my fave movies of the 21st century
Monday, February 18, 2019
An interesting question came up in the comments for the post on the latest They Shoot Pictures, Don't They update: What are the one or two 21st century films that have ranked highest in my informal all-time list? Interesting enough to answer the question in a separate post.
The easiest place to start is with the Fave Fifty project a few of us did on Facebook back in 2011. Here are the 21st century films that made my all-time top 50 list:
City of God (#20 on my list, #10 on TSPDT)
In the Mood for Love (#38, #1)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (#44, #33)
The Lives of Others (#45, #31)
Since then, I have also given my highest rating to these movies, which came out in 2011 or later:
A Separation (#17 on TSPDT)
Mad Max: Fury Road (#49)
Before Midnight (#207)
The Square (N/A)
If any of these movies would make my current Top 50 list, it's probably A Separation. Fury Road, much as I love it, isn't different enough from The Road Warrior for me to bump it that last little bit, and Before Midnight gets at least some of its value from being the third in a trilogy. The Square is the only documentary on this list, so it will get an honorable mention.
So the question is, where would A Separation fit among those other four movies from my 2011 list? The only one of those movies I've watched in the past few years is In the Mood for Love, which grows in my heart with each viewing. I'd probably put it at the top of those four movies now. So, off the top of my head, here are my Top Five movies of the 21st century:
- In the Mood for Love
- City of God
- A Separation
- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
- The Lives of Others