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.

Best Films of the 2010s

The 2010s (2010-2019) continued the streak of stellar global films from the 2000s. The cinematic trajectory was firmly on the way up and in the last year of the decade we had the first truly global crossover film in Parasite (2019), which went all the way from winning the Palme d’Or (Cannes 2019) to top of the Academy Awards in Feb 2020. The success of Parasite gave hope that global cinema would continue to soar in the 2020s. But alas, March 2020 arrived and the world shut down. Cinemas struggled to stay afloat, film festivals had to scale back and the already fragile film distribution broke down. It took a few years for some form of global film output to resume but it was clear the world had drastically changed. Time will tell where the 2020s stand in terms of cinematic quality. Was 2019 the highpoint for global cinema and film festivals? Currently, it appears so. Looking from the vantage point of 2025, it does feel that the 2010s may be the last great decade for cinema for a long time. The next 5 years may prove me wrong. But this post is about celebrating the beautiful films of the 2010s.

Top 30 films of the 2010s (2010-19):

1. Dil Dhadakne Do (2015, India, Zoya Akhtar)

Sholay (1975) was #1 in my 1970s film list and is still considered to be the greatest Hindi language film of all time. Dil Dhadakne Do arrived 4 decades later, directed by Zoya Akhtar and co-written by her brother Farhan Akhtar (who also stars in the film). Both Zoya and Farhan are the children of Javed Akhtar, one of the brilliant co-writers of Sholay (the other being Salim Khan, the duo often known as Salim-Javed). The two films, Sholay and Dil Dhadakne Do, couldn’t be more different yet in their own way capture a sentiment of the times.

Sholay captured the anger, angst and fear of the 1970s while Dil Dhadakne Do captures sentiments of an evolving India, one where women are fighting for their dreams/careers/identity against a highly patriarchal society; where families rarely discuss their problems and where children don’t want to blindly follow their parents wishes. Dil Dhadakne Do depicts many hard-hitting realities but in an entertaining way. The film is packed with stars, catchy songs (yes there is dancing) and beautiful locales like many Bollywood films but unlike most Bollywood films, Dil Dhadakne Do has a brain and a heart.

2. Zama (2017, Argentina co-production, Lucrecia Martel)

3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

4. Certified Copy (2010, France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)

5. Timbuktu (2014, Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)

6. Holy Motors (2012, France, Leos Carax)

7. Transit (2018, Germany/France, Christian Petzold)

8. Jauja (2014, Argentina co-production, Lisandro Alonso)

9. Like Father, Like Son (2013, Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda)

10. This is Not a Film (2011, Iran, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb/Jafar Panahi)

11. The Treasure (2015, Romania/France, Corneliu Porumboiu)

12. Carlos (2010, France, Olivier Assayas)

13. Burning (2018, South Korea, Lee Chang-dong)

14. Parasite (2019, South Korea, Bong Joon-ho)

15. Neighboring Sounds (2012, Brazil, Kleber Mendonça Filho)

16. Embrace of the Serpent (2015, Colombia co-production, Ciro Guerra)

17. Right Now, Wrong Then (2015, South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)

18. The Pearl Button (2015, Chile/France/Spain/Switzerland, Patricio Guzmán)

19. A Man of Integrity (2017, Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof)

20. Shin Godzilla (2016, Japan, Hideaki Anno/Shinji Higuchi)

21. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018, China, Bi Gan)

22. A Gentle Creature (2017, France/Russia/Ukraine co-production, Sergei Loznitsa)

23. One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk (2019, Canada, Zacharias Kunuk)

24. Faces Places (2017, France, JR/Agnès Varda)

25. The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019, Canada/Norway, Kathleen Hepburn, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers)

26. The Turin Horse (2011, Hungary co-production, Béla Tarr/Ágnes Hranitzky)

27. An Elephant Sitting Still (2018, China, Hu Bo)

28. Ash is Purest White (2018, China co-production, Jia Zhang-ke)

29. Get Out (2017, USA/Japan, Jordan Peele)

30. Under the Skin (2013, UK/Switzerland/USA, Jonathan Glazer)

Honourable mentions (in no particular order):

Vitalina Varela (2019, Portugal, Pedro Costa)

The Master (2012, USA, Paul Thomas Anderson)

The Social Network (2010, USA, David Fincher)

Cocote (2017, Dominican Republic co-production, Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias)

A Separation (2011, Iran/France/Australia, Asghar Farhadi)

45 Years (2015, UK, Andrew Haigh)

Phantom Thread (2017, USA/China, Paul Thomas Anderson)

Closeness (2017, Russia, Kantemir Balagov)

Varda by Agnès (2019, France, Agnès Varda)

The Nothing Factory (2017, Portugal, Pedro Pinho)

Happy Hour (2015, Japan, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)

Pain and Glory (2019, Spain/France, Pedro Almodovar)

La Flor (2018, Argentina, Mariano Llinás)

Ship of Theseus (2012, India/Holland, Anand Gandhi)

Kaili Blues (2015, China, Bi Gan)

Li’l Quinquin (2014, France, Bruno Dumont)

The Tribe (2014, Ukraine/Netherlands, Miroslav Slaboshpitsky)

The Strange Case of Angelica (2010, Portugal co-production, Manoel de Oliveira)

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010, Thailand co-production, Apichatpong)

Drive (2011, USA, Nicolas Winding Refn)

The Great Beauty (2013, Italy/France, Paolo Sorrentino)

Best Films of the 2000s

The clock ticked from 1999 into 2000 and surprise! The World didn’t end! In order to celebrate the planet’s survival, the year 2000 ushered in some incredible films. But wait, there was more to follow. Each subsequent year in this decade resulted in even more stellar films from all corners of the world. New Waves from South Korea and Romania washed up on all corners of the globe, first via Film festival reports and then word of mouth. In addition, South East Asian cinema announced itself on the world stage led by emerging works from Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines. This decade saw the arrival of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and even the Cannes Jury led by Quentin Tarantino was lost for words over the poetic brilliance of Apichatpong’s Tropical Malady. The advent of digital camera certainly made filmmaking more accessible to many nations and Philippine cinema took advantage of that: Brillante Mendoza and Lav Diaz took very different approaches to cinema but both made waves at film festivals. Latin American cinema had many new brilliant voices in this decade: the Argentine New Wave started in the 1990s but auteurs such as Lisandro Alonso, Lucretia Martel released their films in this decade; Brazilian cinema was a force to be reckoned with again led by City of God, which shocked audience and became a buzz worthy must-see film.

If the 1960s was a Golden age of cinema, then the 2000s was a New Golden Age of Cinema and featured many more new nations releasing films that topped critics/cinephiles list. The 2000s have way too many good films to narrow down to just 30. This list has changed quite a bit over the years due to my changing perspective with re-watches. I expect this list will change again in the future.

Top 30 Films of 2000s:

1. In the Mood for Love (2000, Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai)

2. Black Friday (2004, India, Anurag Kashyap)

3. L’Intrus (2004, France, Claire Denis)

4. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang)

5. Mulholland Drive (2001, USA, David Lynch)

6. Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006, India, Dibakar Banerjee)

7. The Time That Remains (2009, Palestine co-production, Elia Sulieman)

8. Crimson Gold (2003, Iran, Jafar Panahi)

9. Children of Men (2006, UK/USA/Japan, Alfonso Cuarón)

10. Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

11. Liverpool (2008, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)

12. Police, Adjective (2009, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)

13. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004, Argentina/Brazil co-production, Walter Salles)

14. Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (2005, Brazil, Marcelo Gomes)

15. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002, India, Aparna Sen)

16. Election (2005, Hong Kong, Johnnie To)

17. Infernal Affairs (2002, Hong Kong, Andrew Lau/Alan Mak)

18. Slingshot (2007, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)

19. In the City of Sylvia (2007, Spain, José Luis Guerín)

20. Volver (2006, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)

21. Donnie Darko (2001, USA, Richard Kelly)

22. Extraordinary Stories (2008, Argentina, Mariano Llinás)

23. Bend it Like Beckham (2002, UK/Germany/USA, Gurinder Chadha)

24. Colossal Youth (2006, Portugal, Pedro Costa)

25. Memories of Murder (2003, South Korea, Bong Joon Ho)

26. Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004, Philippines, Lav Diaz)

27. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Romania, Cristi Puiu)

28. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000, Hungary, Béla Tarr/Ágnes Hranitzky)

29. Platform (2000, China, Jia Zhang-ke)

30. What Time is It There? (2001, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)

Honourable mentions (in no particular order):

West of the Tracks (2002, China, Wang Bing)

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006, France/Iceland,Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno)

Breathless (2008, South Korea, Yang Ik-joon)

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008, India, Dibakar Banerjee)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007, Romania, Cristian Mungiu)

District 9 (2009, South Africa co-production, Neill Blomkamp)

Amélie (2001, France/Germany, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

Bad Education (2004, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)

Our Beloved Month of August (2008, Portugal, Miguel Gomes)

The Referees (2009, Belgium, Y.Hinant/E.Cardot/L.Delphine)

Kontroll (2003, Hungary, Nimród Antal)

Amores Perros (2000, Mexico, Alejandro G. Iñárritu)

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, Mexico/Spain, Guillermo del Toro)

Devils on the Doorstep (2000, China, Wen Jiang)

The Barbarian Invasions (2003, Canada, Denys Arcand)

Nine Queens (2000, Argentina, Fabián Bielinsky)

Salt of This Sea (2007, Palestine co-production, Annemarie Jacir)

City of God (2002, Brazil, Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund)

Moolaade (2004, Senegal co-production, Ousmane Sembene)

Be Calm and Count to Seven (2008, Iran, Ramtin Lavafipour)

Iron Island (2005, Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof)

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002, South Korea, Park Chan-wook)

Best Films of the 1990s

The 1990s started an upward trend in Cinema led by the emergence of New Waves of Independent Cinema throughout the world. USA, India, Argentina and Iran are just a few example nations that had notable surges of quality cinema. Many celebrated directors made their feature debut in this 1990s such as Jafar Panahi, Jia Zhang-ke, Hong Sang-soo, Park Chan-wook, Tsai Ming-liang, Bruno Dumont, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Richard Linklater to name just a few. In addition, the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 meant that cinema from Eastern Europe started to re-emerge. 

The 1990s also saw an increase in usage of special effects in Hollywood films which coupled with the increase of multiplex cinemas changed cinema and theatrical experience forever. As an example, the decade is book-ended by Terminator 2 (1991) and The Matrix (1999), two films whose special effects helped pave the way for current Comic book films. Almost two decades after Jaws, Steven Spielberg raised the stakes for summer blockbusters with Jurassic Park (1993). Interestingly, The Phantom (1996) and Blade (1998) came out in this decade long before the multiplexes regularly showed Comic book movies. Then there were the animated Disney movies Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994) and Pixar’s Toy Story (1995) which opened the floodgates for more animated films to follow. In terms of both commercial and artistic cinema, the 1990s laid the groundwork for even better cinema to emerge in the 2000s. In that sense, the 1990s mirrored the 1950s. The 1950s had some brilliant films leading into a stellar 1960s.

Top 30 Films of the 1990s

1. Taste of Cherry (1997, Iran/France, Abbas Kiarostami)

2. Chungking Express (1994, Hong Kong, Wong Kar-wai)

3. The Stranger (1991, India, Satyajit Ray)

4. Beau Travail (1999, Claire Denis)

5. Flowers of Shanghai (1998, Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-Hsien)

6. Satantango (1994, Hungary, Béla Tarr)

7. Dharavi (1992, India, Sudhir Mishra)

8. Maachis (1996, India, Gulzar)

9. The Big Lebowski (1998, USA/UK, Joel Coen/Ethan Coen)

10. A Summer in La Goulette (1996, Tunisia co-production, Férid Boughedir)

11. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992, India, Mansoor Khan)

12. A Brighter Summer Day (1991, Taiwan, Edward Yang)

13. The Wind Will Carry Us (1999, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)

14. The White Balloon (1995, Iran, Jafar Panahi)

15. Underground (1995, Yugoslavia, Emir Kusturica)

16. Central Station (1998, Brazil/France, Walter Salles)

17. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994, Taiwan, Ang Lee)

18. Dark City (1998, Australia/USA, Alex Proyas)

19. Is Raat ki Subah Nahin (1996, India, Sudhir Mishra)

20. Open Your Eyes (1997, Spain/France/Italy. Alejandro Amenábar)

21. Sarfarosh (1999, India, John Mathew Matthan)

22. Cure (1997, Japan, Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

23. Close-Up (1990, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)

24. Hyenas (1992, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)

25. Bolivia (1999, Argentina/Holland, Israel Adrián Caetano)

26. Rebels of the Neon God (1992, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)

27. Eyes Wide Shut (1999, UK/USA, Stanley Kubrick)

28. The Matrix (1999, USA/Australia, Lana Wachowski/Lilly Wachowski)

29. Fight Club (1999, USA, David Fincher)

30. All About my Mother (1999, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)

Honourable Mentions:

Casa De Lava (1994, Portugal/France/Germany, Pedro Costa)

Satya (1998, India, Ram Gopal Varma)

Crane World (1999, Argentina, PabloTrapero)

My Cousin Vinny (1992, USA, Jonathan Lynn)

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999, USA co-production, Jim Jarmusch)

Delicatessen (1991, France, Marc Caro/Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

Rudaali (1993, India, Kalpana Lajmi)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994, USA, Frank Darabont)

Good Will Hunting (1997, USA, Gus Van Sant)

The Game (1997, USA, David Fincher)

12 Monkeys (1995, USA, Terry Gilliam)

Pulp Fiction (1994, USA, Quentin Tarantino)

Best Films of the 1980s

For the longest time, I felt that the 1980s were a transition year for cinema. The stellar quality of World Cinema from the 1960s were absent in the 1980s and only a handful of films from this decade have featured in my all time Best film lists. However, revisiting films from this decade has made me think that I have been harsh on this decade. This decade saw the emergence of many new directors, such as Pedro Costa and many notable names from Asia such as Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wong Kar-wai. Béla Tarr directed his first feature in 1978 but he gained world wide attention in the 1980s. New films from Brazil, Argentina started to emerge in the 1980s as well after those nations were freed of military dictatorships. However, the world was still undergoing massive political changes and that surely played a part in the lack of cinema from this decade: the revolution in Iran and Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan took place in 1979 but their impacts were felt throughout the 1980s; the Iraq-Iran war; the shift in government stance in US, UK and the impact of US interference in Latin America. Of course, one of the bigger events took place in the final months of the decade when the Berlin Wall fell on Nov 9, 1989.

Top 30 films from the 1980s

1. Cinema Paradiso (1988, Italy/France, Giuseppe Tornatore)

2. Amma Ariyan (Report to Mother, 1986, India, John Abraham)

3. Tampopo (1985, Japan, Jûzô Itami)

4. The Shining (1980, UK/USA, Stanley Kubrick)

5. Kalyug (1981, India, Shyam Benegal)

6. L'Argent (1983, France/Switzerland, Robert Bresson)

7. Three Crowns of the Sailor (1982, France, Raúl Ruiz)

8. Where is the Friend's House? (1987, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)

9. The Decalogue (1989, Poland/West Germany, Krzysztof Kieslowski)

10. Boat People (1982, Hong Kong, Ann Hui)

11. Videodrome (1983, Canada, David Cronenberg)

12. Arth (1982, India, Mahesh Bhatt)

13. Come and See (1985, Soviet Union, Elem Klimov)

14. Taipei Story (1985, Taiwan, Edward Yang)

15. Do the Right Thing (1989, USA, Spike Lee)

16. Jaane Bhi do Yaaron (1983, India, Kundan Shah)

17. Wings of Desire (1987, West Germany/France, Wim Wenders)

18. Dead Poets Society (1989, USA, Peter Weir)

19. Masoom (1983, India, Shekhar Kapur)

20. O Sangue (1989, Portugal, Pedro Costa)

21. Babette’s Feast (1987, Denmark, Gabriel Axel)

22. Mandi (1983, India, Shyam Benegal)

23. Ghare Baire (1984, India, Satyajit Ray)

24. Terrorizers (1986, Taiwan, Edward Yang)

25. Revenge (1989, Soviet Union, Ermek Shinarbaev)

26. Om Dar-B-Dar (1988, India, Kamal Swaroop)

27. Sans Soleil (1983, France, Chris Marker)

28. My Brother's Wedding (1983, USA, Charles Burnett)

29. Damnation (1988, Hungary, Béla Tarr)

30. Raakh (1989, India, Aditya Bhattacharya)

Honourable mentions:

Pixote (1980, Brazil, Hector Babenco)

Mephisto (1981, Hungary/West Germany/Austria, István Szabó)

A Time to Live and A Time to Die (1985, Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-hsien)

The Vanishing (1988, Holland, George Sluizer)

Katha (1983, India, Sai Paranjpye)

The Official Story (1985, Argentina, Luis Puenzo)

Blow Out (1981, USA, Brian De Palma)

My Neighbour Totoro (1988, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)

Best Films of the 1970s

After the rich global cinematic feast dished out by the 1960s, one would have expected that the 1970s would have increased that output. However, the 1970s pushed cinema in different directions. A few political events, some starting from the 1960s, easily played a part. To name a few global events: increasing American involvement in the Vietnam War from the mid 1960s, the May 1968 French protests, the toppling of Salvador Allende in Chile (Sept 11, 1973) violent military dictatorships in Brazil, Argentina and their disappearance of citizens, Emergency in India from 1975-77, Canada’s October crisis in 1970 and the OPEC Oil Embargo. This is not a comprehensive list but shows that cinema couldn’t have been top of people’s minds. Interestingly, this likely also played a part in the escapist summer blockbuster that came out in 1975: Jaws. This was followed 2 years later by Star Wars. Recently, Sight and Sound magazine labeled 1975 as the “year that changed cinema forever”. They picked Jaws in one corner and Jeanne Dielman in the other. One started the summer blockbuster trend, the other a path towards a new variation of artistic cinema. The 1970s also saw a handful of post-Vietnam American films and the war’s impact played a direct and indirect part in many violent and crime films. It wasn’t all doom and gloom violence in 1970s cinema. In India, the continued Parallel Cinema movement ushered in new socially charged films from the 1970s-1980s that examined rural life and also the plight of the growing middle class in urban areas.

It is tough to limit this list down to 30 films especially with the diverse range of cinematic genres and style.

Top 30 films of the 1970s:

1. Sholay (1975, India, Ramesh Sippy)

2. The Godfather (1972, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)

3. Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972, West Germany/Mexico/Peru, Werner Herzog)

4. Ankur (1974, India, Shyam Benegal)

5. Stalker (1979, Russia, Andrei Tarkovsky)

6. The Battle of Chile (1975, Venezuela/France/Cuba, Patricio Guzmán)

7. Network (1976, USA, Sidney Lumet)

8. Manila in the Claws of Light (1975, Philippines, Lino Brocka)

9. The Last Picture Show (1971, USA, Peter Bogdanovich)

10. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)

11. Scenes from a Marriage (1973, Sweden, Ingmar Bergman)

12. Solaris (1972, Russia, Andrei Tarkovsky)

13. The Conversation (1974, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)

14. The Godfather Part II (1974, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)

15. Uski Roti (1970, India, Mani Kaul)

16. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974, West Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

17. Les Orders (1974, Canada, Michel Brault)

18. Adoption (1975, Hungary, Márta Mészáros)

19. Montreal Main (1972, Canada, Frank Vitale)

20. Chess of the Wind (1976, Iran, Mohammad Reza Aslani)

21. Titas Ekti Nodir Naam (A River Called Titas, 1973, India, Ritwik Ghatak)

22. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975, Belgium, Chantal Akerman)

23. Insiang (1976, Philippines, Lino Brocka)

24. The Emigrants / The New Land (1971/1972, Sweden, Jan Troell)

25. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Spain, Victor Erice)

26. The Devil, Probably (1977, France, Robert Bresson)

27. Taxi Driver (1976, USA, Martin Scorsese)

28. Days of Heaven (1978, USA, Terrence Malick)

29. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, France/Italy/Spain, Luis Buñuel)

30. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, UK, Terry Gilliam/Terry Jones)

Honourable mentions (in no particular order):

Killer of Sheep (1977, USA, Charles Burnett)

Le Cercle Rouge (1970, France/Italy, Jean-Pierre Melville)

The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1972, West Germany/Austria, Wim Wenders)

The Conspirators (1972, Brazil, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade)

Cuadecuc, vampir (1971, Spain, Pere Portebella)

Garm Hava (Hot Winds, 1974, India, M.S. Sathyu)

The Conformist (1970, Italy/France/Germany, Bernardo Bertolucci)

A Clockwork Orange (1971, UK, Stanley Kubrick)

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971, USA, Monte Hellman)

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976, USA, John Cassavetes)

A Woman Under the Influence (1974, USA, John Cassavetes)

Ek Din Pratidin (And Quiet Rolls the Dawn, 1979, India, Mrinal Sen)

Chronicles of the Years of Fire (1975, Algeria, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina)

The Mother and the Whore (1973, France, Jean Eustache)

Claire’s Knee (1970, France, Eric Rohmer)

Note: Fassbinder’s World on a Wire is a TV serial but if I considered it as a film, it would be on this list.