Aster. Aster just made his debut in 2018- but Aster’s start is most certainly one of the great starts to a career in recent memory (Steve McQueen comes to mind as a comparable). On their own, both films are among the handful of greatest cinematic achievements of their respective years. However, when you combine them—you have the emergence of a young master. They share not only a genre (horror), but they are both meditations on the grieving process, studies of the occult, powerful dramas (one a family drama, the other a relationship drama)—and Aster share’s Chazelle’s ability to use seemingly every cinematic tool and deploy them with great effect.
there are the thematic and formal motifs of course- but also, both films are loaded with wall in a museum painterly frames like this one here – from Midsommar
Best film: Midsommar
- With this and 2018’s Hereditary as his debut, Aster has announced himself as one of the preeminent auteurs in cinema, horror genre or otherwise
- Starts with a mural, then a beautiful montage (stunning landscape photography) of Winter and the foundationary long America-set prelude is important to the character building and formal construct—all darkly lit the suicidal sister says “everything’s black” in the email—almost like a Fincher film (as juxtaposition to the brightly lit day-time washed out whites of Sweden’s summer)—it also is a comment on Dani’s (a spectacular Florence Pugh) psyche
- the washed out whites- lighting and costume work are contrasted with the darkly lit almost Gordon Willis or David Fincher-like prologue set in the US–they’re all in dark clothing, the waitress is in black– a sharp contrast with the white frocks in Sweden
- Impressive world-building by Aster– Harga– the “hottest and brightest summer on record”. The set piece architecture in the Swedish field built from scratch—the house looks a bit like 2018’s Mandy’s house (with an impressive Sistine chapel moment)—the barn set piece is so exquisitely designed, there’s a conversation between Jack Reynor’s character and one of the elder women approving a match with incredible wallpapers, the rocks for the suicide sacrifice for the elders is excellent production design and location choice as well—washed out (Kieslowski’s White-like) rocks and set pieces
- The story is very much Dani’s personal journey through this pain—and a relationship film or break-up film as Aster self describes. Pelle (the Swedish student that lures them there) is the only one that connects with Dani. Tells her she deserves a family and is dead right about boyfriend not being there. The lighting change serves her journey and the smile at the end with the music at a crescendo works.
- Aster’s camerawork is cinematic superiority- many tracking shots (the stunner in on the sister’s suicide and quickly after that we get a forward dolly to Christian comforting Dani on the couch and Aster’s camera glides above them to the empty window– winter landscape– and then we get the opening titles)
- – he’s not gliding along with a romantic tracking shot though like Scorsese or Malick—it’s very bracketed and calculated tracking shots– moving along the set frame closer to Wes Anderson say in the beginning of Moonrise Kingdom
- The trip in the car to Sweden – Aster flips the camera upside down— incredible style married to the narrative here as we are going from winter to summer, dark to light, US to Sweden, the sedentary life to this hallucinogenic journey – very much like Ryan Coogler flipping the camera when Michael Jordan takes over in Black Panther or how Kubrick warps the roads at the beginning of The Shining
- Symmetry in the frame with the mise-en-scene—again, like Hereditary’s miniatures work- very Wes Anderson
- Repetition of ritual- synchronized eating—formal detail
- it is relentlessly cinematic- transitions like the edit when Pugh goes from the apartment to opening the door in the airplane bathroom— also the arrangement of bodies in the frame like the 4 guys sitting around the apartment almost like judges eyeing Pugh or the group on drugs with the lone tree
- Clearly influenced by The Wicker Man – and that’s a wonderful film and narrative- but frankly Robin Hardy isn’t half the artist Aster is. I see Bergman’s breakup/relationship battles in Scenes From a Marriage or Shame—the village rituals and underlying evil like Haneke’s White Ribbon, and the pitch black comedic world-building from Lanthimos’ Dogtooth. — the film is funny throughout and I had the hardest laugh I had this year in a movie during the ritualistic sex scene
- Heavy in the folklore and anthropology
- Haxan Cloak score– phenomenal
- Stunning final dissolve edit shot on Pugh and the world we’re in, the fulfillment of her breakup fantasy revenge, and the 180 from the opening winter/depression—we’re smiling in the sun
- An incredibly achievement of ambitious auteur-driven (this enriches and makes Hereditary even better) filmmaking
- I’m blown away by the amount of detail, this is a long film (147 minutes), visually designed to such specificity, another study of the occult, ritualistic, detailed, methodical and anthropological – all just one year after another top 10 of the year quality film
- Each American outsider here is killed by their flaws—greedy, selfish—not a redeeming character in the bunch
- A portrait of a relationship– comparisons to Marriage Story or some of Bergman’s work is inevitable
- Slow turns of the camera, set at angles like Kubrickian tracking shots in The Shining and Paths of Glory
- Gauntlet thrown down to other auteurs in 2019—it is like a defibrillator after a really weak first half of cinema in 2019
- I think the long duration of the film plays to the disorientation and world-building as Aster takes us deeper and deeper into the rituals of the village…
- So in Hereditary Toni Collette’s character is a miniaturist artist— and Aster the director works in miniatures as a formal construct— here—his leads are anthropology students—and Aster as auteur digs in and studies the village in the same way
- The special effects drug-use here give to the Margaret Keane-like “Big Eyes” art– trees swaying in the background
- The best works in horror history work without the scares—the relationship jousting here reminded me of a little of Social Network’s opening, the terrible way John Cassavetes treats Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, or the effect of the absent father on Linda Blair in The Exorcist. Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist both have very long prefaces before the horror shows up just like this.
- The visual design—florals, murals (throughout and in the overture)—such a dedication to an aesthetic
- Aster’s films both feature the occult, based in faces, and child savants/special needs
- Hereditary is tighter— like a sweater that unravels—- this is like a vice tightening— both have fantastic formal payoffs at the end
perfect symmetry- genius
total archiveable films: 2
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 0
top 100 films of the decade: 2 (Hereditary, Midsommar)
most overrated: Nothing for Aster- just two films total and both are underrated (but I think doing well actually)
most underrated : Both are underrated- 10th of 2018 and 11th of 2019 respectively on TSPDT but I’m not deterred. This is a marathon and not a sprint- they’ll rise over time and there’s always a bias against the horror genre.
gem I want to spotlight : Hereditary
- Aster has clearly studied masterpiece horror works from the past. Collette’s character seems inspired by (and it’s an equally great performance) Ellen Burstyn’s turn in The Exorcist, the entire occult read and crowning in the end is unmistakably Rosemary’s Baby and I saw the Milly Shapiro “Charlie” character in the orange sweatshirt went to Roeg’s Don’t Look Now (trademark red slicker in that film but close enough)
- Having said this- Aster has his own voice—and unlike the work of Polanski, Friedkin and Roeg—I see a little of Wes Anderson here in Aster’s work. He’s clearly obsessed with framing and symmetry. I greatly admire the connection with the diorama (obviously that’s Wes) and miniatures. It has real formal implications and connections (is this all artifice?, is it part of the greater statement of Collette’s powers? Her mother? Her family?)
- Aster moves the camera and edits carefully—the blending of the diorama to life in one scene (I’ll look for more with my second viewing). There’s really zero interest in shock or surprise
- It’s legit scary—but the film—like all great horror films—works without the horror. The domestic drama is excellent. Gabriel Byrne is woefully miscast—but Toni Collette more than makes up for it and Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro and Ann Dowd are strong in support. Collette’s highlight is the initial support group meeting monologue- quite stunning and she should be nominated
- Collette (and Aster for that matter) play it straight. There’s no winking, self-defeating gimmickry—it’s told with a dedication to disturb—it’s detailed and intense (that car sequence)—I think Aster shows a bit more promise behind the camera than Robert Eggers in his equally dedicated horror The Witch from 2015
- love Justin Chang’s review of the sad tale of a family in decline
- opens on a gorgeous shot of the tree-house within the frame of the window frame– stunning- it’s Wes Anderson or– better yet- Renoir– then we have a pan and a tracking shot matching into the miniature
opens on a gorgeous shot of the tree house within the frame of the window frame– stunning– the final shot is a miniature of this same tree house– formal bookends
in that same opening shot- Aster pans over to a miniature (making the connection) and then tracks forward matching the miniature and the live action
top 5 of the year quality which would make it the best pure horror quite possibly since The Shining
- formal detail- the necklace with the symbol is shown throughout
- family drama- Byrne lies about the cemetery desecration- she lies about going to a movie- this is a family on the fall
- with a second watch I’m definitely blown away by Collette’s group therapy word vomit acting- unnerving- powerful
- lots of use of miniatures as establishing shots
- I’m still not sure if Collette is a sort of puppet master with her work on the miniatures- or if she’s a record keeper- or if its simply an outlet for her
- the allergy/car scene is a well-crafted scene of intensity- the score escalates the action
- Ann Down is a revelation in support- played entirely straight
- shot going below ground as they bury at the funeral- Wes Anderson– heavy use of beautiful wallpaper
- oscillating between miniatures and real action
- The Shining– the maze- is this real?
- Collette’s character has a split personality- “on and off again” with mom which she outlines. There’s pure economy in the script. Schizophrenia.
- old people who all need a living vessel like Rosemary’s Baby or Being John Malkovich
- final sequence of Alex Wolff- unblinking close up with crescendo in the music- “Hail Paiman” like Rosemary’s Baby and then, so formally sound, end with a miniature
- top 5 of the year quality which would make it the best pure horror quite possibly since The Shining
stylistic innovations/traits:
- Family or relationship dramas, death and grieving and a character whose rise to the top of a cult (chilling final close-ups in both films) with a dueling-meaning climax signifying their madness as well
final sequence of Alex Wolff- unblinking close up with crescendo in the music- “Hail Paiman”
a character whose rise to the top of a cult (chilling final close-ups in both films) with a dueling-meaning climax signifying their madness as well
- unlike the work of Polanski, Friedkin and Roeg- masters of horror—I see a little of Wes Anderson here in Aster’s work. He’s clearly obsessed with framing and symmetry. I greatly admire the connection with the diorama (obviously that’s Wes) and miniatures
- the work with lighting in Hereditary is brilliant- especially for a domestic film shot in a suburb and house—but Midsommar’s work in lighting is among the best of the 21st century- juxtaposing washed out whites in the summer with a Fincher/Gordon Willis-like opening
- bracketed/controlled/calculated tracking shots and camera movements- closer to Kubrick/Wes Anderson than Scorsese/Malick
bracketed/controlled/calculated tracking shots and camera movements- closer to Kubrick/Wes Anderson than Scorsese/Malick
- strong formal work- repetition in the miniatures as establishing shots in Hereditary and the reoccurring tableau shots, synchronization/symmetry and overhead shots in Midsommar
strong formal work- repetition in the miniatures as establishing shots in Hereditary
the final shot in Hereditary
reoccurring tableau shots, synchronization/symmetry and overhead shots in Midsommar
I was blown away by the amount of detail, this is a long film (147 minutes), visually designed to such specificity, another study of the occult, ritualistic, detailed, methodical and anthropological – all just one year after another top 10 of the year quality film
top 10
- Midsommar
- Hereditary
By year and grades
| 2018- Hereditary | MS |
| 2019- Midsommar | MP |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
https://mattserafini.com/2013/07/29/review-dario-argentos-dracula-3d/
Was this scene in Dracula 3D the inspiration to Ari Aster for the attic scene in Beau Is Afraid?
@Drake- How many times have you seen Beau Is Afraid? What Grade do you have for it now?
@Malith- just once still- I keep meaning to go back but I’ve still seen this and Eddington once a piece (I have both as a Recommend)- I’ve seen Aster’s first two films 3 times each now
I didn’t care much for Beau Is Afraid. The constant blurring of a part of the frame in every scene is a distraction. But apart from the Phoenix performance (which is really great) one of the scenes that stood out to me was that scene with Zoe Lister-Jones who plays a younger version of Beau’s mother. Where the scene is wholly focused on her by Beau’s bedside with the changing lighting reflecting off her face. Chilling. Really good.
Some of the scenes are just silly. There is a pretty long conversation shot through a silly looking CGI dead body under water. The joke wears off pretty quickly.
@Anderson – I remember that bedside light scene vividly, the flashbacks were pretty strong I recall. There were some good scenes of paranoia and humour but the film falls in parts. Ari Aster and Shallow Focus:
Eddington has landed with a thud.
Rough reviews. Hope that it is better than what is being suggested
@AP- 4th consecutive mixed/panned film for Phoenix.
@AP and @Malith- 63 on metacritic right now- 15 reviews so far and not a single 100 isn’t a great sign for a talent like Aster
Does Shallow Focus overkill in modern films make for great cinema? I don’t know who thought it was a great idea but every up and coming filmmaker seems to do that in their films (Maybe they are teached to do that?). Almost every scene of Beau Is Afraid is shot with a shallow focus lens. I feel like they take the audience to be half blind who can only see one plane (foreground/background) of the frame at a time. And the half blurry frame just does not make for great clean compositions imo.
@Anderson – what are some other examples of modern films which do this? not saying you’re wrong just curious
Civil War does it a lot. One whole conversation between Spaeny and Dunst is shot in shallow focus which made me pretty angry. And a lot of Marvel films and TV Series like Euphoria.
@Drake. Saw The King’s Speech a year after it was originally released, so may need to revisit, but would not describe it as a greater achievement than Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, the Hit, In the Name of the Father, Angel Heart or Midnight Express, but will give it another go.
@LeRoi-The King’s Speech is one of the best films of the 2010’s. The other films you listed would have a hard time cracking the top 10-15 of their respective years.
@Malith. Even if one looks just at 2010 on its own (not even looking at the 2010s as a decade) I would place the following ahead of King’s Speech:
Black Swan, The Social Network, Inception, True Grit, Blue Valentine, The Secret in their Eyes, Incendies, Shutter Island, Biutiful and Animal Kingdom (with Winter’s Bone, Certified Copy, Carlos, The Ghost Writer, Submarine, In a Better World, The Fighter either at a similar level or just below). Not denying it is a very good film though.
@LeRoi-I won’t. It suffers the same fate as Oscar winners like The English Patient and American Beauty. Maybe even more so. I would only put Mysteries of Lisbon, Social Network, Black Swan and Inception above it. But they are masterpieces and The King’s Speech is not a million miles away.
@LeRoi- Great- I think you’ll be impressed. I’d agree with your statement here about these other (very fine) films if we were just talking about acting and screenplay.
@Drake. Thank you, agreed on the recency bias and body of work points.
The four you mention (Frears, Jordan, Sheridan, Jewison and can add to them Alan Parker) were at the bottom of my list of ‘overlooked’ directors I mentioned, so maybe not the best examples. On them I would say they are similar to a Barry Levinson (who made the list) and better than a Tom Hooper and Bennett Miller (who also made the list).
My main point was around people like Chabrol (who kicked off the New Wave with Le Beau Serge), Kusturica, Rivette, Liang, Pialat etc with far deeper (and varied) filmographies and the fact that someone like Park-chan Wook was listed below Aster.
Anyhow, I still need to see Beau is Afraid (I know your list was compiled before it was released), so maybe it softens my views. Thanks again for sharing your feedback and thinking.
@LeRoi- Yes, sort of a case by case basis depending on the director (though Frears, Jordan, Sheridan, Jewison and Parker make for an easy short-hand – and they made some admirable films). I’m sure you’ve seen it- but I’d give Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech another look if you haven’t recently. None of those names previously listed made a film as cinematic as that film.
@Drake. Thanks. We may have to agree to disagree on this one. I fully agree that Aster is a very good director, but he does not (at this point) have the body of work to be called a great director yet in my view. He may of course get there. I guess our different approaches can be seen in the evidence used to support your claims. While screenshots may be evidence of great composition and cinematography, evaluation of the film as a whole is required and directing requires putting everything together into a great overall end product. Having a number of technically or artistically impressive shots are not worth that much if the film as a whole falls flat or does not sustain the same quality throughout. Someone who has a great body of work where they’ve consistently directed great films in a distinct style merit consideration even if their approach is not flashy or attention grabbing. Bresson is a great example (yet he was probably the director the most revered by Tarkovsky and Godard). Anyhow, there always remains some subjectivity when it comes to art no matter how objective one tries to be. Really enjoying the site – will post a few personal favourite lists on the top250 director page, so you’ll see where our preferences differ.
@LeRoi
I’m pleased to hear you enjoy the site and I appreciate you visiting and the comments. We can agree to disagree- I just want to make sure I know what we’re disagreeing about. I’m pretty sure on a couple things but guessing on others. As an aside, I don’t love the inclusion of Bresson as part of the argument- I get your overall point- but he wasn’t one of the directors you originally complained about being behind Aster (he couldn’t’ be of course, he’s way higher than Aster on my list).
1. recency bias- it seems like you may not want to include recent director’s and achievements – Aster debuted in 2018 of course – very recent. I sort of agree with this one and my top 1000 does not include anything from the last 10 years (so no Aster) and that’s my guide for the top 250 directors. I broke my own rules after the top 200 directors. But anyways, I like this rule and will try to stick to it more with my next update.
2. Small body of work- he’s only made 3 films. This one is trickier- what if Godard or Truffaut were hit by a bus in 1962? Certainly they would still be ahead of just about every name you listed (Frears, Jordan, Jewison, Jordan – absolutely 100%). Aster may not be on the level of the fathers of the French New Wave – but his talent is certainly closer than those 4 you had in your original argument
3. Aster’s achievements thus far- clearly we disagree about what he’s achieved so far- and I’m happy to agree to disagree here- I’ve studied his first 2 films closely over repeat viewings with the proper cinematic and historical context and feel confident – I’d tell you if I didn’t . And though this is evidence of nothing- but here’s some good company https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/martin-scorsese-midsommar-inspired-killers-of-the-flower-moon-1234917054/ and https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/martin-scorsese-calls-ari-aster-one-of-the-most-extraordinary-voices-in-cinema/
4. And 4 seems tied to Aster- which is that we disagree, at least a little, on what constitutes cinema art. I would disagree that this is a preference or subjectivity thing. I think the Frears, Jordan, Jewison, Jordan – as examples- are certainly more point and shoot the screenplay and acting – not sure that’s a preference thing. But we can drop it.
Anyways- thank you again for visiting and look forward to future comments.
@Drake. Thanks for the response. Acknowledge that those four you mention (and can probably include an Alan Parker) do not have as strong a case as a Kusturica, Rivette, Becker, Chabrol or Pialat, but they are still a level or two above Tom Hooper and Bennet Miller who did make the list. Insofar as Aster is concerned, he is definitely promising/talented, like many other current directors out there (Larrain, Sciama, Martel, Hamaguchi, McDonagh, Ostlund, Trier etc), but he has not done more than them and his films are far from perfect. Acknowledged also that your approach seems to focus on (or attach most value to) mise en scéne, whereas in my mind directing should encompass more than framing beautiful imagery and is about bringing all the elements of filmmaking together into a work of art that is powerful, influential, moving and hopefully enjoyable and/or thought provoking to watch.
@LeRoi- Thanks for the comment. Right- the inclusion of some of your names here makes it tough to take the larger argument seriously- I’m sure you can imagine. Aster’s superiority to these directors – if we’re talking about cinema art – is quite obvious (and if it wasn’t – there’s plenty of evidence https://thecinemaarchives.com/2018/10/05/hereditary-2018-aster/ and https://thecinemaarchives.com/2020/01/20/midsommar-2019-aster/. You are sort of having a straw man argument with what my approach seems to focus on – my focus is on the cinematic. I’ll grant that my site gives me the advantage of point to over 1000 pages and 5000 screenshots of evidence to support my claims- but you’re making claims here without anything to back it up really.
Apart from a few towards the end of the list, Aster’s inclusion at 215 of all time is the one I struggle with the most. While I like both Midsommar and Hereditary (still to see Beau is Afraid), not sure if only two/three recent films (which have their flaws) can merit a ranking ahead of Jacques Rivette, Emir Kusturica, Victor Erice, Jacques Becker, Ettore Scala, Park Chan-wook, Claire Denis, Thomas Vinterberg, Maurice Pialat, Bertrand Tavernier, Jacques Audiard, Hirokazu Koreeda, Claude Chabrol, Carlos Saura, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Tsai Ming-Liang, Jim Sheridan, Stephen Frears, Bruno Dumont, Shane Meadows, Neil Jordan, Norman Jewison etc. May of course be differences of opinion on the merits of some of these, but do you think Aster will maintain his position in your next revision?
@LeRoi- Thanks for sharing. Not sure I can add much here that isn’t already on the Ari Aster page (and pages for his films). Some of the directors on your list certainly warrant serious consideration – others (Sheridan, Frears, Jordan, Jewison for starters) can hardly scratch at the cinematic surface Aster has accomplished in his first two (2) films. With all due respect- it sort of takes the teeth out of the argument here.
Beau is Afraid (2023) has some possible influences…
After Hours (1985) – surrealism and bizarre situations
The Swimmer (1968) – man trying to get to location and constantly confronted with people from past
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020) – or really any Charlie Kaufman film
Barton Fink (1991) – character have psychological breakdowns caused by paranoia that gets progressively worse throughout the film
A Serious Man (2009) – Like The Coen Brothers, Ari Aster noted the Jewish influence of the film, this aspect seems controversial based on a number of reviews who felt this aspect of the film was distasteful, I am not Jewish so I will step out of the way but felt it was worth bringing up
I appreciated the ambition but do feel like the length was not really justified. Definitely not up to the quality of his first 2 efforts but I am optimistic for the future with an auteur as ambitious as Aster
This guy is f**king insane. I was able to watch Beau is afraid a couple of days ago and I’m still processing it. I would say it’s a solid HR after just one watch, but I don’t know. It could be higher. It certainly asks a lot of the audience and there are a couple of scenes that are kind of silly and embarrassing, but there’s so much to chew on. Aster throws a lot at you, and most of it is fascinating. Anyway, I need a few more days to let it sink in. A second watch will definitely help me make up my mind.
@David O.-Beau Is Afraid has none of the beauty of Midsommar
@Drake, any initial thoughts on Beau is Afraid? Haven’t seen it yet but heard very polarized things.
@Christopher- I have seen it and do not mind sharing I found it disappointing given Aster’s past resume and obvious talent as a filmmaker. I will be seeing it again in 2023 though.
Any thoughts yet? You can plead the 5th if you want. It’s not really one I’m too comfortable giving a verdict on with just a single viewing to be honest
@Matthew – I am going today actually – still very excited
Anybody seen Beau is Afraid yet? Might go tonight.
@Pedro- I am going soon and have my ticket- but have not seen it yet.
It’s… something.
@Pedro- haha – that’s what I’ve heard
Beau is Afraid IS here. I liked Disappointment Boulevard more but the trailer looks top notch.
https://youtu.be/PuiWDn976Ek
@AP – Just watched this a few minutes ago- and totally agree on the name. This looks crazy. Excited we have a release date
Hereditary MS
Midsommar HR
Have you seen these picks by Ari Aster for the criterion collection? Looks like a big admirer of Polanski and Bergman.
https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/339-ari-aster-s-top-10
@Malith- I have, this is a great share though. This has some Bergman stuff as well https://a24films.com/notes/2019/07/deep-cuts-with-robert-eggers-and-ari-aster
I watched Hereditary a few weeks ago and thought it was excellent. Astounding debut nearly akin to Badlands. With you on Gabriel Byrne in this movie however, I generally like him but this just wasn’t his movie. Still need to get to Midsommar (both Amazon Prime!) but with you saying it’s even better than Hereditary it must be absolutely extraordinary.
@Zane- happy to hear it– check back in when you get to Midsommar — would love to hear what you think
I’ve come around on Aster, he truly is one of the best directors of the 2010s. Midsommar and Hereditary are very good
@dylan- happy to hear we’re on the same page here
I notice with other directors you have said they may rise up the rankings once the 10 year moratorium is up and start considering their more recent films, while other directors are here whose only archivable films are from the last ten years. Is there a reason for that?
@Declan- yeah for the first 200 slots or so —I tried to do the list as best as possible for films not really looking at the last 10 years for 1-200— and then for 201-250 I started letting those in