On November 28th local time, the renowned French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma unveiled its list of the ten best films of 2025 on its official website. The documentary "Tardes de soledad," directed by Spanish director Alberto Cerra, topped the list; the film faithfully depicts the daily life of a bullfighter.
Poster for "Lonely Afternoon"
This year's "Top Ten Films of the Year" were selected by 18 film critics, including members of the editorial team at *Cahiers du Cinéma*. The selection process is similar to that of awards like the Oscars: each critic first drafted their own top ten films based on their preferences, and the ten films selected by the most votes were ranked according to the number of votes received, thus becoming *Cahiers du Cinéma*'s top ten. In other words, it's not necessarily the most popular film, but rather the one that receives the most general approval that has a chance of taking the top spot. For example, this year, only four of the 18 critics ranked *A Lonely Afternoon* as the top film.
Poster for "War I and II"
Second place went to *World War I II*, directed by American director Paul Thomas Anderson. Interestingly, in Cahiers du Cinéma's 2022 annual top ten list, Cera's *Suffering on the Island* and Anderson's *Licorice Pizza* took first and second place respectively. This reflects Cahiers du Cinéma's editorial team's consistent, unique approach and preference for auteur directors.
Based on this, it's not surprising that this year's Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear winner, *The Dreams*, and the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner, *Ordinary Accident*, were not selected. Furthermore, *Cahiers du Cinéma*'s top ten films must have been officially released in French theaters within the past 12 months; this year's Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner, *Parents, Siblings*, won't be released in France until January next year, so its absence from the list is expected.
New Wave Poster
The announcement of this year's Cahiers du Cinéma 10 Best Films, as usual, sparked discussions among art-house film enthusiasts on social media and forums. A major point of contention was whether Richard Linklater's "The New Wave," ranked eighth, deserved to be included.
Looking at this list, it's unusual that no Asian directors made the cut this year. South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, who is almost always included, was surprisingly left out. Another renowned South Korean director, Park Chan-wook's new film, *La Bohème*, won't be released in France until February next year. Bi Gan's *Wild Age*, which was released in France in October, unfortunately failed to make the list.
Poster for "Laurent in the Wind"
On the other hand, three of the films were from France. Among them, "Laurent in the Wind" is the feature film debut co-directed by three film school colleagues, Anton Barreguian, Leo Coutil, and Matteo Urstajon.
Details of this year's top ten selection will be revealed in the December 2025 issue of Cahiers du Cinéma magazine.
Cahiers du Cinéma's 10 Best Films of 2025 (ranked by votes)
1. Lonely Afternoon (2009) Director: Albert Cerra (Spain)
2. *World War I: The Second War* Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (USA)
3. Yes (2008) Director: Nadav Lapid (Israel)
4. *The Spy* (2008) Director: Kleber Mendoza Jr. (Brazil)
5. *Laughing Blade* (Director: Pedro Pino, Portugal)
6. *L'Avventura* (Adventures) Director: Sophie Le Touner (France)
7. Seven Walks with Mark Brown (Director: Vincent Balpierre Clayton, France)
8. *The New Wave* Director: Richard Linklater (USA)
9. *Laurent in the Wind* (Director: Anton Barreguian, Leo Coutil, Matteo Estajon, France)
10. The Third Movement of the Mirror (Director: Christian Petzold, Germany)
