A young woman kills herself, leaving no explanation to her grief-stricken pawnbroker husband. We learn in flashback about how they met, married, and how she failed to adapt her lifestyle to his. Disgusted with his attempts to dominate her, she considered murdering him, but found herself unable to do it.
Recommended by Joachim Trier
A society lady engineers a marriage between her lover and a cabaret dancer who is essentially a prostitute.
Recommended by François Truffaut, Peter Handke
A young priest taking over the parish at Ambricourt tries to fulfill his duties even as he fights a mysterious stomach ailment.
Recommended by Martin Scorsese, François Truffaut, Jacques Audiard, Chantal Akerman, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Agnieszka Holland, Pedro Costa
The 'dreamer' is Jacques, a young painter, who by chance runs into Marthe as she's contemplating suicide on the Pont-Neuf in Paris. They talk, and agree to see each other again the next night. Gradually, he discovers that her lover promised to meet her on the bridge that night, and he failed to turn up. Over the next couple of nights, Jacques falls in love with her - but on the fourth night her original lover returns.
Recommended by Yann Gonzalez, Jonás Trueba
Bresson’s follow-up to «Balthazar» performs another minor miracle while actually treating one: a series of vicious vicissitudes befalling a young girl leading her to martyrdom and a near-Biblical state of grace. Economy of expression and intensity of effect contribute to a wrenching magnificence.
Recommended by Jacques Audiard, Chantal Akerman, Jacques Doillon, Nadav Lapid, Lynne Ramsay, Sophie Letourneur, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Thomas Arslan, Agnieszka Holland
During the Occupation, Lieutenant Fontaine of the Secret Army is arrested by the Germans and sentenced to death. Day by day, he awaits execution in his cell ' his only hope, escape. In a tense atmosphere, his minute technical preparations take shape: a sharpened spoon, a jimmied lock, some rope, and a few hooks. The situation comes to a head. He finally manages to escape, taking his new cell mate with him. A Robert Bresson masterpiece.
Recommended by François Truffaut, Laurent Cantet, Jacques Doillon, Lynne Ramsay, Pierre Salvadori, Nicolas Philibert, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, Agnieszka Holland, Albert Dupontel, Michael Haneke
An austere masterpiece crafted from the most unlikely of elements : the intertwined destinies of a donkey and the young girl who first adopts him. A truly awesome study of fate and free will, replete with religious resonance, that uplifts even as it describes a circle of suffering for both beauty and beast.
Recommended by Laurent Cantet, James Gray, Ira Sachs, Cristian Mungiu, Maren Ade, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Robin Campillo, Wim Wenders, Aki Kaurismäki, Arnaud et Jean-Marie Larrieu, Clément Cogitore, Caroline Link, Bruce LaBruce, Dominique and Fiona Abel & Gordon, Elia Suleiman, Michael Haneke
A group of young people rebel against a decadent, hopeless society that is destroying the environment. Charles, an upright, twenty year-old romantic member of the group, is searching for the meaning of life. But matters of the heart added to his trouble coping with life cast him into a deep depression where death is the only release.
Recommended by Bertrand Bonello, Amat Escalante
King Arthur learns about his wife's, Queen Guinevere, affair with Lancelot, who at the same time remains loyal to the king, particularly after Arthur's traitorous nephew Mordred commits an attempt on his life.
Recommended by Elia Suleiman, Michael Haneke
Yvon is arrested for unknowingly carrying a counterfeit 500 Franc bill. His troubles have only begun as he is branded a criminal and eventually sees no choice but to willfully turn to crime.
Recommended by Christophe Honoré, Laurent Cantet, Olivier Assayas, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Pascale Ferran, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Noémie Lvovsky, Robin Campillo, João Pedro Rodrigues, Amat Escalante, Corneliu Porumboiu, Saeed Roustaee
Michel takes up picking pockets as a hobby, and is arrested almost immediately, giving him the chance to reflect on the morality of crime. After his release, though, his mother dies, and he rejects the support of friends Jeanne and Jacques in favour of returning to pickpocketing (after taking lessons from an expert), because he realises that it’s the only way he can express himself.
Recommended by Martin Scorsese, Claire Simon, Chantal Akerman, Pascale Ferran, Luc Moullet, Agnès Varda, Raymond Depardon, Lodge Kerrigan, Atom Egoyan, Todd Haynes, François Ozon, Catherine Corsini, Corneliu Porumboiu, Paul Vecchiali, Caroline Link, Thomas Arslan, Agnieszka Holland, Paul Schrader, Nicole Garcia, Elia Suleiman, David Cronenberg
A Joan of Arc's trial reconstruction concerning her imprisonment, interrogation and final execution at the hands of the English. Filmed in a spare, low-key fashio
Recommended by Chantal Akerman, Alice Diop, Ryūsuke Hamaguchi