Every year, newest first

1. 2026
   Woman UnknownWinnerNot reviewed yet
2. 2025
   Father Mother Sister BrotherWinnerNot reviewed yet
3. 2024
   The Room Next Door 2024WinnerAlmodóvar’s first film in English puts Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore in a mid-century house in upstate New York to talk about dying, and the house is the best thing in it. Swinton is plain and level and gets to us; the dialogue never stops sounding written.Fi1m 68

   • Maria 2024Fi1m 57
4. 2023
   Poor Things 2023WinnerLanthimos’s Frankenstein comedy is the best-looking film he has made and the one most anxious to please. Emma Stone is remarkable in it, and the film runs out of new things to say about her a good half hour before it stops.Fi1m 76
5. 2022
   All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 2022WinnerLaura Poitras makes Nan Goldin’s photographs and campaigning equally gripping, with the artist’s own voice doing the hardest work. The crowded structure occasionally makes us wish she would stay put, but this is an angry, moving film worth the attention.Fi1m 86
6. 2021
   Happening 2021WinnerAudrey Diwan’s abortion drama is frightening, compassionate and worth the difficult watch, led by Anamaria Vartolomei’s controlled performance. Its narrow focus occasionally leaves too little room for Anne beyond her ordeal.Fi1m 86
7. 2020
   Nomadland 2021WinnerChloé Zhao puts Frances McDormand among real van-dwellers in the American West and mostly lets them talk, and the result is patient, plain and often moving. It is gentler on the warehouse than the people in it deserve.Fi1m 83

   • Quo Vadis, Aida? 2021Fi1m 92
8. 2019
   Joker 2019WinnerJoaquin Phoenix makes Arthur Fleck’s distress difficult to dismiss, and Todd Phillips builds an oppressive setting around him. But *Joker* keeps repeating its grievances when it needs to examine them: a gripping performance in a limited drama.Fi1m 63
9. 2018
   Roma 2018WinnerAlfonso Cuarón’s patient domestic drama is worth the time it asks for, chiefly for Yalitza Aparicio. Its careful compositions sometimes keep us at a distance, but the housekeeper at its centre never disappears into the scenery.Fi1m 86

   • The Favourite 2018Fi1m 87
10. 2017
    The Shape of Water 2017WinnerGuillermo del Toro’s creature romance is tender, persuasive and sometimes too eager to tell us how to feel. Sally Hawkins and Doug Jones make the attraction convincing, even when the fairy tale becomes a little too tidy.Fi1m 83
11. 2016
    The Woman Who LeftWinnerNot reviewed yet
12. 2015
    From AfarWinnerNot reviewed yet
13. 2014
    A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on ExistenceWinnerNot reviewed yet
14. 2013
    Sacro GRAWinnerNot reviewed yet
15. 2012
    PietàWinnerNot reviewed yet
16. 2011
    FaustWinnerNot reviewed yet
17. 2010
    SomewhereWinnerNot reviewed yet
18. 2009
    LebanonWinnerNot reviewed yet
19. 2008
    The Wrestler 2008WinnerMickey Rourke gives *The Wrestler* its tenderness, humour and reason to endure the punishment. Darren Aronofsky’s drama is worth the discomfort, though Robert D. Siegel’s familiar second-chance story sometimes presses too hard.Fi1m 85
20. 2007
    Lust, Caution 2007WinnerAng Lee’s spy film is slow by design and better for it: 158 minutes of mahjong, cigarettes and watching, built around a remarkable Tang Wei. Most critics found it cold; we found it frightening, and we think they missed what the silences are doing.Fi1m 76
21. 2006
    Still LifeWinnerNot reviewed yet

    • The Queen 2006Fi1m 84
22. 2005
    Brokeback Mountain 2005WinnerWe would recommend Ang Lee’s love story to almost anyone. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal make hidden desire painfully convincing, though a few passages outstay their welcome.Fi1m 92
23. 2004
    Vera Drake 2004WinnerImelda Staunton gives Mike Leigh’s abortion drama its force, making a cleaner’s constant care for others deeply affecting. Leigh is too protective of Vera’s goodness, but the patient family scenes earn our recommendation.Fi1m 84
24. 2003
    The ReturnWinnerNot reviewed yet
25. 2002
    The Magdalene SistersWinnerNot reviewed yet
26. 2001
    Monsoon Wedding 2001WinnerMira Nair’s *Monsoon Wedding* is funny, warm and alert to the pressures beneath a family celebration. The crowded script occasionally pushes people into convenient positions, but the performances make its generosity feel earned.Fi1m 80
27. 2000
    The CircleWinnerNot reviewed yet
28. 1999
    Not One LessWinnerNot reviewed yet
29. 1998
    The Way We LaughedWinnerNot reviewed yet

    • Run Lola Run 1998Fi1m 82
30. 1997
    Hana-biWinnerNot reviewed yet

    Fireworks 1997WinnerTakeshi Kitano’s crime drama is moving, funny and frightening, with abrupt violence that keeps its tenderness from becoming cosy. Its treatment of the wife is thinner than it should be, but the performances and patient visual storytelling make this an easy recommendation.Fi1m 88
31. 1996
    Michael Collins 1996WinnerNeil Jordan’s *Michael Collins* is a forceful historical thriller with a troublesome fondness for its subject. Liam Neeson supplies the conviction, though Jordan leaves too little room for us to question the man he admires.Fi1m 75
32. 1995
    Cyclo 1995WinnerTrần Anh Hùng’s *Cyclo* is forcefully acted and often disturbing, but its tangled story weakens the characters. It rewards an interest in adventurous crime cinema, provided the graphic cruelty does not put you off.Fi1m 66
33. 1994
    Before the RainWinnerNot reviewed yet

    Vive L'AmourWinnerNot reviewed yet
34. 1993
    Short Cuts 1993WinnerRobert Altman’s ensemble drama is funny, absorbing and occasionally too harsh on its characters. Its actors make the long running time worthwhile, even when the writing becomes too quick to judge them.Fi1m 84

    Three Colours: BlueWinnerNot reviewed yet

    Three Colors: Blue 1993WinnerJuliette Binoche makes Julie’s grief painfully credible in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s tightly controlled drama. The music and images sometimes press too hard, but we recommend it for the way a guarded face can hold our attention without explaining itself.Fi1m 88
35. 1992
    The Story of Qiu JuWinnerNot reviewed yet
36. 1991
    Close to EdenWinnerNot reviewed yet

    • My Own Private Idaho 1991Fi1m 82
37. 1990
    Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are DeadWinnerNot reviewed yet
38. 1989
    A City of SadnessWinnerNot reviewed yet
39. 1988
    The Legend of the Holy DrinkerWinnerNot reviewed yet
40. 1987
    Au Revoir les Enfants 1987WinnerLouis Malle’s wartime school drama earns its force through two boys learning how to be friends. We recommend it without hesitation, though the school sometimes feels a little too carefully arranged in memory.Fi1m 90
41. 1986
    The Green RayWinnerNot reviewed yet
42. 1985
    Vagabond 1985WinnerAgnès Varda makes a deeply moving film about a woman she refuses to explain. Sandrine Bonnaire’s difficult, unyielding Mona earns our attention without courting our affection, though the succession of witnesses sometimes feels too neatly arranged.Fi1m 90
43. 1984
    A Year of the Quiet SunWinnerNot reviewed yet
44. 1983
    First Name: CarmenWinnerNot reviewed yet
45. 1982
    The State of ThingsWinnerNot reviewed yet
46. 1981
    Marianne and JulianeWinnerNot reviewed yet
47. 1980
    Atlantic City 1980WinnerLouis Malle’s crime romance is warm, funny and worth lingering over, with Burt Lancaster making an ageing petty crook’s need for affection painfully clear. The fondness sometimes softens the danger, but Lancaster and Susan Sarandon make the romance count.Fi1m 86

    Gloria 1980WinnerGena Rowlands gives *Gloria* enough nerve and bad temper to make its uneven Mafia chase worth following. The gangsters are thinly drawn, but John Cassavetes makes her difficult partnership with a boy persuasive.Fi1m 78
48. 1968
    Artists Under the Big Top: PerplexedWinnerNot reviewed yet

    1969WinnerNot reviewed yet
49. 1967
    Belle de Jour 1967WinnerLuis Buñuel’s *Belle de Jour* is funny, unsettling and worth the discomfort, with Catherine Deneuve giving its sexual fantasies a troubling calm. The coolness can keep us at a distance, but the film’s suspicion of respectable behaviour remains persuasive.Fi1m 86
50. 1966
    The Battle of Algiers 1966WinnerGillo Pontecorvo’s reconstruction of the Algerian revolt is gripping, lucid and hard to bear. Its documentary style makes the violence feel close, though the concentration on the campaign sometimes leaves too little time with the people caught in it.Fi1m 93
51. 1965
    SandraWinnerNot reviewed yet
52. 1964
    Red DesertWinnerNot reviewed yet
53. 1963
    Hands over the CityWinnerNot reviewed yet
54. 1962
    Family DiaryWinnerNot reviewed yet

    Ivan's ChildhoodWinnerNot reviewed yet
55. 1961
    Last Year at Marienbad 1961WinnerAlain Resnais’s puzzle about a man who insists a woman remembers him is exactly made, hard to shake and colder than it needs to be. It held us for an hour and wore on us after, and we still recommend it, with a caveat.Fi1m 82
56. 1960
    Tomorrow Is My TurnWinnerNot reviewed yet
57. 1959
    General Della RovereWinnerNot reviewed yet

    The Great WarWinnerNot reviewed yet
58. 1958
    Rickshaw ManWinnerNot reviewed yet
59. 1957
    Aparajito 1956WinnerSatyajit Ray’s patient drama makes growing up feel complicated without making it mysterious. The brooding pace occasionally becomes restrictive, but the performances give us ample reason to stay, particularly Karuna Banerjee’s.Fi1m 84
60. 1955
    Ordet 1955Winner*Ordet* is a deeply moving religious drama, provided we can settle into its slow, formal conversations. Carl Theodor Dreyer makes faces and rooms worth sustained attention, though the speeches sometimes test that patience.Fi1m 86

    1956WinnerNot reviewed yet
61. 1954
    Romeo and JulietWinnerNot reviewed yet
62. 1952
    Forbidden Games 1952WinnerRené Clément’s war drama is deeply moving when it stays with its children and their animal burials. The adult feuding is drawn more crudely, but Brigitte Fossey and Georges Poujouly give the film a tenderness that survives the rough edges.Fi1m 86

    1953WinnerNot reviewed yet
63. 1951
    Rashomon 1950WinnerAkira Kurosawa’s crime drama is gripping, disturbing and worth the close attention it demands. The conflicting accounts of a killing are made fiercely convincing, though the dialogue sometimes explains what the images have already told us.Fi1m 92

    • Ace in the Hole 1951Fi1m 87
64. 1950
    Justice Is DoneWinnerNot reviewed yet
65. 1949
    ManonWinnerNot reviewed yet