Best-Reviewed Movies 2017 > Limited Releases

Films in this category never opened in more that 600 theaters in the US in 2017. And though you may not immediately recognize all of the titles honored here, critics say they’re more than worth your time, particularly the subdued romantic drama Call Me by Your Name, which earned the top spot.

The order of the rank below reflects the Adjusted Score as of December 31, 2017. Scores might change over time.

#1

Call Me by Your Name (2017)
95%

#1

Critics Consensus: Call Me by Your Name offers a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love, empathetically acted by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer.

Synopsis: It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century [More]

Starring: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar

Directed By: Luca Guadagnino

#2

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
99%

#2

Critics Consensus: I Am Not Your Negro offers an incendiary snapshot of James Baldwin's crucial observations on American race relations -- and a sobering reminder of how far we've yet to go.

Synopsis: In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book [More]

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson

Directed By: Raoul Peck

#3

The Florida Project (2017)
96%

#3

Critics Consensus: The Florida Project offers a colorfully empathetic look at an underrepresented part of the population that proves absorbing even as it raises sobering questions about modern America.

Synopsis: Set in the shadow of the most magical place on Earth, 6-year-old Moonee and her two best friends forge their [More]

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Valeria Cotto

Directed By: Sean Baker

#4

The Salesman (2016)
96%

#4

Critics Consensus: The Salesman takes an ambitiously complex look at thought-provoking themes, and the well-acted results prove another consistently absorbing entry in writer-director Asghar Farhadi's distinguished filmography.

Synopsis: After their flat becomes damaged, Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti), a young couple living in Tehran, Iran, must [More]

Starring: Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti, Babak Karimi, Farid Sajjadi Hosseini

Directed By: Asghar Farhadi

#5

Mudbound (2017)
97%

#5

Critics Consensus: Mudbound offers a well-acted, finely detailed snapshot of American history whose scenes of rural class struggle resonate far beyond their period setting.

Synopsis: Set in the rural American South during World War II, Dee Rees' Mudbound is an epic story of two families [More]

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige

Directed By: Dee Rees

#6

My Life as a Zucchini (2016)
99%

#6

Critics Consensus: My Life as a Zucchini's silly title and adorable characters belie a sober story whose colorful visuals delight the senses even as it braves dark emotional depths.

Synopsis: A police officer (Nick Offerman) and some new friends help an orphan adjust to life at a foster home. [More]

Starring: Will Forte, Nick Offerman, Elliot Page, Amy Sedaris

Directed By: Claude Barras

#7

God's Own Country (2017)
98%

#7

Critics Consensus: A quiet, moving rumination on loneliness and newfound intimacy, God's Own Country marks an outstanding directorial debut for Francis Lee.

Synopsis: A young farmer numbs his frustrations with drinking and casual sex until a Romanian migrant worker sets him on a [More]

Starring: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones, Ian Hart

Directed By: Francis Lee

#8

Faces Places (2017)
99%

#8

Critics Consensus: Equal parts breezily charming and poignantly powerful, Faces Places is a unique cross-generational portrait of life in rural France from the great Agnès Varda.

Synopsis: Director Agnès Varda and photographer and muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship. [More]

Starring: Agnès Varda, JR

Directed By: Agnès Varda, JR

#9

City of Ghosts (2017)
98%

#9

Critics Consensus: City of Ghosts takes a hard-hitting, ground-level look at atrocities in a part of the world that may seem foreign to many viewers, but whose impact will be no less devastating.

Synopsis: Syrian rebels who call themselves Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently risk their lives to document the atrocities committed by ISIS [More]

Starring: Aziz, Mohamad Almusari, Hamoud Almousa, Fuad Hasan

Directed By: Matthew Heineman

#10

Truman (2015)
99%

#10

Critics Consensus: Well-written, well-acted, and patiently crafted, Truman takes an affecting look at a long friendship separated by distance but undimmed by time.

Synopsis: Terminally ill actor Julián wants to spend his final days tying up loose ends. When childhood friend Tomás pays him [More]

Starring: Ricardo Darín, Javier Cámara, Dolores Fonzi, Eduard Fernández

Directed By: Cesc Gay