The year in film was filled with the despair and defiance of people who found themselves under the heel of an uncaring system, frequently incapable of even seeing those being squashed.
To varying degrees, that’s true of many of the year’s most lauded movies — “One Battle After Another,” “Bugonia,” “Sinners” — and many that slipped under the radar. “Architecton” asks why capitalism rejects beauty, a solider loses his legs and no help is coming in “Warfare,” the ball players of “Eephus” accept the corporate takeover of their community field as an inevitability, the villagers of “The Damned” may not have the resources to survive the winter but will certainly die if they rescue others from a shipwreck, kids in Green Bay built their own punk scene because there was no infrastructure for the kind of rebellion that was inspiring them.
Many of the movies that slipped under the radar but deserved more love asked variations on a seemingly timeless question: “What can one person possibly do against a tidal wave of horrors?”
While these movies do not necessarily answer the question, they offer insight into how we try to answer it, how we try to find our morality inside of it, and how we live with ourselves in the face of shortcomings. Here are 11 hidden gems that were released in 2025.
11 Rebels
“11 Rebels” does not reinvent the samurai genre. A small band of samurai takes a stand against evil and corruption amid insurmountable odds in Kazuya Shiraishi’s film, which is very much in the tradition of “Seven Samurai,” “Yojimbo,” or “13 Assassins.” (The naming convention — as in “47 Ronin” or “Crazy Samurai: 400 to 1” — is an indication of how this type of story is part of the genre’s DNA.)
However, where Kurosawa and Miike’s films are imbued with a sense of righteousness, “11 Rebels,” which wears its influences on its sleeve, is bleakly modern. A ragtag crew of criminals and samurai is assembled to defend an important pass. The group quickly realizes how terrible the odds are and just how expendable they have become. At times, “11 Rebels” drags out scenes, and there are stretches that feel overly familiar. Still, Shiraishi builds a lot of tension with bloody and beautifully staged scenes, and a climax worthy of the classics it evokes.
▶ Click here to get your copy of 11 Rebels on DVD.
Warfare
“Warfare” is a hidden gem, not because it was ignored but because it deserved more attention. Maybe it was the timing — it hit theaters in April — maybe it’s simply because it’s hard to watch.
Whatever the reason, it’s the story of a Navy SEAL platoon that gets pinned down in a house in Ramadi, Iraq. They were supporting a Marine operation, but things went sideways quickly. Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza built the entire movie around the memories of the soldiers who were actually there, which may account for why it’s able to convey the fear, adrenaline, and, at times, helplessness of these soldiers as well as any war movie. Despite its intensity, it has a slower pace, allowing some of its most harrowing moments to linger.
▶ Click here to get your copy of Warfare on DVD.
Eephus
On its surface, “Eephus” is the story of a small town men’s baseball team playing their final game before the local field is paved over by an unspecified company.
But it’s also a loving portrait of community, with its oddballs, grudges, friendships, bustle, and the inevitable tension between community and the forces of capitalism. “Eephus,” named after a change-up pitch, is not heavy on plot, but that doesn’t stop it from being engrossing and quietly moving.
▶ Click here to get your copy of Eephus on DVD.
Vulcanizadora
“Vulcanizadora” is part of what we could call the “two guys go into the woods” subgenre. (Think “Oldjoy.”) Thankfully, it turns that familiar travel story on its head, even if it does so in a brutal manner.
Ahem, two friends — a loose term for these men, who seem to have only stayed in touch through the tenuous bonds of childhood friendship — go into the woods. One has committed a crime that is only vaguely described, and he has convinced the other to join him in a heinous act deep in the woods. It goes terribly, and it becomes a story about guilt, male loneliness, and the small ways the institutions designed to protect us fail us.
▶ Click here to get your copy of Vulcanizadora on DVD.
Sly Lives!
Given their sweeping influence and the enduring power of their biggest hits, it’s easy to forget just how groundbreaking Sly and the Family Stone were. Questlove’s documentary about Sly Stone doesn’t forget
“I have a theory,” Questlove says from behind the camera at one point, “that for Black artists in America, success can be more frightening than failure. The world’s watching you, analyzing you, projecting stuff onto you, and I think that Sly was kind of the first Black artist to go through that so publicly at a level where there was a burden that came with his genius.”
His movie probes that question as it relates to Stone, who died in 2025, recalling his influence, brilliance, challenges, and his eventual fall. Questlove’s approach is sympathetic yet sober, willing to ask hard questions about what it took to achieve what Stone achieved, while never offering excuses for Stone or a culture that could embrace the music while subjecting the musician to discrimination.
▶ Click here to read our full review of Sly Lives!
Architecton
“Why build ugly, boring buildings if we know how to build beautiful ones?” Italian architect Michele De Lucchi says in the coda of “Architecton.” It nicely sums up the film’s quiet meditation on stone and concrete, and how its evolving use reflects society’s evolving values.
The cameras of director Victor Kossakovsky soar over quarries, through dilapidated buildings, and into De Lucchi’s yard as he completes a landscaping project. Its relative silence and slow pace won’t be for everyone, but it rewards a close viewing.
▶ Click here to stream Archiecton on Prime Video.
Misericordia
Alain Guiraudie’s film has the subtlety and pace of a slice-of-life indie, but its attention to character and pastoral landscapes obscure a more sinister plot.
Jérémie, powerfully performed by Félix Kysyl, returns to his hometown for the funeral of a former boss. It may be a sort of thriller-turned-murder mystery, but its most potent threads follow the unrequited love between Jérémie and a surprising number of the town's inhabitants, even in the face of terrible reality. The film’s voice feels fresh and distinct.
▶ Click here to get your copy of Misericordia on DVD.
The Damned
During a particularly brutal winter in a 19th-century fishing village, the widow (Odessa Young) in charge of a small fishing village is faced with a harrowing choice after a ship sinks off the coast.
There might not be enough food for the village to survive the winter as-is. There definitely won’t be enough to support the village and survivors. The consequences of any decision will inevitably haunt them deep into the winter. It’s a strong, atmospheric folk horror that is the debut feature from director Thordur Palsson.
▶ Click here to stream The Damned on Prime Video.
Presence
Steven Soderbergh turns ghost stories on their head in “Presence.” Rebekah (Lucy Liu) and Chris (Chris Sullivan) move their family into a new home, but the story is seen from the perspective of a ghost cohabitating with them.
The entire movie unfolds in glimpses of the family’s life as seen through cracks in closet doors and other places the ghost hides. The daughter, Chloe (Callina Liang), feels a presence in the house, but no one believes there’s any truth to her feelings right up until they have to believe. That leads to some odd cinematic flourishes, but it's a movie with a unique voice and approach.
▶ Click here to get your copy of Presence on DVD.
The Dells
Every summer, international student workers travel to Wisconsin Dells — the Waterpark Capital of the World — on work visas. “The Dells” follows a group of them for the summer. They’re told the program offers the opportunity to be immersed in American culture, but the reality doesn’t live up to the pitch. They find themselves working long hours for shockingly low wages.
“The Dells” shares a unique view of the tourist-centered city, seen through the years of young workers from other countries and shot with great intimacy.
▶ Click here to read our full review of The Dells.
Green Blah! The History of Green Bay Punk Rock
A second documentary about life in Wisconsin? I think I will.
“Green Blah” traces “the first ten years of so” of punk rock in the Lake Michigan city. Green Bay’s story is uniquely its own, but may also feel familiar to anyone who grew up listing to punk in a small town in the ‘80s. It moves quickly from a small group of kids desperate to get their hands on any punk record to an exuberant punk scene that drew in titans of the punk world throughout the ‘80s. It’s a documentary about the underdogs, counter culture, and polka halls, with a solid dose of Grain Belt and Packers lore.
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