Chloé Zhao’s soulful story of a woman, played by a remarkable Frances McDormand, living on the outskirts of society manages to be both timely and timeless

In a year that needed it more than ever, Pixar provided a soaring, heart-warming tale of a music teacher who finds an unlikely life after death

Alexander Nanau’s harrowing and compelling documentary highlights a web of corruption that’s uncovered after a devastating nightclub fire in Romania

Writer-director Lee Isaac Chung’s semi-autobiographical tale of a Korean American family moving to rural Arkansas is a warm and moving triumph

Anthony Hopkins gives the performance of his career as a man losing his grip on reality in a devastating and ingeniously realised drama about dementia

Kelly Reichardt’s warm 19th-century drama is a surprising treat filled with friendship, tenderness and deep-fried dough

Kitty Green’s quietly devastating drama saw Julia Garner play a young assistant slowly realising she’s working for a sexual predator

David Fincher’s first film for Netflix was a visually breathtaking look at boozehound screenwriter Herman J Mankiewicz

Eliza Hittman’s tough, minimalist drama about a teenager travelling to get an abortion found its power in the quiet moments

Jude Law and Carrie Coon play a married couple disintegrating in the English countryside in a chilly and exquisitely constructed drama

Our pick of the finest movies released in a topsy-turvy year climaxes with a moving drama about a woman, played by Frances McDormand, who becomes a nomad