Cahiers du Cinéma never cared about hive-mind or “groupthink”; they live in their own passionate world of auteur-driven moviegoing, and we should all be grateful for that.
These past few years have been tumultuous for the most prestigious film magazine in the world. Right as the pandemic was starting, in March 2020, their editorial staff quit due to new ownership. A new team of writers was hired, and they have handled the changes admirably well.
After six months of absence, Cahiers reformed. Some of the original writers returned, while others left permanently, and the magazine has continued to publish insightfully provocative reviews since then.
All of this is to say that Cahiers has released its annual best-of-the-year list. This year’s 10 best films of 2025, compiled by the magazine’s 30+ staffers, is topped by Albert Serra’s “Afternoons of Solitude.” This is the second time Serra has topped their list, after 2022’s “Pacifiction.” You can certainly bet “Afternoons of Solitude” will make my own list — hopefully published next week.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is #2, and this will be the first of many lists it appears on — it’s a cinch to be the most frequently listed film of 2025.
There is just one film in the top 10 that I still haven’t seen: “Sept Promenade Avec Marc Brown” (#7). Don’t be shocked by the inclusion of Richard Linklater’s “Nouvella Vague” at #8. The publication is name-checked numerous times in Linklater’s ode to the French New Wave. Cahiers du Cinéma loves Godard and Linklater.
Here’s the full 2025 top 10. Of note, only four of these films were released in the U.S. this year — as far as I can tell, four don’t even have domestic distribution.
1) “Afternoons of Solitude” (Serra)
2) “One Battle After Another” (Anderson)
3) “Yes!” (Lapid)
4) “The Secret Agent” (Mendonça Filho)
5) “I Only Rest in the Storm” (Pinho)
6) “L’Aventura” (Letourneur)
7) “7 Walks With Mark Brown” (Creton/Barre)
8) “Nouvelle Vague” (Linklater)
9) “Laurent Dans le Vent” (Balekdjian/Couture Eustachon)
10) “Miroirs No. 3” (Petzold)