The year saw a tentative return to in-person screenings, an experience I had deeply missed. Getting to see ambitious, challenging, and moving storytelling on the big screen was something I’ll be sure to never take for granted again. Here are the top films I saw in 2021.
10. The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal)
The feature debut from director Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter features one of the best performances of the year from Olivia Coleman as a mother named Leda who is taking a trip that soon will be subsumed by memories from her past.
Based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante, it also stars an equally outstanding Jessie Buckley as the younger Leda whose actions now haunt her older self. It is a painful and honest portrait of motherhood with Gyllenhaal’s purposeful direction instilling a sense of discontent that is overwhelming.
(The Lost Daughter is in theaters now and available to stream on Netflix starting Friday.)
9. Drive My Car (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
An understated yet entrancing drama, Drive My Car is Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s second film he released this year alongside Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. While that later film is also worth checking out, it is this one that truly stuck out as being his most moving work.
It focuses on a stage actor and director who is dealing with a loss from many years ago. When he takes on a play at a festival in Hiroshima, he forms a close bond with a young woman assigned to be his driver. Each scene unfolds with a quiet grace, making for an experience that is not just about the story but about the beauty in which it is told.
(Drive My Car is in select theaters.)
8. C’mon C’mon (Mike Mills)
The best film writer-director Mike Mills has made to date, C’mon C’mon is a refreshing and lovely story about a family seen against the backdrop of cities across America. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny who is tasked with waching Woody Norman’s Jesse while his mother deals with a personal crisis.
Shot in black and white, the film may sound like it is a straightforward story about family bonding but it is so much more than that. It makes use of sound unlike anything else this year with Johnny working his way through the country as a radio journalist asking children about the future. It is truly transcendent.
(C’mon C’mon is in theaters and available on digital.)
7. Nine Days (Edson Oda)
One of the films that remains the most slept on of the year, Nine Days is a dynamic and devastating feature debut from writer-director Edson Oda. It stars Winston Duke as Will, a lonely man who must conduct interviews with a variety of subjects for a chance to be born.
The film becomes a beautiful meditation on life and loss as Will begins to question his purpose in selecting those for existence. Duke is phenomenal and absolutely disappears in one of the most nuanced performances of the year. There is just so much to love about every decision made that makes this film a true piece of art.
(Nine Days is on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray.)
6. Zola (Janicza Bravo)
A film that represented a first for cinema by basing its story off a lengthy Twitter thread, Zola is a masterwork from director Janicza Bravo. By capturing the chaos of its origin while still becoming a film all its own, Bravo managed to create one of the most simultaneously stunning and underrated works of the year.
There isn’t a missed note or a bad performance to be found throughout. Every scene and unique perspective makes it one of the most memorable films of all time. Even in the moments where it wraps up leaves a lasting impression, sure to stick with you for years to come.
(Zola is on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray.)
5. Pig (Michael Sarnoski)
The Portland-set and shot film Pig is another powerful feature debut that will stick out for years to come. Starring Nicolas Cage in one of his best roles to date and his most compelling of recent memory, director Michael Sarnoski’s film is measured yet moving.
It is this film that I found myself most drawn to writing more about and trying to talk with as many of those I could who were involved with it. The care and love overflowing from every frame is palpable, a testament to the command of craft on display in every moment.
(Pig is on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray.)
4. The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion)
This piece must first come with a disclaimer: The Power of the Dog was not a film that initially resonated with me. Instead, it was a film that found its significance in my mind with time and further reflection. It is yet another masterful work from director Jane Campion.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch in one of his most transformative performances as the rancher Phil Burbank, it is a film that sneaks up on you with every passing moment. When Phil’s brother marries, all of their lives will soon slowly descend into profound tension that is given glorious texture with every new twist of the knife.
(The Power of the Dog is available to stream on Netflix.)
3. The Green Knight (David Lowery)
A magical film that takes the old and makes it new again, The Green Knight is a vision from director David Lowery that creates a path unlike any other cinematic experience this year. A fantastic and dashing Dev Patel is the film’s Gawain, an immature knight who doesn’t realize how he is taking on his own doom.
The result is a story grounded in the past that becomes an entirely new look into the future. Every single sequence is overflowing with artistry and dread that consumes the senses. It is a film that was early in the year, though one that withstands the test of time.
(The Green Knight is on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray.)
2. Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
A film that is difficult to write about as it is basically impossible to see due to a release schedule of one theater at a time, the newest film from Apichatpong Weerasethakul is an experience that everyone should experience when they can.
It stars Tilda Swinton as Jessica, a woman who begins hearing a strange sound that she can’t explain. The sound will become an obsession and push the film into visually arresting places as she journeys to explain what has happened.
(Memoria is in select theaters.)
1. Titane (Julia Ducournau)
A film that takes a sledgehammer to any rules about genre, Titane is director Julia Ducournau creating a wholly unexpected masterpiece in a way only she can. It is similar to how her previous film Raw was a coming-of-age story wrapped in a film about cannibalism.
What Titane manages to do is become tender and loving while still utilizing a strange language of horror that never lets you go. There has never been a work like it and likely never will be. It is the absolute best film of the year by a landslide.
(Titane is on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray.)
Honorable mentions: The Matrix Resurrections, Mass, Dune, The Night House, The Rescue, Sophie Jones, Test Pattern, Wild Indian, Censor, Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares), The Last Duel, Malignant, Werewolves Within, Our Own (Les nôtres), Old, Spencer, The Card Counter, The Worst Person in the World, and The French Dispatch.
All of the Sunbreak’s Year-end lists: Josh | Morgen | Chris | Tony