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Vincere > Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
>Marco Bellocchio’s operatic view of history dismantles Obama-era politics while Michel Gondry dismantles indie-movie solipsism.

Broken Sky > Get Out
>Julián Hernández’s modern romantic epic is also a sensual, ethnic breakthrough, but Jordan Peele turns miscegenation into an unsolvable American nightmare.

The President > There Will Be Blood
>Mohsen Makhmalbaf examines the national tragedy of fascism while Paul Thomas Anderson claims its inheritance.

Being 17 > Spirited Away
>André Téchiné views the social and romantic tension in the maturation process while Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film encourages escapist fantasy.

The Darjeeling Limited > The Social Network
>Wes Anderson’s finest family drama argues for social and spiritual connection unlike David Fincher’s hagiography of antisocial archenemy Mark Zuckerberg.

Dragged Across Concrete > Mad Max: Fury Road
>S. Craig Zahler probes the depth and breadth of social tragedy while George Miller celebrates dystopia.

Munich > The Zone of Interest
>Spielberg’s awesome Israeli history lesson embraces the moral test that Jonathan Glazer’s Nazi fetishism avoids.

>These Better-Than oppositions, being non-topical, contrast signs of superior artistry with signs of petty political preference. Other good films from Todd Solondz and Neil Jordan; the last, great films of Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard, Terence Davies; and the ongoing films of Rude Jude and Michael Bay — all have brought distinction to a century that too often resists inspiration.