Sight & Sound's Best Films of 2015
by pbn | created - 27 Nov 2015 | updated - 29 Nov 2015 | PublicThe British film magazine asked 168 critics to vote for the best films of the year (based on UK release dates). Now we ask you, what's your pick?
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1. The Assassin (2015)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Drama, History
A female assassin receives a dangerous mission to kill a political leader in eighth-century China.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Yun Zhou, Satoshi Tsumabuki
Votes: 17,994 | Gross: $0.61M
Hsiao-Hsien Hou
2. Carol (2015)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler
Votes: 142,444 | Gross: $12.71M
Todd Haynes
3. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
R | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper and a drifter named Max.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz
Votes: 1,087,138 | Gross: $154.06M
George Miller
4. Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One (2015)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama
Some of the chapters from Arabian Nights are adapted to a modern Portugal in this epic.
Director: Miguel Gomes | Stars: Crista Alfaiate, Miguel Gomes, Martinho Cerqueira, Miguel Cerqueira
Votes: 2,413 | Gross: $0.01M
Miguel Gomes
5. Cemetery of Splendor (2015)
Unrated | 122 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A group of soldiers in a small town on the Mekong River in northern Thailand are struck with a bizarre sleeping illness.
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Stars: Jenjira Pongpas, Banlop Lomnoi, Jarinpattra Rueangram, Petcharat Chaiburi
Votes: 5,427 | Gross: $0.05M
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
6. No Home Movie (2015)
Not Rated | 115 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Chantal Akerman documents the life of her mother Natalia Akerman, a Polish immigrant and survivor of Auschwitz.
Director: Chantal Akerman | Stars: Chantal Akerman, Natalia Akerman, Sylvaine Akerman
Votes: 1,098 | Gross: $0.02M
Chantal Akerman
7. 45 Years (2015)
R | 95 min | Drama, Romance
A married couple preparing to celebrate their wedding anniversary receives shattering news that promises to forever change the course of their lives.
Director: Andrew Haigh | Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells
Votes: 35,150 | Gross: $4.25M
Andrew Haigh
8. Son of Saul (2015)
R | 107 min | Drama, War
A Jewish-Hungarian concentration camp prisoner sets out to give a child he mistook for his son a proper burial.
Director: László Nemes | Stars: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn, Todd Charmont
Votes: 51,971 | Gross: $1.78M
László Nemes
9. Amy (III) (2015)
R | 128 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Amy Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Russell Brand
Votes: 55,106 | Gross: $8.41M
Asif Kapadia
10. Inherent Vice (2014)
R | 148 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
In 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston
Votes: 110,768 | Gross: $8.11M
Paul Thomas Anderson
11. Anomalisa (2015)
R | 90 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
A man crippled by the mundanity of his life experiences something out of the ordinary.
Directors: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman | Stars: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan
Votes: 75,326 | Gross: $3.76M
Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman
12. It Follows (2014)
R | 100 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
Director: David Robert Mitchell | Stars: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe
Votes: 269,179 | Gross: $14.67M
David Robert Mitchell
13. Phoenix (II) (2014)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, History, Music
After surviving Auschwitz, a former cabaret singer has her disfigured face reconstructed and returns to her war-ravaged hometown to seek out her gentile husband, who may or may not have betrayed her to the Nazis.
Director: Christian Petzold | Stars: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Nina Kunzendorf, Trystan Pütter
Votes: 20,672
Christian Petzold
14. Girlhood (2014)
Unrated | 113 min | Drama
A girl with few real prospects joins a gang, reinventing herself and gaining a sense of self confidence in the process. However, she soon finds that this new life does not necessarily make her any happier.
Director: Céline Sciamma | Stars: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré
Votes: 10,049
Céline Sciamma
15. Hard to Be a God (2013)
Not Rated | 177 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In the distant future, a space traveler from Earth breaks a special law and interferes with the history of another, Medieval-like planet.
Director: Aleksey German | Stars: Leonid Yarmolnik, Aleksandr Chutko, Yuriy Tsurilo, Evgeniy Gerchakov
Votes: 6,371
Aleksey German
16. Inside Out (I) (2015)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen | Stars: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling
Votes: 785,923 | Gross: $356.46M
Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen
17. Tangerine (2015)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.
Director: Sean Baker | Stars: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan
Votes: 35,531 | Gross: $0.70M
Sean Baker
18. Taxi (III) (2015)
Not Rated | 82 min | Comedy, Drama
Banned from making movies by the Iranian government, Jafar Panahi poses as a taxi driver and makes a movie about social challenges in Iran.
Director: Jafar Panahi | Stars: Jafar Panahi, Nasrin Sotoudeh
Votes: 16,549 | Gross: $0.32M
Jafar Panahi
19. Horse Money (2014)
Unrated | 103 min | Drama
"The time is now, a numbing and timeless present of hospital stays, bureaucratic questioning, and wandering through remembered spaces... and suddenly it is also then, the mid '70s and the ... See full summary »
Director: Pedro Costa | Stars: Ventura, Vitalina Varela, Tito Furtado, Benvindo Tavares
Votes: 1,953
Pedro Costa
20. The Look of Silence (2014)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer | Stars: Adi Rukun, M.Y. Basrun, Volker Hanisch, Amir Hasan
Votes: 13,889 | Gross: $0.11M
Joshua Oppenheimer
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