Acclaimed filmmakers have shared personal essays in Variety highlighting the movies that inspired them most from 2025. The feature, published on January 2, 2026, includes insights from directors like Michael Mann, Janicza Bravo, and Barry Jenkins on standout works ranging from blockbusters to intimate dramas. These tributes emphasize authenticity, emotional depth, and innovative storytelling in the year's cinema.
Variety's latest roundup invites prominent directors to reflect on 2025's cinematic achievements through intimate essays, revealing what moved them amid a diverse slate of films. Michael Mann lauds James Cameron's 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' as a 'massive achievement' for its believable world-building, noting the addition of the Ash Clan led by Oona Chaplin's Varang and ongoing RDA conflicts. He predicts the full 'Avatar' saga will be regarded as Cameron's magnum opus, with two more installments planned.
Janicza Bravo describes Cherien Dabis' 'All That's Left of You' as a 'timely, multigenerational chronicle' of a family under occupation, praising its unflinching vulnerability and a pivotal curfew scene that shatters yet instills hope. Taylor Hackford celebrates Richard Linklater's dual releases: 'Nouvelle Vague,' a low-budget French New Wave homage shot in Paris that earned Linklater France's Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and 'Blue Moon,' featuring Ethan Hawke as lyricist Lorenz Hart in a single-night drama.
Other highlights include Julio Torres' admiration for Yorgos Lanthimos' 'Bugonia,' a paranoia-driven tale starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, and Barry Levinson's take on Gus Van Sant's introspective 'Dead Man's Wire,' based on a true hostage standoff focused on inner desperation. Celine Song, fresh from her 'Past Lives' Oscar, endorses James L. Brooks' 'Ella McCay' for its portrayal of a resilient politician's personal turmoil. The collection underscores cinema's power to foster dialogue on culture, injustice, and humanity, with contributors like Barry Jenkins honoring Kaouther Ben Hania's hybrid documentary 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' as an 'ancient lament' for a tragic real-life event.
These essays not only spotlight 2025's gems but also showcase the directors' own influences, blending envy and inspiration in a collaborative nod to the art form.
