Sight & Sound's Top 35 Best Films of 2021
From the 35 highest-ranked films of their The 50 best films of 2021 list, which one is your favorite?
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35 titles
- DirectorJoanna HoggStarsTilda SwintonHonor Swinton ByrneJames Spencer AshworthIn the aftermath of her tumultuous relationship, Julie begins to untangle her fraught love for him in making her graduation film, sorting fact from his elaborately constructed fiction.
- DirectorCéline SciammaStarsJoséphine SanzGabrielle SanzNina MeurisseNelly has just lost her grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother's childhood home. She explores the house and the surrounding woods. One day she meets a girl her age building a tree-house.
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsHidetoshi NishijimaTôko MiuraReika KirishimaA renowned stage actor and director learns to cope with a big personal loss when he receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsTilda SwintonAgnes BrekkeDaniel Giménez CachoA woman from Scotland, while traveling in Colombia, begins to notice strange sounds. Soon she begins to think about their appearance.
- DirectorJulia DucournauStarsVincent LindonAgathe RousselleGarance MarillierFollowing a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for ten years.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsBenedict CumberbatchKirsten DunstJesse PlemonsCharismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
- DirectorAleksandre KoberidzeStarsAni KarseladzeGiorgi BochorishviliOliko BarbakadzeA chance encounter on a street corner has Lisa and Giorgi fall in love at first sight, but an evil spell is cast on them. Will they ever meet again?
- 20211h 58mPG-138.0 (14K)96MetascoreDirectorQuestloveStarsDorinda DrakeBarbara Bland-AcostaDarryl LewisDocumentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity.
- DirectorLeos CaraxStarsAdam DriverMarion CotillardSimon HelbergA stand-up comedian and his opera singer wife have a two-year-old daughter with a surprising gift.
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsKotone FurukawaAyumu NakajimaHyunriAn unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.
- DirectorMia Hansen-LøveStarsVicky KriepsTim RothMia WasikowskaA couple retreat to the island that inspired Ingmar Bergman to write screenplays for their upcoming films when the lines between reality and fiction start to blur.
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsDev PatelAlicia VikanderJoel EdgertonA fantasy retelling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsJohn WatersMary WoronovLou ReedThe Velvet Underground explores the multiple threads that converged to bring together one of the most influential bands in rock and roll.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsTimothée ChalametRebecca FergusonZendayaA noble family becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxy's most valuable asset while its heir becomes troubled by visions of a dark future.
- DirectorPablo LarraínStarsKristen StewartTimothy SpallSally HawkinsDiana Spencer, struggling with mental-health problems during her Christmas holidays with the Royal Family at their Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, decides to end her decade-long marriage to Prince Charles.
- DirectorJoachim TrierStarsRenate ReinsveAnders Danielsen LieHerbert NordrumThe chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
- DirectorKelly ReichardtStarsAlia ShawkatJohn MagaroDylan SmithA skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two collaborate on a successful business.
- DirectorPrano Bailey-BondStarsNiamh AlgarMichael SmileyNicholas BurnsAfter viewing a strangely familiar video nasty, Enid, a film censor, sets out to solve the past mystery of her sister's disappearance, embarking on a quest that dissolves the line between fiction and reality.
- DirectorJonas Poher RasmussenStarsDaniel KarimyarFardin MijdzadehMilad EskandariFLEE tells the extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time.
- DirectorMichelangelo FrammartinoStarsNicola LanzaAntonio LanzaLeonardo LaroccaThe extraordinary adventure of the young members of the Piedmont Speleological Group who, having already explored all the caves of Northern Italy, changed course in August 1961 and went South to explore other caves unknown to man.
- DirectorMaggie GyllenhaalStarsOlivia ColmanJessie BuckleyDakota JohnsonA woman's beach vacation takes a dark turn when she begins to confront the troubles of her past.
- DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsFrances McDormandDavid StrathairnLinda MayA woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsBenicio Del ToroAdrien BrodyTilda SwintonA love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional twentieth century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch Magazine".
- DirectorAndreas FontanaStarsFabrizio RongioneStéphanie CléauCarmen IriondoYvan De Wiel, a private banker from Geneva, goes to Argentina in the midst of a dictatorship to replace his partner, the object of the most worrying rumours, who disappeared overnight.
- DirectorJanicza BravoStarsTaylour PaigeRiley KeoughNicholas BraunA stripper named Zola embarks on a wild road trip to Florida.
- DirectorRadu JudeStarsKatia PascariuClaudia IeremiaNicodim UngureanuEmi, a school teacher, finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is leaked on the Internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender to their pressure.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsVirginie EfiraCharlotte RamplingDaphné PatakiaA 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.
- DirectorFlorian ZellerStarsAnthony HopkinsOlivia ColmanMark GatissA man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
- DirectorMichael SarnoskiStarsNicolas CageAlex WolffAdam ArkinA truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.
- DirectorPanah PanahiStarsPantea PanahihaMohammad Hassan MadjooniRayan SarlakFollows a chaotic, tender family that is on a road trip across a rugged landscape and fussing over the sick dog and getting on each others' nerves. Only the mysterious older brother is quiet.
- DirectorDebbie Tucker GreenStarsHayden McleanSharlene WhyteDavid GyasiFollows British and American Black characters of different generations navigating their way through today's society, offering a critical perspective on the state of the nation.
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsJack LowdenThom AshleyOrlando JoplingLegendary 20th century English war poet Siegfried Sassoon embarks on a life-long quest for personal salvation through his experiences with family, war, his writing, and destructive relationships. True salvation can only come from within.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsOscar IsaacTiffany HaddishTye SheridanWilliam Tell is an ex-military interrogator living under the radar as a low-stakes gambler. When he encounters a young man looking to commit revenge against a mutual enemy, he takes him on the casino circuit to set him on a new path.
- DirectorLee Isaac ChungStarsSteven YeunHan YeriAlan KimA Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
- DirectorDarius MarderStarsRiz AhmedOlivia CookePaul RaciA heavy metal drummer's life is turned upside down when he begins to lose his hearing and he must confront a future filled with silence.