Best Films of 2025

8 months into 2026, I am finally ready to publish my Best Films list of 2025. The delay is due to waiting to see as many relevant films from the past year. Now, unlike previous years, many of the big Cannes 2025 films were released in cinemas less than a year after their Cannes premiere. Films such as It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, No Other Choice, Sentimental Value were all released in a cinema in fall of 2025 (in a multiplex no less) while Sirat and Resurrection were released by March-April 2026. This was a huge positive move from previous years due to all these films distribution held by Neon, Mubi and Janus Films. Neon’s incredible race to buy all worthy Cannes films is certainly helping get many Cannes films in Cinema in good time but it also re-emphasizes that struggling distribution market where a few distributors are locked in a fight with each other for the limited few foreign cinema titles, much like the topic of No Other Choice. The limited foreign titles playing in North America cinemas in 2025 also meant that the same few films were in almost every end of the year list.

There are still quite a few 2025 titles I need to see such as What Does That Nature Say to you or Dry Leaf, both of whose North American distribution rights are held by Cinema Guild and none of these films played in a cinema close to me. I might still get a chance to see these films in 2026 or for sure by 2027 at least. In the meantime, it is time to publish this list and move on to trying to see 2026 films!

Best Films of 2025

1. Our Land (Nuestra Tierra, Argentina co-production, Lucrecia Martel)

This remarkable documentary feels like a natural historical progression to Zama. Our Land (formerly called Landscapes) is about a specific instance of land grab and killing in our current world but issues related to land disputes can be drawn back to Spanish colonial times (Zama) which featured racist treatment of locals, their displacement/killing and annexation of land. Centuries haven’t erased these racial and colonist attitudes and they are instead found under different labels: modernization, land rights, progress, jobs. Martel’s film highlights that the onus is on indigenous people to constantly fight for their rights. Similar stories exist all over the world.

2. Blue Heron (Canada/Hungary, Sophy Romvari)

Beautiful and devastating at the same time. The comparisons with Aftersun are appropriate but both films are different in how they highlight the parent-child dynamic. The core sentiment joining both films is that parents and kids struggle in their own way and even though each tries to shelter the other from their personal battles, both must live with the consequences.

3. Cactus Pears (Sabar Bonda, India/UK/Canada, Rohan Kanawade)

It is impressive to see such a film being made in current India where censorship is reaching new lows. The film depicts the struggle to exert one’s identity when surrounded by decades of rituals, cultural and societal expectations.

4. My Father’s Shadow (UK/Nigeria, Ireland, Akinola Davies)

Another beautiful parent-child film in this list. Lovely usage of children’s perspective which doesn’t spell everything out and ensures one can fill in the blanks. 

5.  Sirat (Spain/France, Oliver Laxe)

6.  Materialists (US/Finland/UK, Celine Song)

When the trailer first appeared for this film, it felt this film was going to be like Past Lives with a woman torn between two men. Even though that aspect of the film is true (1 women, 2 men), the film is completely different from Past Lives which is an emotional romantic film. Materialists, befitting its title, breaks down a relationship into a set of transactions that each couple does, consciously or unconsciously. A highly relevant and worthy film!

7.  One Battle After Another (US, Paul Thomas Anderson)

8. The Secret Agent (Brazil co-production, Kleber Mendonça Filho)

9.  It Was Just an Accident (Iran/France/Luxembourg, Jafar Panahi)

10.  Homebound (India, Neeraj Ghaywan)

Based on a real-life incident, the film manages to cover a lot of ground. The film uses the pandemic as a background to shed a light on class differences that still exist in India and how that impacts jobs, careers and has a knock-on effect on urban-rural issues.

Honourable mentions:

Urchin (UK/US, Harris Dickinson)

Any British film depicting struggles of people on fringes of society immediately makes one think of Ken Loach but it becomes clear very soon that Urchin is a different film altogether. The shots of forest and nature recalled Tom Geens’ Couple in a Hole and aspects of early Ben Wheatley.

Kontinental ’25 (Romania co-production, Radu Jude)

Radu Jude has found an incredible rhythm by alternating his releases by having a contemplative film followed by a film that pushes boundaries (such as 2025’s Dracula) or vice-versa. Kontinental ’25 is more compact, coherent and overall far more completive than Dracula and covers plenty of insightful historical-cultural elements of Hungary-Romania plus a commentary on changing face of Europe.

Two Prosecutors (Ukraine co-production, Sergey Loznitsa)

Packs a silent punch. The setting is 1937 but the core story is still relevant in our current times.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (Canada, Matt Johnson)

The film answers the question that we didn’t know existed. What if Back to the Future was recreated as a Canadian film? This film is that creative and energetic answer.

Rose of Nevada (UK, Mark Jenkin)

Mark Jenkin offers his own unique creative take on a sci-fi genre. Best seen without reading anything about story.

The Things You Kill (Turkey/France/Poland/Canada, Alireza Khatami)

The film pulls off such an incredible trick that if one suspends their belief, one can appreciate the film. However, if one doesn’t want to go with the slight of hand, then the film will not work. Interestingly, the knock on the door at the end of the film echoes the footsteps at the end of It was Just an Accident.

The Blue Trail (Brazil/Mexico/Netherlands/Chile, Gabriel Mascaro)

Quite different from Gabriel Mascaro’s previous film, The Blue Trail is an imaginative take on a futuristic dystopian genre spliced with a road journey film even though there are no roads traveled in this film but merely rivers.

No Other Choice (South Korea/France, Park Chan-wook)

Only including this film on the list specifically for the ending, which anticipates how our current world will be shaped AI and how that turns an ultra-competitive job market into an even more ruthless effort. The film feels like a natural successor to Parasite in showing how the next stage of capitalism is impacting our society and leaving people at the middle and bottom fighting for tinier scraps in the form of jobs.

Greek Mythology Films

Spotlight on Greek Mythology films:

The Giants of Thessaly (1960, Italy/France, Riccardo Freda)

Jason and the Argonauts (1963, US/UK, Don Chaffey)

Troy (2004, UK/Malta/Bulgaria/US, Wolfgang Petersen)

300 (2006, US/Canada/Bulgaria, Zack Snyder)

Immortals (2011, Canada/US, Tarsem Singh)

The Return (2024, Italy/Greece/UK/France, Uberto Pasolini)

The Odyssey (2026, UK/US/Canada/New Zealand/Iceland, Christopher Nolan)

This is not a comprehensive look at all adaptations of Greek mythology movies but instead focusses on a few films based in Greece with some overlapping material. This criterion meant I opted to not include The Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Are Thou? (2000) even though it is a very creative adaption of Homer’s The Odyssey but it is set in 1930s America.

Few common elements linking the various films:

1.  Odysseus and his journey

The Return and The Odyssey overlap the most as both follow the same core story although The Return, as indicated by the title, only focuses on Odysseus’ return and doesn’t focus on the journey itself. The final 30 min of Nolan’s film overlaps quite a bit with Pasolini’s movie. The difference comes down to dramatic depictions.

Troy overlaps in content with both The Return and The Odyssey as Odysseus features in the film and his journey is talked about. However, Troy is more about Achilles and Odysseus is a key character on the periphery and shown to be a mentor to Achilles.

2.  The Trojan war

The trojan horse and gruesome slaughter that follows unites both Troy and The Odyssey. The Return doesn’t show the Trojan war but the war is talked about, and its scars leave a deep impact on Odysseus like that shown in The Odyssey.

3.  Golden Fleece

The Giants of Thessaly and Jason and the Argonauts are closely linked as both films are about Jason’s pursuit of the Golden fleece.

4. Peril filled journeys: cyclops, sirens, Hydra, giant statues and the dead

Jason’s peril filed journey in both The Giants of Thessaly, Jason and the Argonauts overlaps with events depicted in The Odyssey as all three films show the main characters going from one adventure to another. The cyclops is featured in both The Giants of Thessaly and The Odyssey while the 1960 film also shows how Sirens convert men into animals but that man-animal transformation is shown vastly different in Nolan’s film. Jason features Hydra, gigantic bronze statue of Talos, skeleton crew while Nolan’s film shows dead soldiers but in a different form than the skeleton crew in Jason.

5. CGI enhanced war

300 and Immortals are about completely different events, The Spartans and the Battle of Thermopylae in the case of 300 and the story of Theseus, Hyperion, Olympians and the Titans in the latter. Yet, both films look the way they do thanks to a heavy dosage of CGI. Each film gets a completely digitally enhanced makeover which makes the visuals stand out. However, the difference in visuals and lighting gives clue to the director involved. 300 is an early Zack Snyder film and the darkly lit visuals in the film have been found in Snyder’s later films as well. Tarsem Singh has made visuals a cornerstone of his films from The Cell (2000) to The Fall (2006), so it isn’t a surprise that the visuals in Immortals look like paintings brought to life. The colour palette in Immortals isn’t eye-popping bright like Tarsem’s other films but the pop of colour stands out when used, such as the shining gold against white, grey or darker shades.

6. The Gods watch

Jason and the Argonauts and Immortals both feature the Gods watching over the humans and trying to not interfere in the humans’ war until certain threshold are crossed. In Jason, the Gods interfere to keep the journey going to amuse themselves (as per Zeus) while in Immortals, the Gods can only interfere once the Titans are released.

Immortals has a very creative way to show the Gods-human transformation and it works in the film’s visual context and is the only film in this Spotlight to feature such a transformation.

Ranking all films in order of preference:

These films highlight how a material changes depending on what character’s perspective is used. In the context of the material, there really aren’t any “good guys” to speak of. All the characters, no matter which kingdom or army they belong to, ruthlessly kill and slaughter their opponents without remorse. Some characters eventually show remorse with the passage of time and a personal tragedy. Even that remorse is a cinematic choice meant to depict a traditional narrative arc of a character’s growth. However, in each film, we are still given heroes to cheer for. That is commercial cinema in a nutshell which is where all these films fall under although The Return keeps its scope tight and isn’t a purely commercial film.

1. The Return (2024, Uberto Pasolini)

This film edges slightly to first place only due to its narrow scope. By focusing only on the actual return of Odysseus, the film feels more humanistic and away from myth territory. The emotions of the characters truly come across and a large part of that is due to the acting brilliance of Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. It is a treat to see the two actors in a film again and this material is a long way from the days of The English Patient (1996) and Wuthering Heights (1992).

2. The Odyssey (2026, Christopher Nolan)

3. Troy (2004, Wolfgang Petersen)

 This film feels like a traditional Hollywood production, complete with action, romance, drama and plenty of emotion. This is the only film out of these 7 to stand-out due to the romantic element.

4. Immortals (2011, Tarsem Singh)

5. Jason and the Argonauts (1963, Don Chaffey)

This is a highly watchable film and still stands the test of time despite being released almost 6 decades ago (59 years).  The stop-motion animation used in the film by Ray Harryhausen is still a reference point in discussing evolution of visual effects in films.

6. The Giants of Thessaly (1960, Riccardo Freda)

The film freely mixes elements from various Greek myths including The Odyssey and is effective for its 1960 release date. This is also the first film out of these 7 to be released and was released three years before Jason and the Argonauts.

7. 300 (2006, Zack Snyder)

All style and no substance.

John Sayles' Independent Cinema

Spotlight on the films of John Sayles:

Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979)

The Brother from Another Planet (1984)

Matewan (1987)

Eight Men Out (1988)

Lone Star (1996)

Silver City (2004)

Honeydripper (2007)

The idea for this spotlight came after discovering that TIFF was doing a retrospective of John Sayles this past summer. Barry Hertz’s insightful interview highlighted that it has been 13 years since John Sayles last directed feature, Go for Sisters (2013). That is a long gap although Sayles has been busy in the meantime, working on his novels and screenplays. The interview does highlight the difficulty Sayles and his producer partner Maggie Renzi have had in getting funds to make a film. Although, the interview also highlights this isn’t a new problem:

"But though it once took Sayles and Renzi 11 years to watch their baseball drama Eight Men Out go from page to screen, the pair now finds themselves facing an even more patience-testing environment, where wait-and-see is the rule, not the exception."

If the pair had a hard time getting money back in the 1980s, then it shouldn't be a surprise they are struggling to get money now because movie making is a business now and independent cinema isn’t what it used to be. Commercial cinema is packed with sequels and streamers put money up for material driven by algorithms. In such an environment, an independent lone star like John Sayles would easily stick out.

Story driven cinema

John Sayles’ films are story driven works. That is understandable as he started his film career writing screenplays and he has 8 novels to his name along with 2 short story collections. Having a strong story also gives space for actors to shine and that is apparent in the 7 films as part of this spotlight. In fact, many famous actors got their break with John Sayles as David Strathairn made his debut in Sayles’ debut feature Return of the Secaucus Seven, Chris Cooper made his feature film debut in Matewan. Both collaborated with Sayles on subsequent features as well. Matthew McConaughey acted in Lone Star early in his career.

Spotlight on American Society

Watching John Sayles films in 2026 is a refreshing experience as it gives a glimpse into how films used to be made. They don’t make cinema like this anymore and unless something changes, it is hard to imagine such films being made again. Each film has a purpose, a story to tell and the characters feel real. The films showcase a slice of American society in a specific era and highlight cultural, social, political and economic situations that impacted the characters.

Eight Men Out looks at economic situations and attitudes in 1919 which led to eight (really seven) Chicago White Sox members to throw away the World Series.  

Matewan looks at the 1920s at a time with unions were starting to form and battle between coal companies and employees. 

Honeydripper captures the blues era of 1950s Alabama. 

Lone Star is a neo-Western film that is set in 1990s Texas but also sheds light on how things were back in the 1950-60s via flashbacks. Sadly, many of the attitudes and racism that existed decades ago can still be found in our contemporary world. 

Return of the Secaucus Seven looks at how promising dreams and hopes of 1960-70s US leads to more sober reflections in the 1980s. 

The Brother from Another Planet is a playful sci-fi film that gives a snapshot of changing attitudes and cultural trends in 1980s, including omnipresent arcades games. 

Silver City captures the absurd stupidity of post George W. Bush America in early 2000s where being a stupid politician had no impact on one’s chances to get elected (that stupidity seems nostalgic in our current idiotic political times).

Ranking all 7 features in order of preference:

1.  Matewan (1987)

2.  Eight Men Out (1988)

3.  Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979)

4.  The Brother from Another Planet (1984)

5.  Silver City (2004)

6.  Lone Star (1996) 

7.  Honeydripper (2007)