Marie begins The Movie Isle’s 2026 with a look back at her Top Ten Films of 2025.
2025 has, for many reasons, been one which I will be glad to see the back of. My film-viewing (and reviewing) has not been as consistent as I would have liked, but I have been buoyed by the fact that my EIC Adam has been the most supportive throughout. The year has been so topsy-turvy that, as I was going through my Letterboxd list, I’d even forgotten that some films from earlier in the year even existed. Not sure whether that’s a reflection on me or films such as Mickey 17 or even Captain America: Brave New World– I’ll leave that to you to decide.
As is customary, my list is made up of films with 2025 UK releases (which may or may not align with worldwide release dates) and a handful of festival views. Unusually for me there are a couple of documentaries in the mix this year, and not unusually, my favourites lean heavily towards films in languages other than English. If I’ve reviewed the film for The Movie Isle, there’ll be a link in the title to the relevant page.
If you’re wondering how my ongoing quest to watch all the films on the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time list (the top 100, 2022 version) is progressing, then I have watched precisely one (1) film on the list in 2025. It was a good one though – Killer of Sheephas brought me up to 89%. I begin again in 2026 with renewed resolve. Check back in 12 months!
Not usual for my end of year list to include a documentary, but this one was so amazingly involving that I couldn’t not. Consisting almost entirely of video calls over the course of a year between Fatma Hassona, a 24-year-old photojournalist trapped in Gaza, and director Sepideh Farsi, the film tracks conversations between the two and we learn what Fatma’s daily life is like as she shields from the bombings around her.
Each time Farsi dials Fatma and waits for her to pick up, the tension is obvious. Will she have any internet today? Have the bombs reached her home? Is she even still there? The anxiety is felt by everyone watching. Then when Fatma answers the call, the joy at seeing her face and that beautiful smile again is such a relief.
48 hours in the life of just one of the hundreds of food delivery cyclists who speed past us each day, featuring an outstanding performance from newcomer Abou Sangare in the eponymous lead role. Perhaps the next time we order takeaway, we might think differently about the person bringing it to us.
A glorious Carmen Maura stars as an older woman who refuses to be dictated to by her daughter when money becomes an issue. Set in the well-established Spanish community of Tangiers, Morocco, Calle Málaga is touching, funny and sad, and gives an older woman agency at the centre of her own story.
This love story, encompassing a relationship over decades in Beirut, is at times funnier than you would expect – but also very touching and grounded in reality.
Two childhood sweethearts reconnect as adults, and immediately fall head over heels for each other again. There are blissful on-screen sequences that capture those heady moments when you’re actually falling in love with someone – I was reminded of the staircase run in The Cranes are Flying, and some moments of Wong Kar Wai.
But as the film’s title suggests, the world is not all beautiful, and the sadness that each of them experienced as children has a longer-lasting effect on both of their lives than they would ever imagine.
In fact, A Sad and Beautiful World may be the most appropriate film title ever.
Marie begins The Movie Isle’s 2026 with a look back at her Top Ten Films of 2025.
2025 has, for many reasons, been one which I will be glad to see the back of. My film-viewing (and reviewing) has not been as consistent as I would have liked, but I have been buoyed by the fact that my EIC Adam has been the most supportive throughout. The year has been so topsy-turvy that, as I was going through my Letterboxd list, I’d even forgotten that some films from earlier in the year even existed. Not sure whether that’s a reflection on me or films such as Mickey 17 or even Captain America: Brave New World – I’ll leave that to you to decide.
As is customary, my list is made up of films with 2025 UK releases (which may or may not align with worldwide release dates) and a handful of festival views. Unusually for me there are a couple of documentaries in the mix this year, and not unusually, my favourites lean heavily towards films in languages other than English. If I’ve reviewed the film for The Movie Isle, there’ll be a link in the title to the relevant page.
If you’re wondering how my ongoing quest to watch all the films on the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time list (the top 100, 2022 version) is progressing, then I have watched precisely one (1) film on the list in 2025. It was a good one though – Killer of Sheep has brought me up to 89%. I begin again in 2026 with renewed resolve. Check back in 12 months!
And so, without further ado …
10. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (dir Sepideh Farsi)
Not usual for my end of year list to include a documentary, but this one was so amazingly involving that I couldn’t not. Consisting almost entirely of video calls over the course of a year between Fatma Hassona, a 24-year-old photojournalist trapped in Gaza, and director Sepideh Farsi, the film tracks conversations between the two and we learn what Fatma’s daily life is like as she shields from the bombings around her.
Each time Farsi dials Fatma and waits for her to pick up, the tension is obvious. Will she have any internet today? Have the bombs reached her home? Is she even still there? The anxiety is felt by everyone watching. Then when Fatma answers the call, the joy at seeing her face and that beautiful smile again is such a relief.
9. Souleymane’s Story / L’Histoire de Souleymane (dir Boris Lojkine)
48 hours in the life of just one of the hundreds of food delivery cyclists who speed past us each day, featuring an outstanding performance from newcomer Abou Sangare in the eponymous lead role. Perhaps the next time we order takeaway, we might think differently about the person bringing it to us.
8. Calle Málaga (dir Maryam Touzani)
A glorious Carmen Maura stars as an older woman who refuses to be dictated to by her daughter when money becomes an issue. Set in the well-established Spanish community of Tangiers, Morocco, Calle Málaga is touching, funny and sad, and gives an older woman agency at the centre of her own story.
7. A Sad and Beautiful World (dir Cyril Aris)
This love story, encompassing a relationship over decades in Beirut, is at times funnier than you would expect – but also very touching and grounded in reality.
Two childhood sweethearts reconnect as adults, and immediately fall head over heels for each other again. There are blissful on-screen sequences that capture those heady moments when you’re actually falling in love with someone – I was reminded of the staircase run in The Cranes are Flying, and some moments of Wong Kar Wai.
But as the film’s title suggests, the world is not all beautiful, and the sadness that each of them experienced as children has a longer-lasting effect on both of their lives than they would ever imagine.
In fact, A Sad and Beautiful World may be the most appropriate film title ever.
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