My Top 100 Films of the 21st Century

Chris Kriofske
In The Mood For Love

I could not resist submitting my own unranked top ten ballot to New York Times’ Top 100 Films of the 21st Century poll last month. Below is that top ten ranked, along with ninety other titles I would place in my own canon for the past 25 years. Below #30 or so, the ranking’s less important and subject to change (as anything ranked is, really.) I will say the order of the top three is also always in flux; given the widespread love for #2 and #3, I went with something more obscure but dear to my heart for #1.

Paul Thomas Anderson has three titles in the top 40; the only other filmmakers with as many in the top 100 are Hirokazu Kore-eda and Richard Linklater, though Wes Anderson came close (The Grand Budapest Hotel perhaps tied for #101 with a few other titles I couldn’t fit on.) I wish I had more female directors on this list (at least four made the top 20) although it speaks volumes about my current taste and interest that half of the top ten comes from Asian directors (with a few more not far behind.)

It might be risky to put the film at #4 so high since it’s so recent, but a second viewing earlier this year confirmed my initial thought that nothing else I’ve seen captures the time we live in so vividly and completely, except arguably the film at #12 which topped the NY Times poll.

I’ve included links for the movies that were part of my 24 Frames project.

  1. Cemetery of Splendour (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2015)
  2. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
  3. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
  4. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Radu Jude, 2023)
  5. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
  6. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
  7. What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-liang, 2001)
  8. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)
  9. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012)
  10. Still Walking (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2008)
  11. 35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis, 2008)
  12. Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019)
  13. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
  14. Y Tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuaron, 2001)
  15. Happy Hour (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2015)
  16. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007)
  17. Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022)
  18. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
  19. Me And You And Everyone We Know (Miranda July, 2005)
  20. Cache (Michael Haneke, 2005)
  21. Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001)
  22. Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2021)
  23. Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2018)
  24. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)
  25. C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallee, 2005)
  26. Best In Show (Christopher Guest, 2000)
  27. Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2012)
  28. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
  29. The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland, 2014)
  30. Under The Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013)
  31. Staying Vertical (Alain Guiraudie, 2016)
  32. A Serious Man (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2009)
  33. Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)
  34. Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015)
  35. Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)
  36. Tár (Todd Field, 2022)
  37. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (Celine Sciamma, 2019)
  38. Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)
  39. Aquarius (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2016)
  40. Los Angeles Plays Itself (Thom Andersen, 2003)
  41. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012)
  42. Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2015)
  43. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2022)
  44. Marwencol (Jeff Malmberg, 2010)
  45. Clean (Olivier Assayas, 2004)
  46. Duck Season (Fernando Eimbcke, 2004)
  47. Burning (Lee Chang-dong, 2018)
  48. The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2003)
  49. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)
  50. A Bread Factory (Patrick Wang, 2018)
  51. Oslo, August 31st (Joachim Trier, 2011)
  52. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
  53. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
  54. Volver (Pedro Almodovar, 2006)
  55. Dig! (Ondi Timoner, 2004)
  56. Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002)
  57. Exit Through The Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010)
  58. Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (David Zellner, 2014)
  59. Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
  60. Hedwig and The Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, 2001)
  61. The Case Of The Grinning Cat (Chris Marker, 2004)
  62. After Yang (Kogonada, 2021)
  63. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
  64. Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017)
  65. Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2021)
  66. The Heart of The World (Guy Maddin, 2000)
  67. Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Žbanić, 2020)
  68. Let The Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
  69. Our Song (Jim McKay, 2000)
  70. Away From Her (Sarah Polley, 2006)
  71. May December (Todd Haynes, 2023)
  72. First Reformed (Paul Schrader, 2017)
  73. How To Survive A Plague (David France, 2012)
  74. Minding The Gap (Bing Liu, 2018)
  75. Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
  76. Pictures of Ghosts (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2023)
  77. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller, 2018)
  78. The Holdovers (Alexander Payne, 2023)
  79. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)
  80. Lost In Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
  81. Talk To Her (Pedro Almodovar, 2002)
  82. Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)
  83. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
  84. All Of Us Strangers (Andrew Haigh, 2023)
  85. Dogville (Lars Von Trier, 2003)
  86. The Power of The Dog (Jane Campion, 2021)
  87. In The Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)
  88. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Werner Herzog, 2009)
  89. Sword of Trust (Lynn Shelton, 2019)
  90. Ham On Rye (Tyler Taormina, 2019)
  91. Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2005)
  92. Reprise (Joachim Trier, 2006)
  93. First Cow (Kelly Reichardt, 2019)
  94. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
  95. Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson, 2000)
  96. Perfect Days (Wim Wenders, 2023)
  97. The Happiness Of The Katikuris (Takashi Miike, 2001)
  98. Monster (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2023)
  99. Limbo (Ben Sharrock, 2020)
  100. The Beast (Bertrand Bonello, 2023)

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