Kelly Reichardt’s Montana anthology was a breakout moment for rising star Lily Gladstone. Shining next to a trifecta of illustrious talent—Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams—the quietly assured actor stole our hearts as a lovelorn rancher at the tailend of this profoundly moving film.

Mathieu Amalric and Benicio del Toro are brilliant in Arnaud Desplechin’s period piece about the serendipitous pleasures of cross-cultural friendship and the talking cure. Co-written by veteran critic Kent Jones, the chatty characters of this offbeat film tickle both the funny bone and the heart.

Lily Gladstone won a Gotham Award for her luminous performance in Morrisa Maltz’s debut feature, which follows the actor from motels and diners to the heart of American life. Creating an authentic, but dreamlike picture of the Midwest, poetry and documentary blur beautifully in this hybrid film.

Acclaimed for her formidable presence in Krisha, breakout star Krisha Fairchild is sensational in this tale of pot farming and lost idealism. Imbuing their narrative debut with a documentary feel, Kate McLean and Mario Furloni shot the lush forests of North California with tenderness and melancholy.