BEST MOVIES of 2018

[Chris Knipp]

Mark Kermode's best of 2018 (veteran Guardian film critic)
(Some films come out earlier or later in England than the USA.)

The 10 best films of 2018

1. Leave No Trace
Debra Granik’s low-key gem is a textbook example of show-don’t-tell film-making; perfect.

2. The Breadwinner
A young girl battles the Taliban in Nora Twomey’s superb animated adaptation of Deborah Ellis’s bestseller.

3. Widows
Davis heads up an ensemble cast to die for in Steve McQueen’s ultra-stylish update of Lynda La Plante’s 80s TV thriller.

4. Cold War
Paweł Pawlikowski’s tale of star-crossed lovers falling together and apart through the iron curtain of postwar Europe.

5. You Were Never Really Here
Lynne Ramsay’s psychological anti-thriller, starring Joaquin Phoenix, reconfirms her position as a unique visual poet.

6. A Fantastic Woman
Daniela Vega shines in Sebastián Lelio’s deserving winner of the Oscar for foreign language film.

7. The Shape of Water
Splash meets Creature from the Black Lagoon in Guillermo del Toro’s magical fantasy.

8. Jeune Femme
One of the real surprise treats of the year – an invigorating and unvarnished character study from Léonor Serraille.

9. BlacKkKlansman
Spike Lee’s stranger-than-fiction tale may be set in the 1970s but it felt urgently relevant and contemporary in 2018.

10. They Shall Not Grow Old
Peter Jackson breathes new life into 100-year-old footage of the first world war with awe-inspiring results.

Turkey
Show Dogs
The most misjudged comedy of the year. Remember: no dogs is better than Show Dogs!