Abbas Kiarostami’s first feature made outside his native Iran is this sumptuous, brain-teasing romance, in which a deceptively simple relationship morphs into something more complex—and keeps the audience guessing. Cannes winner Juliette Binoche is enigmatic, vulnerable and perfect in the lead role.

The collaboration between Isabelle Huppert and Claire Denis the world had been dreaming of, arrived with this powerful story about the death throes of white colonialism. Denis—who grew up in French Africa—returns to her roots with this sublime, poetic yet nightmarish exploration of racial conflict.