Roderick Simpson

The 100 Best Films of the 21st Century

This, my friends, is the definitive 100 Best Films of the 21st Century list. Sure, there have been imitators and pretenders—notably The New York Times, with their 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century list. Yes, their circulation is slightly larger than mine, but can they match the brilliance of this list? Can they match its sophistication and incisive analysis? I think not.

And should you worry that this is all highbrow self-satisfaction, look no further than looney, lowbrow interlopers like Idiocracy, Borat, and Napoleon Dynamite. And, likewise, find easy comfort in the zaniness of The Life Aquatic, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Mandibles, and The Fairy. Sure: Dogtooth, Phantom Love, Pity, In Fabric, and The Forbidden Room—all I will say is there’s a film for every mood, as long as your mood is mostly weird stuff.

Now, only 19 films in my curated list—the top 10 of which ranges from Lucrecia Martel’s Zama to Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage—overlap with the NYT’s list. Maybe this is a good thing. Read this post for some thoughts and comparative metrics (spoiler: it is a good thing).

I’ll do some sort of updating as remarkable new or as-yet-unwatched films emerge. Btw, I also maintain a list of the 500 Best Films of All Time.

  1. Zama (Lucrecia Martel, 2017)
  2. The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015)
  3. Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002)
  4. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)
  5. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
  6. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
  7. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
  8. The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023)
  9. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007)
  10. Corsage (Marie Kreutzer, 2022)
  11. White Material (Claire Denis, 2009)
  12. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)
  13. Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 2007)
  14. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012)
  15. The Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000)
  16. In Fabric (Peter Strickland, 2018)
  17. Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009)
  18. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)
  19. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kaufman, 2020)
  20. A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg, 2024)
  21. Amour Fou (Jessica Hausner, 2014)
  22. Deerskin (Quentin Dupieux, 2019)
  23. Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006)
  24. TÁR (Todd Field, 2022)
  25. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
  26. Berberian Sound Studio (Peter Strickland, 2012)
  27. Phantom Love (Nina Menkes, 2007)
  28. Synonyms (Nadav Lapid, 2019)
  29. Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson, 2016)
  30. Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell, 2020)
  31. The Velvet Underground (Todd Haynes, 2021)
  32. The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018)
  33. The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022)
  34. All We Imagine as Light (Payal Kapadia, 2024)
  35. Code Unknown (Michael Haneke, 2000)
  36. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 2000)
  37. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000)
  38. La Ciénaga (Lucrecia Martel, 2001)
  39. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
  40. Gimme Danger (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)
  41. Borat (Larry Charles, 2006)
  42. France (Bruno Dumont, 2021)
  43. District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009)
  44. Mandibles (Quentin Dupieux, 2020)
  45. Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2021)
  46. The Fairy (Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy, 2011)
  47. Chevalier (Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2015)
  48. Closeness (Kantemir Balagov, 2017)
  49. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
  50. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013)
  51. No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 2007)
  52. Inland Empire (David Lynch, 2006)
  53. Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011)
  54. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
  55. Janet Planet (Annie Baker, 2023)
  56. Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022)
  57. Swimming Pool (François Ozon, 2003)
  58. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
  59. Keep an Eye Out (Quentin Dupieux, 2018)
  60. Pity (Babis Makridis, 2018)
  61. The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland, 2014)
  62. The Corporation (Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, 2003)
  63. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)
  64. The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg, 2019)
  65. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2017)
  66. Attenberg (Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2010)
  67. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
  68. Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer, 2000)
  69. Birth (Jonathan Glazer, 2004)
  70. Last Days (Gus Van Sant, 2005)
  71. Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet, 2023)
  72. The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach, 2005)
  73. Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008)
  74. Wuthering Heights (Andrea Arnold, 2011)
  75. American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)
  76. Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess, 2004)
  77. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008)
  78. Storytelling (Todd Solondz, 2001)
  79. Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch, 2005)
  80. The Forbidden Room (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, 2015)
  81. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Seth Gordon, 2007)
  82. Asteroid City (Wes Anderson, 2023)
  83. Fallen Leaves (Aki Kaurismäki, 2023)
  84. Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2015)
  85. They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (Morgan Neville, 2018)
  86. Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh, 2014)
  87. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
  88. Vera Drake (Mike Leigh, 2004)
  89. Macbeth (Justin Kurzel, 2015)
  90. An Easy Girl (Rebecca Zlotowski, 2019)
  91. Palindromes (Todd Solondz, 2004)
  92. Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012)
  93. Chuck & Buck (Miguel Arteta, 2000)
  94. The French Dispatch (Wes Anderson, 2021)
  95. The Worst Person in the World (Joachim Trier, 2021)
  96. Beanpole (Kantemir Balagov, 2019)
  97. Alps (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2011)
  98. Reality (Quentin Dupieux, 2014)
  99. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2017)
  100. Gentlemen Broncos (Jared Hess, 2009)

Roderick Simpson

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