Sight & Sound names 20 top movies of the year, as chosen by 168 critics from around the world. On the terrific S&S site you’re able to browse all the votes and comments with links to S&S reviews. It was pointed out on Twitter than the top three films feature female leads. I’m not sure that’s altogether true of The Assassin. I remember going in thinking it would be about a woman fighter but then not seeing so much of her – except as an incredibly beautiful figure in an incredibly beautiful movie. A couple of really great choices on here but I’m not sure it’s representative of the year of film. Rather, it seems a little reactionary to Oscar season overall – picking and choosing the films that are anything but Oscar favorites. Maybe it comes down to those critics not having seen many of the films people are talking about here. Probably those movies haven’t yet been released in various countries, and certainly no screeners will have been sent. They did, however, somehow manage to put Anomalisa – one of the hardest films to see – on their list. But perhaps that’s because it went to and won in Venice (deservedly so).
So I’ll just chalk the glaring omissions to their not having seen the movies rather than their being annoyed with Oscar season…
There are some ties here, as indicated by the = symbol.
1. The Assassin
2. Carol
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Arabian Nights
5. Cemetery of Splendour
6. No Home Movie
7. 45 Years
8. Son of Saul
9= Amy
9= Inherent Vice
11= Anomalisa
11= It Follows
13. Phoenix
14= Girlhood
14= Hard to Be a God
14= Inside Out
14= Tangerine
14= Taxi Tehran
19= Horse Money
19= The Look of Silence
![2026 Oscars: Best Actress [POLL] Chase Infinity to Campaign in Lead](https://www.awardsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GnDy5PKXEAAnUOE-120x86.jpeg)
