The 20 best films of 2015

The top movies of the year, as chosen by 168 critics from around the world.

See also:

☞ all the votes and comments in browsable form

☞ our January 2016 issue with reflections on the past year in action, horror, mainstream adult drama and silent cinema

Sight & Sound contributors

The Assassin (Nie Yinniang, 2015)

The Assassin (Nie Yinniang, 2015)

1. The Assassin

(Nie Yinniang) Hou Hsiao-Hsien, France/Hong Kong/Taiwan

Read Geoff Andrew’s first-look Cannes review

 

 

Carol (2015)

2. Carol

Todd Haynes, United Kingdom/USA

☞ Read Kate Stables’s review

☞ Read Isabel Stevens’s first-look Cannes review

 

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

3. Mad Max Fury Road

George Miller, Australia/USA

☞ Read Nick Pinkerton’s review

 

 

Arabian Nights (As Mil e Uma Noites, 2015)

Arabian Nights (As Mil e Uma Noites, 2015)

4. Arabian Nights

(As mil e uma noites) Miguel Gomes, Switzerland/France/Germany/Portugal

 

 

Cemetery of Splendour (Rak Ti Khon Kaen, 2015)

Cemetery of Splendour (Rak Ti Khon Kaen, 2015)

5. Cemetery of Splendour

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, France/United Kingdom / Germany/Malaysia/Thailand

☞ See our Cannes blog post: the Posters d’Or

 

 

No Home Movie (2015)

No Home Movie (2015)

6. No Home Movie

Chantal Akerman, Belgium/France

 

 

45 Years (2015)

45 Years (2015)

7. 45 Years

Andrew Haigh, UK

☞ Read Roger Clarke’s review

 

 

Son of Saul (Saul Fia, 2015)

Son of Saul (Saul Fia, 2015)

8. Son of Saul

Laszlo Nemes, Hungary

☞ Read Nick James’s Cannes first-look review

 

 

Amy (2015)

Amy (2015)

=9. Amy

Asif Kapadia, UK

☞ Read Jane Giles’s review

 

 

Inherent Vice (2014)

Inherent Vice (2014)

=9. Inherent Vice

Paul Thomas Anderson, USA

☞ Read Nick Pinkerton’s review

 

Anomalisa (2015)

Anomalisa (2015)

=11. Anomalisa

Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, USA

 

 

It Follows (2014)

It Follows (2014)

=11. It Follows

David Robert Mitchell, USA

☞ Read Kim Newman’s review

☞ Read Catherine Bray’s Cannes first-look review

 

Phoenix (2014)

Phoenix (2014)

13. Phoenix

Christian Petzold, Germany/Poland

Watch it on BFI Player

 

 

Girlhood (Bandes de filles, 2014)

Girlhood (Bandes de filles, 2014)

=14. Girlhood

Céline Sciamma, France

☞ Read Sue Harris’s review

☞ Read Nick James’s Cannes first-look review

Watch it on BFI Player

 

Hard to Be a God (Trudno byt bogom, 2013)

Hard to Be a God (Trudno byt bogom, 2013)

=14. Hard to Be a God

Aleksei German, Russia

 

 

 

Inside Out (2015)

Inside Out (2015)

=14. Inside Out

Pete Docter, USA

☞ Read Nick Pinkerton’s review

☞ Read Jonathan Romney’s Cannes first-look review

 

Tangerine (2015)

Tangerine (2015)

=14. Tangerine

Sean Baker, USA

☞ Read Lisa Mullen’s review

 

 

Taxi Tehran (2015)

Taxi Tehran (2015)

=14. Taxi Tehran

Jafar Panahi, Iran

☞ Read Trevor Johnston’s review

 

 

Horse Money (Cavalo Dinheiro, 2014)

Horse Money (Cavalo Dinheiro, 2014)

=19. Horse Money

Pedro Costa, Portugal

☞ Read Nick Pinkerton’s review

☞ See The 20 Best Films of 2014

 

The Look of Silence (2014)

The Look of Silence (2014)

=19. The Look of Silence

Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark / Finland / UK / Indonesia / Norway

☞ Read Nick Pinkerton’s review

☞ Read Robert Greene’s interview Unacknowledged scripts: Joshua Oppenheimer on The Look of Silence

☞ Read Robert Greene’s Unfiction feature Adam Curtis versus Joshua Oppenheimer, or art times journalism

☞ See the 20 best films of 2014

☞ See The best of 2014 in cinematic nonfiction

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