Irvine Welsh adaptation out there – more impressive than Trainspotting in our book. We’re not just saying that because it has an AMAZING David Soul cameo.

4 Blue Jasmine

All that really needs to be said is Cate Blanchett. Now give us a tub of prescription medicine and a Stoli martini with a twist of lemon.

3 Django Unchained 

Like Blue Jasmine, Django Unchained showcases a director still at his best. Tarantino delivers terrific fun from the onset with stellar performances, gripping dialogue and more than a few homages to the classic Euro-western.

2 The Paperboy

The Paperboy is a thrilling, sweat soaked Southern-Noir, rich in atmosphere and directorial vision. The varying tone, camp aesthetics and powerful performances from Kidman and Efron completely overshadow any of the narrative inconsistencies. The Paperboy is a must-see.


1 Behind The Candelabra

In our eyes, Behind the Candelabra is the strongest feature of 2013. Douglas and Damon lead this tale of romance and hurt against a marvelously crafted backdrop of Hollywood kitsch, excess, and isolation.