Search

Thirty years of films, no continuity between them, and no correct order. Some starting points are better than others.

Start with Spirited Away

It is the most complete statement of what the studio does: a competent child in a world with rules nobody explains. If it does not work for you, the rest probably will not either.

Not the ten best. The ten that other films started copying.

A short list for anyone catching up in the fortnight before an awards ceremony, and a note on how to use it.

Watch the winners you have not seen

Best Picture winners are a poor guide to quality and a good guide to what the industry thought of itself that year. Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Parasite are all worth the time on their own terms as well.

The physicist who built the bomb, and the hearing that followed. Directed by Christopher Nolan, released 2023.

An agent learns to fight a war being run backwards through time. Directed by Christopher Nolan, released 2020.

Three timelines converge on a beach in 1940. Directed by Christopher Nolan, released 2017.