15 films I’ll rewatch in 2025
Complete with watching and snacking suggestions
Just like you, I’m patiently awaiting the drop of Letterboxd Wrapped on January 8th 2025, professionally referred to as Year in Review. A cohesive set of statistics on my most watched, my trends in watching and numbers to boast about share with others: it’s the self-proclaimed cinephile’s dream.
Since embarking on this new career path as a freelance film critic, I’m delighted to say I’m nearly at a hundred subscribers on Substack - thank you to everyone that reads the emails, taps the notifications and shares me with others. I’ve found a new appreciation for the written word and how complementary it can be to our culture of visual media. As I mentioned in my first post ever, it’s worrying how much worth we can attribute to one person’s opinion and how blindly led by them we can feel. Six months later, having written about film regularly and (very luckily) having been paid to write, I feel this is way more pertinent.
No one person’s word on film is gospel, mine included. But if anything, watching and writing this year has brought a greater clarity on what I enjoy, what I’m good at and what’s impacted me the most. On that note - after great deliberation - here are my top 15 films of 2024 in no particular order, starting with…
We Live In Time
Sure, you know you’re going to cry if you watch this - but you don’t know how cathartic that cry is going to be. I bestowed upon John Crowley’s latest a coveted Letterboxd like: only Ponyo had gotten that treatment from me prior to this tear-jerker. Full review from earlier in the year here.
Watch it with: someone experiencing deep love/heartbreak, you’ll automatically receive permission to cry harder. Make it a competition.
Suitable snacks: anything with crunch is despicable, don't break people's sad silences with rustling wrappers! Go for pre-opened packs of chocolate to soften the pain.
Conclave
You’ve heard of it, probably seen it, and won’t think to watch it again. As someone that has rewatched it, I recommend paying close attention to certain cardinals and eminences, especially their body language. You should also watch again just to appreciate Isabella Rossellini as a nun. Here’s my original review.
Watch it with: someone who thinks ‘woke’ is a bad thing to see them get wound up by the ending, or a chronic vape user so they can relate to a cardinal hitting the pen.
Suitable snacks: if Odeon did communion wafers, I'd suggest those. In absence of that, I'll suggest zero snacks - the tension was enough for me to snack on.
Satu: Year of the Rabbit
Independent, cross-cultural, warming: this is one of the prettiest films I saw this year and I hope more people get a chance to watch it next year. I had the chance to interview director Josh Trigg, and on merit of the struggles of filmmaking alone, it deserves more than the BIFA nomination it received last month.
Watch it with: a younger sibling who probably won’t understand why you like the film, and that’s okay.
Suitable snacks: your favourite savoury snack, so you can create a positive association between it and this film, forcing you to rewatch it every time you crave said snack.
Monkey Man
Dev Patel is already slated for more independent projects in 2025 and that’s all I needed to know. This directorial debut from him was more than ‘South-Asian John Wick’, which is not only reductive but a bit stupid to say. Meshing mythology, religion and revenge, the runtime flies by on this one and I need to watch some of those action sequences again.
Watch it with: your South Asian friends - the glee on their faces will be undeniably contagious. If you don’t have any South Asian friends, watch it with the Dev Patel appreciators in your life - I sincerely hope and pray you have some of them.
Suitable snacks: bring your own 500g bag of Bombay Mix, embrace the culture.
Nickel Boys
Maybe the only film on this list I struggled to include: much like Oppenheimer last year, this took a toll on me that I don’t think I could endure again - but the unique composition and the hypnotic framing demands to be appreciated again. Releasing widely in the New Year, it may be a good opportunity to catch on IMAX if possible.
Watch it with: anyone, maybe even yourself. You’ll struggle to find words after, so company may not make a difference.
Suitable snacks: please don't bring anything in to these screenings, I fear any noise would break the immersion (hyperbolic, of course) but you must take a bottle of water - your mouth will be very dry in suspense.
Kneecap
Music biopics are seeing a strange resurgence: but with Irish band Kneecap’s big-screen debut thanks to Rich Peppiatt, I’m excited for its future. Electric, inspiring and ridiculously catchy, this has already gotten two cinema watches for me and I’m waiting for a third living room watch to come around.
Watch it with: anyone who understands that Ayo Edebiri is actually Irish - that’s the best demographic for this kind of humour and music.
Suitable snacks: if you drink alcohol, obviously a Guinness. If you don't, something potato based feels apt. Lovely ready salted crisps maybe?
Girls Will Be Girls
Shuchi Talati’s diaries must be insanely relevant for at least two thirds of South Asian girls - the other third probably have yet to experience some of the culturally necessary feelings this film portrays. Watching this at a preview with lead actor Preeti Panigrahi present was perfect, completing the full circle feeling of reflection.
Watch it with: anyone BUT your mum, unless you’re the bravest person known to humankind. Even if you’re white, by the way.
Suitable snacks: I'll be aiming to rewatch this in my living room on Amazon Prime with a microwaved box of my mum's homemade saag - take from that what you will.
All We Imagine As Light
Similar to Girls Will Be Girls, I imagine this will be a set of truths for a slightly older generation of South Asian women and as such, we should all be paying close attention to what Payal Kapadia plans to do next. Named as Sight and Sound’s top film this year as well as claiming the first Indian nomination for Best Director at the Golden Globes, this film will get some incredibly high-tech restoration in a hundred years time.
Watch it with: definitely your mum. Maybe your grandmother. Take an aunty to the cinema for a little friend date, that's the kind of feeling this film gives.
Suitable snacks: The persistent midnight feel of this film made me feel like I needed a Red-Bull to keep up - ideal drink to match the pace.
Matt and Mara
This film is so New York, so American. I ate it up even if I was painfully frustrated throughout: reviewed here for Movie Marker. Definitely some polarising opinions on this one, but it felt like I was watching a documentary about relationships. Very messy and very first-world.
Watch it with: your partner if you've been together for more than five years, not your partner if you've been together for less than six months.
Suitable snacks: messiest snack ever. Match the chaos. Something American and egregious - one of those massive pickles maybe?
Hakeem
Like I mentioned with Kneecap, this has been a great year for the music biopic. More of a documentary (and released in IMAX too, mind) this deep dive into rapper Hak Baker’s life and career was surprisingly melancholic and deeply moving. I'm biased as a fan of his since a Little Simz concert he opened for, but you'll fall for his charm undoubtedly.
Watch it with: someone who is very far removed from the ‘London creative who listens to Berlioz unironically’ personality - do not let them gentrify Hak Baker!
Suitable snacks: whatever you choose, don't overpay. No £3 chocolate bars please, go to the Tesco Express next door and take something in that Hak would be happy with.
Maria
If Pablo Larrain has a Pinterest board, I need to see it. The neutrals, the regency, the architecture in this film is so beautiful and we should all be praying Larrain is thinking about his next iconic woman to make a film about. A lot of mixed feelings on the highs and lows of this film, but I thought there was an elegance in the way Larrain navigated the story of a very private woman. I reviewed this one earlier in the year and can't wait for its full release.
Watch it with: someone that watched Lara Croft when it came out, they'll have the greatest appreciation for the grace with which Angelina Jolie has aged.
Suitable snacks: classic popcorn for the classical film, but you must not share - keep your eyes on the screen and your hand on the snacks.
Didi
Asian-American produced media really took home my heart this year: Sean Wang leading the pack with iconic coming-of-age mid-2000s humour and awkwardness. There's a fantastic review on this from Kyle, linked here that explores the reasons why nostalgia does so well on screen. If you're a nerd for the behind-the-scenes, there's some great content around the colour grading and editing process of this film.
Watch it with: no-one older than 27, that's the magic age for this film. It's boomer-proof - let's keep it that way.
Suitable snacks: obnoxiously sour sweets feel apt, something kid-like and dumb, maybe those sour watermelon belts that get sugar all over you.
Bird
Admittedly, I've been introduced to Andrea Arnold painfully late. Only a true cinephile could admit such a cardinal sin. However, I think it makes me a better cinephile that this was my first watch and I fell in love with Arnold and Franz Rogowski straightaway. I wrote about the timeless realism of Arnold and the stunning work of Lucy Pardee’s casting genius here.
Watch it with: British people only - even better if you can get someone that owns property in Kent to care about Nykiya Adams.
Suitable snacks: find a British chocolate, packet of crisps etc - a Freddo pre-2009 will do.
Anora
Everyone knows I love this film, but there's been too much discourse on it (rightfully so) in light of intimacy coordinating, the Actors on Actors with Mikey Madison and the Sean Baker Directors on Directors. I do still love it, and can't wait for it to be seen by my friends to see what they think, but I think I deserve a second chance to decide what I think with all the recent criticism in mind.
Watch it with: not anyone older than you in your family, maybe not your younger siblings, and definitely ensure there aren't any stereotypical old people in the room. Maybe also watch with a hardcore Take That fan.
Suitable snacks: I think twirling a lollipop around during this feels the right vibe, something fun and cute to channel Ani.
The Brutalist
My most recent watch that's on this list and I am itching to watch this again. There's so many scenes, so many lines of dialogue that need to be appreciated on a rewatch and hopefully I'll be lucky enough to see in in 70mm again. I wrote about it extensively earlier this month here, if you're needing another reason to book a ticket ASAP.
Watch it with: your dad that was moved by Brody in The Pianist, he'll help you campaign for Corbet's Oscar success.
Suitable snacks: a mixture of KitKats and KitKat Chunkies that you can arrange in a similar Brutalist fashion to create the ultimate architectural chocolate feast.
Thank you again to anyone that’s been reading along these last six months, and I’m very excited for what’s to come in 2025. As always, let me know what you thought of these films, what your favourites were from this year and if you’re so inclined, what you’d like to see from The Amateur’s Take next year.
You can find all Letterboxd reviews for these films at my profile here.
Really need to watch Anora! Great list x
Taking notes to prep for we live in time 😭