Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, and Daniel Day-Lewis’s swansong, could have been a self-indulgent apologia for tortured male genius – but instead turned its rich observational powers on the trials of new relationships

Debra Granik delivered a reminder of her greatness with this superlative drama about a father and daughter living off-grid

Andrei Zvyagintsev’s stark drama about a couple’s toxic relationship – and its catastrophic fallout – was a passionate dissenting cry from within Russia

Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti were excellent as a sympathetic New York couple struggling to have a baby in Tamara Jenkins’s intensely personal drama

Marvel broke new ground with Ryan Coogler’s exhilarating introduction to Wakanda, bringing social conscience and diversity to the increasingly tired superhero genre

A couple’s passionate relationship mirrors postwar Poland’s political turmoil in Paweł Pawlikowski’s romantic epic

Steve McQueen’s heist drama is starry, sleek and majestically composed, with an emotional depth that sets it apart

Mexico’s Day of the Dead unearths family secrets in a Pixar animation whose impact has grown since its relatively low-key release

Increasing the sense of impending horror to almost unbearable intensity, Ari Aster’s terrifying debut caused convulsions – without a jump-scare in sight

Alfonso Cuarón delivers a layered, poignant Mexican drama to top our critics’ poll of movies, joining tales of game-changing superheroes, confused teenagers, musical lovers and terrified families