While there were enough great films in 2025 that got universal acclaim, these three deserved more.
Anniversary (2025) dir. by Jan Komasa
I have already written a full review of this, but I would like to stress once again that Anniversary by the Polish director behind Corpus Christi is one of the most unjustly ignored films of 2025. Due to its explosive content (prescient, horrific), the film received next to no publicity. A shame, really, because this dystopian story of American future (present?) is frankly devastating.
Yes, there are certain problems here (mainly with the tone which is a little patchy), but overall this produces one hell of an impression. And again, I admire Komasa's guts for going to the US and doing this. Also, I don't think it is physically possible to hate anyone more than you will hate Dylan O'Brien while watching this film.
Blue Moon (2025) dir. by Richard Linklater
The most surprising thing about this film is that it is not, in fact, a play. Blue Moon looks very much like something you would see in a theatre. Basically, the whole film revolves around one evening in a bar, a few characters and a heartbreaking unraveling of one man. Ethan Hawke plays Lorenz Hart, the famous lyricist who made up one part of the legendary Rodgers-Hart songwriting duo. It is early spring in 1943, and Hart is there to meet his songwriting partner who is currently working with a different lyricist (Oscar Hammerstein II) and who is about to celebrate the great success of his new musical Oklahoma!
A talkative, foul-mouthed Hart is willing to speak to anyone who wouldn't mind listening. A barman, a journalist, a guy who delivers flowers, a girl he thinks is in love with him, a young aspiring pianist playing nearby. There is a lot of bitterness here, and false hopes, and failed romance, and love for art and music. The conversations with Rodgers (played by Andrew Scott), when we get to them, are painful and revealing, but a certain hope is always there. You want him to succeed, against all odds. He is the man, after all, who wrote the lyrics of "My Funny Valentine". A powerful little film, and Ethan Hawke deserves every award for this performance.
Hallow Road (2025) dir. by Babak Anvari
Again, a somewhat subdued, almost intimate piece that was overshadowed by much flashier films in 2025. But I loved this to bits. Hallow Road is a psychological thriller that manages to mess up with your mind in a very creative manner (watch the end credits).
A couple (played by Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys) receive a distressed phone call from their daughter with whom they had just had an awful row. Apparently, she got into a terrible car accident and needs their help. We do not even get to see the young woman, just hear her voice. Naturally, Pike's and Rhys's characters drive through the night to save her, and all kinds of bizarre things come to light on their way.
Hallow Road is just 80 minutes long, and it is so fucking tense it won't let you relax for one second. Again, a brilliant little film, with quite an ending.
