Having been 45 times to the cinema and having watched 71 of the major productions of 2021, I can confidently say that it was the first great year for cinema after two really devastating years. I was just a little let down by the international films this year, only five films of my list are in a foreign language, which is not much. Let's hope for 2022!
20. Passing, directed by Rebecca Hall.
Never would I have expected this small underrated Netflix production to make me think as much as it did. What I expected to be a politically correct film just made to get nominated for awards turned out to be the oppostie: a very nuanced and suspenseful drama about suppressed feelings, communication and love. how suppressing your desires can destroy you.
19. Nightmare Alley, directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Despite not being a huge fan of Del Toro, he dfinitely got me with this one, and i'd definitely say it's the best film he ever made. The reason is that he just kept it simple and only did what he does best: a ridiculously dark and extremely violent tale of how evil humans and the world can be. Long time I haven't watched a film with images as stunning as these ones. This is just an incredibly cool and entertaining film.
18. Next Door (Nebenan), directed by Daniel Brühl.
The first international film of this list is actually a German one, which didn't get much attention there. Daniel Brühl's first effort as a director surprises with incredible suspense only through dialogue - the film takes place almost only in a bar. It talks about the DDR (GDR), social inequality, the ethics of being rich, social classes and how much you can intervene in someone else's life. Very interesting.
17. The Worst Person in the World, directed by Joachim Trier.
This Norvegian film might just be one of the most beautiful romantic films I've seen in the last years - and it's also perfectly watchable for everyone who normally doesn't like romances. Joachim Trier once again tries to look at the world differently and to observe the people around him. This film will definiteky touch you with its honesty and the very, very difficult questions it asks - also about how you want to live your life.
16. Paris, 13th district (Les Olympiades), directed by Jacques Audiard.
Audiard is without a doubt one of the best contemporary French directors, and he always surprises what he comes up with next. Les Olympiades is a very realistic take on love, sex and relationships in the age of dating apps and social media. Despite the difficult topic, he still manages to tell a beautiful story.
15. The Souvenir, Part II, directed by Joana Hogg.
As the title already says, there's a first part of this which came out one year earlier - they function as one continuous film, so you have to watch Part I first. But once you prepared yourself for a very, very slow cinematic experience, you won't regret watching this astonishing artwork. Telling the story of the relatonship of a British film student with a Heroin addict, The Souvenir is one of the most interesting and at the same time one of the strangest films I've seen in a long while.
14. The Tragedy of Macbeth, directed by Joel Coen.
Being a huge fan of the original by Shakespeare myself, I had high expectations for this new take of Macbeth - which were easily exceeded. Joel Coen's film might tell a well-known story, but the stylistic choices made here made this one of the most stunning visual experiences I've ever had. This is the best use of Black&White photography in the history of cinema.
13. The Father, directed by Florian Zeller.
The Oscars 2021 did everything right by giving the award for Best Actor to Anthony Hopkins. His portrayal of a man suffering from dementia is simply heartbreaking. At the same time, this film is a very special achievement. It did the impossible by making you understand this complex disease and the fears behind it through the film's narrative structure.
12. Don't Look Up, directed by Adam McKay.
Yes, that's right. Don't Look Up on place 12 of my Top20. - I know I'm a bit alone with this opinion, but I absolutely loved this. Adam McKay is one of my favourite directors, and although he doesn't reach the ingenuity of Vice with his new film, this is once again such a clever and witty work. How McKay makes a bad film on purpose, adapting the style of today's news shows & YouTube and Instagram videos is absolutely brilliant, he criticises the way we talk about problems and conflicts nowadays. And let's be honest: If a comet like in Don't Look Up would be discovered tomorrow, this is exactly how it would happen.
11. Stillwater, directed by Tom McCarthy.
I still don't understand how this film could get so little attention. This is not only a fantastic and extremely entertaining film, but also a highly political and intelligent commentary on the Trump-voting American working class. We've seen enough of mainstream media constantly bashing Trump and calling him a clown - we desperately need more films like these, which try to understand why so many people believed (and still believe) in Trump - and why this can be a problem. More films which actively try to analyse and understand the working class.
10. The Lost Daughter, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Never would I have thought this would end up in my Top10 - not even after watching it. But the longer you think about it, the more this film will leave you in a weird state afterwards. And trust me, this film will make you think. It leaves you haunted and shaken, not exactly knowing at first why - you were basically simply watching a depressed woman reflect her life at a Greek beach. But this is a very intimate and understanding film, confronting you even with parts of your own personality.
9. Pieces of a Woman, directed by Kornél Mundruczcó.
Actually one of the very first films which came out in 2021, this film left such an impression on me that I still happen to think about it from time to time. The way this film tells the aftermath of a miscarriage and how the protagonist deals with this tragedy as well as with her relationship, her life and her surroundings is truly special and very different from what you'd expect. A very meditative film, told in incredibly beautiful, soft images. Definitely underrated.
8. Fabian: Going to the Dogs (Fabian, oder der Gang vor die Hunde), directed by Dominik Graf.
This 3-hours long experimental German film was probably the biggest surprise of all 2021 films. It's an incredibly brave, beautiful and poetic film which explores the medium film itself. Not one minute too long, it takes you on a journey through 1930's Berlin. Not much more I want to say about this, definitely worth checking it out for yourself!
7. The Mauritanian, directed by Kevin MacDonald.
There can't be one good cinematic year without at least one good film about the terrible crimes the USA have commited in their foreign politics. In 2021, this film was the brilliant The Mauritanian, telling the story of an innocent man imprisoned for years in Guantanamo Bay. A very important and sad film, but at the same time extremely joy- and hopeful.
6. Spencer, directed by Pablo Larraín.
Since years already, the Chilean Pablo Larraín ranks amongst my favourite directors, making one amazing film after another. With Spencer, he proved once again what a master of his craft he is. Telling the story of how Lady Diana decides to seperate from her royal husband in 1991, he makes a film about feeling suppressedd, the feeling of not being understood by anybody, told in beautiful images. Does Kristen Stewart deserve every award on this planet? Yes.
5. The Green Knight, directed by David Lovery.
I couldn't care less about fantasy, knights, middle age and stuff like this. Everything, but not this.
The Green Knight though was such a crazy experience, I still don't really know what I've watched there. This is such a trippy, psychedelic, seducing, scary and hypnotic film that it's hard to get this out of your head once you've watched it. Must-Watch!!
4. Pleasure, directed by Ninja Thyberg.
This small Swedish production tells the story of a girl who moves to Los Angeles in order to become the world's biggest porn star. Pleasure is nothing else than a masterpiece and gets awards non-stop at the moment, for a good reason. This is one of the most shocking and sad, but at the same time one of the most understanding, realistic and warm-hearted films of the last months. It has two main strengths: it never forces its audience to adapt to one particular opinion on the subject, and Thyberg manages to completely take away the male gaze as well as turning the "hot" scenes into images which leave you completely cold. That's art.
3. Drive my Car, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
One of the slowest, but without any doubt one of the best films in general and the single best international film of 2021. Japanese director Hamaguchi tells a story of grief, acceptance, relationships and the power of routines in such a nuanced and touching way that you almost forget you're watching a film during this immersive cinematic experience. The film thematises a theatre director adapting Tcheckov's Uncle Vanja, so this isn't only a film for everyone who loves cinema, but as well a film for everyone who loves theatre.
2. The French Dispatch, directed by Wes Anderson.
It's no secret that I'm a die-hard Wes Anderson fan. And his latest, The French Dispatch, definitely ranks amongst his best three films. It's overboarding and exploding of the thousand details, characters, ideas, dialogues and love letters Anderson puts into this piece of art. But the astonishing thing is that it still works so perfectly, despite the millions of plots and subplots. Such a masterpiece - and what a shame this got literally zero recognition from the award juries.
1. Judas and the Black Messiah, directed by Shaka King.
"You can kill a revolutionairy, but you can't kill the revolution!"
Fred Hampton of the Chicago Black Panthers was one of the most important and inspiring political figures of the 20th century, and a film about him was long overdue. And what a great film he got! Daniel Kaluuya's Oscar-winning portrayal of him will always remain one of my favourites. A film for everyone interested in the Black Lives Matter movements, human rights, protests, socialism, politics, and why it's still necessary to hate the cops (all of them). Masterpiece.
If you still decide to watch a 2021 film which is not in this list, here are some honorable mentions which I liked a lot but didn't quite make it into the list:
21. Last Night in Soho
(dir. Edgar Wright)
22. Licorice Pizza
(dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
23. Annette
(dir. Leos Carax)
24. Minari
(dir. Lee Isaac Chung)
25. C'mon C'mon
(dir. Mike Mills)
26. A Quiet Place, Part II
(dir. John Krasinski)
27. Voyagers (dir. Neil Burger)
If you still haven't had enough and want to watch more films of 2021, beware: there were also lots of bad ones. To warn you of those you shouldn't watch, here's my list of the Flop 15 worst and most disappointing films of the year:
15- The Hand of God
(dir. Paolo Sorrentino)
14- Justice League Snyder-Cut
(dir. Zack Snyder)
13- Promising Young Woman
(dir. Emerald Fennell)
12- Red Notice
(dir. Rawson M. Thurber)
11- Belfast
(dir. Kenneth Branagh)
10- Titane
(dir. Julia Ducournau)
9- Nomadland
(dir. Chloe Zhao)
8- Wrath of Man
(dir. Guy Ritchie)
7- The King’s Man
(dir. Matthew Vaughn)
6- Beckett
(dir. F. C. Filomarino)
5- Malcolm & Marie
(dir. Sam Levinson)
4- Being the Ricardos
(dir. Aaron Sorkin)
3- Petrov’s Flu
(dir. Kirill Serebrennikov)
2- Eternals
(dir. Chloe Zhao)
1- Matrix Resurrections
(dir. Lana Wachowski)
Write a comment