Year-End Lists

David Sims: The 10 Best Films of 2021, as published by The Atlantic

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

1. The Worst Person in the World
   Joachim Trier
2. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
4. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
5. The Green Knight
   David Lowery
6. The Card Counter
   Paul Schrader
7. Dune
   Denis Villeneuve
8. Red Rocket
   Sean Baker
9. The Lost Daughter
   Maggie Gyllenhaal
10. The Souvenir Part II
    Joanna Hogg

Stephanie Zacharek: The 10 Best Movies of 2021, as published by Time Magazine

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

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. The Worst Person in the World
   Joachim Trier
3. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
   Questlove
4. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
5. Parallel Mothers
   Pedro Almodóvar
6. Passing
   Rebecca Hall
7. The Disciple
   Chaitanya Tamhane
8. C'mon C'mon
   Mike Mills
9. The Tragedy of Macbeth
   Joel Coen
10. Drive My Car
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Honorable mentions

• West Side Story
  Steven Spielberg
• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes
• The Lost Daughter
  Maggie Gyllenhaal
• The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
  Will Sharpe
• I'm Your Man
  Maria Schrader
• King Richard
  Reinaldo Marcus Green
• The Green Knight
  David Lowery
• The Truffle Hunters
  Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw

Manohla Dargis: Best Movies of 2021, as published by The New York Times under the subhead "The Best Film Was One in a Theater"

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

1. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
2. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
3. The Velvet Underground
   Todd Haynes
4. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
   Questlove
5. Passing
   Rebecca Hall
6. Azor
   Andreas Fontana
7. The Card Counter
   Paul Schrader
8. The Disciple
   Chaitanya Tamhane
9. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. Spencer
    Pablo Larraín

Also!

• Bring Your Own Brigade
  Lucy Walker
• Dune
  Denis Villeneuve
• The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
  Will Sharpe
• Faya Dayi
  Jessica Beshir
• The First Wave
  Matthew Heineman
• In the Same Breath
  Nanfu Wang
• Licorice Pizza
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• Prayers for the Stolen
  Tatiana Huezo
• Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
  Lili Horvát
• Stillwater
  Tom McCarthy
• The Truffle Hunters
  Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
• The Woman Who Ran
  Hong Sang-soo

A.O. Scott: Best Movies of 2021, as published by The New York Times under the subhead "The 10 Best Arguments for the Importance of Movies"

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

1. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
   Questlove
2. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
3. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
4. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
5. Bring Your Own Brigade
   Lucy Walker
6. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
7. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
8. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
9. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
10. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes

Also ...

• Annette
  Leos Carax
• The Disciple
  Chaitanya Tamhane
• Flee
  Jonas Poher Rasmussen
• The Green Knight
  David Lowery
• The Hand of God
  Paolo Sorrentino
• King Richard
  Reinaldo Marcus Green
• Mogul Mowgli
  Bassam Tariq
• Parallel Mothers
  Pedro Almodóvar
• Passing
  Rebecca Hall
• El Planeta
  Amalia Ulman
• The Souvenir Part II
  Joanna Hogg
• Spencer
  Pablo Larraín
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
  Joel Coen

Caitlin Quinlan: Best Films of 2021, as posted to Letterboxd

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

1. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
2. The Worst Person in the World
   Joachim Trier
3. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
4. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
5. El Planeta
   Amalia Ulman
6. We
   Alice Diop
7. The Tsugua Diaries
   Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes
8. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
9. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. Il Buco
    Michelangelo Frammartino
11. C'mon C'mon
    Mike Mills
12. The Power of the Dog
    Jane Campion
13. Benediction
    Terence Davies
14. The Sacred Spirit
    Chema García Ibarra
15. Beginning
    Déa Kulumbegashvili
16. Belle
    Mamoru Hosoda
17. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
18. Brother’s Keeper
    Ferit Karahan
19. I Want to Talk About Duras
    Claire Simon
20. Prayers for the Stolen
    Tatiana Huezo
21. The Fever
    Maya Da-Rin

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2021

Vadim Rizov: Best Films of 2021, as submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2012]

1. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
2. Days
   Tsai Ming-liang
3. El Planeta
   Amalia Ulman
4. The Inheritance
   Ephraim Asili
5. Just Don't Think I'll Scream
   Frank Beauvais
6. Short Vacation
   Kwon Min-pyo and Seo Han-sol
7. Slow Machine
   Joe DeNardo and Paul Felten
8. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
9. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
10. The Woman Who Ran
    Hong Sang-soo

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2021

Christina Newland: Best Films of 2021, as submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

[see also 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
2. The Card Counter
   Paul Schrader
3. Minari
   Lee Isaac Chung
4. The Green Knight
   David Lowery
5. Annette
   Leos Carax
6. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
7. The Lost Daughter
   Maggie Gyllenhaal
8. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
9. Apples
   Christos Nikou
10. Zola
    Janicza Bravo

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2021

Cassie da Costa: 21 Most Underrated Movies of 2021, as published by Vanity Fair. Da Costa doesn't like lists but makes them anyway, "because sometimes they can encourage readers to seek out what they may have not heard of, not been told about, or chose to ignore."

[see also Best Films of 2021 • 10 Best Films of 2020]

• Test Pattern
  Shatara Michelle Ford
• The Woman Who Ran
  Hong Sang-soo
• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Exterminate All the Brutes
  Raoul Peck
• This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection
  Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
• Isabella
  Matías Piñeiro
• Respect
  Liesl Tommy
• Procession
  Robert Greene
• Lucky Chan-sil
  Kim Cho-hee
• France
  Bruno Dumont

Honorable Mentions

• The Souvenir Part II
  Joanna Hogg
• małni—towards the ocean, towards the shore
  Sky Hopinka
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes
• Moffie
  Oliver Hermanus
• Beginning
  Déa Kulumbegashvili
• Introduction
  Hong Sang-soo
• In Front of Your Face
  Hong Sang-soo
• Ema
  Pablo Larraín
• Faya Dayi
  Jessica Beshir
• Mandibles
  Quentin Dupieux

Elena Lazic: Best Films of 2021, as submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018]

1. Happening
   Audrey Diwan
2. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
3. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
   Kier-La Janisse
5. Skies of Lebanon
   Chloé Mazlo
6. Vortex
   Gaspar Noé
7. Mr. Bachmann and His Class
   Maria Speth
8. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
9. Sound of Metal
   Darius Marder
10. The Last Duel
    Ridley Scott

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2021

Sight & Sound Poll: The 50 Best Films of 2021, a poll of more than 100 critics and contributors, published by Sight & Sound Magazine

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

1. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
2. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
3. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
4. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
5. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
6. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
7. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
8. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
   Questlove
9. Annette
   Leos Carax
10. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
11. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve
12. The Green Knight
    David Lowery
13. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes
14. Dune
    Denis Villeneuve
15. Spencer
    Pablo Larraín
16. The Worst Person in the World
    Joachim Trier
17. First Cow
    Kelly Reichardt
18. Censor
    Prano Bailey-Bond
19. Flee
    Jonas Poher Rasmussen
20. Il Buco
    Michelangelo Frammartino
21. The Lost Daughter
    Maggie Gyllenhaal
22. Nomadland
    Chloé Zhao
23. The French Dispatch
    Wes Anderson
24. Azor
    Andreas Fontana
25. Zola
    Janicza Bravo
26. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
    Radu Jude
27. Benedetta
    Paul Verhoeven
28. The Father
    Florian Zeller
29. Pig
    Michael Sarnoski
30. Hit the Road
    Panah Panahi
31. Ear for Eye
    debbie tucker green
32. Benediction
    Terence Davies
33. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
34. Minari
    Lee Isaac Chung
35. Sound of Metal
    Darius Marder
36. Judas and the Black Messiah
    Shaka King
37. Red Rocket
    Sean Baker
38. Compartment Number 6
    Juho Kuosmanen
39. Beginning
    Déa Kulumbegashvili
40. Playground
    Laura Wandel
41. The Tsugua Diaries
    Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes
42. Shiva Baby
    Emma Seligman
43. Undine
    Christian Petzold
44. Belle
    Mamoru Hosoda
45. Limbo
    Ben Sharrock
46. Friends and Strangers
    James Vaughan
47. The Hand of God
    Paolo Sorrentino
48. After Love
    Aleem Khan
49. Cry Macho
    Clint Eastwood
50. Quo Vadis, Aida?
    Jasmila Žbanić

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Caitlin Quinlan: Best Films of 2021
• Jonathan Rosenbaum: Ten Best Films of 2021
• Jordan Cronk: Top Ten Films of 2021
• Sight & Sound Poll: Christina Newland: Best Films of 2021
• Sight & Sound Poll: Elena Lazic: Best Films of 2021
• Sight & Sound Poll: Vadim Rizov: Best Films of 2021