The New York Film Festival featured some of the finest films of the year, including some incredible classics.

This year's festival included a plethora of films for all audiences. Viewers got a taste of the lavish three-part "Arabian Nights" as well as stunning visual effects from the opening night "The Walk." Some films, such as "The Forbidden Shore" and "The Assassin," proved to be exhilarating challenges for viewers while those seeking more emotional and traditional viewing experiences were treated to Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies" and the immigration drama "Brooklyn" among others. Nontraditional biopics were also a major theme of the event with "Steve Jobs" and "Miles Ahead" leading the way.

As a retrospective for the film festival, Latin Post writers David and Francisco Salazar have decided to look at their personal favorite films from the festival.

David Salazar - "Carol" & "Son of Saul"

It is almost impossible to pick a stand out film from the festival, especially when there is so much quality. While last year's festival arguably had "overall" better quality across the board, this year's NYFF had individual films that were better than anything that last year or even the year before had to offer. But here are my two choices, both decidedly different.

"Carol" is a movie that you cannot help but adoring. Featuring a love story between two women caught up in the restrictive 1950s, the viewer is swept along in a film filled with so much nuance in every possible aspect. In less adept hands, this film turns into a plodding one filled with one melodramatic sweep after another, and yet Todd Haynes knows that this is the wrong approach. His desire to showcase major moments in the most understated of ways helps him slowly build the drama toward its catharsis, the release of tension becoming all the more fulfilling. The musical score by Carter Burwell might be the most memorable this year and the love theme, a reference to Phillip Glass' music, expresses the relationship of these women in its slow build-up and understated melodic sweep. Rooney Mara plays the delicate Therese, who seemingly locks herself away from the audience, only allowing us to understand her soul through those penetrating eyes that Haynes so wonderfully lenses. Blanchett is the more outwardly expressive of the two and yet retains a finesse about her. She has arguably the most emotionally devastating in the entire moment, a line that sums up just how rich the world of this movie, where no one is ugly and should be allowed to live and let live.

On the other hand you have "Son of Saul," a film with a decidedly different point of view. A film in which death is inevitable and the hopes of freedom and liberty in the Holocaust ring hollow. It says a lot that when the Sonderkommando in the film finally fight back against the Nazis, their strife is not even portrayed onscreen, emphasizing just how unimportant it is in the grand scheme of things. The claustrophobic cinematography in 4:3 aspect ratio and tight closeups, leave the viewer feeling, on some level, the prison-like existence of the concentration camp prisoners. The film's images and the ghostly whispers of the soundtrack are tattooed onto your mind, haunting the viewer perpetually.

Francisco Salazar - "Son of Saul"

This year the New York Film festival presented yet another set of great films throughout the two weeks. "Steve Jobs" showed the unique possibilities in making a biopic while "Brooklyn" brought back the nostalgia of romantic filmmaking. However, two films really stood out. The first was "Carol" from Todd Haynes starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. The second was a Hungarian film "Son of Saul." It's hard to say, which film is better as they are so different.

"Son of Saul" really captured the horrors of the Holocaust in a way that has never been seen. Following Sonderkommando, director Lazso Nemes, decided to present two days in the life of Saul as he looks for a Rabbi to try and give a legitimate burial to a boy who survived the gas chamber. The movie is shot in plan-sequence and 4:3 aspect ratio. The audience is always following Saul throughout and it is hard to see the backgrounds or any of the surroundings as Nemes keeps the camera close by. The use of sound in this film is visceral as the viewer is subjected to listen and imagine what Saul does making for an even rougher viewing. "Son of Saul" will likely prove divisive as it is raw and some of the images harsh. However, Nemes reminds the viewer of the realities of this time period and brings together a suspenseful film.

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