Oscar-Nominated Films You Must Watch 0 7

In recent years, discussions about the death of cinema have become almost a mandatory part of the conversation surrounding the Oscar nominees. Streaming and superhero franchises have done their dirty work and seemingly pushed great auteur cinema to the brink of extinction. However, among the nominees for Best Picture in 2026, several critics have noted an unexpected shift.

In Misha Ketchell's column for The Conversation, the author examines the main contenders for the Oscar, from Joachim Trier's lyrical drama "Sentimental Value" to eccentric genre films like "The Sinners" and "Marty the Magnificent," and poses the question: is Hollywood starting to make truly interesting films again?

Are people tired of the endless stream of short videos on TikTok and YouTube, and are they beginning to long for good cinema once more? The quality of this year's nominees suggests that this might indeed be the case.

For the first time in a long while, most of the nominated films are excellent, and almost all of them are enjoyable to watch.

"Sentimental Value"

Joachim Trier's film "Sentimental Value" is my pick for the Oscar for Best Picture. It is the kind of meticulously crafted cinema where naturalness feels like a given.

At the center of the story is renowned European director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), who is trying to reconnect with his daughters – Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lillieström) – after the death of their mother, with whom he has long lost touch.

Gustav is making a new film and wants his daughter Nora – a celebrated theater actress with her own demons, including a fear of the stage – to play the lead role.

Nora believes this is a cynical maneuver by her father to secure funding and refuses. Gustav then casts American star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), who immediately feels out of place.

The film tells the story of a family through the history of their home in Oslo – the past of several generations gradually intertwines with the problems and conflicts of the people living there today.

"Sentimental Value" is marked by rare lyricism. Some may find it excessive, but the film is made so precisely and subtly that this emotionality does not come off as either ostentatious or contrived. The film is indeed very sentimental, but this sentimentality arises naturally and does not feel like an artificial device.

Despite its complex form and multilayered narrative, the film is surprisingly easy to watch. Much of this is due to Joachim Trier's delicate direction and the expressive cinematography of Kasper Tuxen Andersen.

Reinsve, Lillieström, and Skarsgård are extremely convincing in their roles. Elle Fanning unexpectedly shines as the awkward American actress trying to impress the European intellectual director.

The film subtly connects the personal stories of the characters with the broader context of European social and cultural history. Gradually, it transforms into a meditation on the power of art, its ability to overcome alienation, and change relationships between people.

Life brings many disappointments, leaving behind the wreckage of unfulfilled promises and broken feelings. Yet people can still find their way back to each other – sincerely and truly – through that common aspiration we call art.

But there are still a few strong films that could stand out in any other year.

"The Sinners"

Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most acclaimed directors of the last decade, though not all of his films have been successful. After his last truly great film – the black comedy "The Lobster" (2015) – he seems to be back in form with "The Sinners."

The film tells the story of clumsy conspiracy theorist Teddy (Jesse Plemons), who, along with his simple-minded cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), kidnaps Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Auxolith.

Fuller is a typical example of a tough corporate leader. She appears on the covers of Forbes with headlines like "Breaking Barriers" and endlessly talks about diversity and inclusivity, while her company causes serious harm to the environment and people.

Teddy is convinced that she is actually an alien from Andromeda. According to him, she came to Earth to enslave and exploit humanity, bringing the same doom to people that he believes she has already inflicted on bees.

The film's main strength largely lies in how it plays with our perception of the two main characters. Sometimes Teddy appears to be a mad serial killer, while Fuller seems to be a heroic victim. At other times, we begin to empathize with Teddy, while Fuller appears to be a cold sociopathic manipulator.

The story gradually leads to a conclusion that is both absurd and darkly nihilistic, yet surprisingly satisfying.

As in many of Lanthimos's films, the characters here are somewhat exaggerated, almost caricatured. But thanks to the director's precise sense of humor and ability to balance between the funny and the awkward for the viewer, such portrayals ultimately work and feel convincing.

"Marty the Magnificent"

It's hard to come up with a more ridiculous premise for a film. In the 1950s, chatty New York entrepreneur Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) must find money to travel to Japan and defeat world champion Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi) in the match of the century in table tennis.

However, director and co-writer Josh Safdie takes this absurd plot quite seriously, resulting in a high-energy sports film that can compete with the fourth "Rocky."

Much of this is achieved through the impressive cinematography of Darius Khondji. The film is shot on 35mm film, and the image possesses a rare depth of color and texture that is rarely achieved in digital shooting today.

There is also a powerful soundtrack by Daniel Lopatin and an anachronistic musical score featuring several standout pop hits from the 1980s (Public Image Limited, New Order, and Tears for Fears).

Despite Marty's arrogance, his ability to charm people, penchant for scams, flirting, and generally questionable behavior, Timothée Chalamet plays the character in a way that conveys both irony and human vulnerability. Ultimately, Marty comes off as a charming rogue – a person who is hard to call good, but whom you still want to root for.

He is a bit crazy, but his self-confidence and willingness to do anything for his dream gradually infect the viewer. The film races along with him through New York and other corners of the world as quickly as a bright ping-pong ball.

"Marty the Magnificent" is a strange yet captivating film that embodies the madness hidden in the very idea of the American dream. Marty is willing to do anything to get to Japan. After a series of adventures and some rather harsh scenes, in which cult director Abel Ferrara plays an aging gangster, he ultimately succeeds.

Other Films

Unusually for the Oscars, the list of nominees for 2026 includes several other good films.

For example, the political thriller "The Secret Agent" by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho. Although the film falls short of his previous works, such as "Neighboring Sounds" (2012) and "Bacurau" (2019), it is still very dynamic. Set in the 1970s, one of the standout roles is played by Wagner Moura, who portrays a dissident scientist hiding from the persecution of a brutal dictatorship.

At the center of the story is a weary leftist activist Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio). Together with his daughter Willa (Chase Infinity), he is hiding from the police and armed militia led by the dimwitted Stephen J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn).

The film often appears quite absurd and ludicrous. But, like Thomas Pynchon's novel "Vineland" (1990), which inspired it, it remains a light and engaging spectacle.

The film "F1" is also good. This meticulously crafted racing film follows all the wonderfully silly clichés of the genre. Hardened and burned-out veteran Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) enters Formula 1 for the first time and finds himself in a new era of racing, embodied in his rival – the brash young driver Joshua Pierce (Damson Idris).

It's hard to imagine that such a film could have been nominated for Best Picture in another era. It's hard to envision such a film making it to the Oscar nominees for Best Picture at any other time. For example, Tony Scott's "Days of Thunder" (1990) – a film that is no less naive but even more skillfully made – was mercilessly ridiculed by critics at the time.

However, today it seems that audiences are beginning to appreciate large-scale spectacle films for the big screen once again. In the age of streaming services and the habit of watching movies with half an eye while doing something else, it is precisely such vibrant blockbusters that help maintain interest in traditional theatrical releases.

Three Boring Films

Clint Bentley's film "Train Dreams" is a sincere but visually rather dull piece from Netflix. It is a leisurely historical melodrama about love that touches on themes of class differences, racism, and the American dream.

Joel Edgerton, as usual, plays reliably and convincingly, so the film can generally be watched without irritation. But the story itself feels a bit tired and derivative.

Moreover, the digital shooting here does not work well: it poorly conveys the scale and atmosphere of the wide natural landscapes that play an important role in the film.

In the film "Frankenstein," director Guillermo del Toro tackles one of the heaviest and most moralistic novels of the gothic tradition and presents it just as heavily.

Oscar Isaac plays Dr. Frankenstein with an actor's flair, sometimes even excessive. Jacob Elordi as the monster looks rather ridiculous. And Christoph Waltz as Harlender delivers pompous lines like "Will you be able to hold your fire, Prometheus, or will you burn your hands before you bring it?" in case the viewer suddenly doesn't know that the subtitle of Mary Shelley's novel is "The Modern Prometheus."

While the film tries to look lavish with historical sets, it cannot hide the sterility of the digital image. If the novel has at least a simple elegance, del Toro's version comes off as drawn-out, pretentious, and cheap-looking.

Chloé Zhao's latest work "Hamnet: The Story that Inspired 'Hamlet'" is hard to take seriously, largely because the creators present it with excessive seriousness and pomp.

The film has some successful moments. For example, Paul Mescal is pleasant to watch, the cast generally performs well, and the musical accompaniment is quite decent.

However, overall, the film gives the impression of a self-satisfied and pretentious project. It resembles a beautiful but overly serious Instagram* video more than truly engaging and lively cinema.

Conclusion: 7 out of 10

As usual, the truly best films of 2025 were not nominated for the Oscar (where are "Sirat," "Again and Again," or "The Harvest"?). Nevertheless, most of the films on this year's list genuinely deserve attention and perhaps even a second viewing due to their spectacle, complexity, and multitude of meanings.

Perhaps after decades of superhero blockbusters, Hollywood is starting to make good cinema again, or at least the Academy is finally beginning to notice it more often.