Photograph by Sabrina Lantos / Courtesy Sony Pictures / Everett
The two front-runners in this year’s Academy Awards race have shown their strength in numbers: “Sinners” set a new record with an astounding sixteen nominations, followed closely by “One Battle After Another,” with thirteen. Not every worthy contender, though, landed in the double digits. Three of the finest films of 2025 received just two nominations apiece—none of them, alas, for Best Picture. All three are essential viewing.
“Blue Moon”
Streaming on Netflix and available to rent online
Richard Linklater’s nearly real-time drama, which follows the legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) on one of the saddest, most momentous nights of his life, is a funny, melancholy ode to creative genius, professional disappointment, and frustrated desire. The dazzlingly witty and erudite script, by Robert Kaplow, is nominated for Best Original Screenplay; Hawke, who is rightly nominated for Best Actor, delivers one of his richest and most surprising performances.
“It Was Just an Accident”
Streaming on Hulu and available to rent online
The great Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s stinging revenge thriller, which is heavily inspired by his and others’ experiences in one of Tehran’s most notorious prisons, was expected to fare better in this year’s awards race, especially after it won the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It’s unlikely to prevail in either of its two Oscar categories, Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay, but no matter; it remains a tour de force of suspense, dark comedy, social critique, and moral fury, from one of cinema’s bravest artists.
“Sirāt”
In theatres
A nominee for Best International Feature and Best Sound, this tragic and spellbinding tale of survival, from the Spanish director Oliver Laxe, joins “The Wages of Fear” (1953), “Sorcerer” (1977), and “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) in the pantheon of off-roading action thrillers. See it in a theatre now, and let every majestic desert vista and hypnotic beat of Kangding Ray’s music (inexplicably overlooked for Best Original Score) burn itself into your memory.
Editor’s Pick
Illustration by Till Lauer
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