'Raising questions' isn't enough. The best films of the year took a stance
In a roundup of 2025 films that engage with contemporary turmoil, NPR critic [[Aisha Harris]] argues that movies that take a clear stance — rather than leaning on nostalgia or ambiguity — register strongest, highlighting examples like [[Eddington]] and [[Bugonia]] for capturing pandemic-era conspiratorial chaos, and [[Sinners]] and [[One Battle After Another]] for their sharper moral commitments. She critiques sentimental or noncommittal efforts such as [[Ella McCay]] and praises films that balance political themes with emotional clarity, including [[It Was Just an Accident]] by [[Jafar Panahi]] and the socially conscious touches in [[Good Fortune]]. Harris observes uneven depictions of race and radicalism across filmmakers like [[Ari Aster]] and [[Paul Thomas Anderson]], and concludes that the moment demands forthright storytelling that helps audiences make sense of volatile realities, with films that embrace consequence most likely to endure.