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.

Some 18 years after Cold Water, Olivier Assayas revisits his own autobiography for this deeply-felt yet unsentimental drama: a rear-view look at his adolescence in the aftermath of May 1968. A poignant portrait of a generation in mourning, coming-of-age in the face of failed revolution.

A stunning directorial comeback, Marco Bellocchio’s darkly comic marvel won Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée top acting prizes at Cannes. Paralleling familial dysfunction with societal ills, this acerbic exploration of monstrous masculinity dares to expose the moral rot of Italy’s legislative system.