It’s great to see so many movies each year, going out of your way to consume cinema from around the world as much as you can. But the downside is the amount of films you want to highlight and talk about gets longer and longer, and there really just isn’t enough time in a year to give every film their proper due. So, as we work toward the final list of the Best of the Year, I wanted to take some time to acknowledge some films that flew under the radar or were rather difficult to track down.
Sometimes incredible films only play two theaters in Los Angeles or New York for one week – or so it seems – and are gone before anyone gets a chance to check them out. Because of that, I won’t really be able to say where you can find them and I’ll have to leave you with one of the most hated phrases of the modern day: do your own research.
Despite their limited release or hard to find access, there area always films that should be seen by more people and should get some kind of recommendation. So let’s take a look at our top 10 Best Hidden Gems of 2025!
10. “A Useful Ghost“
With a little bit more refinement, “A Useful Ghost” may have managed to make its way into the best of the year list. Though it doesn’t quite stick the landing, this wild ghost story is as ambitious as it is bizarre, and injects a freshness and uniqueness into a tired genre in ways I didn’t even know could be done. Sure, it loses steam and lets its ambitions get away from itself in the third act, but “A Useful Ghost” starts with such an inventive premise it’s easy to look past its flaws. I was completely enthralled throughout, and rathe touched by its more emotional poignant themes as its true intentions become revealed. “A Useful Ghost” is a weird one, but one I would recommend seeking out if you can find it.
9. “Sound of Falling“
I had a hard time knowing what to do with this one at first, as “Sound of Falling” is a giant, sprawling, nonlinear story that unfolds as timeless as dreams across multiple generations. It takes some time just to even get your bearings and “Sound of Falling” refuses to hold your hand through its haunting visions of cyclical male violence. But when we talk about bold visions and visual flare, few films are as assured as this one. I don’t think this is for everyone and it certainly requires quite a bit of patience and dedication, but if you’re dialed into what it is offering you will be rewarded with a magnificent spectacle of brilliant filmmaking and an unforgettable journey through the lives of women and common threads that bind them all.
8. “Eephus“
I’m not a fan of baseball, so on paper a film about a bunch of middle aged men getting together for one last pickup game before their park is turned into a school shouldn’t interest me. And yet, “Eephus” really broke through my indifferent exterior and revealed its true nature. “Eephus” isn’t actually about baseball at all. It’s a beautiful reflection on the mundanity of nostalgia, community, and growing old as the times, they are a changing. Life moves on whether we want it to or not. Our surroundings change, our priorities shift, and whether we accept it or not “Eephus” reminds us that the ground beneath our feet is fleeting no matter how much we hope it stays still. It’s so profound without saying anything at all. Just dudes and dads playing one last game together. I can’t believe how much I loved this one and I think it deserves a chance and more eyes as there’s a little “Eephus” in all of us.
7. “The Chronology of Water“
A whirlwind of sound and visceral imagery, Kristin Stewart’s “The Chronology of Water” kind of floored me. Like a lot of films on this list, they aren’t for everyone and this one is particularly difficult to get through due to its extremely difficult subject matter. But Stewart’s hand behind the camera will have you believing she’s been directing for decades, and Imogen Poots gives the performance of her career. Haunting and moving, it is as shapeless and uncontained as water itself as is moves through the life of a broken women slowly putting her life back together through words. “The Chronology of Water” is a hell of a debut from Stewart – confident and assured – and while it’s too long and affronting to be great it is unequivocally unforgettable.
6. “Bob Trevino Likes It“
Sometimes a good old conventional tale wrapped in sentimentality and convenience just hit hard, and “Bob Trevino Likes It” is sweet and simple and beautifully heartbreaking. Pure, unadulterated warm blanket cinema, it’s sharp and funny yet emotional and heartfelt, the kind of story that feels unbelievable until you realize it was based on true events from the director. “Bob Trevino Likes It” is light on its feet and oozing with charm, and it’ll remind you how important real connections are to have and how we should cherish the people that mean the most to us. It’s probably the easiest one to find (currently streaming on Hulu) and easiest one to watch. Just, make sure you’ve got some tissues handy. The ending wrecked me.
5. “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo“
A true hidden gem in every sense of the word, “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” feels singular in just about every conceivable way even as it plays with genre mashed tropes of westerns, queer stories and coming of age. What an absolute knockout. Poignant, empathetic and beautiful, this queer tale told with can’t miss confidence from it’s director leaves its mark in all of the best ways a film should. “Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” may have some pacing issues and starts to get a little too auteur as moves along, but if this is what we can expect from Diego Céspedes then count me all the way in on their filmography. It’s a rare breed of film and one I normally wouldn’t include as it has no real distribution or release date, but it is currently available to rent on Letterboxd’s Video Store for a limited time, so it can be seen if you’re willing to track it down.
4. “A Poet“
Listen, as a writer I’m personally a fan of any film that loves writing as much as “A Poet” does, so naturally it was going to be high on this list of hidden gems. A darkly funny character study of a protagonist simply incapable of making the right decision no matter how many times he’s given the opportunity. “A Poet” is my favorite kind of black comedy; the kind that makes you question whether it’s ok to laugh or not because it’s just so uncomfortable to watch unfold. Like a lot of these filmmaking exercises, “A Poet” does run a little long and could benefit from a little less time spent, but it’s still a great time and powered by an incredible lead performance from a man who isn’t even an actor. I still have his line deliveries stuck in my head months after watching it, and that helps cement “A Poet” on this list.
3. “Kokuho“
Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe “Kokuho,” a stunning visual feast and an immersion into a world I knew nothing about but now forever live in awe and fascination of its wonder. Slightly over melodramatic and (a recurring theme I know) over long, it is so gorgeously render and masterfully crafted in its visuals it doesn’t matter. Every single time I felt “Kokuho” start to lose me, it would do something to pull me back and absolutely lock me in. I know it’s a lot to ask to sit down and watch 3 hours of Kabuki theater, but I can’t stress enough how fast that time flies by and how enthralling the journey and sacrifice of greatness is here. “Kokuho” truly blew me a way and in a less crowded year it would most likely reserve a spot in the Best International Feature list.
2. “Lurker“
I’m actually surprised at how high this film ended up landing, but “Lurker” was one of my favorite watches at Sundance and has lived rent free in my head all year long. Again, like most films on this list, it utilizes conventional tropes in unconventional ways, taking a standard stalker/obsession story and transforming it into something unsettling and unforgettable by simply changing the perspective. “Lurker” makes the audience complicit in the malevolent actions of our protagonist, never hiding any of his misdeeds and basically inviting us to take part in them. We stay with the obsessor rather than the obsessed, and that changes everything. “Lurker” lingers thanks to incredible performances from its leads, and delivers an ending so striking and bold you’ll feel sick and shocked by somehow not surprised. I really loved “Lurker” and I think you will too.
1. “Resurrection“
This one took me a minute to come around to, but once I was able to parse out its true intentions and understand its framework a little more, I simply can’t escape “Resurrection.” This one’s for the true cinephiles, the ones that bemoan the death of cinema and theaters and physical media with every new streaming fodder franchise release. The ones who recognize every single influential filmmaker and staple with each image in every era of cinema, those who feel studied and marvel at craft above all else. I wish “Resurrection” was a bit more accessible thematically; not that I want to be robbed of its dream like allure and magnificent ambiguity, just that it requires its audience to know a little about a lot and a lot about specifics, and without context that even I had to reach out to get, it is a baffling expedition. Were it just slightly more open with itself, “Resurrection” would probably be a masterpiece and land at the top of the best films of the year. If you love movies….no….if you love CINEMA, “Resurrection” is an astounding visual treat.
Honorable Mentions
I had 30 films on this list, and managed to cut it down to 10. That felt impossible, but I’d be remised if I didn’t at least note some films that just barely missed the top 10 but were among the best of them. Films like “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” and undeniably charming film that warmed my soul as much as it made me laugh. Or “Dangerous Animals” that made me a believer out of Jai Courtney for the first time in, well, ever. “The Surfer” that at first I wasn’t sure about but ended up really enjoying and replaying in my mind over and over, and of course starring my boy Nicolas Cage so of course it deserves a mention here. “A Private Life” that sees Jodie Foster speaking fluent, convincing French and subverts every single expectation of the genre. “Plainclothes,” an largely unsee but excellent queer film with great use of camcorder visuals and a “nailed it” ending. “The Plague,” a film that reminds us all that kids are the worst and 8th grade actually sucked. And “Splitsville,” one of the funniest, hottest comedies absolutely no one saw or talks about but one that left me in tears from how hard I was laughing.
