The nine 21st-century movies included on the ‘Sight and Sound’ best movies of all time list
Since 1952, the BFI‘s Sight and Sound magazine have released a list of the greatest films ever made, revising the collection every ten years. As one of the most prestigious critical polls on cinema, Sight and Sound invite filmmakers, critics, academics, curators and archivists to submit their top ten ballots. This year, the magazine celebrates its most extensive poll yet, with 1,639 participants giving their opinion on cinema’s most remarkable feats.
Sight and Sound’s first poll crowned Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, released only four years prior, as the greatest film ever made. Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane reigned supreme from 1962 until 2012 when Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo knocked the 1941 classic off the top spot. However, 2022’s list was recently revealed, unveiling a new and unexpected winner – Jeanne Dielman,23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. The magnificent three-and-a-half-hour-long avant-garde film is an achievement of feminist filmmaking helmed by Chantal Akerman. The 2022 list also includes nine movies made in the 21st century, compared to the 2012 list, which contained just two. Interestingly, four of these nine were directed in the past decade.
Coming in at 95 is Jordan Peele’s psychological horror Get Out, starring Daniel Kaluuya as a young Black man who discovers terrifying secrets about his white girlfriend’s family. Peele’s satirical yet nuanced take on white supremacy and the rampant racism that infects American society is undoubtedly one of the past decade’s greatest and most poignant films.
Furthermore, another film on the list that grapples with inequality, particularly wealth and class disparities, is Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. Released in 2019, it became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival and the first non-English-language movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Two important LGBTQ+ films released in the past decade were included in the list: Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which detailed the relationship between two women in the late 18th century, and Moonlight, Barry Jenkin’s exploration of identity and love between two young black men. Not only are both films significant milestones of LGBTQ+ cinema, but they are beautiful works of art which rightly deserve their spots in Sight and Sound‘s list.
The rest of the 21st-century films featured on the list were created in the 2000s; however, only two of these picks were previously featured in the 2012 poll. These are David Lynch’s surreal 2001 masterpiece Mulholland Drive and Wong Kar-wai’s beautiful 2000 film In The Mood For Love. A fantastic addition to the list is Agnes Varda’s The Gleaners and I, her second film on the list alongside 1962’s Cleo from 5 to 7. Her 2000 documentary interviews various gleaners, including those who eat scraps from bins, artists who use recycled materials, and herself, gleaning images to create the film.
Furthermore, the list includes the Thai romantic psychological drama Tropical Malady, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Released in 2004, the film is separated into two segments, the first following the relationship between two men and the other about a lost soldier.
Finally, two animated films by Hayao Miyazaki made it onto the list, My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away, although only the latter was made in the 21st century. Spirited Away was released in 2001 and follows a young girl as she stumbles upon a magical world full of phantoms and creatures. The Oscar-winning anime is a beautiful coming-of-age tale fit for all ages, demonstrating the joyous possibilities of animation, a genre not previously featured on the list.
Nine 21st-century movies considered the best of all time:
- Get Out – Jordan Peele
- Parasite – Bong Joon-ho
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire – Celine Scammia
- Moonlight – Barry Jenkins
- Mulholland Drive – David Lynch
- In The Mood For Love – Wong Kar Wai
- The Gleaners and I – Agnes Varda
- Tropical Malady – Apichatpong Weerasethakul
- Spirited Away – Hayao Miyazaki
