Some film critics argue that various movie tops and ratings do more harm than good, due to the inevitably biased opinion of their compiler (or compilers). On the other hand, movie lists can be an interesting way to “measure” the temperature of modern cinema culture, and they also offer the opportunity to learn and discuss films that few people knew about before.
Last year, BBC representatives interviewed many critics to determine the 100 most popular films produced in the United States. And it turned out that only six films released after 2000 were included in the rating. This year, the BBC decided to find the pearls of the "new classic." These are films made over the past 16 years, which are likely to stand the test of time.
To make a list of the best films of the 21st century, BBC Culture editors conducted a survey of 177 critics from all over the world except Antarctica (perhaps the South Pole is too cold to worry that Spirited Away is better than WALL-E). It is noteworthy that the top 100 included films created by Russian and Asian directors, for example, “Leviathan” by Andrei Zvyagintsev and “Killer” by Hou Xiaosyan.
100. Tony Erdman (2016)
100. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
100. Carlos (2010)
99. Gatherers and Gatherer (2000)
98. The Ten Commandments (2002)
97. White Material (2009)
96. Finding Nemo (2003)
95. Kingdom of the Full Moon (2012)
94. Let Me In (2008)
93. Ratatouille (2007).
92. How the cowardly Robert Ford killed Jesse James (2007)
91. The secret in their eyes (2009)
90. Pianist (2002).
89. A woman without a head (2008)
88. Spotlight (2015)
87. Amelie (2001)
86. Away from Paradise (2002)
85. The Prophet (2009)
84. She (2013)
83. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
82. Serious Man (2009)
81. Shame (2011)
80. Return (2003)
79. Almost famous (2000)
78. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
77. A spacesuit and a butterfly (2007)
76. Dogville (2003)
75. Congenital malformation (2014)
74. Spring Break (2012)
73. Before sunset (2004)
72. Only lovers will survive (2013)
71. Taboo (2012)
70. The stories we tell (2012)
69. Carol (2015)
68. The Tenenbaum Family (2001)
67. The Lord of the Storm (2008)
66. Spring, summer, autumn, winter ... and again spring (2003)
65. Aquarium (2009)
64. Great Beauty (2013)
63. Turin Horse (2011)
62. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
61. Under the Skin (2013)
60. Syndromes and a Century (2006)
59. Justified Cruelty (2005)
58. Asylum (2004)
57. Goal Number One (2012)
56. Harmonies of Werkmeister (2000)
55. Ida (2013)
54. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)
53. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
52. Tropical disease (2004)
51. Start (2010)
50. The Killer (2015)
49. Goodbye, Speech (2014)
48. Brooklyn (2015)
47. Leviathan (2014)
46. Copy is correct (2010)
45. The Life of Adele (2013)
44. 12 years of slavery (2013)
43. Melancholy (2011)
42. Love (2012)
41. Puzzle (2015)
40. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
39. The New World (2005)
38. City of God (2002)
37. Uncle Bunmi (2010)
36. Timbuktu (2014)
35. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
34. Son of Saul (2015)
33. The Dark Knight (2008)
32. The Life of Others (2006)
31. Margaret (2011)
30. Oldboy (2003)
29. WALL-E (2008)
28. Talk to her (2002)
27. Social network (2010)
26. 25th hour (2002)
25. Remember (2000)
24. The Master (2012)
23. The Hidden (2005)
22. Difficulties in translation (2003)
21. Hotel Grand Budapest (2014)
20. New York, New York (2008)
19. Mad Max: The Road of Fury (2015)
18. White Ribbon (2009)
17. Labyrinth of the Faun (2006)
16. Holy Motors Corporation (2012)
15.4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days (2007)
14. The act of murder (2012)
13. The child of man (2006)
12. Zodiac (2007)
11. Inside Lewin Davis (2013)
10. Old people do not belong here (2007)
9. The divorce of Nader and Simin (2011)
8. One and two (2000)
7. The Tree of Life (2011)
6. The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
5. Adolescence (2014)
4. Spirited Away (2001)
3. Oil (2007)
2. Love mood (2000)
1. Mulholland Drive (2001)
Although the list is curious in itself, statistics on the films included in it are also of interest. For example, the largest number of films were released in 2012 and 2013, characters in more than half of the films speak English, and only 12 films on the list were created by female directors, despite the fact that 31% of critics interviewed by the BBC were women. Some types of genres are more widely represented than others. For example, a lot of dramas and action films. But comedies and documentaries seem to be rare, like films about superheroes, despite the feeling that Hollywood has mainly been dealing with them in recent years.
It goes without saying that this list, like all others like it, is subjective. There is no objective and universally accepted way to assess the quality of a film, and each critic looks at a particular picture through his own complex and very personal set of criteria. Therefore, if you are unsatisfied with the fact that any movie got (or vice versa, did not hit) in this top 100, do not rush to be indignant. Just mentally cross out one of the tapes (or several) and write yours there.
