Collaborating once more with Harun Farocki and lead actor Nina Hoss, Christian Petzold carefully crafts this cleverly plotted, smotheringly suspenseful postwar drama. An especially impressive combination of throwback thriller and genre elements with substantial thematic weight.

Christian Petzold puts a unique spin on an ancient myth in this urban fairytale, combining legend, romance and architecture to magnetic effect. We dare you not to swoon at the chemistry between Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, who prove themselves to be one of the greatest contemporary cinematic duos.

Brimming with humor, dreams, and tenderness, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s ravishing film unfurls as if in a trance. With his signature slow-cinema style, the celebrated filmmaker infuses Thai spiritualism into the quotidian, rendering visits to a small-town hospital a magnificent, eerie experience.

Textured with russet reds and pollinic yellows, Athina Rachel Tsangari’s spellbinding allegory gleans an atmospheric folk tale from a rural idyll. As landowners sow the seeds of modern capital, Sean Price Williams reaps horror and beauty from the earth with swirling, immersive cinematography.

Carlos Reygadas’s cinema is one of meticulous observation and grandiose revelations. Casting himself and his real-life wife, the Mexican auteur boldly explores—with spellbinding visuals—the dark corners of relationships, dissecting patriarchy along the way. A domestic drama of majestic proportions.