Staff Picks: Must-Watch Films

The on and off-screen character of Toshiro Mifune, Japan’s first international movie star, is explored in this illuminating documentary.

In the tough suburbs of Paris, sixteen-year-old Marieme decides to reinvent herself when she joins a girl gang.

Ryan Gosling takes on Bangkok’s criminal underworld in this kaleidoscopic revenge fantasy from cult director Nicolas Winding Refn.

The life story of Ian Curtis, the tortured singer of Joy Division who suffered epilepsy and crippling self-doubt, filmed in stunning monochrome.

Gurinder Chadha’s smash hit about an Asian girl with an undying love for football.

Ira Sachs’s refined Manhattan-set drama sees Alfred Molina’s Ben and John Lithgow’s George in the latter days of a tender, loving 39-year relationship.

John Boyega excels as the security guard caught up in a violent conflagration during the riots of 1967, in Kathryn Bigelow's blistering thriller.

A young woman (Oscar-nominee Anna Kendrick) is forced to examine her emotionally abusive relationship when she takes a rare trip with friends.

Toby Jones is terrific as the inspirational mentor who helped propel Richard Burton from the poor son of a Welsh miner to acting legend.

Yvonne dreams of stardom in Stéphane Ly-Cuong's mouthwatering cross-cultural musical drama set in Paris.

Impressive and captivating animated adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short stories.

Brendan Gleeson and writer-director John Michael McDonagh combine again for a powerful story of a rural priest threatened with death in seven days.

Welsh-raised, Zambian-born Rungano Nyoni delivers a dazzling debut with this darkly satirical fairy tale about a little girl accused of being a witch.

A touching and acutely observed story of two boys switched at birth having to readjust to their natural parents, from Japan’s modern maestro Hirokazu Koreeda.

Three high-school girls wage war to win the latest must-have social accessory - a Gay Best Friend.

Martin Scorsese presents a highly personal tribute to the work and influence of Powell and Pressburger.