The eight best films we saw at Telluride

While it proved an unusually actor-challenged edition, this year’s Telluride Film Festival did benefit from an especially strong lineup, featuring a clutch of major world premieres as well as significant titles from previous fests like Cannes and Berlin. — Glenn Whipp ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Sandra Hüller in the movie “Anatomy of a Fall.” Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, director Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” appears at first glance to be the latest in a long line of did-they-or-didn’t-they courtroom thrillers familiar to any true-crime aficionado. ‘Janet Planet’ Julianne Nicholson, left, and Zoe Ziegler in the movie “Janet Planet.” It’s been a good year for first features by female playwrights: Sundance brought us Celine Song’s captivating “Past Lives,” and now Telluride has given us “Janet Planet,” an exquisitely intimate debut film from Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker. — Joshua Rothkopf ‘Poor Things’ Ramy Youssef, rear, and Emma Stone in the movie “Poor Things.” Instant rapture was the consensus — and why not? — J.C. ‘The Zone of Interest’ Sandra Hüller in the movie “The Zone of Interest.” Telluride audiences often tend to favor feel-good fare, and it’s hard to imagine a more profoundly feel-bad film than director Jonathan Glazer’s chillingly clinical examination of the banality of evil.