2025. This past year was full of lots of different emotions and, of course, most of them were felt in front of a movie. Between the good, the bad and the cringy, I’ve spent this year watching and watching, just so I could give you this very precious list of my favorites of these last 365 days. For those of you that were here last year, you know the drill. If you’re new to the party, it’ll be a compilation of ten movies that I’ve watched last year but didn’t necessarily come out during the year.
« Maybe it’s puppy love… Maybe it’s big dog love. »
First on this list is the first feature film of indian director Shuchi Talati. Released in October 2024, Girls Will Be Girls tells the story of mother Anila (Kani Kusruti) and daughter Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) who end up living together away from home. Mira is at an age where she discovers herself and challenges authority. This turning point comes as a surprise to her mother, who is forced to think of her own feelings towards her life and how she’s led it until now. It’s a great women focused coming-of-age story which manages to explore its characters’ complexity.
« You can never lose me, Laura. I’m your monster. »
My second pick is also a female director first feature film. Your Monster by American director Caroline Lindy tells the story of Laura (Melissa Barrera), an actress who moves back home after undergoing surgery. There, she discovers the very monster from her childhood that lives inside her closet. The relationship between Laura and « her » monster slowly evolves into a friendship while he helps her gain her confidence back. The movie is a witty but simple horror and twisted up romance that encourages women to unleash the monster in them. A great example of female rage.
« You used to be fucking different, man. »
What if you had to travel to another continent with your estranged cousin to honor the memory of your grandmother? This is the premise of A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg’s second go at directing. David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) play cousins with completely different peronnalities. One is easy going, and seems to do well with others, while the other is uptight and condescending. Eisenberg managed to write both compelling and annoying characters. I had trouble empathizing with them in the beginning, but by the end of the movie, the growth and realizations they go through help you see yourself in them. Although I wasn’t a fan of Eisenberg’s first picture, When You Finish Saving the World, this second ended up being a really well written and well rounded movie.
« Our entire life is a punishment. »
Next on the list is Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17. The science-fiction movie presents us a society where debt can lead you to sell your body and abandon everything and everyone you know (sounds familiar?). Mickey (Robert Pattinson) has found himself in this situation. He ends up in a space station where he is used as a spare for deadly missions. His body becomes a disposable tool to further the agenda of a megalomaniac guru-like billionaire played by Mark Ruffalo. With an amazing main and supporting cast, Mickey 17 falls in line with other Bong Joon Ho’s films (Okja, Parasite…) that aim to put a mirror up to society and challenge the morality of the viewers. And contrary to other political movies that came out this past year, it doesn’t force you to believe in the characters’ morality.
« You keep dancing with the devil… One day he’s gonna follow you home. »
If you’ve been to the theater last year, then you must’ve watched Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The vampire packed movie takes place in 1930’s Mississippi and happens through the course of one day and one night. Two twin brothers played by Michael B. Jordan come back to their hometown to open a « juke joint ». They recruit their little cousin who happens to have a remarkable musical talent. However, their opening night turns sour when vampires crash the party. More than just a horror movie, Sinners raises a discourse on race that touches on cultural appropriation, heritage, colonization and slavery. I personnally saw the movie as a call to firstly learn to keep things from the community (a term that I’m using pretty loosely here) in the community, but also to learn to take back and reappropriate what was taken from us.
« Her sadness… It’s such an overwhelming part of her. »
In a whole different category, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value is a movie that managed to captivate me with its extraordinary cast. The story follows actress Nora (Renate Reinsve) as her family home is about to get sold following her mother’s death. Her father (Stellan Skarsgård) makes a comeback in her life and offers her a role in his next movie. This proposition forces Nora to dig up old feelings and finally try to heal her old wounds. The story is partially told in and around this family home which holds a lot of memory, so the house becomes a character itself. It explores themes such as generational trauma, loss and difficult family dynamics.
« Children should listen and not talk. »
Now let’s travel back to Asia. Taipei, summer of 2022, Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai) and her two daughters just moved back from the countryside. While visiting their grandparents, the youngest I-Jing (Nina Ye) is told by her grandfather that using her left hand is doing the devil’s work. In the mind of the little girl, this revelation comes as an epiphany which leads to different situations for the entire family. This seemingly small act pushes secrets out and ultimately brings the three women closer. Directed by Shih Ching Tsou and co-written with Sean Baker, Left-Handed Girl presents women in their natural states. With their traumas, their flaws but it also shows how their love manifests between them.
« I don’t see myself getting older or having kids. I don’t see myself at all. »
In the women scorned category, I present to you Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby. Here Victor plays Agnes, a young woman who appears to be imprisoned in her small town, despite the entire world moving forward. A traumatic event in her life has been keeping her from enjoying her wins and the only thing that brings her joy is her friendship with her college friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie). The movie has a very slow pacing which forces you to live as Agnes does. It centers friendship and past traumas while keeping a touch of humor.
« Because I’m worried that there’s a very distinct and real possibility that l am about to fall in love with you. »
I couldn’t finish this article without mentionning one true romance. Starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, We Live in Time tells the story of Tobias and Almut over the course of ten years. It starts from the moment they meet to the very end of their story. Although the story is rather simple, I found its realism refreshing in a pool of grand gestures and impossible plots. The strength in Nick Payne’s story lies in its ability to make us believe, both in the love story and how it unfolds.
« I know who you are. I know what you are. »
Last on this very rich list is Yorgos Lanhtimos’ Bugonia, remake of korean film Save the Green Planet. Like the original, Bugonia is about a very paranoid man, convinced that the CEO of a big company is an alien from Andromeda that walks among men to fulfill a dark agenda. In the american remake, this man is named Teddy and is brilliantly played by Jesse Plemons. The story focuses on the kidnapping of said CEO (Emma Stone), as Teddy tries to crack him with various methods of torture. Although I’m usually not a fan of american remakes, I found this one to be a great addition to the original. It succeded in getting the point across while also bringing a new dimension to the narrative with its american focal point. The original movie by Jang Joon Hwan has a very 80’s feel to it, reminding me of movies like They Live (1998) or Escape From New York (1981). However in Bugonia, the humour is more subtle and the acting more serious. All in all, both are great science fiction projects that convey the same message, just not completely the same way.
The main goal of this article is to share with you what I enjoyed watching. But it’s also an occasion for me to share diverse stories who don’t necessarily get shared and to add my voice to the choir of praises of others.
What striked me while writing this article and going through all the movies I watched last year, is that more than ever, women’s voices are being heard. Either thanks to talented female directors and screenwriters, or through the tales of great female characters. This coming year, I’d like to witness even more powerful women led stories, particularly with women of color outside of the US.
It should also be noted that 2025 has been a great year for science fiction, both in theaters and on TV. Every year is an occasion for bolder, more pertinent stories than the previous ones, if you know where to look for them.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you and please let us know which movies were your favorites in 2025!
Christa 🙂
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