Even though 2025 was an above average movie year by recent standards, I’m still not ready to anoint any all-time greats. That’s not to say it won’t happen; I’d written off Parasite at the margin of very good and great before I stumbled on a second viewing thanks to motel HBO a few years back. It’s now my top fictional pick of the past 10 years and a clear historic masterpiece.
So, instead of a top ten per se at this point, I’ve got some tiers. The top level features three films that are already at that aforementioned margin and could elevate. All three are pictures I saw first at the theater; two I’ve recently revisited on streaming, and they held up terrifically despite being dialogue-heavy and subtitled. For the time being, I’ll list these contenders alphabetically.
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Nouvelle Vague (directed by Richard Linklater)
Eternally gimmicky, Linklater is best when he lets things flow. The middle installment in the Before series is an eternal classic despite having less infrastructure than its predecessor or successor. Despite its time constraints, Dazed and Confused moves more freely than the elastic experiment Slacker or the elongated Boyhood. In 2025, he released two terrific movies around the same time: Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon, the former of a fledgling artist developing a legendary movement and the latter featuring a legend seeing his demise unfold in an opening night.
But as great as Ethan Hawke and– don’t forget– Bobby Cannavale are in Blue Moon, the structure of the movie seems limiting. Nouvelle Vague, conversely, is not excellent exclusively because of its subject; it soars because of its approach. It pauses to introduce French film figures famous and obscure the way The Irishman stops for cause of death information, but strangely that just adds to the charm.
I absolutely love the French New Wave, but my allegiance is not tied to Breathless; it might crack my top five Godard films, perhaps the top 20 or 25 of the movement overall. I understand why it was the flashpoint, even if for me that would have been Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player or Varda’s Cleo from 5 to 7 or even Chabrol’s Les Bonnes Femmes. As for Godard, I enjoy the subsequent pieces that were more cinematically academic—Masculin Feminin, Bande a Part, Le Mepris, Une Femme Mariee, and Pierrot le Fou (thanks largely to Sam Fuller’s cameo)– but still plot-driven enough to sustain matters before he went off the deep end by the end of his historically extraordinary sixties.
Yet as a general Breathless fan, I’m stunned that I actually prefer a fictional piece about the making of the film—even one by a high-level director like Linklater—to the legendary Godard debut itself. It recalls many of the picture’s best moments while adding historical background that provides depth though not excess baggage. Like A Bout de Souffle itself, Nouvelle Vague is not at the level of my top 10 or so Nouvelle Vague films. But with Varda, Chabrol, Demy, Rohmer, Malle, and many others who didn’t garner the attention of Godard (or Truffaut) contributing extraordinary pieces which play as brilliantly now as they did in the sixties, that’s an extremely high bar. For what so far is a lower one, Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague stands tall in our twenties.
Sentimental Value (directed by Joaquin Trier)
I’d heard of Trier after the fanfare of The Worst Person in the World a few years back, but I hadn’t seen any of his movies. After Sentimental Value, I checked out Worst Person: it’s definitely more lively and probably more original. But it’s not as great.
Sentimental plays like a modernized Bergman, but with important differences. I can’t speak to the cultural distinctions between Bergman’s long-ago Sweden and Trier’s present-day Norway, but Trier treats familial strife with a much lighter touch (to be fair to the master, also with less visual panache). The newcomer will never likely reach Wild Strawberries, though I wouldn’t put Summer with Monika (my second favorite Bergman) quality past him. But Trier’s also not likely to bog us down with middle/late period Bergman; he’ll illustrate the trauma without wallowing in it, and he’s definitely more optimistic in terms of redemption.
Both filmmakers excel in their collaborations with actors. Trier generates four extraordinary performances (all Oscar-nominated, rare for a foreign film) and that’s not counting his longtime star Anders Danielsen Lie. In this picture, Danielsen Lie adds greatly in a tangential role, just as he did in two roles in Mia Hansen-Love’s outstanding Bergman Island. He’s more crucial to Bergman Island, however, as here (along with Elle Fanning) he’s a bonus to the outstanding performances of Stellan Skarsgard, Renate Reinsve, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as the dysfunctional father/daughters.
I’d heard several people who tried Sentimental Value first on streaming say they couldn’t get through it. In the theater, I was riveted, but I enjoyed it just as much on TV, even with my discounted program’s commercial interruptions. Yes, it’s talky (and, for most of us, foreign), but it’s got some nice, subtle touches that augment its superb acting and well-crafted script. It’s the most perfect 2025 film I’ve seen, though without the degree of difficulty of my other top contenders.
Sinners (directed by Ryan Coogler)
I’ve always liked the Ryan Coogler/Michael B. Jordan films; if the well-done Creed couldn’t quite get me re-engrossed in the Rocky series I’d enjoyed as a teen and abandoned thereafter, the outstanding Black Panther for the first time made me glad the Marvel cinematic universe exists.
But Sinners takes their artistry to another level. I’m no fan of vampire movies (a Near Dark here or there aside), and I’m only slightly more amenable to Southern gothic. But center that subplot and tone around Delta blues, and I’m all in. With cultural appropriation, I’m generally in favor of artists putting their own stamp on things; artists and audiences of all types benefit from seeing and understanding a world of perspectives and approaches. Cultural exploitation is another matter, however, and Sinners illustrates that as clearly as anything I’ve encountered. Vampires, as at their best, are the metaphor, out to seize the essence of American music while dominating the people responsible for creating it.
Unlike the two foreign films, I haven’t yet revisited Sinners. Of my top three, it’s the most ambitious. It’s also the most promising. Linklater’s probably already reached his peak (if not, that will truly be historic); Trier could improve on Value, but it won’t be easy. But with Coogler, the sky’s the limit. I hope he continues to develop original stories like Sinners as opposed to the inspired superhero treatments and decent boxing movie takes. Even though I haven’t made up my mind yet between it and Value, I was rooting for Sinners on Oscar night. The main reason is because it’s rare–especially these days–to find a movie with this combination of popular appeal, social/historical relevance, and expert delivery in all phases.
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Highest 2 Lowest (directed by Spike Lee)
Hopefully the popular and critical success of BlackkKlansman a few years back reminded everyone what an amazing director Spike Lee is. And a lot of his top films star Denzel Washington, who’s even more of an all-time great.
That’s one reason to be excited about Highest 2 Lowest, their first collaboration since the absolutely awesome Inside Man almost 20 years ago. The other is that it’s a remake of the Akira Kurosawa masterpiece High and Low from the early sixties. I know, people have been remaking Kurosawa films at least since Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns often just a few years behind the original. But those translated the Samurai pictures, across the globe in the case of the Leones or into space like Star Wars.
I love The Seven Samurai and especially Yojimbo, but I’m partial to Kurosawa’s contemporary-set works, particularly the noirish ones. I was resistant to a recent remake of the non-noir Ikiru, updated as the translated Living, but thanks to the skill of actor Bill Nighy in the Takashi Shimura role, I enjoyed it even though (because?) it’s a scene-by-scene redo.
With Highest 2 Lowest, I was open to the idea only because it’s a Spike Lee Joint, with a big plus for Denzel in the Toshiro Mifune part (one of Mifune’s absolute best performances). The first half is very good but understandably can’t match the intensity of the Kurosawa; it’s rarely been equaled by anything since. But the police procedural in the second part of the Kurosawa loses some steam until the chase picks up toward the end. Lee smartly streamlines that section to keep things moving. Also, the Mifune character is an executive for a women’s shoe company; Kurosawa clearly wanted to illustrate that cutthroat politics and machinations were inherent to any business. Lee changes the paradigm to the music industry, giving the Washington character fame as well as wealth. This adds a dimension which augments the original. As expected, Highest 2 Lowest isn’t as perfect as High and Low. But it’s a compelling update on the material, respectful to its source while carving some new ground.
One Battle After Another (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson)
Just after the Oscars, I noticed a social media post that ranked the Best Picture choices. One Battle was fourth, one lower than my ranking among nominees (Nouvelle Vague and Highest 2 Lowest didn’t make the Oscar cut). More important to me was the summary, something to the effect of: contains sufficient artistry and energy to overcome its contrivances.
To me, that sums up the day. The only thing I would add is that it’s a bit messy. That’s a nod to Thomas Pynchon; the Vineland book which One Battle is very loosely adapted from is a hundred times messier. In fact, I even wonder if it’s PTA’s best Thomas Pynchon take: I thoroughly enjoyed his much more faithful Inherent Vice from about a decade ago.
I’m not criticizing his approach. Inherent Vice is a much more cinematically appropriate book, while Vineland is even more difficult to transfer than Faulkner or Vonnegut. And I think One Battle may be his most watchable picture since early breakthrough Boogie Nights. DiCaprio, who I always appreciate, is in midseason form; Sean Penn, who to me in most films seems to be overdoing it, takes a caricature and transforms it into his most fun performance since Fast Times. And of these and other established stars (Regina Hall, Benecio del Toro), the actor who best brings everything together is newcomer Chase Infiniti.
I’ve liked Anderson since his underappreciated debut Hard Eight. For me, though, he’s best when he’s both quirky and kinetic (in other words, I’m not a big fan of Phantom Thread or even There Will Be Blood). One Battle certainly is entertaining, and it’s also sharp. It’s accomplished enough that the multiple Oscars shouldn’t be seen as career achievement. Given the more tightly focused magnitude of Sinners, the choice could be regretted as a How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane type (though nowhere near, say, Dances with Wolves over Goodfellas). But One Battle could also age well enough to minimize that; after all, no one but me seems to still be upset that the competent but by the numbers Million Dollar Baby beat the more unique Sideways and the superb epic The Aviator.
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Through the first hour or so of The Secret Agent, I thought I was watching the undisputed picture of the year. Before the flash-forwarding conclusion, I was reminded of Robert Mitchum’s criticism of Out of the Past (one I absolutely do not share) that it seemed like somebody dropped some of the pages. I’m no stickler for everything being spelled out, but I had to go back to make sure I hadn’t missed 10-15 minutes of climax. That said, it’s still quite worthwhile.
The ambience of Train Dreams is exceptional, kind of an artier and more depressing River Runs Through It. And the first half doesn’t miss a beat. Unfortunately, I didn’t recover from the tragedy midway through any more than the main character did.
The Mastermind is a nice departure for Kelly Reichardt, as she abandons her usual Pacific Northwest environs for a New England time period and context right out of John Cheever. And she naturally minimizes the self-pitying qualities of her Cheeveresque semi-protagonist while maintaining her minimalistic realism. It’s impressive filmmaking, as always. But there’s no one like Lily Gladstone in Certain Women or nothing like the climactic separation of Wendy and Lucy to coalesce everything.
It’s no shame to say Blue Moon is Richard Linklater’s second-best picture of the year, and it’s another highlight in his historically masterful series with Ethan Hawke. The two main plot devices (Oklahoma–as in OK, just okay–and the ingenue that personalizes Hawke’s professional/societal abandonment) drag on too long. The E.B. White sidebar is a really nice touch, though.
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There’s no dominantly overwhelming performance from 2025 like Vicky Krieps in Bergman Island or Koji Yakusho in Perfect Days or Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon. So on Oscar night, I was rooting for the field over certain candidates. Anyone but Chalamet was my primary hope (thanks, Michael B. voters!), but I was also against Emma Stone just because she’s already won two questionable ones: an okay performance in the terrible La La Land, and a better one in Poor Things that no one should have thought outdid Gladstone in Flower Moon.
If I had a ballot, I would have voted for The Secret Agent’s Wagner Moura, a revelation who I didn’t think I’d ever seen before (turns out I had, in Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network). Moura’s a close call over Jordan, but Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value is a clearer pick in the other lead category (although I haven’t seen the Rose Byrne picture, and I’m a big fan). For supporting, a no-brainer for Stellan Skarsgard for Sentimental Value and a difficult one for Teyana Taylor for One Battle over Value’s Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (haven’t seen the Amy Madigan movie either, and I’m a fan of hers as well).
As for the non-nominated I would have liked to see honored, we’ll start with Denzel for Highest 2 Lowest. Equally impressive are Bobby Cannavale for Blue Moon, Josh O’Connor in The Mastermind, and Felicity Jones and Nathaniel Arcand for Train Dreams. But the one I would be most tempted to write-in is Zoey Deutch, excellent as Jean Seberg in Nouvelle Vague. I actually interviewed her parents—director Howard Deutch and actress Lea Thompson—during a college press junket to cover their then-new movie Some Kind of Wonderful. Deutch is a capable director (I actually prefer the Grumpier Old Men sequel to the perfectly good original; even though Sophia Loren is the main reason, Deutch keeps things popping nicely) and Thompson an engaging actress (Back to the Future is not her only highlight by a long shot). But they can be proud not only that their daughter earned the key role in what at this early date looks like a classic, but that she knocked it out of the park.