One of the best foreign language films of 2016, Aquarius grapples with the tensions wrought between memory and legacy, in a virtuosic tale set on the beaches of Brazil. Sonia Braga depicts Clara, a retired music critic whose past as a writer, mother, wife and cancer survivor have defined her. Residing in the aging apartment building that has belonged to her family for years, Clara defies the developers whose final step to take over the building is to purchase her apartment.

The film unravels with novelistic detail and intrigue, with Braga’s brilliant performance at the center. Aquarius, which premiered in competition at Cannes last year, ensures director Kleber Mendonça Filho as one of most sophisticated and exciting global auteurs of recent years.