Sonatine

The debut feature from actor Harris Dickinson sees a homeless addict get a shot at recovery and redemption.

A teenager is taken to a Corsican villa where her fugitive mob boss father is hiding, before an assassination attempt forces them to go on the run.

This wildly violent ‘70s Japanese sexploitation film about a gambler hunting her father’s killers was a key influence on Tarantino’s Kill Bill series.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a crime journalist scouring the streets of after-dark LA in a stylish thriller that examines the morals of mass media.

A bouncer is enlisted to fight off a mob boss, in this barmy, shot-on-video cult actioner from famed Mancunian hardman Cliff Twemlow.

Michael Haneke’s drama explores a teenager’s obsession with screen violence, and his inability to distinguish between reality and fiction.

Farmers hire a band of samurai to defend them against marauding bandits in Kurosawa’s influential epic, a touchstone for action movies ever since.

Akira Kurosawa’s thrilling mix of fairy story and samurai movie - a story of rival clans, hidden gold and a princess in distress - was famously a key inspiration for George Lucas’ Star Wars.

Takashi Miike burst to prominence with this disturbing tale of a deadly young woman who turns the tables on her middle-aged suitor.

This stunningly beautiful anthology of Japanese ghost stories is one of the most meticulously crafted supernatural films ever made.

Koreeda's lyrical fantasy challenges the viewer to reflect on the experiences that most make life worth living.

Koreeda’s first fiction feature is an exquisite meditation on loss, loneliness, uncertainty, and coming to terms with the past.

Buñuel’s surreal, darkly satirical masterpiece about a group of wealthy dinner guests finding themselves inexplicably unable to leave the room.

Marina de Van’s deeply personal debut about a young woman's addiction to self-mutilation stretches the body horror genre in new ways.

Banned in Spain, condemned by the Vatican and celebrated at Cannes, Buñuel’s satire about an aspiring nun takes a stinging crack at society.

Silvia Pinal's Devil torments and tempts a holy man in Buñuel’s final Mexican film, which features the most thrillingly unexpected ending.

Marion Cotillard brings a thrilling magnetism to this snowbound tale of obsession and wish fulfilment between an actress and a young runaway.

Critic and broadcaster Rhianna Dhillon selects her pick of the films that will help you make a change for 2026.