Overwhelming musicals, horror of rare power and originality, unusual sci-fi, funny family comedies… Among the films released at cinemas in Italy in 2025, here are the best in our opinion.
1) Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard
Enthralling and artistically spectacular, Emilia Pérez says one genre transition in musicals like never done before. With songs and choreographies that make you want to get on a table and dance together Zoe Saldanaof magnetic charisma and deservedly Oscar winner. There is no controversy – linked to the fussiness of social media and the unfortunate declarations of its protagonist Karla Sofía Gascón – that can obscure its energy.
2) I’m still here by Walter Salles
Reconstruction of one dramatic true story during the Brazilian military dictatorship in the 70s, shows all the strength of the wife and mother Eunice Facciolla, left alone to fight for the truth about the disappearance of her husband Rubens Paiva. She plays it wonderfully Fernanda Torres. Despite the brutality suffered, he does not give up smiling and living. A bright filmOscar for best international film.
3) Young mothers by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
The Belgian brothers always hit the mark with their tireless ability to brush the truth of lives on the margins. With a sharp and sensitive gaze, they enter an institute for young mothers in difficulty in Liège, giving us a choral narrative of fears, hopes and a lot of humanity. It is no coincidence that it won the Prix du scénario at the last Cannes Film Festival.
4) 28 years later by Danny Boyle
From visual power and all-encompassing narrativea film that is much more than a sequel and a horror film. Together with Alex Garland, the director of Trainspotting delivers an immersive and impetuously engaging epic work, to be enjoyed in one breath. Return to the world created by 28 days laterin a UK ravaged by the rabies virus, and, riding a towering soundtrack, captures every sense.
5) Ithaca. The return by Uberto Pasolini
A story of love, disappointed responsibilities and heroism that finds its timeless strength in the giant interpretations of Juliette Binochepulsating and beautiful Penelope weaving and unweaving the web, and Ralph FiennesUlysses in rags and feeling guilty, returning to his Ithaca. Essential and powerful.
6) The voice of Hind Rajab by Kawthar ibn Haniyya
It’s the movie (or maybe the non-movie) that upset every stomach and punched in hearts. It hurts, actually, very badly. The real voice of the Palestinian girl Hind Rajab who asks for help, before being murdered by the Israeli army, is a blade that it rips and never retreats. The usual heartbreaking question arises: how can the human race get to this point? Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize at the latest Venice Film Festival.
7) The seed of the sacred fig by Mohammad Rasoulof
Less successful than Rasoulof’s previous film, Evil does not existbut always so strong in being mirror of an Iran of repression and censorship. Through the internal dynamics of an Iranian family, The seed of the sacred fig it reflects the ogre reactions of a regime that oppresses, cages and kills. The resistance has the face and courage of young people and women.
8) Love by Dag Johan Haugerud
Word film, part of the trilogy Sex-Love-Dreams by the Norwegian director. It’s an ode to sexual freedom and to the tenderness of encounters, beyond conventions. By way of philosophical guidefollowing the daily lives of a middle-aged urologist (Andrea Bræin Hovig) and her young gay nurse (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen), opens up the interpretation of existence and love to countless avenues.
9) The Brutalist by Brady Corbet
A monumental work and ambitious. Like the brutalist architecture pursued by its protagonist, an architect who escaped the Holocaust played by Adrien Brodyawarded with the Oscar, The Brutalist It’s a fascinating film, despite its monstrous length. Superb Guy Pearce, a patron of sinister charisma.
10) My family in Taipei by Shih Ching Tsou
A tender and tasty film, which, while following the toil and daily life of a family of only women, offers an insight into Taipei with its night markets, lights, streets and betel nuts sold by girls in heels and miniskirts. The little girl protagonist (Nina Ye) fills the heart with hers diligent naivety. Complete with a twist.
It is no coincidence that Tsou, Taiwanese-American, is a historical collaborator of Sean Baker, the director of Anorawho put his touch on screenplay, editing and production.
11) Presence by Steven Soderbergh
An authentic gem of the ghost moviewith Lucy Liu a resolute matriarch and Callina Liang a teenager shaken by a loss. Minimalist and intriguing, it is shot from the point of view of a mysterious presence, played on subjective and long shots. With a final twist for refined palates.
11) The slap by Frédéric Hambalek
A screenplay original and unusualwhich leads to sometimes hilarious plot twists and interesting reflections: what would our children think of us if they saw what we really think and what we do when they’re not around? Intertwining psychological realism and fantastic element, the German director explores the limits of truth and family communication.
13) Bird by Andrea Arnold
Bird it’s a Precious existentialist storybest film for Alice in the City 2024. A special coming-of-age story where the twelve-year-old protagonist (Nykiya Adams), who lives with her father (Barry Keoghan) who is rarely present in a squat in northern Kent, finds an unusual ally in a strange stranger (Franz Rogowsky)… So much harshness, traversed by a wonderful magical realism.
14) The sinners by Ryan Coogler
Black folk horror with seductive aesthetics and captivating music, it is nominated for seven Golden Globes. Set in the dusty, sun-swept Mississippi landscapes of the 1930s, it deals with originality racism and blues legacy. With a double and charismatic Michael B. Jordan which fills the scene, gives the vampire narrative a new perspective.
15) A simple accident by Jafar Panahi
Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festivala story between drama and irony, with a strong grotesque element. It is Panahi’s first film after his incarceration, shot secretly, without the permission of the Iranian authorities.
For the first time in fifteen years, the director disliked by the regime does not put himself on stage. A simple accident becomes the spark of a chain of increasingly overwhelming consequences. Yet another act of resistance and civil commitment.
16) Eternal – Odyssey into the abyss by Ulaa Salim
Danish film poised between ecology theme and love story, that’s one intimate sci-fi reflecting on climate changes and expectations about one’s life. The opening scene is powerful, with an earthquake that opens a mysterious fracture in the earth’s crust. The journey of the protagonist (Simon Sears) to the center of the Earth is intriguing, while the odyssey into the abyss intersects with doubts about personal choices of the past.
17) The colors of time by Cédric Klapisch
The colors of time it’s one of those films that makes you leave the cinema with a smile on your face, satisfied, and your heart lifted gentle and whispered beauty. Moving between contemporaneity and the nineteenth century, between unexpected Claude Monet and Victor Hugo, a story of family memories and emotional legacies that make you better. Ah, how well the French know how to embroider depth and lightness together!
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