Best Movies of 2017
2017 stands as one of cinema's most remarkable years, delivering an extraordinary collection of films that pushed boundaries, sparked important conversations, and reminded audiences why they fell in love with movies in the first place. From bold social thrillers that redefined genre conventions to heartfelt animated masterpieces that moved viewers of all ages, the best movies of 2017 showcased exceptional storytelling across every category. This year brought us Oscar-winning dramas featuring career-defining performances, intimate character studies that explored the depths of human emotion, and visually stunning works from master filmmakers at the peak of their craft. Whether you're searching for critically acclaimed indie films that flew under the radar, crowd-pleasing family adventures, or thought-provoking narratives that dominated awards season discussions, 2017 delivered unforgettable cinematic experiences that continue to resonate today. Our carefully curated selection of 21 outstanding films captures the diversity, innovation, and sheer talent that made this year essential viewing for movie lovers, highlighting the directors, actors, and stories that defined modern cinema and left an indelible mark on film history.
This documentary collaboration represents something genuinely special—a celebration of art, community, and human connection that radiates joy and curiosity from every frame. Legendary filmmaker Agnès Varda, then 88, partners with 33-year-old street artist JR on a journey through rural France, creating large-scale photographic murals of local residents and exploring the stories behind weathered faces and disappearing ways of life. The chemistry between the two artists drives the film as much as their subjects, with Varda's philosophical reflections complementing JR's energetic installations. Their project honors ordinary people by literally monumentalizing them, pasting giant portraits on buildings, trains, and containers in acts that are both artistic and deeply humanistic. The film captures spontaneous moments of discovery alongside carefully composed visual essays, all while contemplating memory, mortality, and the power of images to preserve dignity. This is documentary filmmaking as generous and life-affirming as cinema gets, a reminder of art's capacity to forge connections across generations and communities.
Set in the shadow of Disney World, just outside Orlando's tourist paradise, Sean Baker's masterpiece captures a forgotten America through the eyes of six-year-old Moonee and her young mother Halley, struggling to survive in a budget motel painted in cheerful pastels that mask desperate circumstances. This is filmmaking at its most humane and observant, with Baker finding genuine magic in the margins while never condescending to his characters or their situation. Brooklynn Prince is an absolute revelation as Moonee, delivering one of the most natural child performances ever captured on film, while Bria Vinaite brings raw authenticity to the complex role of Halley. Willem Dafoe provides the film's moral center as Bobby, the motel manager who witnesses everything with quiet compassion. The cinematography transforms poverty into poetry without romanticizing it, and the ending will leave you emotionally devastated. Essential viewing.
A darkly comedic drama doesn't get much better than this powerhouse exploration of grief, rage, and the search for justice in small-town America. Frances McDormand delivers an absolutely searing performance as Mildred Hayes, a mother who rents three roadside billboards to call out the local police chief (Woody Harrelson) for the unsolved murder of her daughter. Writer-director Martin McDonagh constructs a morally complex narrative where no character is simply hero or villain, and everyone is capable of both cruelty and redemption. Sam Rockwell provides equally brilliant work as a racist, volatile officer whose arc surprises at every turn. The film balances pitch-black humor with devastating emotional moments, taking bold narrative risks that pay off magnificently. McDonagh's sharp dialogue and fearless storytelling create an unforgettable experience that challenges viewers while keeping them completely engaged. It's a stunning achievement in character-driven cinema.
Ben Whishaw's Paddington returns in a sequel that surpasses the original in every way, delivering a family film of extraordinary warmth, humor, and visual invention. The marmalade-loving bear finds himself wrongly imprisoned for theft, bringing his characteristic politeness and optimism to a dreary jail filled with hardened criminals. Director Paul King crafts a confection that never feels saccharine, balancing slapstick comedy with genuine emotion and some surprisingly sophisticated visual gags. Hugh Grant steals scenes as a washed-up actor willing to do anything for a comeback, clearly having tremendous fun playing against type. The supporting cast, including Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, and Brendan Gleeson, all commit fully to the film's tone. King's direction finds beauty and whimsy in every frame, from prison kitchens to London rooftops, creating a world that feels both stylized and emotionally authentic. It's a rare sequel that achieves near-perfection, radiating kindness without ever feeling naive.
Visually stunning and emotionally overwhelming, this Pixar masterpiece celebrates family, memory, and Mexican culture with extraordinary beauty and depth. The story follows Miguel, a young boy who dreams of becoming a musician despite his family's ban on music, and finds himself transported to the Land of the Dead on Día de los Muertos. Directors Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina craft a world that's both fantastical and deeply rooted in tradition, with vibrant animation that brings the afterlife to glorious, colorful life. The voice cast, including Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel and Gael García Bernal as the charming Héctor, delivers performances full of warmth and authenticity. What truly distinguishes Coco is its profound exploration of how we remember and honor those who came before us. The film builds to an emotional climax that resonates across cultures, reminding us that our loved ones live on through the stories we tell. It's Pixar operating at peak form, creating entertainment that speaks to both children and adults with equal power.
In this exquisitely crafted final performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, we enter the rarefied world of 1950s London haute couture, where renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock encounters Alma, a young waitress who disrupts his fastidiously ordered existence. Director Paul Thomas Anderson has created a gothic romance that's equal parts seductive and unsettling, with Day-Lewis delivering a mesmerizing portrayal of artistic obsession and control. Vicky Krieps is revelatory as Alma, matching the master actor beat for beat as their relationship evolves into something far stranger than conventional romance. Lesley Manville provides sharp support as Reynolds's sister Cyril, the gatekeeper to his hermetic world. Jonny Greenwood's score alternates between lush romanticism and disquieting tension, perfectly complementing Anderson's sumptuous visuals. The film is a meditation on power dynamics, creativity, and the ways love can become a battleground. It's hypnotic, darkly funny, and absolutely singular—a perfect curtain call.
In the summer of 1983, seventeen-year-old Elio begins an intense, transformative relationship with Oliver, the graduate student staying at his family's Italian villa. Director Luca Guadagnino creates an absolutely intoxicating sensory experience, immersing us in the sun-drenched Italian countryside where every moment feels charged with longing and possibility. Timothée Chalamet gives a breakthrough performance as Elio, capturing both youthful arrogance and profound vulnerability, while Armie Hammer brings depth to Oliver's carefully maintained reserve. Michael Stuhlbarg delivers one of cinema's most beautiful monologues as Elio's remarkably understanding father. James Ivory's screenplay and Sufjan Stevens' haunting songs enhance the aching beauty of a first love that knows it's temporary. This is filmmaking that trusts its audience to feel rather than simply watch, creating a love story that lingers long after the credits roll.
Brilliant, terrifying, and devastatingly original, Jordan Peele's directorial debut reinvents the horror genre as sharp social commentary wrapped in genuinely disturbing psychological terror. Daniel Kaluuya stars as Chris, a young Black photographer visiting his white girlfriend's (Allison Williams) family estate for the weekend, where an atmosphere of liberal politeness gradually reveals something far more sinister. Peele masterfully builds dread through subtle details and unnerving performances, particularly from Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener as the too-perfect parents. What begins as social satire about racial microaggressions evolves into a full-blown nightmare that uses horror tropes to explore exploitation, appropriation, and the violence lurking beneath progressive facades. Kaluuya's performance anchors the terror in genuine human emotion, while Peele's script balances screams with knowing humor. This is essential viewing—a cultural landmark that's as thought-provoking as it is frightening.
The desperate evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of France in May 1940 becomes a breathtaking cinematic experience in Christopher Nolan's masterful war film. Told across three interlocking timelines—land, sea, and air—the film drops viewers directly into the chaos and terror of survival as hundreds of thousands of troops await rescue while German forces close in. Nolan eschews traditional war movie conventions, delivering instead a visceral, nearly dialogue-free thriller that operates on pure tension and stunning visuals. The ensemble cast, including Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, and Harry Styles, brings authenticity to this tale of ordinary courage, while Hans Zimmer's relentless score and Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography create an immersive sensory assault. This is filmmaking at its most ambitious and transporting—a remarkable achievement that honors history while delivering edge-of-your-seat entertainment.
Emer Reynolds delivers an extraordinary documentary chronicling the Voyager space probes' unprecedented journey through our solar system and into interstellar space. Launched in 1977, these twin spacecraft have traveled farther than any human-made object, sending back stunning images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune while carrying humanity's message to potential extraterrestrial life on their famous Golden Records. Reynolds weaves together breathtaking archival footage, new interviews with the scientists and engineers who built and guided Voyager, and beautifully rendered sequences showing the probes' current journey through the cosmos. The film captures both the technical achievement and the profound emotional resonance of this mission, particularly through the reflections of now-elderly team members who dedicated their careers to these explorers. What emerges is a deeply moving portrait of human curiosity and ambition at its finest, reminding us of what we can accomplish when we dare to reach beyond our world. This is essential viewing for anyone who's ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what's out there.
In this visually stunning sequel, director Denis Villeneuve expands the world of the original Blade Runner with breathtaking scope and artistic vision. Ryan Gosling plays K, a newer model replicant blade runner who uncovers a secret that leads him to Rick Deckard, Harrison Ford's character from the first film. Roger Deakins' cinematography is absolutely mesmerizing, creating a dystopian future that feels both alien and hauntingly plausible. The film takes its time, building atmosphere and asking profound questions about memory, humanity, and what makes us real. Villeneuve respects the original while crafting something that stands on its own merits. It's science fiction filmmaking at its most ambitious and visually magnificent—a rare sequel that honors its predecessor while forging its own path.
There is no conflict in this concert film—only pure celebration of one of cinema's most influential composers performing his iconic scores with a full orchestra and choir. Hans Zimmer leads the audience through decades of memorable film music, from *Gladiator* to *The Dark Knight* to *Inception*, each piece reimagined for the live setting with spectacular results. The Prague venue and production values are first-rate, capturing both the intricate details of the orchestration and the sweeping emotional power of Zimmer's compositions. What makes this more than just a concert recording is Zimmer's evident joy in performing and his brief introductions that provide context without becoming tedious. Watching the complex coordination required to bring these massive soundscapes to life adds appreciation for the craft involved. For anyone who has been moved by Zimmer's film work, this is an absolute must-watch—a reminder of music's power to transport and transform. The setlist is impeccable, the performances are extraordinary, and the entire experience is nothing short of thrilling.
This documentary explores the complex relationship between nations and the passage of time through one filmmaker's decades-long connection to Cuba and its people. Director Jon Alpert began filming in Cuba in 1972 and returns repeatedly over forty-five years, following several families through revolution, hardship, triumph, and loss. What emerges is an intimate portrait of resilience that transcends politics, showing how ordinary lives persist through extraordinary circumstances. Alpert's long-term commitment to his subjects creates relationships of genuine trust, allowing access to moments of vulnerability and joy that feel authentic rather than performed. The film becomes a meditation on friendship, change, and what it means to bear witness to other people's lives. As decades pass and children become grandparents, the accumulation of small moments builds tremendous emotional weight. It's a profound reminder that history isn't just about leaders and policies—it's about people trying to build lives worth living.
A zombie film shoot descends into complete chaos, but something far more interesting is happening beneath the surface. Director Shinichiro Ueda's ingenious meta-horror-comedy starts as an apparent disaster—a low-budget zombie movie plagued by incompetent actors, technical failures, and mounting panic—before revealing itself as something completely unexpected and utterly brilliant. To say more would spoil one of cinema's great structural surprises, but trust that this Japanese indie's "one take" premise is just the beginning. The cast, led by Takayuki Hamatsu, commits fully to both the slapstick comedy and the genuine filmmaking passion that drives the story. One Cut of the Dead is a love letter to DIY cinema, to persistence in the face of impossible odds, and to the collaborative chaos of making movies. It's hilarious, surprisingly moving, and a reminder of why we fall in love with films in the first place. Absolute must-see cinema.
This documentary masterpiece resurrects decades of unseen footage to create an intimate portrait of primatologist Jane Goodall's groundbreaking chimpanzee research in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park. Director Brett Morgen works with over 100 hours of 16mm film shot by Hugo van Lawick in the 1960s, material that sat untouched in the National Geographic archives for fifty years. The result transcends typical biographical documentary, functioning almost as a time machine that places viewers alongside the young Goodall as she makes discoveries that would revolutionize our understanding of animal behavior. Philip Glass's evocative score elevates the observational footage into something approaching spiritual experience, while Goodall's present-day reflections provide context without overwhelming the archival material. Morgen wisely allows the images to speak—Goodall's patience with the chimps, her romance with van Lawick, the solitude and danger of her work—creating a film that celebrates both scientific dedication and human curiosity. It's essential viewing that honors its subject's legacy while functioning as stirring cinema in its own right.
On Yosemite's iconic El Capitan, climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson attempt what many considered impossible: a free climb of the sheer 3,000-foot Dawn Wall, the most difficult rock climb ever attempted. Directors Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer craft a documentary that's equal parts breathtaking athletic achievement and intimate character study, tracing Caldwell's obsessive seven-year quest to find a route up the seemingly blank granite face. The film brilliantly contextualizes the climb within Caldwell's personal history, including a harrowing kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and a career-threatening injury, making the Dawn Wall both literal obstacle and metaphor for overcoming adversity. The cinematography captures the terrifying exposure and microscopic holds these climbers rely on, while the 19-day final push becomes genuinely suspenseful despite knowing the outcome. It's an exhilarating portrait of human determination pushed to extraordinary limits.
Greta Gerwig announces herself as a major directorial talent with this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age gem set in early 2000s Sacramento. Saoirse Ronan is luminous as Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a teenager desperate to escape her hometown for the cultural mecca she imagines awaits on the East Coast. The film captures the specific awkwardness and intensity of senior year—the college applications, the shifting friendships, the first relationships—with humor and precision. Laurie Metcalf is equally excellent as Lady Bird's mother, and their complicated, deeply loving relationship forms the film's emotional core. Gerwig understands that teenage concerns aren't trivial just because we've lived past them; Lady Bird's longing for sophistication and her simultaneous homesickness feel completely authentic. The supporting cast, including Lucas Hedges and Timothée Chalamet, fills out a world that feels lived-in and specific. It's a film about learning to appreciate where you're from while still needing to leave.
In this film, director James Mangold strips away the superhero spectacle to deliver a raw, emotionally devastating Western that serves as a perfect send-off for Hugh Jackman's iconic character. Set in a near-future where mutants are nearly extinct, an aging Logan struggles to care for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) while hiding from the world—until a young mutant girl named Laura forces him into one last mission. Jackman gives his finest performance as Wolverine, showing us a broken, mortal hero whose healing factor is failing and whose will to fight has nearly disappeared. Stewart matches him with a heartbreaking portrayal of Charles Xavier in decline. Mangold embraces the R-rating to deliver brutal, unflinching action, but the violence serves the story's themes about legacy, mortality, and redemption. Young Dafne Keen is remarkable as Laura, holding her own against the veteran actors. This is superhero filmmaking at its most mature and powerful—a genuine masterpiece.
Inside Folsom Prison, a group of incarcerated men participate in an intensive four-day therapeutic retreat that strips away the defenses and personas they've constructed to survive behind bars. Directors Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous capture this remarkable program with extraordinary intimacy, filming as outside volunteers guide these men through emotionally raw exercises designed to confront trauma, shame, and pain. The documentary's power lies in witnessing the transformation as hardened exteriors gradually crack, revealing vulnerability that many of these men have suppressed for decades. The film never sensationalizes or judges its subjects; instead, it offers profound respect for their courage in confronting their pasts and the emotions they've buried. What emerges is a powerful examination of masculinity, incarceration, and the possibility of healing even in the most unlikely environments. The filmmakers' observational approach allows viewers to experience the process alongside the participants, creating genuine emotional impact. It's a testament to the human capacity for change and the importance of spaces where men can safely express the full range of their emotional lives.
Tony Kushner's epic continues in this National Theatre production directed by Marianne Elliott, set against the backdrop of AIDS-ravaged America in the mid-1980s as personal and political crises intertwine with surreal, apocalyptic visions. This second half of the theatrical masterwork expands the canvas even further, incorporating Reagan-era politics, Mormon theology, and angels crashing through ceilings into a sprawling meditation on American identity and the human capacity for change. Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, and Denise Gough lead an ensemble that delivers career-best work, fully inhabiting characters who are by turns tragic, comic, infuriating, and transcendent. Elliott's staging captures both the play's intimate emotional moments and its wild theatrical ambition, while the filmed production preserves the electricity of live performance. This is essential viewing—a towering achievement of political theater that remains urgently relevant, combining devastating emotional honesty with dark humor and hope for transformation.
Across oceans from Australia's Great Barrier Reef to the waters of Hawaii and the Bahamas, this urgent documentary captures a catastrophic event unfolding in real time: the mass bleaching of coral reefs due to rising ocean temperatures. Director Jeff Orlowski assembles a team of divers, photographers, and scientists who set out to document what they're witnessing before it disappears entirely, using time-lapse photography to reveal the shocking speed at which vibrant coral ecosystems turn ghostly white and die. The cinematography is simultaneously gorgeous and heartbreaking—these underwater sequences remind us what we stand to lose while demonstrating the devastating impact of climate change in visceral, undeniable terms. What elevates "Chasing Coral" beyond typical environmental advocacy is its focus on the dedicated individuals racing against time, their growing desperation palpable as technical challenges and the accelerating crisis threaten their mission. The film never lectures but instead trusts that showing the evidence—reef after reef succumbing—will speak more powerfully than any sermon. It's essential viewing that transforms abstract environmental statistics into something deeply, painfully personal.