by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

I hate making “Best” lists. I like highbrow cinema and I like lowbrow cinema. Art is subjective. It’s the Barbenheimer debate—do you go see the three-hour biopic about the development of the atomic bomb or witness a doll have an existential crisis within a doll’s colorful world. I saw both, but I preferred neither.

The films that impressed me most this year were ones that made me think and get emotional. Here is a rundown, in alphabetical order of my favorite films of the year.

 32 Sounds A remarkable documentary about sound that challenges what you think, see, know—and hear.

 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe A warm and fuzzy adaptation of Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s YA novel about two teens in 1987 El Paso, TX becoming friends—and possibly boyfriends. Told with pitch-perfect precision and performances.

The Eight Mountains This bromance between two handsome Italian men with father issues is an extraordinary, poignant, and heartbreaking drama about friendship and family.  

Green Border A stunning, timely, and laser-sharp examination of the refugee crisis in Europe. Shot in haunting black and white, director Agnieszka Holland’s unforgettable film provided tremendous insight and emotion into the lives of the refugees, the activists who help them, and even the border guards. A masterpiece.

John Wick Chapter 4. Exhilarating wall-to-wall action. Don’t cross John Wick!

 The Last Repair Shop A documentary short that provides incredible stories about the folks who fix instruments for Los Angeles schoolkids. The teenage musicians also talk about the importance of music in their lives. This moving, funny, and inspiring film will induce happy tears. Watch it here.

Past Lives A love triangle, told with care and restraint. A young married woman (Greta Lee) navigates a her feelings for a man (Teo Yoo) from her youth. The longing is palpable, and the observations about relationships are heart-wrenching. This film was quietly powerful in all the right ways.

 Poor Things Wild, naughty, and, wonderful, Yorgis Lanthimos’ trippy feminist parable is the most imaginative and hilarious film this year. (Take that, Barbie!) 

Stop Making Sense This 40th anniversary restoration provided the best cinematic experience this year—in IMAX.

A Thousand and One Teyana Taylor gives the breakthrough performance of the year in debut director A.V. Rockwell’s sucker-punch of a film about a fresh-out-of-jail single mother in New York City raising her son amid gentrification and other issues. Phenomenal in every way.