These films were all the rage at the cinema this year. It was a great year for foreign films. I saw a lot, though not everything cause that’s impossible. These were my favorites.

1. MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

When I went to see this film I knew nothing about it. I was fully unaware of the journey it would take me in. Done as a mockumentary, it follows the life of an anthropomorphic shell who lives in an Airbnb. The one-inch tall Marcel has to daily gather resources from the backyard to aid his grandmother who has dementia. Marcel asks deep questions about his existence and purpose in the world, while challenging us to do the same.

2. THE FABELMANS

Stephen Spielberg delivers another milestone in his magnificent career. Is is a semi-autobiographical story based on Spielberg’s adolescent years growing up in a dysfunctional Jewish family. It follows the life of a young aspiring filmmaker who sees the power of films as his only refuge from the harshness of the world. Watch it be nominated for every award possible. It is arguably a perfect film in every way.

3. CLOSE

Hailing from Belgium, this coming-of-age film won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Two boys become innocently close while spending the summer together. When they do back to school in the fall, their friendship is threatened by comments from peers and adults insinuating that the relationship between the boys is more that just friendship.

4. TÁR

Cate Blanchett will for sure be Oscar nominated for the performance of a lifetime in this nail biting, suspenseful, psychological tragedy. Giving powerful commentary to “cancel culture,” the script never disappoints as it twists and turns toward the inevitable demise of its protagonist. A world-renowned composer-conductor is accused of harassment and misconduct, which in turn sends her praised life into a downward spiral.

5. TOP GUN: MAVERICK

I was excited to see this much-awaited sequel and had no idea I would love it this much. It was a giant throwback to the 80s and how movies used to be made. It’s intelligent, knows the genre, the action sequences are breathtaking and it gives just enough to care for the characters in it. Tom Cruise heads this cast and produces one the biggest hits in Hollywood this year.

6. GOOD NIGHT OPPY

This documentary has as its central star, a Mars rover named Opportunity, affectionately called Oppy for short. Launched by NASA in 2003, the rover was expected to last a mere 90 days but eventually functioned for about 15 years. It explored Mars sending data to back to Earth allowing scientists a mountain of discovery on our neighboring planet and shedding insight onto the future of our own.

7. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more give knockout performances in this crazed, out-of-this-world comedy. It centers around a Chinese-American immigrant who, while being audited by the IRS, figures out that an evil being is trying to destroy the universe. The only way to stop it is to travel to parallel universes to capture its powers. Great script and directing by the Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.

8. BROS

The first big budget Hollywood gay romantic comedy of its kind—as far as I can remember—was a hit in my book this year. Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane star as gay men who fall in love but have commitment issues. The writing is realistic, even through the genre of the film, and breaks apart regular romantic comedy tropes. Great, memorable cameos as well including Debra Messing who plays herself.

9. MOONAGE DAYDREAM

One of the best films of the year gives new insight into one of the greatest artists of all-time, David Bowie. It uses Bowie’s personal archives, which had been previously remained mainly untapped. Bowie’s estate authorized it and the result is an all-awing, deep perspective into his mind and sense of artistic placement in the world. His legacy remains significant and this film proves it yet again.

10. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

Bringing back the cast from the original, this was without a doubt the visual special effects spectacle of the year. James Cameron returns to write and direct and the result is a rapid-fire dazzlement. The sequel jumps ten years after the first film, where humans have yet again returned to colonize the planet of the Na-vi’s Pandora. But they won’t do so without a fight.

11. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

This is the year’s shining foreign film with a big change of getting a Best Picture Oscar nomination. It is based on the 1929 best-selling novel of the same name, banned in Germany during the Nazi occupation. It explores the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual toll that soldiers dealt with in WWI. The film follows a soldier who has high hopes of becoming a hero after he is called to go to war. He then sees his dream shatter after he realizes that war is not a joke and every moment puts his life at stake.

12. SHANIA TWAIN: NOT JUST A GIRL

This deeply moving and inspirational documentary follows Shania Twain as she takes a look at her groundbreaking career. Shania went against all odds facing the music industry, which was heavily dictated by men, and pushed boundaries way past anyone’s expectations. Narrated by Shania Twain herself, this film also talks about her many years battling depression and health issues, only to come out even stronger and boulder at the end of it.

13. EO

This moving piece from Poland, has a great shot at a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination this year, after winning the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It centers around the life of donkey born in a circus whose life is filled with unexpected journeys and twists. The film is beautifully shot, rick in emotional depth, and extremely entertaining.

14. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

Director/writer Martin McDonagh gives us a brilliant, smart, and poignant film that keep crossing the line between tragedy and laugh-out-loud comedy. The story centers around two lifelong friends who find themselves at their wit’s end when one of them decides to abruptly end the friendship. This sends the small town of Inisherin, Ireland, in total confusion and the consequences rise to unimaginable results.

15. SHE SAID

This film follows the lives of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, whose exposé of Harvey Weinstein shook Hollywood and the world charging the #metoo movement to a fiery burn. Investigating for the New York Times, these two reporters push to given women who have been sexually abused a voice and finally be heard. The story rose to the top to gather worldwide attention, but the deed wasn’t easy by any means.

16. FIRE OF LOVE

Directed, written, and produced by Sara Dosa, this powerful documentary gifts us with the inspiring story of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. The abundance of extraordinary footage from their volcanic research and explorations dazzle us and was resurfaced after their deaths in the 1991 eruption of a volcano in Japan. This was definitely unlike anything I had never seen before.

17. X

Set in the 70s, this horror thriller follows a group of people who rent a guest house in a ranch in Texas. Unbeknownst to the homeowners, the guests are there to secretly shoot a porn. But what the production crew doesn’t know is that the lady of the house has deep, dark secrets in her soul and all the sex in the ranch forces them to come to the surface with disastrous consequences. The sequel to X, titled Pearl, also came out this year and deserves an honorable mention. 

18. MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS

Adapted from the 1958 novel of the same name, this charming film follows the life of a poor cleaning lady is 1957 London who dreams of one day being able to purchase a Christian Dior dress. She saves her money through a number of years, then travels to Paris to find herself on an unexpected journey. She catches the eye of a Dior accountant and together they lead the House of Dior onto a strike. Dior is forced to hear their workers ideal and face the fact they must modernize or risk being left behind in the past.

19. GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO

Guillermo Del Toro writes and directs this new masterpiece with a fresh look at the beloved classic fairytale. Adapted from the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, about a wooden puppet who suddenly comes to life and goes on an emotional journey as he attempts to find a way to become a real-live boy. The cinematography will dazzle your eyes.

20. BARBARIAN

I was overwhelmingly surprised at this film. Dare I say if Hitchcock was alive he would’ve been too. It used the elements from Psycho in its plot twists when dealing with its protagonists. Shocking at every turn, I could not guess where this was going. The plot is about an Airbnb guest who finds her life in total danger after a mistake in booking makes she and total stranger share a house. Great script by writer and director Zach Cregger—someone to watch out for.