25 Best Films of the 21st Century Thus Far?
Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 11:30AM
NATHANIEL R in Grizzly Man, List-Mania, New York Times, Spirited Away, The Gleaners and I, There Will Be Blood, film critics, foreign films

THERE WILL BE LIST

It seems frightfully early to be discussing this post's title. Especially in the random time of early June 2017. What possessed the New York Times to do this beyond clickbait? OOPS, it worked. We immediately clicked on the link. There's not specific criteria or info on how the list was composed. We just know Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott were involved and that they also asked a few directors and a couple of actors (very randomly Robert Pattinson and Michelle Williams) to speak up as well. The list is composed of 10 foreign language films, 2 documentaries, and 12 proposed new additions to the American canon including two Best Picture winners Moonlight  and Million Dollar Baby. You can see their full write-ups here.

Just the lists for fun after the jump, mine included as it only shares 4 titles with the New York Times...

NY Times List
* the film made my own top ten list in its year
nominated for Best Picture at the Oscar


 

  1. There Will Be Blood (2007)*
  2. Spirited Away (2001)
  3. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
  4. A Touch of Sin (2013)
  5. The Death of Mr Lazarescu (2006)
  6. Yi Yi (2000)
  7. Inside Out (2015)*
  8. Boyhood (2014)*
  9. Summer Hours (2009)*
  10. The Hurt Locker (2009)*
  11. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
  12. Timbuktu (2015)
  13. In Jackson Heights (2015)
  14. L'Enfant (2006)
  15. White Material (2010)
  16. Munich (2005)
  17. Three Times (2006)
  18. The Gleaners and I (2000)**
  19. Mad Max Fury Road (2015)*
  20. Moonlight (2016)*
  21. Wendy and Lucy (2008)
  22. I'm Not There (2007)
  23. Silent Light (2008)
  24. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)*
  25. The 40 Year Old Virgin (2004)

Relatively mystified by the inclusion of Three Times (just hypnotically gorgeous but so uneven, even given the mandatorily uneven terrain of experimental art films) and Munich (not sure I'll ever understand its appeal) but otherwise I dig or understand. Though I should note that I'm Not There (2007) is my least favorite Todd Haynes feature (...speaking of uneven though its highs are remarkable).

Nathaniel's List


 

  1. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
  2. Carol (2015)
  3. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
  4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
  5. I Am Love (2009/2010)
  6. Dancer in the Dark (2000)
  7. Far From Heaven (2002)
  8. In the Mood for Love (2000/2001)
  9. A Separation (2011)
  10. Under the Skin (2013/2014)
  11. Talk to Her (2002)
  12. Rachel Getting Married (2008)
  13. Mad Max Fury Road (2015)
  14. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000)
  15. A History of Violence (2005)
  16. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
  17. Mulholland Dr (2001)
  18. There Will Be Blood (2007)
  19. Vera Drake (2004)
  20. The Class (2008)
  21. Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001/2002)
  22. WALL•E (2008)
  23. Before Sunset (2004)
  24. The Hurt Locker (2008/2009)
  25. Hunger (2008/2009)

** Note: I absolutely L-O-V-E The Gleaners and I but I never rank documentaries with narrative features as I find them impossible to compare in both their goals and their form. They share very few of the things that can make a narrative feature transcendent magic (acting, costumes, production design, etcetera).

So... what the hell a Favorite Documentaries List of the New Century too. I don't see a ton of documentaries.  I'm still hopelessly behind on the last couple of years of Oscar nominees in this category -- but these are my 10 favorites from the past 17 years unless I've forgotten something (very possible).

 

  1. The Gleaners and I (2001)
  2. Grizzly Man (2005)
    🔺 They'd both make my top ten fav docs of all time list, surely, though I've never made one. Paris is Burning would be #1 as it is EVERYTHING.
  3. The Missing Picture (2013)
  4. Prodigal Sons (2008)
  5. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
  6. Last Train Home (2009)
  7. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
  8. Stories We Tell (2012)
  9. Waltz With Bashir (2008)
  10. The House I Live In (2012)

 

But again, for documentaries, I defer to Glenn or Daniel who see a ton of them.

The New York Times also polled a few filmmakers for their top tens of the century thus far and you can see their individual lists here. But I thought we should share one of them because I find it so interesting...

Sofia Coppola's Top 12 of the new century


 

 

The only one of these I haven't seen is Daddy's Home (she says she loves it because her kids love it) but every other film is just fantastic.

You know what it's time for in the comments? YOUR LISTS!

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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