The 10 Best Movies at Cannes 2026
We came, we saw, we Cannes-quered. After screening three dozen films over the past two weeks, we are ready to weigh in on the 79th edition of the prestigious film festival. While the consensus—or rather, the “Cannes-sensus”—suggested this year was a bit of a letdown, characterized by brand-name auteurs struggling to find their footing and fumbled follow-ups from promising cineastes, there were still plenty of films that left us moved, reeling, and thoroughly impressed.
The Best of the Fest
From a gorgeous restoration of a banned classic to a masterful character study on the humanity of caretaking and a buzzy debut set in NYC’s queer club culture, these were the 10 best films we saw at Cannes 2026.
1. All of a Sudden
Anyone familiar with Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Happy Hour or the Oscar-winning Drive My Car knows he is one of the most brilliant filmmakers working in Japan today. This three-hour-plus story of the bond between a French healthcare administrator (Virginie Efira) and a Japanese playwright (Tao Okamoto) dying of cancer is a profound dual character study. It serves as an extended plea for a more dignified, humane approach to treating the sick and elderly. It is easily the best film we saw at this year’s festival.
2. The Beloved
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s follow-up to 2022’s The Beasts takes a familiar scenario—a filmmaker casting his daughter in a period piece—and turns it into a scathing takedown of the “creative genius” myth. Featuring a powerhouse performance from Adam Driver, this Spanish competition entry is an unsparing look at how the sausage is made on movie sets.
3. Ben’imana
The hidden treasure of the 2026 lineup was Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo’s scathing tale of truth and reconciliation surrounding the 1994 Tutsi genocide. Her debut feature is a bold, humanistic work that earned the Camera d’Or for Best First Film.
4. Club Kid
The breakout hit of the festival, writer-director-star Jordan Firstman, delivered a much-needed breath of fresh air. The film follows a party organizer in his thirties forced to grow up when he discovers he is a father. It is a queer-NYC-club-culture take on Kramer vs. Kramer that sparked a massive bidding war.
5. The Devils: The Director’s Cut
The Cannes Classics section provided one of the most sought-after tickets on the Croisette: a screening of the complete version of Ken Russell’s blasphemous 1971 masterpiece. With key missing scenes restored, this over-the-top attack on the relationship between church and state remains as pertinent as ever.
6. Fatherland
Polish filmmaker Pawel Palikowski delivers a stunning black-and-white road movie about Thomas Mann returning to a bifurcated Germany. The film features a brilliant performance by Sandra Hüller, who continues to prove she is one of the finest actors working today.
7. Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
Barnaby Thompson’s documentary on David Lean is a masterclass in biographical filmmaking. It traces the director’s arc from editor to Oscar-winning maestro without falling into the trap of hagiography.
8. Minotaur
Director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s latest is a potboiler set in Putin’s Russia. It is a chilling tale of crime and a lack of punishment that reflects the corruption of a society that has lost its moral compass.
9. Paper Tiger
James Gray returns to the festival with a gritty, character-driven thriller set in 1986 Queens. Starring Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson, the film is a sociological time capsule about the American Dream gone wrong.
10. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Jane Schoenbrun levels up with this riff on vintage slasher flicks. Starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, the film is a celebration of sexual liberation and a parable for learning to love oneself after transitioning.
