And here are the other 5 movies in my list – with other films good enough to be mentioned.

6. Anatomy of a Fall
   French film “Anatomy of a Fall”, which won the Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival early in this year, is a compelling courtroom drama film which keeps us guessing for good reasons. Mainly revolving around one seemingly simple case which turns out to be much more complicated, the movie constantly and dexterously sways our assessment on the case in one way or another, and its riveting ambiguity will linger on your mind for a long time after it is over. Despite its rather long running time (152 minutes), the movie never feels tedious as firmly holding our attention from the beginning to the end, and it is certainly one of the most impressive films of this year.

7. Afire
   Christian Petzold’s new film “Afire” surprises me for being more humorous and playful compared to some of his more serious films such as “Phoenix” (2014) or “Undine” (2020). Mainly revolving around four different young people who happen to get involved with each other in one way or another during hot summer days, the movie subtly but palpably illustrates the complex emotional undercurrents among them, and then it becomes more poignant than expected after it literally sets the finale on fire.

8. May December
   Todd Haynes’ latest film “May December” is elusive but fascinating in its tricky psychological drama between a famous actress and a notorious woman she is supposed to play. While mostly cold and dispassionate in terms of mood and storytelling, the movie intrigues us as slowly and subtly revealing the dark and disturbing emotional undercurrents under the surface, and it is also sometimes unexpectedly sad and harrowing as we come to sense more of where its little but precious emotional center lies. Sure, this is not something you can casually watch on Sunday afternoon, but you will not easily forget what is presented so well on the screen by mood, performance, and storytelling, and it is inarguably one of the most fascinating movies of this year.

9. El Conde
   Pablo Larraín’s new film “El Conde” is a horror black comedy which depicts a notorious real-life Chilean dictator as a 250-year-old vampire. This sounds like a mere one-joke premise on the surface, but the movie is willing to go for more gore and grotesqueness for its dark laugh and ridicule, and you will be often amused by how it makes acerbic points on evil and fascism under its austerely deadpan storytelling approach.

10. The Quiet Girl
    “The Quiet Girl” is a little but precious coming-of-age drama about the importance of being loved. Calmly and sensitively following one summer of a little quiet lonely girl, the movie brightens up its mood bit by bit as she is gradually transformed by two good people who really care about her, and it is touching to observe how she and they become much closer to each other than expected in the end. No matter what will happen next, she comes to learn about being loved at least, and I can only hope that she will never forget that while eventually becoming capable of giving love and affection for herself.

Runner-up (In alphabetical order): “Barbie”, “Earth Mama”, “The Fabric of the Human Body”, “R.M.N.”, “Scrapper”, “Showing Up”, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”, “A Thousand and One”, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”, and “You Hurt My Feelings”

Documentary (In alphabetical order)
“The Deepest Breath”, “The Fabric of the Human Body”, “It Ain’t Over”, “Silver Dollar Road”, and “20 Days in Mariupol”

Animation (In alphabetical order)
“The Boy and the Heron”, “Elemental”, “The First Slam Dunk”, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”, and “Suzume”

Honorable mention (In alphabetical order)
“Air”, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.”, “Asteroid City”, “The Blue Caftan”, “Bottoms”, “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial”, “The Eight Mountains”, “Fair Play”, “Infinity Pool”, “The Killer”, “How to Blow up a Pipeline”, “John Wick: Chapter 4”, “Maestro”, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”, “No One Will Save You”, “Passage”, “Polite Society”, “Rye Lane”, “Talk to Me”, and “Tori and Lokita”

Yes, I belatedly watched them, and they are all good (In alphabetical order)
“All That Breathes”, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”, “Argentina 1985”, “The Banshees of Inisherin”. “The Fabelmans”, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery“, “Navalny”, “Living”, and “Women Talking”