Top 100 Films Metacritic 2021
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- DirectorJasmila ZbanicStarsJasna DjuricicIzudin BajrovicBoris LerAida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp.
- 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.
- DirectorSarah GavronStarsBukky BakrayKosar AliD'angelou Osei KissieduA young teenage girl finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother after being abandoned by their single mother with no choice but to live out on the streets.
- 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.
- DirectorLemohang Jeremiah MoseseStarsMary TwalaJerry MofokengMakhaola NdebeleWhen her village is threatened with forced resettlement due to reservoir construction, an 80-year-old widow finds a new will to live and ignites the spirit of resilience within her community.
- 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.
- DirectorRobert GreeneStarsJoe EldredMike ForemanEd GavaganA group of survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests battle for justice.
- DirectorChris McKimStarsAlan BarrowsBarry BlindermanBonoA controversial artist blazes a trail for other gay image makers in New York 's 1980s scene, only to perish at the end of the decade from the AIDS virus.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsAlana HaimCooper HoffmanSean PennThe story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorTraci CurryStanley NelsonStarsArthur HarrisonCarlos RocheTyrone LarkinsThis unnervingly vivid dive into the 1971 uprising from Emmy® winning director Stanley Nelson sheds new light on the enduring violence and racism of the prison system and highlights the urgent, ongoing need for reform 50 years later.
- 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.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsTilda SwintonAgustín AlmodóvarMiguel AlmodóvarA woman watches time passing next to the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up, but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn't understand that his master has abandoned him. Two living beings facing abandonment.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsPenélope CruzMilena SmitIsrael ElejaldeThe story of two mothers who bond in unexpected way after giving birth the same day.
- DirectorTsai Ming-liangStarsKang-sheng LeeAnong HoungheuangsyKang lives alone in a big house, Non in a small apartment in town. They meet, and then part, their days flowing on as before.
- 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.
- DirectorTom HurwitzRosalynde LeBlancStarsArthur AvilesJohari BriggsSean CurranCan You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters is a feature documentary that traces the history and legacy of one of the most important works of art to come out of the age of AIDS - Bill T. Jones' tour de force ballet "D-Man in the Waters". In 1989, "D-Man in the Waters" gave physical manifestation to the fear, anger, grief, and hope for salvation that the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company felt as they were embattled by the AIDS pandemic. As a group of young dancers reconstructs the dance, they learn about this oft forgotten history and deepen their understanding of the power of art in a time of plague. Bill T. Jones is arguably the most socially, politically and emotionally compelling choreographer alive today. Thirty years ago, he embedded motifs of risk and sacrifice, love, loss and resurrection in the choreography for "D-Man in the Waters". Through an extraordinary series of interviews, archival material, and uniquely powerful cinematography of movement, this 90-minute, lyrical documentary uses the story of this dance to illustrate the triumph of the human spirit in art and in the community. Today, by learning the dance, a new generation reinvigorates the spirit of a community fighting to survive.
- DirectorRoy AnderssonStarsJessica LouthanderTatiana DelaunayAnders HellströmRoy Andersson adds to his cinematic oeuvre with a reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendour and banality.
- DirectorMaria SødahlStarsAndrea Bræin HovigStellan SkarsgårdElli Rhiannon Müller OsborneThe relationship between artist-partners Tomas and Anja is put to the test after Anja gets a life-threatening diagnosis.
- 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.
- DirectorJoel CoenStarsDenzel WashingtonFrances McDormandAlex HassellA Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.
- DirectorEphraim AsiliStarsAurielle AkereleShirley ChisholmChris JarellA young man inherits his grandmother's house and, with the encouragement of his girlfriend, turns it into a Black socialist collective where community forms the basis of family.
- DirectorHogir HiroriStarsMahmud ReshoSihamZahraFilm follows a group into Syria's Al-Hol, a dangerous camp in the Middle East, as they risk their lives to save a women being held by ISIS as abducted sex slaves.
- DirectorMaggie GyllenhaalStarsOlivia ColmanJessie BuckleyDakota JohnsonA woman's beach vacation takes a dark turn when she begins to confront the troubles of her past.
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsNathalie DougeA documentary following nurses, doctors, and administrators in a New York City hospital as they respond to the victims from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- DirectorShaka KingStarsLaKeith StanfieldDaniel KaluuyaJesse PlemonsOffered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsAnsel ElgortRachel ZeglerAriana DeBoseAn adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
- DirectorLauren HadawayStarsIsabelle FuhrmanAmy ForsythDiloneA college freshman joins her university's rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost.
- 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?
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsDev PatelAlicia VikanderJoel EdgertonA fantasy retelling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
- DirectorRebecca HallStarsTessa ThompsonRuth NeggaAndré Holland"Passing" follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed realities.
- DirectorNanfu WangStarsAlex AzarBill de BlasioAnthony FauciHow did the Chinese government turn pandemic cover-ups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party?
- DirectorValentyn VasyanovychStarsAndriy RymarukLiudmyla BilekaVasyl AntoniakA soldier suffering from PTSD befriends a young volunteer hoping to restore peaceful energy to a war-torn society.
- DirectorFernanda ValadezStarsMercedes HernándezDavid IllescasJuan Jesús VarelaA mother travels across Mexico in search for her son whom authorities say died while trying to cross the borders into the United States.
- DirectorMia Hansen-LøveStarsPaul BlainMarie-Christine FriedrichVictoire RousseauA father and daughter are reunited some 11 years after the father's drug addiction tore the family apart.
- DirectorMichael DweckGregory KershawStarsPiero BottoSergio CaudaMaria CicciùDeep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a handful of men, seventy or eighty years old, hunt for the rare and expensive white Alba truffle-which to date has resisted all of modern science's efforts at cultivation.
- DirectorJessica BeshirStarsDJ ExpressKawa SherifSalih SigirciA spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar, immersed in the rituals of khat, a leaf Sufi Muslims chewed for centuries for religious meditations - and Ethiopia's most lucrative cash crop today.
- DirectorJon M. ChuStarsAnthony RamosCorey HawkinsLeslie GraceIn Washington Heights, a sympathetic New York bodega owner saves every penny every day as he imagines and sings about a better life.
- DirectorMahiro MaedaKatsuichi NakayamaKazuya TsurumakiStarsMegumi OgataMegumi HayashibaraYûko MiyamuraMisato and her anti-NERV group WILLE arrive in Paris, a city now red from core-ization. Crew from the flagship Wunder land on a containment tower.
- DirectorJimmy ChinElizabeth Chai VasarhelyiStarsBancha DuriyapuntApakorn YoukongkaewAnan SurawanA chronicle of the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.
- DirectorElizabeth LoStarsZeytinNazarKartalThe world of Zeytin, a stray dog living life on the streets of Istanbul.
- DirectorJerry RothwellStarsDonna BudwayEmma BudwayJeremy DearBased on the book by Naoki Higashida, this immersive film explores the experiences of non-speaking autistic people around the world.
- DirectorSushmit GhoshRintu ThomasStarsMeera DeviShyamkali DeviSuneeta PrajapatiIn a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India's only newspaper run by Dalit women. Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions, redefining what it means to be powerful.
- DirectorChaitanya TamhaneStarsAditya ModakArun DravidSumitra BhaveSelf-doubt, sacrifice and struggle converge into an existential crisis for a devoted classical vocalist as the mastery he strives for remains elusive.
- DirectorBen SharrockStarsSidse Babett KnudsenKenneth CollardAmir El-MasryOmar is a promising young musician. Separated from his Syrian family, he is stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request.
- DirectorJoe LawlorChristine MolloyStarsAnn SkellyOrla BradyAidan GillenIn this intimate exploration of identity, trauma and power, a young woman seeks out her birth mother, inadvertently triggering a string of events which change both their lives.
- DirectorChristopher AshleyStarsPetrina BromleyJenn ColellaDe'Lon Grant7,000 passengers are stranded after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a small town in Newfoundland, where they were housed and welcomed. Filmed live on stage at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York City.
- DirectorChristopher Makoto YogiStarsSteve IwamotoConstance WuTim ChiouA family in Hawai'i faces the imminent death of their eldest as the ghosts of the past haunt the countryside.
- DirectorRose GlassStarsMorfydd ClarkCaoilfhionn DunneJennifer EhleA pious nurse becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient.
- DirectorRobert MachoianStarsClayne CrawfordSepideh MoafiChris CoyDavid desperately tries to keep his family of six together during a separation from his wife. They both agree to see other people but David struggles to grapple with his wife's new relationship.
- DirectorPhilippe LacôteStarsBakary KonéSteve TientcheuJean Cyrille DigbeuA young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners.
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsTadanobu AsanoTakuro AtsukiMickey CurtisThe story centers on a group of young people who travel back in time when they are in a movie theater just before closing time. They witness deaths during the closing days of Japan's feudal times and on the battlefront in China before they are sent to Hiroshima just before the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of the city.
- DirectorMohammad RasoulofStarsBaran RasoulofZhila ShahiMahtab ServatiThe four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats.
- DirectorRadu CiorniciucStarsGica EnacheVali EnacheRica EnacheIn the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, nine children and their parents lived in perfect harmony with nature for 20 years until they are chased out and forced to adapt to life in the big city.
- DirectorFilippo MeneghettiStarsBarbara SukowaMartine ChevallierLéa DruckerPensioners Nina and Madeleine have hidden their deep and passionate love for many decades, but their bond is put to the test when they are suddenly unable to move freely between each other's apartments.
- DirectorMarilyn AgreloStarsFrank BiondoLinda BoveFran BrillTake a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most impactful children's series in TV history. From the iconic furry characters to the songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed our world.
- DirectorJessica KingdonThe absorbingly cinematic Ascension explores the pursuit of the "Chinese Dream." This observational documentary presents a contemporary vision of China that prioritizes productivity and innovation above all.
- DirectorMike MillsStarsJoaquin PhoenixGaby HoffmannWoody NormanWhen his sister asks him to look after her son, a radio journalist embarks on a cross-country trip with his energetic nephew to show him life away from Los Angeles.
- DirectorJordan GrahamStarsMichael DanielRachel JohnsonAurora LoweSecluded in a desolate forest, a broken family is observed by Sator, a supernatural entity who is attempting to claim them.
- 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.
- DirectorLisa RovnerStarsJean-Michel JarreKim GordonWendy CarlosFollows the story of electronic music's female pioneers, composers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to utterly transform how we produce and listen to music today.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsDerek DelGaudioHal SchulmanJason EnglandStoryteller and Conceptual Magician Derek DelGaudio attempts to understand the illusory nature of identity and answer the deceptively simple question 'Who am I?'
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsKim Min-heeKwon Hae-hyoLee Eun-miWhile her husband is on a business trip, Gamhee meets three of her friends on the outskirts of Seoul. They make friendly conversation but there are different currents flowing independently of each other, both above and below the surface.
- DirectorFran KranzStarsJason IsaacsMartha PlimptonAnn DowdThe parents of both the shooter and one of the victims of a school shooting tragedy agree to meet and talk in an attempt to move forward.
- 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.
- DirectorSergey LoznitsaStarsJoseph StalinNikita KhrushchevLavrenti BeriaThe enigma of the personality cult is revealed in the grand spectacle of Joseph Stalin's funeral.
- DirectorSam PollardStarsMartin Luther KingJ. Edgar HooverDavid GarrowBased on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- DirectorDea KulumbegashviliStarsIa SukhitashviliRati OneliKakha KintsurashviliWhen a Jehovah's Witness community is attacked, leader's wife Yana questions her desires as her familiar world crumbles.
- DirectorShatara Michelle FordStarsBrittany S. HallWill BrillGail BeanTest Pattern follows an interracial couple whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and her White boyfriend drives her from hospital to hospital in search of a rape kit.
- DirectorDaniel LindsayT.J. MartinStarsTina TurnerCarl ArringtonIke TurnerExclusive access to the Grammy Award-winning artist to celebrate her career.
- DirectorAnders Thomas JensenStarsMads MikkelsenNikolaj Lie KaasAndrea Heick GadebergMarkus goes home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde, when his wife dies in a train crash. All appears to be a tragic accident until a mathematics geek, who was also a fellow passenger on the train, and his two colleagues show up.
- DirectorEmma DanteStarsAlissa Maria OrlandoSusanna PirainoAnita PomarioMaria, Pinuccia, Lia, Katia and Antonella are five sisters who live in an apartment in Palermo. When Antonella accidentally dies, the sisters' relationships are turned upside down for the rest of their lives.
- DirectorPenny LaneStarsClive DavisCraig FergusonKenny GAn examination of the most popular instrumentalist of all time, Kenny G, and why he is polarizing to so many.
- DirectorMichael RiandaJeff RoweStarsAbbi JacobsonDanny McBrideMaya RudolphA quirky, dysfunctional family's road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity's unlikeliest last hope.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsJim BroadbentHeather CraneyStephen RashbrookIn 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsRon MaelRussell MaelBeckA musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with Ron and Russell Mael celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks.
- DirectorRadu JudeStarsSerban LazaroviciBogdan ZamfirIoana IacobThe story of Mugur Calinescu, a Romanian teenager who wrote graffiti messages of protest against the regime of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and was subsequently apprehended, interrogated, and ultimately crushed by the secret police.
- DirectorSébastien LifshitzThe touching portrait of eight-year-old Sasha, who questions her gender and in doing so, evokes the sometimes disturbing reactions of a society that is still invested in a biological boy-girl way of thinking.
- DirectorTatiana HuezoStarsGuillermo VillegasMayra BatallaTeresa SánchezLife in a town at war seen through the eyes of three young girls on the path to adolescence.
- DirectorJeffrey WolfStarsRussell G. JonesJason Samuels SmithGreg TateAn inventive feature documentary capturing the vivid life of Bill Traylor, who in his late 80s, living homeless on the street in the thriving segregated black neighborhood of Montgomery, produced a body of extraordinary art. Born into slavery in 1853 on a cotton plantation in rural Alabama, Traylor witnessed profound social and political change during his life spanning slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and the Great Migration. In his later years, Traylor poured out those memories from within, drawing and painting over 1,000 pieces of art from 1939-42. Using historic and cultural context, the film is designed to bring the spirit and mystery of Traylor's incomparable art to life. The transcendent surprise is while Traylor kept to himself leading an unassuming life, he was nurturing a remarkable creative gift that would not be expressed for decades. Tap dance, evocative period and original music, and dramatic readings are used in surprising ways in the film, balanced with insightful perspectives from Traylor family members and expert interviews. Traylor devised his own visual language to record the stories of his life, translating an oral culture into something unique, powerful, and culturally rooted. The film reflects a tumultuous time of a forgotten world and its marginalized people, still reverberating today. A new lynching memorial and Legacy Museum recently opened in Montgomery just blocks from where Bill Traylor used to sit and work. Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts explores the life of a unique American artist, a man with a remarkable and unlikely biography. The film is a compelling human narrative that gives voice to a man who endures a long life of extreme hardships during an era of legalized racial indignities, to become one of America's most prominent artists, exhibited in museums and collections worldwide.
- DirectorIván ZuluetaStarsEusebio PoncelaCecilia RothWill MoreA low budget horror filmmaker gets in touch with an eccentric who is trying to film his consciousness during drug abuse.
- DirectorJóhann JóhannssonStarsTilda SwintonTwo billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Almost all that is left in the world are lone and surreal monuments, beaming their message into the wilderness.
- DirectorAlexandre MorattoStarsChristian MalheirosRodrigo SantoroLucas OranmianTo provide a better life for his family in the country, 18-year-old Mateus accepts a job in a junkyard in São Paulo for his new boss, Luca, but becomes trapped in the dangerous world of human trafficking.
- DirectorKazik RadwanskiStarsLisa AitkenPat BiancoTiffany BlomA volatile young woman challenged by everyday social and professional encounters.
- DirectorMidi ZStarsKai KoKe-Xi WuShin-Hong WangTwo Burmese immigrants fleeing their country's civil war in search of a new life in Thailand.
- DirectorRachel FleitStarsSelma BlairA deeply intimate and raw portrait of Selma Blair after she is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and tries to slow the progression of her disease.
- DirectorAndreas KoefoedStarsMohammad Bin SalmanMartin KempJerry SaltzThe mystery surrounding the Salvator Mundi, the first painting by Leonardo da Vinci to be discovered for more than a century, which has now seemingly gone missing.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsYû AoiIssei TakahashiMasahiro HigashideA Japanese merchant who leaves his wife behind in order to travel to Manchuria, where he witnesses an act of barbarism. His subsequent actions cause misunderstanding, jealousy and legal problems for his wife.
- DirectorAlex CamilleriStarsJesmark SciclunaMarlene SchranzDavid SciclunaA man risks everything to provide for his wife and newborn son by entering Malta's black-market fishing industry.
- DirectorJuho KuosmanenStarsSeidi HaarlaYura BorisovDinara DrukarovaAs a train weaves its way up to the arctic circle, two strangers share a journey that will change their perspective on life.
- DirectorMaya Da-RinStarsRegis MyrupuRosa PeixotoJohnatan SodréJustino, a 45-year-old Desana native, is a security guard at the Manaus harbor. As his daughter prepares to study medicine in Brasilia, Justino is taken over by a mysterious fever.
- DirectorPeter BebjakStarsNoel CzuczorPeter OndrejickaFlorian PanznerA fictionalized tale of the escape by Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, based on the novel by Wetzler called 'What Dante did not See.' They hide for 3 days and escape once the search for them is over. They report their experiences.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsAsia ArgentoAnthony BourdainAriane BourdainA documentary about Anthony Bourdain and his career as a chef, writer and host, revered and renowned for his authentic approach to food, culture and travel.
- DirectorEmma SeligmanStarsRachel SennottDanny DeferrariFred MelamedAt a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student runs into her sugar daddy and ex girlfriend.
- DirectorAndre GainesStarsKevin HartRob SchneiderChris RockChronicles the incredible life and times of legendary comedian and activist Dick Gregory.
- DirectorMarie AmiguetVincent MunierStarsVincent MunierSylvain TessonTwo men explore the high-altitude wilderness of Tibet with many cameras, filming wildlife from a respectful distance and searching for the rare snow leopard.