Sight & Sound’s Top 20 Films Of The Year: How Can One List Contain Hou Hsiao-Hsien And George Miller And Pixar?

Of the hundreds of “best of the year” lists assembled by various publications around the world,Sight & Soundmagazine’s top 20 always tends to be the most fascinating. This year is no different. It’s hard to argue with any list that finds room to contain brutal holocaust immersionsandartful LGBT romancesandpost-apocalyptic action adventuresandtear-jerking animated family moviesandstirring stop-motion animated dramasandhigh-concept horror moviesandunrelenting documentaries about genocideandstoner film noir.

As usual, the list skews arthouse (there are a few titles here that we aren’t familiar with at all), but consider this list a homework assignment – if it’s on this list, it’s surely going to be worthy of any serious movie fan’s time. Check out the completeSight and Soundbest of 2015 ranking after the jump.

The result of a poll given to 168 film critics from around the world, the annualSight & Soundlist paints a vital portrait of international cinema. This isn’t what one website or one country thinks about the past year in film – this is what film experts from the around the world consider the most valuable moviegoing experiences of the past 365 days. Note thatPaul Thomas Anderson’sInherent Viceis included because it didn’t receive its international release until this year. So, without further ado, here’s their list:

1. The Assassin

3. Mad Max: Fury Road

4. Arabian Nights

5. Cemetery Of Splendour

6. No Home Movies

7. 45 Years

8. Son Of Saul

  1. Amy (tie)

  2. Inherent Vice (tie)

11. Anomalisa

  1. It Follows (tie)

13. Phoenix

  1. Girlhood (tie)

14. Hard To Be A God (tie)

  1. Inside Out (tie)

  2. Tangerine (tie)

  3. Taxi Tehran (tie)

  4. Horse Money (tie)

19. The Look Of Silence(tie)

A few of these are no-brainers. Of courseTodd Haynes’Carol, which has been theStar Wars: The Force Awakensof the arthouse scene when it comes to buzz, would rank so high. If anything, it’s a little surprising thatHou Hsiao-Hsien’sThe Assassinmanaged to top it for the number one spot. While undeniably one of the most beautifully crafted films of the year, it has proven divisive amongst the critical community for its deliberate (i.e.,slooow) pace.

Other obvious choices includeLászló Nemes' (absolutely brutal)Son of Saul,Jafar Panahi’sTaxi Tehran,Miguel Gomes’Arabian Nights, andCharlie KaufmanandDuke Johnson’s (stunningly original)Anomalisa. On the “totally heartbreaking for totally different reasons” documentary front,Joshua Oppenheimer’sThe Look of SilenceandAsif Kapadia’sAmymade the list.

The more surprising selections are the mainstream choices. Critics fell head-over-heels forMad Max: Fury Road, but seeingGeorge Miller’s action masterpiece land in third place is still a very pleasant surprise. The same goes forInside Out, which was one of the year’s biggest box office smashes in addition to winning over the world’s toughest critics. However, it’s the inclusion ofDavid Robert Mitchell’sIt Followsthat has us grinning. It’s rare for horror movies to make any kind of end-of-year list, so seeing one of the most clever and frightening films of its kind get this recognition is kind of life-affirming.

If you want a taste of this list ASAP, both theIndependent Spirit Award nominatedTangerineand the Hitchcock-FlavoredPhoenixarearriving on Netflix next month. So, you know, no excuses. Get watching, people.