The Princess Bride. The Shawshank Redemption. Almost Famous. Over the course of its 51-year history, the Toronto International Film Festival has hosted notable films of all genres and styles. The 2026 edition, which concluded in mid-September, curated movies from rising talent and established filmmakers alike, including a modern-day Nigerian-set remake of Mrs. Dalloway, a gorgeous coming-of-age drama about a school trip to Pompeii, and a rollicking comedy about a community-theater troupe attempting to stage a musical. Below are 14 of my favorite films from the ones I caught, most of which will arrive in theaters in the coming months.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (now in theaters)
Marvel fumbled its chance to feature the two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in action-hero mode, but this soulful thriller makes up for that loss. Ali plays Latif, a hit man whose devotion to his Muslim faith and his family keeps him grounded; he hunts only targets he believes are irredeemable. But when he struggles to obtain breast milk for the youngest of his three children after his wife’s death, Latif gets drawn into the kind of violence that makes him question his crusade’s value. The film, written and directed by Bassam Tariq, is stylishly shot, and balances balletic fight sequences and intimate character study.
Fjord (in theaters October 9)
Like much of his work, Cristian Mungiu’s latest movie is uncomfortable and uncompromising. In Fjord, which won the director his second Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a strict Romanian patriarch moves his family to Norway, where their evangelicism isn’t the norm. They assimilate comfortably until one of their daughters shows up to school with a visible bruise, which prompts an investigation into the parents (played by Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve). The film risks being considered a referendum on performative politics, but if anything, Fjord is a meticulous examination of responsibility and how good intentions can cause trouble.
La bola negra (in theaters October 16, streaming on Netflix December 2)
This year’s People’s Choice Award winner—the top honor granted at TIFF—is more complex than some of the previous, crowd-pleasing recipients. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (known as “Los Javis”), La bola negra weaves together the stories of three gay men across time: a scion of an aristocratic family in 1932 who’s denied entry into a posh social club; a musician in 1937 conscripted into fighting alongside the fascists who destroyed his village; and a historian in 2017 studying the work of the poet Federico García Lorca, who wrote the titular unfinished play (which translates to “The Black Ball”). This deeply felt drama about the cost of burying one’s desires is also a technical marvel, packed with beautifully composed set pieces.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (in theaters October 23)
As earnest as the Simon and Garfunkel song from which its title draws inspiration, this nimble indie film feels like an artifact of a bygone era. John Turturro delivers a fine-tuned performance as Harry, an aging criminal struggling to accept that the tricks of his trade have become obsolete. When Harry steals a valuable USB drive from a young man belonging to a mob family, then loses it, his victim sends him racing through the city to get it back, or risk punishment for his crime. Yet the film never comes across like a generic thriller; instead, it’s a surprisingly spiritual consideration of how to let go of not just one’s habits, but of an entire way of life.
Possible Love (in theaters October 23, streaming on Netflix November 6)
The director Lee Chang-dong’s last film, 2018’s Burning, was engrossing for its precision, and his latest is another master class in exactitude. The story follows two couples, one of which includes the documentarian Ye-ji (Parasite’s Cho Yeo-jeong), who hopes to make a movie about the personal lives of laid-off workers. Her intended subject, a man who was let go by the factory that employs much of his rural town, won’t speak with her. Thus, Ye-ji interviews his cheery wife (Jeon Do-yeon) instead. As the women grow close, their opposing lifestyles—Ye-ji and her husband are obviously wealthy—result in emotions none of the foursome wishes to confront: jealousy, resentment, lust. Possible Love draws you in through furtive glances and sharp dialogue. Though it’s nearly three hours long, no second feels wasted.
Wild Horse Nine (in theaters November 6)
Is there any point in terrible people self-reflecting? Martin McDonagh’s latest dark comedy considers that question. A sterling John Malkovich and his fellow McDonagh favorite Sam Rockwell play, respectively, best friends Chris and Lee, two CIA operatives who vacation on Easter Island after their latest unsavory mission. Chris, though, is dying of cancer and seems newly troubled by his work. Hopped up on morphine, he records his thoughts about his clandestine escapades, philosophizing about whether he can be redeemed. This soon puts Lee in the awkward position of trying to stop Chris from running afoul of the CIA. What ensues is an eccentric and bloody affair that resembles the writer-director’s previous bromance-centric work, most recently The Banshees of Inisherin.
Being Heumann (in theaters November 6, streaming on Apple TV November 13)
The disability-rights activist Judy Heumann’s achievements in the 1970s can be easily taken for granted today. She helped persuade the federal government to update curbs for wheelchair use, and pushed through legislation for special-education programs. This biopic, by the director of CODA, Siân Heder, could get overlooked, too: It mostly stars disabled, unknown actors, and tells a somewhat conventional story about a motley crew of underdogs overcoming the odds. Yet Being Heumann works well because it leans into the thrill of even the smallest of wins for Judy (the excellent Ruth Madeley). It’s a testament to casting for lived experience, and for revisiting history that can yield fresh insights.
Minotaur (in theaters November 20)
Adultery is well-trod storytelling territory. But Minotaur, which is inspired by the Claude Chabrol classic La femme infidèle, fuses its central marriage drama with a furious assessment of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The director Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan) returns after nine years away from filmmaking with a tale about a plutocrat who is obsessed with his wife’s barely concealed extramarital affair. At the same time, he’s working on submitting names of 14 men from his workforce to be deployed to join the front lines. Shot with the chilling distance of a horror film, Minotaur becomes a suspenseful examination of how wealth and power make some people untouchable.
Tender Loving Care (in theaters December 4)
Trust the British auteur Mike Leigh to deliver a sensitive slice-of-life dramedy. Kate O’Flynn (a recent Emmy winner for Widow’s Bay) plays Amy, a social worker who moves in with her best friend, Rosie (Alice Bailey Johnson), after an overdue breakup. Unmoored, Amy holds on to Rosie and her own elderly parents, whose marriage is the picture of romantic bliss the women wish for themselves. Through finely observed scenes, the Hard Truths director offers a hilarious and quietly devastating portrait of what it really takes for us to look after one another.
Clarissa (in theaters December 11)
Mrs. Dalloway gets transported to contemporary Nigeria in this sensual adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s best-known novel. Directed by the brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri, the movie stars Sophie Okonedo as the refined Clarissa, who reflects upon her youth as she prepares to throw a lavish party. As her day unfolds, Clarissa encounters old friends, including an aspiring writer whose unrequited affection for her led him to self-exile, and an enigmatic woman with whom Clarissa once shared an attraction; these moments prompt flashbacks that seep into the main narrative. Along the way, the film also follows a traumatized soldier a few connections removed from this posh circle, but their tales intertwine to form an elegantly shot study of nostalgia, regret, and renewal.
The Debut (in theaters December 11)
A movie about an overly dedicated actor could easily go awry; even the most respected performers can sound insufferable when talking about method acting. Julianne Moore’s take on such a thespian, however, makes any eccentricities more captivating than annoying. She’s a total delight as Mona, a meek suburban housewife fixated on perfecting her minor character in a community-theater production. The actor turned filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg surrounds her with an ensemble that captures the optimism of small-town arts culture: Her co-stars, including the sunny Stef (Halle Bailey), try to support her baffling choices. The production’s director, Jerry (Paul Giamatti), goes to great lengths to help Mona succeed. If she can make it, The Debut insists through quirky original songs and bouncy jokes, anyone can.
La gradiva (in theaters December 18)
When you’re young, everything seems to matter: A teacher’s exasperated comment can induce tears. A friend’s shrug during an important conversation can be soul-shattering. In this impeccable directorial debut from the cinematographer Marine Atlan, a group of French high schoolers travel to Pompeii, where they become mired in shifting allegiances, sexual tensions, and intellectual debates. La gradiva orbits mostly around Suzanne (Suzanne Gerin), a sullen loner, and Toni (Colas Quignard), the class troublemaker whose rowdiness belies a crush on his best friend, James (Mitia Capellier-Audat). Yet each character, however minor, is specifically rendered, as Atlan finds the tiny, wrenching moments that make up the jagged space between childhood and adulthood.
The Man I Love (release date TBD)
Jimmy George (an engrossing Rami Malek) is a performance artist in the 1980s Manhattan arts scene pushing to stage a new show, despite his AIDS diagnosis. That may sound like a familiar story; even Jimmy is simmering with fury over how cliché it feels to be yet another magnetic gay man whose health is deteriorating. But the Passages filmmaker Ira Sachs’s latest exploration of queer relationships is so compelling because it subtly widens its scope. Sachs pays close attention to Jimmy’s complicated network of relatives, admirers, and lovers, including his devoted partner and the youthful downstairs neighbor with whom Jimmy recklessly begins an affair. The result is not so much scandal as it is a reflection on who gets to express hurt in the face of inevitable tragedy.
Trash Mountain (release date TBD)
Don’t let the title fool you: Very little is wasted in this tightly constructed dramedy about a pair of half siblings trying to sift through the belongings of their late father, who was a hoarder. For Gavin (Caleb Hearon) and Abbi (Zooey Deschanel), physical baggage is only part of the problem: Gavin, a gay man, dreads spending time in his thoroughly conservative Missouri hometown, while Abbi feels saddled with responsibility as the elder sister who never left. Hearon and Deschanel share a lived-in chemistry, with their characters leaning into offbeat humor before they come to terms with reality. Trash Mountain works the same way: The funny film makes room for a sweet, cathartic story underneath.