Year-End Lists

Justin Chang: The Best Movies of 2021, presented at The Los Angeles Times as a series of themed pairings and, in one case, a trio

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
2. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
3. Procession
   Robert Greene
4. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
5. Days
   Tsai Ming-liang
6. Parallel Mothers
   Pedro Almodóvar
7. Petite Maman
   Céline Sciamma
8. The Disciple
   Chaitanya Tamhane
9. The Green Knight
   David Lowery
10. The Power of the Dog
    Jane Campion
11. Passing
    Rebecca Hall

15 honorable mentions

• Annette
  Leos Carax
• West Side Story
  Steven Spielberg
• Azor
  Andreas Fontana
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
  Joel Coen
• Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
  Radu Jude
• The Last Duel
  Ridley Scott
• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Dear Comrades!
  Andrei Konchalovsky
• Quo Vadis, Aida?
  Jasmila Žbanić
• The Killing of Two Lovers
  Robert Machoian
• Spencer
  Pablo Larraín
• Licorice Pizza
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• The Worst Person in the World
  Joachim Trier
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove

20 more close to my heart

• All Light, Everywhere
  Theo Anthony
• Bergman Island
  Mia Hansen-Løve
• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• C'mon C'mon
  Mike Mills
• Flee
  Jonas Poher Rasmussen
• In the Same Breath
  Nanfu Wang
• The Lost Daughter
  Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Mass
  Fran Kranz
• The Mitchells vs. the Machines
  Mike Rianda
• MLK/FBI
  Sam Pollard
• Nightmare Alley
  Guillermo del Toro
• Pig
  Michael Sarnoski
• Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
  Lili Horvát
• President
  Camilla Nielsson
• Raya and the Last Dragon
  Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada
• The Suicide Squad
  James Gunn
• Test Pattern
  Shatara Michelle Ford
• tick, tick... BOOM!
  Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Titane
  Julia Ducournau
• Undine
  Christian Petzold

Film Comment: Best Films of 2021, a poll of the magazine's contributors and colleagues

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 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. Annette
   Leos Carax
5. Days
   Tsai Ming-liang
6. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
7. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
8. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
9. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
10. Undine
    Christian Petzold
11. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
    Radu Jude
12. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes
13. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve
14. El Planeta
    Amalia Ulman
15. Licorice Pizza
    Paul Thomas Anderson
16. The Woman Who Ran
    Hong Sang-soo
17. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
18. The Inheritance
    Ephraim Asili
19. Parallel Mothers
    Pedro Almodóvar
20. Titane
    Julia Ducournau

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Film Comment Poll: Florence Almozini: Best Films of 2021

Screen Slate: Best Movies of 2021, as voted on by contributors, friends, and filmmakers. Also visit the site to check out their collection of first viewings and discoveries, submitted by contributors, friends, critics, and filmmakers.

[see also 2022 • 2020]

1. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
2. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
3. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
4. Annette
   Leos Carax
5. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
6. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
7. Days
   Tsai Ming-liang
8. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
9. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
10. The Card Counter
    Paul Schrader
11. Licorice Pizza
    Paul Thomas Anderson
12. France
    Bruno Dumont
13. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
    Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
14. About Endlessness
    Roy Andersson
15. El Planeta
    Amalia Ulman
16. Bergman Island
    Mia Hansen-Løve
17. Zola
    Janicza Bravo
18. Titane
    Julia Ducournau
19. Faya Dayi
    Jessica Beshir
20. The Velvet Underground
    Todd Haynes

This list summarizes other lists, including these:

• Screen Slate: Chloe Lizotte: Best Movies of 2021

Barack Obama: Favorite Movies of 2021, as posted to Twitter

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

• Drive My Car
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• West Side Story
  Steven Spielberg
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion
• Pig
  Michael Sarnoski
• Passing
  Rebecca Hall
• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• Judas and the Black Messiah
  Shaka King
• The Worst Person in the World
  Joachim Trier
• Old Henry
  Potsy Ponciroli
• The Last Duel
  Ridley Scott
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
  Joel Coen
• C'mon C'mon
  Mike Mills
• Quo Vadis, Aida?
  Jasmila Žbanić

Chloe Lizotte: Best Movies of 2021, as published by Screen Slate along with a list of best first viewings

[see also 2022]

1. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
1. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
2. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
   Radu Jude
3. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
4. Annette
   Leos Carax
5. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
6. France
   Bruno Dumont
7. El Planeta
   Amalia Ulman
8. Slow Machine
   Joe DeNardo and Paul Felten
9. małni—towards the ocean, towards the shore
   Sky Hopinka
10. Bolt Driver
    Nick Corirossi and Van Alpert

This list contributes to:

• Screen Slate: Best Movies of 2021

Mick LaSalle: Top 10 Movies of 2021, as published by The San Francisco Chronicle

[see also 2018]

1. West Side Story
   Steven Spielberg
2. House of Gucci
   Ridley Scott
3. Belfast
   Kenneth Branagh
4. Don't Look Up
   Adam McKay
5. Stillwater
   Tom McCarthy
6. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
7. Licorice Pizza
   Paul Thomas Anderson
8. The Last Duel
   Ridley Scott
9. No Time to Die
   Cary Joji Fukunaga
10. F9: The Fast Saga
    Justin Lin

Florence Almozini: Best Films of 2021, as submitted to the Film Comment Poll

[see also 2022 • 2017]

1. Drive My Car
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
2. The Power of the Dog
   Jane Campion
3. The Souvenir Part II
   Joanna Hogg
4. Benedetta
   Paul Verhoeven
5. Bergman Island
   Mia Hansen-Løve
6. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
7. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
   Aleksandre Koberidze
8. Memoria
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
9. Annette
   Leos Carax
10. Undine
    Christian Petzold

This list contributes to:

• Film Comment Poll: Best Films of 2021

Dana Stevens: The 10 Best Movies of 2021, as published by Slate, in alphabetical order

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

• Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
  Josh Greenbaum
• The Disciple
  Chaitanya Tamhane
• The Green Knight
  David Lowery
• A Hero
  Asghar Farhadi
• Licorice Pizza
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• Parallel Mothers
  Pedro Almodóvar
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes
• West Side Story
  Steven Spielberg

Glenn Kenny: Notable Film Releases of 2021, unranked but listed "in roughly the order I watched them, or in some cases the order in which I came to like them"

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

• The Salt of Tears
  Philippe Garrel
• Supernova
  Harry Macqueen
• Atlantis
  Valentyn Vasyanovych
• The Human Voice
  Pedro Almodóvar
• This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection
  Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
• State Funeral
  Sergei Loznitsa
• Undine
  Christian Petzold
• No Sudden Move
  Steven Soderbergh
• Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  Questlove
• Annette
  Leos Carax
• Days
  Tsai Ming-liang
• The Card Counter
  Paul Schrader
• Parallel Mothers
  Pedro Almodóvar
• Last Night in Soho
  Edgar Wright
• Wife of a Spy
  Kiyoshi Kurosawa
• Fire Music
  Tom Surgal
• The Village Detective: a song cycle
  Bill Morrison
• The Velvet Underground
  Todd Haynes
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
  Joel Coen
• France
  Bruno Dumont
• In My Own Time: A Portrait of Karen Dalton
  Richard Peete & Robert Yapkowitz
• Memoria
  Apichatpong Weerasethakul
• Cry Macho
  Clint Eastwood
• The French Dispatch
  Wes Anderson
• Bergman Island
  Mia Hansen-Løve
• All Is Forgiven
  Mia Hansen-Løve
• The Souvenir Part II
  Joanna Hogg
• Drive My Car
  Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Licorice Pizza
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• West Side Story
  Steven Spielberg
• Nightmare Alley
  Guillermo del Toro

Honorable Films

• Land
  Robert Wright
• About Endlessness
  Roy Andersson
• Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over
  Beth B
• The French
  William Klein
• Wrath of Man
  Guy Ritchie
• This Is My Desire
  Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri
• Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters
  Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz
• The Sparks Brothers
  Edgar Wright
• Pig
  Michael Sarnoski
• Dune
  Denis Villeneuve
• The Power of the Dog
  Jane Campion
• The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
  Kristina Lindström & Kristian Petri
• Titane
  Julia Ducournau
• Golden Voices
  Evgeny Ruman
• What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
  Aleksandre Koberidze
• Benedetta
  Paul Verhoeven

Mary Beth McAndrews: Top Ten Films of 2021, as published by RogerEbert.com

1. Violation
   Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli
2. The Wanting Mare
   Nicholas Ashe Bateman
3. Titane
   Julia Ducournau
4. Pig
   Michael Sarnoski
5. The Medium
   Banjong Pisanthanakun
6. The Feast
   Lee Haven Jones
7. We're All Going to the World's Fair
   Jane Schoenbrun
8. Sator
   Jordan Graham
9. Shiva Baby
   Emma Seligman
10. Censor
    Prano Bailey-Bond

This list contributes to:

• RogerEbert.com: The Ten Best Films of 2021