The 10 best films at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival

1. The Assas­sin (Hou)

Well, that’s it for anoth­er year. Time to tal­ly up those top tips and start look­ing for­ward to the giant wedge of movies set to drop this autumn. Despite the mur­murs that this was not a vin­tage year, I found more to love in this line-up than I have for a good many years. Though top per­son­al hon­ours goes to Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s jaw-drop­ping The Assas­sin, I’d hap­pi­ly switch that top spot with any of titles which clocked in from two to six: My Gold­en Days was the purest shot of plea­sure; Ara­bi­an Nights is on-the-lam stunt cin­e­ma of the high­est order; Ceme­tery of Splen­dour reaf­firms its direc­tor as one of the most excit­ing work­ing in the world, In The Shad­ow of Women is brac­ing in its sim­plic­i­ty and direct­ness, and Car­ol… well, it’s Amer­i­can cin­e­ma on a high­er plane. Read our review of The Assassin.

2. My Gold­en Days (Desplechin)
3. Ara­bi­an Nights (Gomes)
4. Ceme­tery of Splen­dour (Weerasethakul)
5. In the Shad­ow of Women (Gar­rel)
6. Car­ol (Haynes)
7. Tale of Tales (Gar­rone)
8. One Floor Below (Muntean)
9. Moun­tains May Depart (Zhangke)
10. Loud­er Than Bombs (Tri­er)

1. Youth (Sor­renti­no)

Paulo Sorrentino’s sym­phon­ic and supreme­ly fun­ny por­trait of an age­ing com­pos­er search­ing for a new lease of life at a Swiss chateaux has proven divi­sive among crit­ics. All the more rea­son to sug­gest it may just win top hon­ours come Sun­day when the Palme d’Or is hand­ed out. Michael Caine and Har­vey Kei­t­el are both tremen­dous in their respec­tive roles as revered mae­stros on the wane, while Sor­renti­no infus­es the serene­ly beau­ti­ful (at times bewil­der­ing) imagery with life-affirm­ing exu­ber­ance. A scene in which Caine con­ducts an orches­tra of cows in a field is among the most joy­ous we’ve seen at this pres­ti­gious fes­ti­val. Read our review of Youth.

2. My Gold­en Days (Desplechin)
3. The Assas­sin (Hou)
4. Car­ol (Haynes)
5. Ceme­tery of Splen­dour (Weerasethakul)
6. Inside Out (Doc­ter)
7. Son of Saul (Nemes)
8. One Floor Below (Muntean)
9. Green Room (Saulnier)
10. The Here After (von Horn)

1. Youth (Sor­renti­no)

“It’s life, it’s Pao­lo,” said Michael Caine when we inter­viewed him about Youth. The sprawl­ing, mag­i­cal, lov­ing evo­ca­tion of a place that (con­trar­i­ly) isn’t quite of this world repays mulling and unpick­ing and reliv­ing of the crazi­ly imag­i­na­tive sce­nar­ios scat­tered like the tasti­est and most taste­ful of trea­sure-hunt treats. That it doesn’t neat­ly add up neat­ly or build with math­e­mat­i­cal pre­ci­sion is like life and also of sec­ondary import to the atmos­phere that rolls beneath, lift­ing one up with the ten­der­ness of a father plac­ing a child on his shoulders.

2. Inside Out (Doc­ter)
3. Black Girl (Sem­bene)
4. Car­ol (Haynes)
5. Beyond My Grand­fa­ther, Allende (Mar­cia Tam­but­ti Allende)
6. One Floor Below (Muntean)
7. Sicario (Vil­leneuve)
8. Krisha (Shults)
9. Sem­bene! (Niang)
10. Green Room (Saulnier)