TOP TEN LISTS FOR 2025. . . awards season

[Chris Knipp]

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CAHIERS DU CINÉMA'S TOP TEN OF 2025 STARTS WITH ALBERT SERRA

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The iconic French film journal Cahiers du Cinéma, cradle of the Nouvelle Vague, has announced their choice of the ten best films of 2025, and the number one is AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE/TARDES DE SOLEDAD by Albert Serra. This film is now easy to watch online in this country and I recommend it. I'm grateful to my friend Marcia and her husband in New York for raving about it during the New York Film Festival and even getting me a pass to see it one evening. It has wound up being the most memorable film of the festival. (NYFF page on the film.)

Number two on the Cahiers list is Paul Thomas Anderson's ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, number three Nadiv Lapid's YES, number four Mendonça Filho's THE SECRET AGENT. It gets a bit weird after that. But Linklater's NOUVELLE VAGUE (from all I've heard) is an obvious choice, a real charmer and particularly something French cinephiles would love. I'm a fan of the German director Christian Petzold though his new film Miroir No. 3, Cahiers' number ten, has met with only mild enthusiasm. Among films that have received less attention in North American markets, Pedro Pinho’s I ONLY REST IN THE STORM and Sophie Letourneur’s L'AVVENTURA occupy middle spots; further down are Vincent Barré and Pierre Creton’s 7 WALKS WITH MARK BROWN and Matteo Eustachon, Léo Couture, and Anton Balekdjian’s LAURENT DANS LE VENT.

The point is these guys, partly a new crew after a shakeup, go their own way. And looking at AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE their way reframes contemporary cinema just a little bit. Time to rewatch Serra's films. This early ten best list gets things rolling in an interesting way from a classic source. Note, though, that the list is based on film releases in France this year, not the US.

See also THE FILM STAGE.


FEATURED MATADOR ANDRES ROCA REY (CENTER) IN TRAJE DE LUCES IN ALBERT SERRA'S AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE

[Chris Knipp]

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions


The NY Times film critics

So, Timothée Chalamet's ping pong flick MARTY SUPREME is up there and Panahi's Iranian Cannes Palme d'Or title makes it to both lists. In the Nov. 17 New Yorker their film critic Justin Chang pans Joachim Trier's SENTIMENTAL VALUE which has a Metascore of 86%. In the Nov. 24 issue, he gives Oliver Laxe's SIRAT a rave. Kahlil Joseph's critically acclaimed BLKNWS was released theatrically on Black Friday, qualifying it for awards season.

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Manohla Dargis

1. ‘Sinners’ (Ryan Coogler)
2. ‘One Battle After Another’ (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. ‘Marty Supreme’ (Josh Safdie)
4. ‘It Was Just an Accident’ (Jafar Panahi)
5. ‘BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions’ (Kahlil Joseph)
6. ‘My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow’ (Julia Loktev)
7. ‘Sorry, Baby’ (Eva Victor)
8. ‘The Secret Agent’ (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
9. ‘Caught by the Tides’ (Jia Zhangke)
10. ‘The Mastermind’ (Kelly Reichardt)

Here are some of the other movies that I liked and urge you to see: “Presence,” “No Other Land,” “The Annihilation of Fish,” “Mickey 17,” “Black Bag,” “Materialists,” “Souleymane’s Story,” “Highest 2 Lowest,” “Suspended Time,” “Megadoc,” “Blue Moon,” “Orwell: 2+2=5,” “The Alabama Solution,” “A House of Dynamite,” “The Perfect Neighbor,” “Sentimental Value,” “Nouvelle Vague,” “Resurrection,” “Cover-Up,” “The Testament of Ann Lee” and “No Other Choice.”

Alissa Wilkinson

1. ‘One Battle After Another’ (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. ‘It Was Just an Accident’ (Jafar Panahi)
3. ‘My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow’ (Julia Loktev)
4. ‘Marty Supreme’ (Josh Safdie)
5. ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ (Mona Fastvold)
6. ‘Predators’ (David Osit)
7. ‘Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk’ (Sepideh Farsi)
8. ‘Sinners’ (Ryan Coogler)
9. ‘Eephus’ (Carson Lund)
10. ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ (Kaouther Ben Hania)

Also recommended: “Blue Moon,” “Blue Sun Palace,” “Die My Love,” “Eddington,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” “I’m Still Here,” “Is This Thing On?”, “Life After,” “Lurker,” “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,” “The Mastermind,” “Peter Hujar’s Day,” “The Plague,” “Superman,” “Train Dreams.”

EEPHUS

[Chris Knipp]

The New Yorker film critics

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CLOUD

Justin Chang

1. Sirāt (Oliver Laxe)
2. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
3. Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke)
4. Resurrection (Bi Gan)
5. My Undesirable Friends: Part I—Last Air in Moscow (Julia Loktev)
6.The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
7. Sound of Falling (Mascha Schilinski)
8. April (Dea Kulumbegashvili)
9. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
10. It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)
11. Cloud (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

Richard Brody

1. Sinners (Ryan Coogler)
2. The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)
3. The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
4. The Phoenician Scheme (Wes Anderson)
5. Hedda (Everett Nia DaCosta)
6. Afternoons of Solitude (Albert Serra)
7. Highest 2 Lowest (Spike Lee)
7½. This Life of Mine (Sophie Fillières) - still unreleased in the U.S.
8. Misericordia (Alain Guiraudie)
9. One Battle After Another (PTA)
10. Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie)

Lists edited down to the titles and directors without comments or titles after #10.Justin Chang, the chief critic, likes to pair off his top ten so he pairs 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7, 8, and 9. and 10 and 11. Maybe it helps to know that.

MARTY SUPREME TRAILER

CHALAMET AS MARTY

[Chris Knipp]

Rolling Stone - David Fear


EVA VICTOR IN SORRY BABY

[As elsewhere on this thread this list has been pared down with comments omitted. See Rolling Stone for David Fear's complete article. Fear writs there "Timothée Chalamet inches that much closer to being one of the greats with his portrayal of Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis champion circa 1952. . ."

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1. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Hamnet (Chloé Zhao)
3. Black Bag (Steven Soderbergh)
4. Train Dreams (Clint Bentley)
5. Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
6.It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)
7. No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
8. Sorry, Baby (Eva Victor)
9. Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie)
10. Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)

Time Magazine - Stephanie Zacherack

Zacherack writes that Roman Polanski is "one of our most controversial, and reviled, living filmmakers" and also "one of our greatest", and that though released in 2019 AN OFFICER AND A SPY/J'ACCUSE was not granted US release till this year. KILL THE JOCKEY and ONE OF THEM DAYS are little-known films. KILL THE JOCKEY is an Argentine film. ONE OF THEM DAYS Ebert.com describes as "a Black women’s buddy comedy that makes you grateful for your worst day."

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1. Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
2. An Officer and a Spy (Roman Polanski)
3. Blue Moon (Richard Linklater)
4. Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
5. Peter Hujar's Day (Ira Sachs)
6. Roofman (Derek Cianfrance)
7. Sinners (Ryan Coogler)
8. The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)
9. Kill the Jockey (Luis Ortega)
10. One of Them Days (Lawrence Lamont)

CHANNING TATUM IN ROOFMAN

[Chris Knipp]

IndieWire - David Ehrlich


BI GAN RESURRECTION

Ehrlich actually lists 25, in reverse order, and he puts SINNERS and HAMNET in the below-top-ten space. He also includes Harris Dickinson's highly praised directorial debut URCHIN (which as a HD fan I was rooting for even having seen-I've seen ite now [Dec. 23]) as number 15. Nos. 3, 4, and 5 as well as No. 10 are foreign films, and he puts MARTY SUPREME very high, no. 2. EDDINGTON won't make many top ten lists, nor will the beautiful but abstruse Chinese film Bi Gan's RESURRECTION make it into many, I'm guessing. You will find Ehrlich's lengthy comments on each film if you go here:

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1. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie)
3. Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
4. Sirât (Oliver Laxe
5. It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)
6. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Mary Bronstein)
7. Resurrection (Bi Gan)
8. Eddington (Ari Aster)
9. The Testament of Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold)
10. The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho)

FRANK DILLANE IN HARRIS DICKINSON'S URCHIN

[Chris Knipp]

BAURYNA SALU

RogerEbert.com reviewers' top ten lists.

At least they're just ten, and simple, but there are too many. Just the best known writers are included below; you can find all of the close to fifty writers whose lists are listed HERE The directors' names are not given. BAURYNA SALU is a new one, a coming of age film from Kazakhstan.

BRIAN TALLERICO
1. One Battle After Another”
2. “Train Dreams”
3. “Sinners”
4. “It Was Just an Accident”
5. “Marty Supreme”
6. “My Undesirable Friends, Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow”
7. “My Father’s Shadow”
8. “Sentimental Value”
9. “Sorry, Baby”
10. “Sirat”
RUNNER-UPS: “Blue Moon,” “”Die My Love,” “Familiar Touch,” “Frankenstein,” “A Little Prayer,” “No Other Choice,” “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk,” “The Secret Agent,” “The Testament of Ann Lee,” and “Wake Up Dead Man”

MATT ZOLLER SEITZ
1. From Ground Zero: Stories From Gaza”
“2. The Secret Agent”
3. “The Shrouds”
4. “Without Arrows”
5 “Bauryna Salu”
6. “Fucktoys”
7. “Sinners”
8. “Merrily We Roll Along”
9. “Predator: Badlands”
10. “The Life of Chuck”

ROBERT DANIELS
1. “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions”
2. “It Was Just an Accident”
3. “Pavements”
4. “Cactus Pears”
5. “The Secret Agent”
6. “There Was, There Was Not”
7. “Tendaberry”
8. “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk”
9. “One Battle After Another”
10. “Eephus” / “Sorry, Baby”

CARLOS AGUILAR
1. “Frankenstein”
2. “It Was Just an Accident”
3. “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
4/ “Misericordia”
5. “Resurrection”
6. “The Secret Agent”
7. “Sirat”
8. “Sorry, Baby”
9. “Sound of Falling”
10. “Train Dreams”

GODFREY CHESHIRE
1. One Battle After Another”
2. “Nouvelle Vague”
3. “Eddington”
4. “A Little Prayer”
5. “The Age of Disclosure”
6. “It Was Just an Accident”
7. “Sinners”
8. “Blue Moon”
9. “Father Mother Sister Brother”
10. “The Secret Agent”

MARYA E. GATES
1. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk”
2. “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
3. “Blue Moon”
4. “April”
5. “All That’s Left of You”
6. “Sudan, Remember Us”
7. “Blue Sun Palace”
8. “The Voice of Hind Rajab”
9. “Endless Cookie”
10. “Highest 2 Lowest”

TIM GRIERSON
1. “My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow”
2. “Sound of Falling”
3. “The Mastermind”
4. “Grand Tour”
5. “Sorry, Baby”
6. “Sirat”
7. “Below the Clouds”
8. “Resurrection”
9. “One Battle After Another”
10. “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”

BEN KENIGSBERG
1. My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow”
2. “One Battle After Another”
3. “Sirāt”
4. “Marty Supreme”
5. “No Other Choice”
6. “The Mastermind”
7. “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
8. “Who by Fire”
9. “Nouvelle Vague”
10. “The Annihilation of Fish”

GLENN KENNY
q1. “The Shrouds”
2. “Henry Fonda for President”
3. “The Friend”
4. “One Battle After Another”
5. “Black Bag”
6. “My Undesirable Friends, Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow”
7. “Caught Stealing”
8. “Sentimental Value”
9. “An Officer and a Spy”
10. “Die, My Love”

RICHARD ROEPER
1. “Sinners”
2. “One Battle After Another”
3. “Rental Family”
4. “The Friend”
5. “Black Bag”
6. “Weapons”
7. “Is This Thing On?”
8. “Jay Kelly”
9.“Final Destination: Bloodlines”
10. “The Lost Bus”

[Chris Knipp]

Film Comment's 2025 ten best list

This list from the official journal of Film at Lincoln Center (edited by Clinton Krute & Devika Gerish) is based on a poll of their contributors. These were not specifically identified, but the list was burnished by a "countdown event at Lincoln Center" with critics Amy Taubin and Bilge Ebiri joining the editors "for a hearty discussion about the poll results" and with Paul Thomas Anderson, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Jia Zhangke providing reactions via video and Kelly Reichardt and Jafar Panahi sending written statements. This list relates to the NYFF and the jury that chooses it. Note the inclusion of AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE, Serra's matador documentary.

SOURCE

1. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)
3. The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
4. It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)
5. Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke, China)
6. Afternoons of Solitude (Albert Serra)
7. Misericordia (Alain Guiraudie)
8. Sirāt (Oliver Laxe)
9. The Shrouds (David Cronenberg)
10. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Mary Bronstein)

[Chris Knipp]

These are given over on the 2025 Awards thread.

[Chris Knipp]

Critics Choice nominations
Winners will be announced January 4th, 2026

Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another #2 - 13 votes
Sentimental Value
Sinners - # 1 17 votes
Train Dreams-
Wicked: For Good

[Chris Knipp]

DREAMS

Variety's 2 ten best lists

VARIETY’s two chief film critics, Peter Debruge and Owen Gleiberman, give two different lists. Viewers' comments protested omission of SINNERS. For the two writers' detailed individual comments on each film and details about unfamiliar choices, go to VARIETY for the article linked below. Titles new to me: DREAMS, LURKER.

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Peter Debruge’s Top 10

1. Dreams/Drømmer (Dag Johan Haugerud) (Norwegian)
2. Souleymane’s Story (Boris Lojkine) (French)
3. One Battle After Another
4. Sound of Falling (Mascha Schilinski) German
5. 28 Years Later UK
28 Years Later (Danny Boyle) UK
6. Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie) US
7. It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)
8. Train Dreams (Clint Bentley) US - Netflix
9. The President’s Cake (Hasan Hadi) Iraq
10. Steve (Tim Mielants) with Cillian Murphy - Netflix
Also likes: “Black Bag,” “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions,” “Bring Them Down,” “Bugonia,” “Hamnet,” “Jay Kelly,” “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” “Nouvelle Vague,” “Sorry, Baby,” “Twinless”

Owen Gleiberman’s Top 10

1. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie)
3. Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
4. Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)
5. Wild Diamond (Agathe Riedinger) France
6. Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (Christopher McQuarrie)
7. Lurker (Alex Russell)
8. Weapons (Zach Cregger)
9. Black Bag (Steven Soderbergh)
10. Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)

LURKER

[Chris Knipp]

AFI (American Film Institute) top ten for 2025

This is in alphabetical order. They also are honoring Panahi's IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT with a special award, so it's the foreign film included. For their full list: see source below. SENTIMENTAL VALUE isn't here, or THE SECRET AGENT.

SOURCE

AFI Motion Pictures of the Year
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
Wicked: For Good

[Chris Knipp]

EVA VICTOR IN SORRY BABY

BBC'S 2025 Best List

Dated Dec. 5 and attributed to Nicholas Barber and Caryn James, this list goes up to 25, and SINNERS is relegated to #20. SORRY, BABY, which is ROLLING STONE'S #8, raised to #2 here, is an indie film starring and directed by Eva Victor that is available on HBO now. All below #10 and the comments have been stripped for this list. For the rest go to the original web page linked below.

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1. Hamnet (Chloé Zhao)
2. Sorry, Baby (Eva Victor)
3. Is This Thing On? (Bradley Cooper) )
4. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
5. No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
6. The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho )
7. The Voice of Hind Rajab (Kaouther Ben Hania)
8. Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
9. It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)
10. Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie)

Monica Castillo on Ebert.com wrote: 'Eva Victor’s “Sorry, Baby” is not a lighthearted comedy nor a dour drama, but a somewhat irreverent tribute to everyday survival after a Bad Thing.' Bradley Cooper's IS THIS THING ON, about a man with marriage problems who finds himself through standup comedy, was in the NYFF.

[Chris Knipp]

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER COLLAGE

Hollywood Reporter's lists

By David Rooney, Jon Frosch, Sheri Linden December 11, 2025

SOURCE

David Rooney, the lead reviewer, apparently gets big photo illustrations and long paragraphs, while Sheri Lindern and Jon Frosch get shorter lists with one photo and no paragraphs. Here they are all three reduced to bare bones lists.

David Rooney
1. The Secret Agent
2. One Battle After Another
3. Sirat
4. Peter Hujar’s Day
5. Marty Supreme
6. Sentimental Value
7. Sinners
8. Train Dreams
9. The Mastermind
10. Frankenstein (del Toro)
Honorable mentions: Afternoons of Solitude; Father Mother Sister Brother; La Grazia; Highest 2 Lowest; It Was Just an Accident; One of Them Days; Pillion; Sorry, Baby; The Testament of Ann Lee; Twinless

Jon Frosch’s Top 10
1. The Secret Agent
2. One Battle After Another
3. Marty Supreme
4. Peter Hujar’s Day
5. Weapons
6. Sound of Falling
7. The Perfect Neighbor
8. It Was Just an Accident
9. Sinners
10. Twinless
Honorable mentions: Bugonia; Ghost Trail; Love (of Dag Johan Haugerud’s Sex, Dreams, Love trilogy); Materialists; No Other Choice; Pillion; Presence; Sirat; Sorry, Baby; Urchin

Sheri Linden’s Top 10
1. The Voice of Hind Rajab
2. The Secret Agent
3. Presence
4. One Battle After Another
5. The Testament of Ann Lee
6. Marty Supreme
7. Sentimental Value
8. Souleymane’s Story
9. The President’s Cake
10. Blue Moon
Honorable mentions: Blue Sun Palace; Eephus; Frankenstein; Good Boy (directed by Ben Leonberg); Holy Cow; The History of Sound; If I Had Legs I’d Kick You; Nouvelle Vague; Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk; Superman

[Chris Knipp]

LEONARDO DICAPRIO IN ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

C H R I S__K N I P P'S__2 0 2 5__M O V I E__B E S T__L I S T S

FEATURES
One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)
Sinners (Ryan Coogler)
Sirat (Oliver Laxe)
Afternoons of Solitude (Albert Serra)
It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi)
Blue Moon (Richard Linklater)
Urchin (Harris Dickinson)
Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)
Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)

RUNNERS UP
The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky)
Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
The New Boy (Warwick Thornton)
Also mention: An Officer and a Spy (Roman Polanski), although of 2019, now US-released; Frankenstein (Guillermo Del Toro), with its handsome Creature and exquisite production values; perhaps I'll add, though overrated due to its significant theme, Eva Victor's Sorry Baby.

That list looks solid now (Urchin and The Mastermind are recent additions), But I still haven't seen Peter Hujar's Day, M̶a̶r̶t̶y̶ S̶u̶p̶r̶e̶m̶e̶, The Voice of Hind Rajab, The President's Cake, Sound of Falling, and others that may rearrange the list.

LESS ENTHUSIASTIC THAN SOME ABOUT:
Train Dreams (Clint Bentley)
Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie)
Hamnet (Chloé Zhao)

DOCUMENTARIES
Among Neighbors (Yoav Potash)
Democracy Noir (Connie Field)
Cover-Up (Mark Oberhaus, Laura Poitras)
River of Grass (Sasha Wortzel)
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Raoul Peck)
Predators (David Osit)
Flophouse America (Monica Strømdahl)
Reifenstahl (Andres Veiel)
Coexistence, My Ass! (Amber Fares)
Between the Sun and the Sidewalk (Helen de Michiel)
Mistress Dispeller (Elizabeth Lo
Videoheaven (Alex Ross Perry)
Helen and the Bear (Alix Blair)
Honorable mention: Koln 75 (Ido Fluk), partly a documentary

DOCUMENTARIES OSCAR SHORTLIST:
The Alabama Solution
Apocalypse in the Tropics
Coexistence, My Ass!
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cover-Up
Cutting Through Rocks
Folktales
Holding Liat
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Mistress Dispeller
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1: Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Seeds
2000 Meters to Andrivka

[Chris Knipp]

Mike D'Angelo's 2025 Best List

He isn't affiliated with anything now; this came in a Patreon-listers' email sent today (Jan, 2, 2026). Again the order is reversed from his and all his comments and explanations cut, though interesting, as too long to include. He emphasizes that his enthusiasm is markedly less this year for all of them. He ranks ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER so low because he considers the opening section irrelevant, as others also have done. He notes few have seen STRANGER EYES (I have also missed EEPHUS, by choice, due to a dislike of baseball).

1. Marty Supreme (Josh Safdie, USA)
2. Sinners (Ryan Coogler, USA)
3. The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt, USA)
4. Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos, UK)
5. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (Mary Bronstein, USA)
6. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA)
7. Stranger Eyes (Yeo Siew Hua, Singapore)
8. Highest 2 Lowest (Spike Lee, USA)
9. Eephus (Carson Lund, USA)
10. Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater, France)