NYT 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century
The New York Times’ 2025 poll of 500-plus filmmakers and actors, ranked. Parasite at #1 — argue from there.
100 titles
- Parasite (2019), Bong Joon Ho
A poor Seoul family cons its way, one job at a time, into the household of a rich one. Bong Joon Ho (Memories of Murder) won the Palme d'Or, then four Oscars, and it became the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture. Mind the basement. - Mulholland Drive (2001), David Lynch
An aspiring actress arrives in Los Angeles and finds an amnesiac woman hiding in her aunt's apartment. David Lynch (Blue Velvet) built it from a TV pilot ABC turned down, then shared Best Director at Cannes for it. Explanations are available. None are official. - There Will Be Blood (2008), Paul Thomas Anderson
Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oilman, chases a California oil strike at the turn of the century and runs into a young preacher. Loosely adapted from Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!, it won Daniel Day-Lewis his second Oscar. He drinks your milkshake. - In the Mood for Love (2001), Wong Kar-Wai
In 1962 Hong Kong, two neighbors in a crowded rooming house discover their spouses are having an affair with each other. Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express) shoots them in narrow hallways and noodle runs, and Tony Leung won Best Actor at Cannes. The qipaos do a lot of talking. - Moonlight (2016), Barry Jenkins
Chiron grows up in Miami in three chapters, as a boy, a teenager and a man, each played by a different actor. Adapted from Tarell Alvin McCraney's play, it won Best Picture after the envelope mix-up, plus an Oscar for Mahershala Ali. The diner scene earns everything. - No Country for Old Men (2007), Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
A Texas hunter finds $2 million at a drug deal gone wrong, and Anton Chigurh comes to collect. The Coens adapted Cormac McCarthy and won four Oscars: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay and Javier Bardem. There is almost no score. Call it, friendo. - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Michel Gondry
After a bad breakup, Joel (Jim Carrey) learns his ex has had him erased from her memory, and books the same procedure. Charlie Kaufman's script won the Oscar for Original Screenplay, shared with Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth. Kate Winslet's hair keeps changing color. Keep track. - Get Out (2017), Jordan Peele
Chris, a Black photographer, goes upstate to meet his white girlfriend's very welcoming parents for the weekend. Jordan Peele, then best known for Key & Peele, made his directing debut with it and won the Oscar for Original Screenplay. Never stir your tea around a hypnotist. - Spirited Away (2001), Hayao Miyazaki
Ten-year-old Chihiro wanders into a bathhouse for spirits after her parents are turned into pigs, and has to take a job to get them back. Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro) won the Oscar for Animated Feature and the Golden Bear at Berlin. No-Face is just lonely. - The Social Network (2010), David Fincher
A Harvard sophomore named Mark Zuckerberg builds a website in his dorm room and loses his best friend over it. Aaron Sorkin's script won an Oscar, and so did the Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score. Told through two depositions. Nobody comes out clean. - Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), George Miller
Furiosa (Charlize Theron) steals a warlord's five wives and runs for it in a war rig, with Max chained along for the ride. George Miller made the first Mad Max in 1979 and came back thirty years after his last one to win six Oscars. It is basically one chase. A long one. - The Zone of Interest (2024), Jonathan Glazer
Rudolf Hoss, commandant of Auschwitz, and his wife raise their children in a house with a garden on the other side of the camp wall. Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin) won the Cannes Grand Prix, then Oscars for International Feature and Sound. Listen closely. You will hear it. - Children of Men (2006), Alfonso Cuarón
In 2027 no child has been born for 18 years, and a burned-out London bureaucrat (Clive Owen) agrees to escort a refugee out of Britain. Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también) adapted P.D. James and shot its battles in long, unbroken takes. Michael Caine plays a stoner. - Inglourious Basterds (2009), Quentin Tarantino
In occupied France, a squad of Jewish-American soldiers scalps Nazis while a Jewish cinema owner plans her own revenge. Christoph Waltz won Best Actor at Cannes and the Oscar for Supporting Actor as Colonel Hans Landa. The tavern scene alone runs longer than some short films. - City of God (2004), Kátia Lund, Fernando Meirelles
In a Rio de Janeiro favela from the 1960s to the 1980s, a boy called Rocket wants to be a photographer while his childhood neighbors become gangsters. Adapted from Paulo Lins' novel and co-directed with Katia Lund, it got four Oscar nominations, including Director. Many of the actors came from the… - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001), Ang Lee
In Qing dynasty China, a legendary sword is stolen, and two warriors (Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh) chase it to a restless young aristocrat. Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) won four Oscars, including Foreign Language Film. The fights run across rooftops and treetops. - Brokeback Mountain (2005), Ang Lee
Two young ranch hands, Ennis and Jack, herd sheep on a Wyoming mountain in 1963 and spend the next twenty years unable to quit each other. Adapted from Annie Proulx's short story, it won the Golden Lion at Venice and Ang Lee the Oscar for Director. Heath Ledger barely opens his mouth and says… - Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Alfonso Cuarón
Two teenage friends in Mexico City talk an older Spanish woman into a road trip to a beach that may not exist. Alfonso Cuarón wrote it with his brother Carlos, and it earned them an Oscar nomination for Original Screenplay. Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, before everyone knew their names. - Zodiac (2007), David Fincher
A San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes obsessed with the Zodiac killer, alongside a reporter and a homicide detective. David Fincher (Se7en) adapted Robert Graysmith's books and shot on digital cameras. It runs over two and a half hours. The basement scene is the one you… - The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Martin Scorsese
Jordan Belfort, a Long Island stockbroker, gets very rich selling penny stocks to people who cannot afford them, then very high. Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas) adapted Belfort's own memoir with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead. Matthew McConaughey thumps his chest for one scene and walks off with it. - The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Wes Anderson
Royal Tenenbaum, a disbarred lawyer, tries to win back the family of former child prodigies he walked out on. Wes Anderson (Rushmore) wrote it with Owen Wilson, and the script got an Oscar nomination. Gene Hackman leads. Everyone else wears the same clothes every day. - The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Wes Anderson
In a fictional Central European republic between the wars, the concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his lobby boy Zero are framed for murder over a priceless painting. Wes Anderson credits Stefan Zweig as inspiration, and the film won four Oscars. Mind the pastries. - Boyhood (2014), Richard Linklater
Mason grows up in Texas from age six to his first day of college, and the actors age with him. Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise) shot it a few days at a time over twelve years, and Patricia Arquette won an Oscar as his mother. Nothing much happens. That is the point. - Her (2013), Spike Jonze
In near-future Los Angeles, a lonely letter writer (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with his computer's operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) won the Oscar for Original Screenplay. The high-waisted pants are part of the worldbuilding. - Phantom Thread (2017), Paul Thomas Anderson
In 1950s London, the fastidious dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock takes a young waitress named Alma as muse and lover, and she refuses to stay in her place. Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood) reunites with Daniel Day-Lewis, and the costumes won an Oscar. Breakfast is a battlefield. - Anatomy of a Fall (2023), Justine Triet
A man falls to his death outside a remote chalet in the French Alps, and his wife, a novelist (Sandra Hüller), stands trial while their son decides what he remembers. Justine Triet won the Palme d'Or and shared the Oscar for Original Screenplay. The dog deserved a prize too. - Adaptation (2002)
Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, hired to adapt Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, cannot crack it, while his twin brother Donald breezes through a thriller. Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) directs, Nicolas Cage plays both twins, and Chris Cooper won an Oscar. Donald is fictional. Mostly. - The Dark Knight (2008), Christopher Nolan
Batman, Commissioner Gordon and a new district attorney close in on Gotham's mob, until the Joker offers to solve their problem for them. Christopher Nolan's second Batman film won Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for Supporting Actor. The opening bank heist sets the tone. - Arrival (2016), Denis Villeneuve
When twelve alien ships settle over the planet, the U.S. Army recruits a linguist (Amy Adams) to figure out what the visitors are saying. Denis Villeneuve (Sicario) adapted Ted Chiang's story "Story of Your Life," and it won the Oscar for Sound Editing. The language is the plot. - Lost in Translation (2003), Sofia Coppola
A fading American movie star in Tokyo to shoot a whisky ad (Bill Murray) and a young newlywed left alone in the same hotel (Scarlett Johansson) keep each other company. Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides) won the Oscar for Original Screenplay. Nobody knows what he whispers. - The Departed (2006), Martin Scorsese
An undercover cop inside a Boston Irish mob and a mob mole inside the state police each try to find the other first. Martin Scorsese remade the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs and finally won his Oscar for Director, plus Best Picture. Everyone is lying to Mark Wahlberg. - Bridesmaids (2011), Paul Feig
Annie, broke and single in Milwaukee, is named maid of honor at her best friend's wedding and goes to war with the rich new friend who wants the job. Kristen Wiig wrote it with Annie Mumolo and got an Oscar nomination for it. So did Melissa McCarthy. Do not eat the Brazilian food. - A Separation (2011), Asghar Farhadi
A Tehran couple separates when she wants to leave Iran and he will not abandon his father, who has Alzheimer's, and the caregiver he hires sets off a legal mess. Asghar Farhadi (About Elly) won the Golden Bear and Iran's first Oscar for Foreign Language Film. Everyone has a point. - WALL·E (2008), Andrew Stanton
A trash-compacting robot alone on an abandoned Earth falls for a sleek probe named Eve and follows her into space. Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) tells the first stretch with almost no dialogue, and it won the Oscar for Animated Feature. The humans come off worse than the cockroach. - A Prophet (2009), Jacques Audiard
Malik, a 19-year-old of Arab descent, enters a French prison illiterate and alone, and the Corsican mob running the place puts him to work. Jacques Audiard (Read My Lips) won the Grand Prix at Cannes, and Tahar Rahim became a star in the lead. School is in session. - A Serious Man (2009)
In 1967 Minnesota, physics professor Larry Gopnik watches his wife, his job and his peace of mind fall apart, and asks three rabbis why. The Coens drew on the Jewish suburb they grew up in, and it was nominated for Best Picture. Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you. - Call Me by Your Name (2017), Luca Guadagnino
In northern Italy in the summer of 1983, 17-year-old Elio falls for Oliver, the American graduate student staying with his family. Adapted from André Aciman's novel, it won James Ivory the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay. Michael Stuhlbarg's speech near the end is the one quoted. - Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2020), Céline Sciamma
On an island in 18th-century Brittany, a painter is hired to secretly paint a reluctant bride's portrait for her future husband. Céline Sciamma (Girlhood) won Best Screenplay at Cannes. There is almost no score, so the music that does arrive lands hard. - Lady Bird (2017), Greta Gerwig
Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a Sacramento Catholic school senior in 2002, wants out of town and fights her mother about everything along the way. Greta Gerwig's solo directing debut got five Oscar nominations, including Saoirse Ronan. The car door scene happens early. It sets the tone. - Yi Yi (2000), Edward Yang
A middle-class Taipei family is followed for one year, from a wedding to a funeral, through the father's midlife regrets and the young son's photographs of the backs of people's heads. Edward Yang (A Brighter Summer Day) won Best Director at Cannes. It was his last film. - Amélie (2002), Jean-Pierre Jeunet
A shy Montmartre waitress (Audrey Tautou) decides to fix the lives of the people around her in secret, while doing nothing about her own. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen) got five Oscar nominations for it. Paris has never been this clean, or this green. - The Master (2012), Paul Thomas Anderson
Freddie Quell, a Navy veteran adrift after World War II, falls in with Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the charismatic founder of a movement called the Cause. Paul Thomas Anderson shot it on 65mm film, and it won the Silver Lion at Venice. Joaquin Phoenix is barely holding together. - Oldboy (2003), Park Chan-wook
A Seoul businessman is locked in a hotel-like room for fifteen years without being told why, then let go and given five days to find out. Park Chan-wook (Joint Security Area) adapted a Japanese manga and won the Grand Prix at Cannes. The hallway hammer fight plays as one unbroken shot. - Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019), Quentin Tarantino
In Los Angeles in 1969, fading TV cowboy Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) drift around town while Sharon Tate lives next door. Quentin Tarantino's ninth film won Pitt an Oscar. Mostly it is driving. Good driving. - Moneyball (2011), Bennett Miller
Billy Beane, general manager of a broke Oakland A's team in 2002, rebuilds his roster with statistics nobody else trusts. Adapted from Michael Lewis's book by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, it got six Oscar nominations, including Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. Very little baseball is played. - Roma (2018), Alfonso Cuarón
In Mexico City in 1970 and 1971, Cleo, a live-in domestic worker, keeps a middle-class household running while it falls apart. Alfonso Cuarón based it on the woman who raised him, shot it in black and white himself, and won Oscars for Director, Cinematography and International Feature. Yalitza… - Almost Famous (2000), Cameron Crowe
In 1973, a 15-year-old aspiring rock writer lands an assignment from Rolling Stone and goes on tour with a rising band called Stillwater. Cameron Crowe (Say Anything) based it on his own teenage years and won the Oscar for Original Screenplay. Tiny Dancer, on the bus. - The Lives of Others (2006), Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
In East Berlin in 1984, a Stasi captain bugs the apartment of a playwright and his actress girlfriend and starts listening a little too closely. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's first feature won the Oscar for Foreign Language Film. Ulrich Muhe plays the man in the headphones. - Before Sunset (2004), Richard Linklater
Nine years after a night together in Vienna (Before Sunrise), Jesse and Celine meet again in Paris, where he is on a book tour with a flight to catch. Richard Linklater wrote it with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and it plays out almost in real time. Baby, you are gonna miss that plane. - Up (2009)
Carl Fredricksen, a widowed balloon salesman, ties thousands of balloons to his house and floats off to South America, with a stowaway Wilderness Explorer aboard. Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.) opened Cannes with it, a first for an animated film, and won the Oscar for Animated Feature. Bring tissues… - 12 Years a Slave (2013), Steve McQueen
Solomon Northup, a free Black violinist in New York, is kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery in Louisiana. Steve McQueen (Hunger) adapted Northup's own memoir and won Best Picture, and Lupita Nyong'o won an Oscar in her first feature role. Chiwetel Ejiofor carries it. - The Favourite (2018), Yorgos Lanthimos
In the court of Queen Anne, her confidante Sarah Churchill and a fallen cousin named Abigail compete for the ailing queen's favor. Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster) directs, and Olivia Colman won the Oscar for Best Actress. There are seventeen rabbits. Duck racing is involved. - Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
A Kazakh television reporter travels across America to make a documentary and gets sidetracked by a crush on Pamela Anderson. Sacha Baron Cohen stays in character with real, unsuspecting Americans, and won a Golden Globe for it. Larry Charles directs. The rodeo scene still gets gasps. - Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo del Toro
In 1944 Spain, a girl named Ofelia moves to the countryside with her pregnant mother and a brutal Francoist captain stepfather, then meets a faun in an old stone maze. Guillermo del Toro (The Devil's Backbone) won three Oscars, for cinematography, art direction and makeup. Do not eat the grapes. - Inception (2010), Christopher Nolan
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) steals secrets from people's dreams and takes one last job: planting an idea instead. Christopher Nolan (Memento) built the rotating hallway for real, and the film won four Oscars, including cinematography and visual effects. Watch the top. - Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Paul Thomas Anderson
Barry Egan, a lonely Los Angeles toilet-plunger salesman with seven sisters, falls for Lena (Emily Watson) while a phone-sex scam turns on him. Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia) shared Best Director at Cannes, and Adam Sandler plays it straight. The pudding miles were a real thing. - Best in Show (2000), Christopher Guest
A handful of dogs and their deeply odd owners head to Philadelphia for the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman) wrote it with Eugene Levy and had the cast improvise. Fred Willard does color commentary. Find the busy bee. - Uncut Gems (2019), Safdie Brothers
Howard Ratner, a Diamond District jeweler deep in debt, bets everything on a rare Ethiopian opal and a Celtics player who wants it. Josh and Benny Safdie (Good Time) cast Adam Sandler, and Kevin Garnett plays himself. Your pulse will not settle for two hours. - Toni Erdmann (2016), Maren Ade
Winfried, a retired music teacher who loves a practical joke, shows up uninvited in Bucharest where his daughter works as a corporate consultant, and invents an alter ego in fake teeth. Maren Ade (Everyone Else) got an Oscar nomination for Foreign Language Film. The birthday party is legendary. - Whiplash (2014), Damien Chazelle
Andrew, a first-year jazz drummer at an elite Manhattan conservatory, is picked by Terence Fletcher, a bandleader who teaches with abuse. Damien Chazelle expanded his own short film, and it won three Oscars, including J.K. Simmons. Not quite my tempo. - Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Quentin Tarantino
The Bride (Uma Thurman) wakes from a four-year coma and works through a list of the assassins who shot her at her own wedding rehearsal. Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) folds in an anime chapter and a showdown in a Tokyo restaurant. The yellow tracksuit nods to Bruce Lee. - Memento (2001), Christopher Nolan
Leonard (Guy Pearce) cannot form new memories and hunts his wife's killer with Polaroids, notes and tattoos, while the story runs backward. Christopher Nolan adapted his brother Jonathan's short story and got an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. Do not trust the handwriting. - Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
A struggling Albuquerque family piles into a yellow VW bus to get seven-year-old Olive to a children's beauty pageant in California. Michael Arndt won the Oscar for Original Screenplay, and Alan Arkin won for playing Grandpa. The horn will not stop honking. - Gone Girl (2014), David Fincher
On the morning of their fifth anniversary, Nick Dunne's wife Amy disappears from their Missouri home, and the cable news cameras turn on him. Gillian Flynn adapted her own novel for David Fincher (The Social Network), and Rosamund Pike got an Oscar nomination. Ben Affleck smiles at exactly the… - Oppenheimer (2023), Christopher Nolan
J. Robert Oppenheimer leads the race to build the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, then faces a security hearing about his loyalty. Christopher Nolan adapted the biography American Prometheus and won seven Oscars, including Picture, Director and Cillian Murphy. Nolan staged the bomb test without… - Spotlight (2015), Tom McCarthy
In 2001, the Boston Globe's investigative team starts digging into how the city's Catholic archdiocese handled priests accused of abusing children. Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent) won Best Picture and Original Screenplay. It is mostly people reading files and knocking on doors, and it grips. - Tár (2022), Todd Field
Lydia Tár, the celebrated chief conductor of a Berlin orchestra, prepares a Mahler recording while her private conduct starts catching up with her. Todd Field returned after sixteen years (Little Children was 2006), and Cate Blanchett won the Volpi Cup at Venice. She learned to conduct for it. - The Hurt Locker (2009), Kathryn Bigelow
In Baghdad in 2004, a reckless new sergeant takes over an Army bomb disposal team with weeks left on its rotation. Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break) became the first woman to win the Oscar for Director, and it won Best Picture. Jeremy Renner, before Hawkeye. - Under the Skin (2014), Jonathan Glazer
An alien in the body of a woman (Scarlett Johansson) drives a van around Glasgow, picking up men who do not come home. Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) loosely adapted Michel Faber's novel and shot many scenes with hidden cameras and non-actors. Mica Levi's score crawls under it. - Let the Right One In (2008)
In a snowy Stockholm suburb in the early 1980s, Oskar, a bullied twelve-year-old, befriends Eli, the strange girl who moves in next door and only comes out at night. John Ajvide Lindqvist adapted his own novel, and Hollywood remade it as Let Me In. The pool scene stays with you. - Ocean's Eleven (2001), Steven Soderbergh
Fresh out of prison, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) assembles eleven specialists to rob three Las Vegas casinos owned by the man dating his ex-wife. Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) remade the 1960 Rat Pack film. Everybody is very handsome and very relaxed. Brad Pitt is always eating. - Carol (2016), Todd Haynes
In 1950s New York, Therese, a department store clerk, falls for Carol, a wealthy woman in the middle of a divorce. Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven) adapted Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt, and Rooney Mara shared Best Actress at Cannes. Cate Blanchett and a fur coat do the rest. - Ratatouille (2007), Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
Remy, a rat in Paris with a gift for cooking, teams up with a hapless kitchen boy to cook at a famous restaurant. Brad Bird (The Incredibles) took over the film mid-production and won the Oscar for Animated Feature. One bite of the title dish sends a man back to childhood. - The Florida Project (2017), Sean Baker
Six-year-old Moonee spends a summer running wild around a budget motel outside Disney World, where her young mother scrapes by week to week. Sean Baker (Tangerine) cast mostly newcomers, and Willem Dafoe got an Oscar nomination as the motel manager. The castle is just up the road. - Amour (2012), Michael Haneke
Georges and Anne, retired music teachers in their eighties, live in a Paris apartment until a stroke changes everything. Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon) won his second Palme d'Or in a row and the Oscar for Foreign Language Film. Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant hold the whole thing. - O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Three convicts escape a chain gang in 1930s Mississippi and set off after buried treasure, loosely following Homer's Odyssey. The Coens (Fargo) filled it with old-time music, and the soundtrack won the Grammy for Album of the Year. George Clooney is a Dapper Dan man. - Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Evelyn Wang, an exhausted laundromat owner facing an IRS audit, learns she must jump between versions of herself across the multiverse to save it. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Swiss Army Man) won seven Oscars, and Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress. There are hot… - Aftersun (2022), Charlotte Wells
Eleven-year-old Sophie spends a late-1990s holiday at a Turkish resort with her young father, Calum, and years later goes back through the camcorder footage. Charlotte Wells's first feature got Paul Mescal an Oscar nomination. Under Pressure has never sounded like this. - The Tree of Life (2011), Terrence Malick
A boy grows up in 1950s Texas between a strict father (Brad Pitt) and a gentle mother, and the film widens out to the birth of the universe. Terrence Malick (Days of Heaven) won the Palme d'Or. Sean Penn plays the grown son. Yes, there are dinosaurs. - Volver (2006), Pedro Almodóvar
Raimunda (Penélope Cruz), a working mother in Madrid, covers up a crisis at home while her sister insists their dead mother has come back. Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother) won Best Screenplay at Cannes, and its actresses shared Best Actress. Her singing voice belongs to the flamenco singer… - Black Swan (2010), Darren Aronofsky
Nina, a fragile dancer in a New York ballet company, wins the lead in Swan Lake and starts to come apart playing the black swan. Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) directs, and Natalie Portman won the Oscar for Best Actress. Mila Kunis is the rival. Or is she. - The Act of Killing (2012), Joshua Oppenheimer
Joshua Oppenheimer invites former Indonesian death squad leaders to reenact their killings of 1965 and 1966 as scenes from their favorite movie genres. They agree, cheerfully. Werner Herzog and Errol Morris signed on as executive producers. Anwar Congo dances on the roof where it happened. - Inside Llewyn Davis (2014), Coen Brothers
In Greenwich Village in 1961, a folk singer couch-surfs through a winter week with no money, no coat and someone else's cat. The Coens (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) won the Grand Prix at Cannes, and Oscar Isaac sings every song live. The cat has a name. Find it. - Melancholia (2011), Lars von Trier
Justine (Kirsten Dunst) falls apart at her own lavish wedding, and then a rogue planet appears in the sky and heads toward Earth. Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark) sets it to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, and Dunst won Best Actress at Cannes. The music never lets up. - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Ron Burgundy, the top-rated anchorman in 1970s San Diego, faces a threat to his newsroom: a woman, Veronica Corningstone. Adam McKay wrote it with Will Ferrell, and much of it was improvised. The news team fight is a summit of cameos. Stay classy. - Past Lives (2023), Celine Song
Nora and Hae Sung are childhood friends in Seoul until her family emigrates; two decades later he flies to New York to see her, and meets her husband. Céline Song, a playwright, made her debut with it and got Oscar nominations for Picture and Original Screenplay. Mostly people talking. Devastating. - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Peter Jackson
In Middle-earth, the hobbit Frodo inherits a ring of terrible power and sets out with eight companions to destroy it. Peter Jackson shot all three films back to back in New Zealand, and this first one won four Oscars. Fly, you fools. - The Gleaners and I (2000), Agnès Varda
Agnès Varda (Cleo from 5 to 7) travels France with a small digital camera, filming people who pick up what others leave behind: potatoes, apples, furniture, food from the trash. She films herself gleaning too, and her own aging hands. Look for the heart-shaped potatoes. - Interstellar (2014), Christopher Nolan
With crops failing and Earth's dust storms getting worse, a former NASA pilot (Matthew McConaughey) leaves his kids to search for a new planet through a wormhole near Saturn. Christopher Nolan worked with physicist Kip Thorne, and the film won the Oscar for Visual Effects. One hour there, seven… - Frances Ha (2013), Noah Baumbach
Frances, 27, an apprentice dancer in New York, loses her best friend to a boyfriend and her apartment to the rent. Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) wrote it with Greta Gerwig and shot it in black and white. She runs down the street to Modern Love. Undateable. - Fish Tank (2009), Andrea Arnold
Mia, 15, lives on an Essex housing estate, dances hip-hop alone in an empty flat, and is drawn in by her mother's charming new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender). Andrea Arnold (Red Road) won the Jury Prize at Cannes and cast Katie Jarvis after spotting her arguing on a train platform. - Gladiator (2000), Ridley Scott
Maximus, a Roman general betrayed by the emperor's son, is sold into slavery and fights his way to the Colosseum. Ridley Scott (Alien) won Best Picture, and Russell Crowe won the Oscar for Best Actor. Are you not entertained? Mostly, yes. - Michael Clayton (2007)
Michael Clayton (George Clooney), a fixer at a big New York law firm, cleans up after a star litigator who has turned on a client in a huge class action. Tony Gilroy, writer of the Bourne films, made his directing debut, and Tilda Swinton won an Oscar. The horses matter. - Minority Report (2002), Steven Spielberg
In Washington, D.C., in 2054, the Precrime unit arrests murderers before they kill, until the system names its own chief (Tom Cruise). Steven Spielberg (Jaws) adapted a Philip K. Dick story and consulted futurists on the world. The gesture screens arrived early. - The Worst Person in the World (2021), Joachim Trier
Julie, a restless young woman in Oslo, changes careers and boyfriends over several years, told in twelve chapters with a prologue and an epilogue. Joachim Trier (Oslo, August 31st) closes his Oslo trilogy, and Renate Reinsve won Best Actress at Cannes. Time stops for one run across town. - Black Panther (2018), Ryan Coogler
T'Challa returns home to the hidden African nation of Wakanda to become king, and a challenger from Oakland arrives to take the throne. Ryan Coogler (Creed) made the first superhero film nominated for Best Picture, and it won three Oscars, including costume design. Wakanda forever. - Gravity (2013), Alfonso Cuarón
A medical engineer (Sandra Bullock) on her first space mission is left drifting when debris tears through her shuttle, with George Clooney's veteran astronaut tethered nearby. Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) won seven Oscars, including Director. It runs about ninety minutes, almost in real time. - Grizzly Man (2005), Werner Herzog
Timothy Treadwell spent thirteen summers living among grizzly bears in Alaska, filming himself, until a bear killed him and his girlfriend in 2003. Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo) builds the film from Treadwell's own footage and argues with it in voiceover. Herzog sees no kinship in a bear's face. - Memories of Murder (2003), Bong Joon Ho
In rural South Korea in 1986, a local detective and a big-city one chase a serial killer with little more than hunches and beatings. Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) based it on the real Hwaseong murders, and the real killer was identified in 2019. Song Kang-ho stares straight into the camera. - Superbad (2007)
Seth and Evan, best friends about to be split up by college, try to score alcohol for a party where they hope to impress two girls. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg started writing it as teenagers, and Greg Mottola directs. McLovin has a fake ID.
