Best films of the 2000s
The first twelve are in order and are essential viewing in my opinion. I awarded these films a perfect rating.
I consider titles that I rated at least 9/10 the best films of any given decade. As such, there is no arbitrary restriction on the number of films included in this list, nor is there a need to add films that don't merit inclusion.
This list is by no means comprehensive or final, even insofar as it represents my taste in film. I will have to revisit a number of films from this decade, some of which are already included in this list, others not. Nonetheless, I doubt that the filmography of this decade will be regarded as one of the finest in the history of cinema.
I will continue to add titles as I see them, provided that they make the cut. Your recommendations would be appreciated!
I consider titles that I rated at least 9/10 the best films of any given decade. As such, there is no arbitrary restriction on the number of films included in this list, nor is there a need to add films that don't merit inclusion.
This list is by no means comprehensive or final, even insofar as it represents my taste in film. I will have to revisit a number of films from this decade, some of which are already included in this list, others not. Nonetheless, I doubt that the filmography of this decade will be regarded as one of the finest in the history of cinema.
I will continue to add titles as I see them, provided that they make the cut. Your recommendations would be appreciated!
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- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsChristian FriedelErnst JacobiLeonie BeneschStrange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsVincent GalloTricia VesseyBéatrice DalleTwo American newlyweds in Paris experience a love so strong, it almost devours them.
- DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsEkateryna RakLidiya Oleksandrivna SavkaOksana Ivanivna SklyarenkoA nurse from Ukraine searches for a better life in Central Europe, while an unemployed security guard from Austria heads East for the same reason.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsIsabelle HuppertAnnie GirardotBenoît MagimelA young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.
- DirectorCarlos ReygadasStarsCornelio WallMiriam ToewsMaria PankratzIn a Mennonite community in Mexico, a father's faith is tested when he falls in love with a new woman.
- DirectorLucrecia MartelStarsMercedes MoránGraciela BorgesMartín AdjemiánThe life of two women and their families in a small provincial town of Salta, Argentina.
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
- DirectorAbdellatif KechicheStarsHabib BoufaresHafsia HerziFarida BenkhetacheIn southern France, a Franco-Arabic shipyard worker along with his partner's daughter pursues his dream of opening a restaurant.
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsMathieu AmalricEmmanuelle SeignerMarie-Josée CrozeThe true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.
- DirectorNanni MorettiStarsNanni MorettiLaura MoranteJasmine TrincaA psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba-diving accident.
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsNantarat SawaddikulJaruchai IamaramSophon PukanokStory about director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's parents, who were both doctors, and the director's memories about growing up in the hospital environment.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungSiu Ping-LamTwo neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
- DirectorMira NairStarsNaseeruddin ShahLillete DubeyShefali ShahA stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.
- DirectorAleksandr SokurovStarsSergey DreydenMariya KuznetsovaLeonid MozgovoyA 19th century French aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in Russia, travels through the Russian State Hermitage Museum and encounters historical figures from the last 200+ years.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.Beautiful and tranquil scenes of nature. Stark change in tone between first and second act elegantly divided by a change in season. A few images that, in particular, will stay with you. Moving story with great compassion. Occasionally cloying and the plot takes one or two predictable turns. All in all just short of a perfect rating.
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsKanokporn TongaramMin OoJenjira PongpasThe story of a love affair that begins during a picnic on the Thai-Burmese border.
- DirectorCarlos ReygadasStarsAlejandro FerretisMagdalena FloresYolanda VillaA painter from the big city goes to a remote canyon to commit suicide. To reach some calmness, he stays at the farmstead of Ascen, an old, religious woman. Although but a few words are spoken, love grows.
- DirectorAleksandr SokurovStarsIssei OgataRobert DawsonKaori MomoiThird part in Aleksandr Sokurov's quadrilogy of Power, following Moloch (1999) and Taurus (2001), focuses on Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Japan's defeat in World War II when he is finally confronted by General Douglas MacArthur who offers him to accept a diplomatic defeat for survival.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsNicole KidmanPaul BettanyLauren BacallA woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsElias McConnellAlex FrostEric DeulenSeveral ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.
- DirectorLucile HadzihalilovicStarsZoé AuclairLea BridarolliBérangère HaubrugeA look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsDaniel AuteuilJuliette BinocheMaurice BénichouA married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes left on their front porch.
- DirectorCarlos ReygadasStarsMarcos HernándezAnapola MushkadizBertha RuizMarcos lusts after his boss's promiscuous daughter, but after botching an extortion scheme, he becomes wracked with guilt.
- DirectorJean-Pierre DardenneLuc DardenneStarsJérémie RenierDéborah FrançoisJérémie SegardBruno and Sonia, a young couple living off her benefit and the thefts committed by his gang, have a new source of money: their newborn son.
- DirectorDoug BlockStarsCarol BlockDoug BlockEllen BlockIn the wake of his mother's passing, filmmaker Doug Block discovers a trove of unearthed secrets in the pages of her diary.
- DirectorJan SvankmajerStarsJan TrískaPavel LiskaAnna GeislerováA man takes up residence with a mysterious marquis and is soon persuaded to enter into an asylum for preventative therapy. Things are not what they seem, and the marquis may be even more sinister than what the young man may've predicted.
- DirectorJan NemecStarsZuzana StivínováJan BudarTobiás JirousCzech author and poet of Czech cinema Jan Nemec presents his unique vision inspired by life and art of surrealist painter.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
- DirectorJan SvankmajerStarsVeronika ZilkováJan HartlJaroslava KretschmerováA childless couple passes off an anthropomorphous tree stump as their baby, but things get out of hand when the monstrosity comes to life and demands to be fed.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsCillian MurphyPádraic DelaneyLiam CunninghamAgainst the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, two brothers fight a guerrilla war against British forces.
- DirectorKelly ReichardtStarsDaniel LondonWill OldhamTanya SmithTwo old pals reunite for a camping trip in Oregon's Cascade Mountains.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsGretchen KrichSullivan BrownMaya LawsonReturned home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsNaomi WattsTim RothMichael PittTwo psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsChristian BaleCate BlanchettHeath LedgerRuminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsDarcy FehrAnn SavageLouis NeginFact, fantasy and memory are woven seamlessly together in this portrait of film-maker Guy Maddin's home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- DirectorArnaud DesplechinStarsCatherine DeneuveJean-Paul RoussillonMathieu AmalricThe troubled Vuillard family is no stranger to illness, grief, and banishment, but when their matriarch requires a bone-marrow transplant, the estranged clan reunites just in time for Christmas.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsWillem DafoeCharlotte GainsbourgStorm Acheche SahlstrømA grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsChristos StergioglouMichele ValleyAngeliki PapouliaA controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
- DirectorCristian MungiuStarsAnamaria MarincaLaura VasiliuVlad IvanovA woman assists her friend in arranging an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania.Presents the stark reality of undergoing an abortion in a jurisdiction where the procedure is illegal. Minor, everyday irritations raise the spectre of lengthy imprisonment owing to the necessity of covert action. The expertly-shot scenes of Otilia frantically navigating the city at night effectively convey her feelings of anxiety, vulnerability, and abandonment. At the same time, Mungui refrains from manipulating the viewer or resorting to melodrama by keeping embellishment of the film to a minimum.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalXavier DolanFrançois ArnaudA semi-autobiographical story about Hubert as a young homosexual at odds with his mother.
- DirectorArmando IannucciStarsTom HollanderPeter CapaldiJames GandolfiniA political satire about a group of skeptical American and British operatives attempting to prevent a war between two countries.
- DirectorZacharias KunukStarsNatar UngalaaqSylvia IvaluPeter-Henry ArnatsiaqThe telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.
- DirectorMark AlbistonLouis SutherlandStarsSam AhieNick BlakeThomas KimberSet in a 1970s coastal town, follow Andy, a gutsy 8 year-old boy who is forced to break out of his make-believe superhero world to deal with playground bullies.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
- DirectorKunio KatoStarsMasami NagasawaTo save his house from rising flood waters, an old man uses bricks to build it higher, then he relives events from his past while searching for his dropped pipe.
- DirectorAbdellatif KechicheStarsOsman ElkharrazSara ForestierSabrina OuazaniKrimo a 15 years old shy boy falls in love for Lídia who is his classmate.To be able to assume his love for her he decides to take a part in the play that was to be one of his friends.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
- DirectorAthina Rachel TsangariStarsLizzie Curry MartinezMaria TsantsanoglouGary PriceA mysterious woman travels the world with a rocking chair, interacting with the people she meets.
- DirectorCatherine BreillatStarsAnaïs RebouxRoxane MesquidaLibero De RienzoTwo sisters confront their sexual attitudes and experiences while on a family holiday.
- DirectorAgnieszka SmoczynskaStarsKatarzyna FiguraGabriela MuskalaSlawomir GrzymkowskiBasia has already settled down in her life. She is a housewife and has a loving family. It seems as though she does not miss anything to be happy. Until a moment when an opera diva moves into an apartment upstairs. Basia is enchanted and seduced with her voice. A peculiar relationship is born between them. It develops into a feeling which is not particularly comfortable for either of the two women.
- DirectorRonald BronsteinStarsDore MannPaul GrimstadDavid SandholmAbout a door-to-door coupon salesman who eats popcorn & eggs off the folded-out-door of his kitchen oven.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoShin Ha-kyunBae DoonaA recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.