Year-End Lists

Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2021

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
2. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
3. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. France
   Bruno Dumont
5. In Front of Your Face
   Hong Sang-soo
6. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
7. Annette
   Leos Carax
8. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
9. The Tsugua Diaries
   Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes
10. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg

Special mentions

• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• The Girl and the Spider
  Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zürcher
• A Night of Knowing Nothing
  Payal Kapadia
• Petite Maman
  Céline Sciamma
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion

Screen Queens: Top 10 Films of 2021

• Petite Maman
  Céline Sciamma
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion
• Shiva Baby
  Emma Seligman
• The Green Knight
  David Lowery
• Dune
  Denis Villeneuve
• The Lost Daughter
  Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Drive My Car
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• West Side Story
  Steven Spielberg
• The Matrix Resurrections
  Lana Wachowski
• tick, tick... BOOM!
  Lin-Manuel Miranda

One Vote Short of Joining the Top 10

• The Last Duel
  Ridley Scott
• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Annette
  Leos Carax

Honourable Mentions

• Titane
  Julia Ducournau
• Bergman Island
  Mia Hansen-Løve
• Passing
  Rebecca Hall
• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes
• The Souvenir Part II
  Joanna Hogg
• Memoria
  Apichatpong Weerasethakul
• Black Widow
  Cate Shortland
• Zola
  Janicza Bravo
• Luca
  Enrico Casarosa
• The Suicide Squad
  James Gunn
• Raya and the Last Dragon
  Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada
• CODA
  Sian Heder
• Spider-Man: No Way Home
  Jon Watts

Scout Tafoya: My Favourite Films of 2021

[see also 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
2. The Matrix Resurrections
   Lana Wachowski
3. Benediction
   Terence Davies
4. The Card Counter
   Paul Schrader
5. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
6. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
7. Labyrinth of Cinema
   Nobuhiko Obayashi
8. Faya Dayi
   Jessica Beshir
9. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
10. Unclenching the Fists
    Kira Kovalenko
11. Ste. Anne
    Rhayne Vermette
12. Hit the Road
    Panah Panahi
13. The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)
    Anders Edström and C.W. Winter
14. The French Dispatch
    Wes Anderson
15. Licorice Pizza
    Paul Thomas Anderson
16. No Sudden Move
    Steven Soderbergh
17. Old
    M. Night Shyamalan
18. This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection
    Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
19. Annette
    Leos Carax
20. C'mon C'mon
    Mike Mills
21. Benedetta
    Paul Verhoeven
22. Parallel Mothers
    Pedro Almodóvar
23. Mad God
    Phil Tippett
24. The Spine of Night
    Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King
25. Il Buco
    Michelangelo Frammartino
26. France
    Bruno Dumont
27. Procession
    Robert Greene
28. Wrath of Man
    Guy Ritchie
29. The Power of the Dog
    Jane Campion
30. A Crime on the Bayou
    Nancy Buirski
31. Sabaya
    Hogir Hirori
32. Zeros and Ones
    Abel Ferrara
33. The Village Detective: a song cycle
    Bill Morrison
34. Babi Yar. Context
    Sergei Loznitsa
35. State Funeral
    Sergei Loznitsa
36. The World to Come
    Mona Fastvold
37. Oxygen
    Alexandre Aja
38. The Novice
    Lauren Hadaway
39. The Last Thing Mary Saw
    Edoardo Vitaletti
40. Blind Body
    Allison Chhorn
41. El Planeta
    Amalia Ulman
42. Exterminate All the Brutes
    Raoul Peck
43. Cry Macho
    Clint Eastwood
44. In the Earth
    Ben Wheatley
45. Come Here
    Anocha Suwichakornpong
46. The Last Duel
    Ridley Scott
47. The North Water
    Andrew Haigh
48. The Deep House
    Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo
49. Kandisha
    Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo
50. Cityscape
    Michael Snow
51. All Light, Everywhere
    Theo Anthony
52. The Harder They Fall
    Jeymes Samuel
53. 29 Needles
    Scott Philip Goergens
54. Wife of a Spy
    Kiyoshi Kurosawa
55. Drive My Car
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
56. The Night House
    David Bruckner
57. The United States vs. Billie Holiday
    Lee Daniels
58. Jungle Cruise
    Jaume Collet-Serra
59. A Weave of Light
    Bram Ruiter
60. Marx Can Wait
    Marco Bellocchio
61. Mariner of the Mountains
    Karim Aïnouz
62. The Cursed
    Sean Ellis
63. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski
64. Shiva Baby
    Emma Seligman
65. In Place of Monuments
    Naima Ramos-Chapman
66. We're All Going to the World's Fair
    Jane Schoenbrun
67. What We Left Unfinished
    Mariam Ghani
68. Sator
    Jordan Graham
69. Taming the Garden
    Salomé Jashi
70. Belle
    Mamoru Hosoda
71. A Glitch in the Matrix
    Rodney Ascher
72. The Beatles: Get Back
    Peter Jackson
73. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes
74. Paris, 13th District
    Jacques Audiard
75. Seance
    Simon Barrett
76. The Tragedy of Macbeth
    Joel Coen
77. Moon, 66 Questions
    Jacqueline Lentzou
78. Passing
    Rebecca Hall
79. The Empty Man
    David Prior
80. V/H/S/94
    Jennifer Reeder, Chloe Okuno, Simon Barrett, Timo Tjahjanto, and Ryan Prows
81. Bingo Hell
    Gigi Saul Guerrero
82. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
83. Lisey's Story
    Pablo Larraín
84. News of the World
    Paul Greengrass
85. When I Get Home (Director's Cut)
    Solange Knowles
86. The Banishing
    Christopher Smith
87. The Mad Women's Ball
    Mélanie Laurent
88. The American Sector
    Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez
89. May June July
    Kevin Jerome Everson
90. Censor
    Prano Bailey-Bond
91. Kingdom: Ashin of the North
    Kim Seong-hun
92. Prisoners of the Ghostland
    Sion Sono
93. All the Moons
    Igor Legarreta
94. Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
    William Eubank
95. The Forever Purge
    Everardo Valerio Gout
96. Cow
    Andrea Arnold
97. Hell Hath No Fury
    Jesse V. Johnson
98. Joy Ride
    Bobcat Goldthwait
99. Skyfire
    Simon West
100. The Ice Road
     Jonathan Hensleigh

Reverse Shot: Best Films of 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
3. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
4. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
5. Annette
   Leos Carax
6. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
7. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
8. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
9. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
10. El Planeta
    Amalia Ulman

This year’s installment of David Ehrlich’s video countdown: The 25 Best Films of 2021

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
3. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
4. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
5. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
6. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
7. Pig
   Michael Sarnoski
8. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
9. Saint Maud
   Rose Glass
10. Red Rocket
    Sean Baker
11. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
12. In the Heights
    Jon M. Chu
13. The World to Come
    Mona Fastvold
14. Procession
    Robert Greene
15. The Matrix Resurrections
    Lana Wachowski
16. Titane
    Julia Ducournau
17. Flee
    Jonas Poher Rasmussen
18. All Light, Everywhere
    Theo Anthony
19. Undine
    Christian Petzold
20. The Green Knight
    David Lowery
21. West Side Story
    Steven Spielberg
22. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
23. The Tragedy of Macbeth
    Joel Coen
24. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
25. Zola
    Janicza Bravo

Robert Daniels: Top 50 Films of 2021

[see also 2020 • 2019]

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection
   Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
3. Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
   Lili Horvát
4. Parallel Mothers
   Pedro Almodóvar
5. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
6. Spencer
   Pablo Larraín
7. The Gaze
   Barry Jenkins
8. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
9. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski
11. Identifying Features
    Fernanda Valadez
12. The Green Knight
    David Lowery
13. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
    Radu Jude
14. Shiva Baby
    Emma Seligman
15. Faya Dayi
    Jessica Beshir
16. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
17. The Rescue
    Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
18. Nine Days
    Edson Oda
19. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
    Questlove
20. Passing
    Rebecca Hall
21. A Hero
    Asghar Farhadi
22. CODA
    Sian Heder
23. Attica
    Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry
24. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
25. Holler
    Nicole Riegel
26. Limbo
    Ben Sharrock
27. Test Pattern
    Shatara Michelle Ford
28. The Tragedy of Macbeth
    Joel Coen
29. Pink Skies Ahead
    Kelly Oxford
30. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
31. The Woman in the Window
    Joe Wright
32. A Crime on the Bayou
    Nancy Buirski
33. Zola
    Janicza Bravo
34. The Mad Women's Ball
    Mélanie Laurent
35. Together Together
    Nikole Beckwith
36. Really Love
    Angel Kristi Williams
37. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
    Will Sharpe
38. Riders of Justice
    Anders Thomas Jensen
39. The Summit of the Gods
    Patrick Imbert
40. Jockey
    Clint Bentley
41. The Legend of the Underground
    Nneka Onuorah and Giselle Bailey
42. Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan
    Alma Har'el
43. Black Art: In the Absence of Light
    Sam Pollard
44. My Name Is Pauli Murray
    Betsy West and Julie Cohen
45. In the Same Breath
    Nanfu Wang
46. Memoria
    Apichatpong Weerasethakul
47. The Matrix Resurrections
    Lana Wachowski
48. The Year of the Everlasting Storm
    various artists
49. The Novice
    Lauren Hadaway
50. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
    Andy Serkis

Honorable mentions

• 17 Blocks
  Davy Rothbart
• Citizen Ashe
  Rex Miller and Sam Pollard
• Cyrano
  Joe Wright
• I Blame Society
  Gillian Wallace Horvat
• Julia
• Luzzu
  Alex Camilleri
• The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
  Kristina Lindström & Kristian Petri
• Operation Hyacinth
  Piotr Domalewski
• The Outside Story
  Casimir Nozkowski
• Procession
  Robert Greene
• Swan Song
  Todd Stephens
• Raging Fire
  Benny Chan

This list contributes to:

• RogerEbert.com: The Ten Best Films of 2021

Benoit Rouilly (aka Harry Tuttle): Top 10 Films of 2021, as posted to Twitter

• About Endlessness
  Roy Andersson
• Memoria
  Apichatpong Weerasethakul
• Drive My Car
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Days
  Tsai Ming-liang
• A Hero
  Asghar Farhadi
• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces
  Zhu Shengze
• In Front of Your Face
  Hong Sang-soo
• Annette
  Leos Carax
• Pedro
  Natesh Hegde

runners up

• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• Malcolm & Marie
  Sam Levinson
• Dune
  Denis Villeneuve
• A New Old Play
  Qiu Jiongjiong
• There Is No Evil
  Mohammad Rasoulof
• First Cow
  Kelly Reichardt
• Minari
  Lee Isaac Chung
• Tug
  Jon Lazam
• The Great Movement
  Kiro Russo

Keith Phipps: The Best Films of 2021, as posted at The Reveal where it appears alongside fun selections like "Reason for Hope," "Reason for Despair," "Most Annoying Discourse," and "Most Anticipated Film of 2022"

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

The Top 15

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. Pig
   Michael Sarnoski
3. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
5. Parallel Mothers
   Pedro Almodóvar
6. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
7. A Hero
   Asghar Farhadi
8. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
9. The Green Knight
   David Lowery
10. Passing
    Rebecca Hall
11. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
12. Flee
    Jonas Poher Rasmussen
13. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
14. Dune
    Denis Villeneuve
15. The Disciple
    Chaitanya Tamhane

Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)

• Annette
  Leos Carax
• Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
  Josh Greenbaum
• Benedetta
  Paul Verhoeven
• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• C'mon C'mon
  Mike Mills
• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• Lamb
  Valdimar Jóhannsson
• The Last Duel
  Ridley Scott
• Last Night in Soho
  Edgar Wright
• Malignant
  James Wan
• Nightmare Alley
  Guillermo del Toro
• Red Rocket
  Sean Baker
• Saint Maud
  Rose Glass
• Shiva Baby
  Emma Seligman
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes

Lest We Forget

• Judas and the Black Messiah
  Shaka King
• The Father
  Florian Zeller

Scott Tobias: The Best Films of 2021, as posted at The Reveal where it appears alongside fun selections like "Reason for Hope," "Reason for Despair," "Most Annoying Discourse," and "Most Anticipated Film of 2022"

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

The Top 15

1. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
2. A Hero
   Asghar Farhadi
3. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
4. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
5. Pig
   Michael Sarnoski
6. Red Rocket
   Sean Baker
7. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
8. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
9. The Viewing Booth
   Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
10. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
11. Days
    Tsai Ming-liang
12. The Power of the Dog
    Jane Campion
13. Quo Vadis, Aida?
    Jasmila Žbanić
14. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve
15. Dune
    Denis Villeneuve

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

• Annette
  Leos Carax
• Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
  Josh Greenbaum
• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• The Green Knight
  David Lowery
• The Last Duel
  Ridley Scott
• The Lost Daughter
  Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Passing
  Rebecca Hall
• Petite Maman
  Céline Sciamma
• Procession
  Robert Greene
• Shiva Baby
  Emma Seligman
• This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection
  Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
• West Side Story
  Steven Spielberg
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes
• Wojnarowicz
  Chris McKim

Jordan Ruimy: The 10 Best Movies of 2021, as published by World of Reel

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019]

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. Red Rocket
   Sean Baker
3. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Annette
   Leos Carax
5. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
6. France
   Bruno Dumont
7. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
8. The Killing of Two Lovers
   Robert Machoian
9. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
10. Passing
    Rebecca Hall
10. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
12. Bad Trip
    Kitao Sakurai
13. Petite Maman
    Céline Sciamma
14. The Last Duel
    Ridley Scott
15. Beginning
    Déa Kulumbegashvili
16. Quo Vadis, Aida?
    Jasmila Žbanić
17. PVT Chat
    Ben Hozie
18. In the Same Breath
    Nanfu Wang
19. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg
20. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve