20. Bergman Island
From the semi-autobiographical Goodbye First Love to Eden and Things to Come (whose protagonists are inspired by her brother and mother, respectively), Mia Hansen-Løve’s movies have, in their own way, always blurred the line between reality and fiction. In Bergman Island, the director formally embraces that hazy boundary with a playfully meta-story about a filmmaking couple drafting their next movies while on a pilgrimage to Fårö, the Swedish island where Ingmar Bergman shot many of his films. But you don’t have to be a Bergman fanatic or even a cinephile to fall for the charms of this intimate reflection on art, inspiration, and love.
In typical Hansen-Løve style, Bergman Island steers well away from neatness and artifice. Its performances are naturalistically understated (particularly those of Vicky Krieps and Mia Wasikowska, both ciphers for their director). And its script plays out like an organic dialogue: subtly suggestive, wide-ranging, unforced, and open-ended. That Bergman Island never feels heavy in spite of all its candor – and its intricate film-within-a-film structure – is testament to the extraordinarily graceful hand of its director. (Farah Cheded)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Hulu.
19. The Worst Person in the World
There are plenty of romantic comedies about the millennial awkwardness of trying to feel “grown-up” after you’ve already become a grown-up. And what sets Joachim Trier’s latest apart from its lesser peers is its specificity; Trier isn’t satisfied to gesture vaguely towards the existential crises of modern early adulthood.
With empathetic deftness, he paints a fresh, critical, and ultimately empathetic portrait of a young woman propelled in multiple directions. Julie feels, deeply, that she is not a good person. Good people know what they’re doing with their lives; they have a sure-footed sense of personhood and know their place in this world. Films about young people anxious to start living (and living their lives in the process) are a dime a dozen. But few are as emotionally intelligent and refreshingly vulnerable as The Worst Person in the World. Featuring a tour-de-force (and Cannes award-winning) performance by Renate Reinsve, Trier has made a rom-com about “adulting” for folks who skirt rom-coms and cringe at the word “adulting.” (Meg Shields)
Where to find it: Releasing in theaters on February 4, 2022.
18. Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself
Derek Delgaudio’s In & Of Itself is a grand multimedia experiment, the sort of category-defying project that’s best experienced with an open mind and as little prior knowledge as possible. The 90-minute special is billed as a sort of one-man show, with performer and magician Delgaudio leading both viewers at home and his in-person audience on a uniquely compelling journey. What unfolds, though, isn’t traditional magic so much as a surprising and profound work of collaborative storytelling. It must be seen to be believed. Director Frank Oz captures and perhaps even improves upon the live show’s spirit, streamlining footage from many nights of the performance — which ran over 500 times on a New York stage — into one transformational event. (Valerie Ettenhofer)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Hulu.
17. The Card Counter
Paul Schrader never met a brooding, diary-keeping, ultimately damned protagonist that he didn’t love. With The Card Counter, though, it’s an impressive feat to cast one of the most likable actors working today (Oscar Isaac) as the aptly named William Tell, a gambler with a history that he can never come back from. Rather than use his card skills to win big, he keeps his hustle modest and lives a life of bleak starkness. Interspersing a restrained aesthetic and formal rigor with some stomach-churning flashbacks, The Card Counter is one of the most astounding films this year. It can be hard to watch, but impossible to not respect. Oh, and if you thought First Reformed was dark, be prepared. (Anna Swanson)
Where to find it: Currently available on VOD.
16. Malignant
Do they sell James Wan prayer candles? Because as far as we’re concerned this man has secured his sainthood. A blank cheque if ever there was one, Malignant tells the batshit story of Madison (Annabelle Wallis), a young woman stalked by a shadowy figure whose presence forces her to “see” horrible murders. After involving herself in the police investigation, Madison soon discovers that her own mysterious history may have something to do with the killings.
Do not let those party poopers on Letterboxd tell you differently, Malignant is the comedy of 2021. You may have heard that Wan’s latest is indebted to stylish giallo bigwigs like Argento and De Palma. And while this is true it is misleading. Malignant’s true parentage lies closer to the depraved genius of Frank Henenlotter and Larry Cohen, genre greats who were unafraid to get goofy and goopy in equal measure. From its first frame (in which a comically evil mental hospital clings to a seaside cliff as lighting cracks), Malignant tells you exactly what kind of film it is: a love letter to horror films with hilariously anonymous actors, reveals punctuated by over-the-top dolly zooms, and knee-slapping third act twists. This is a film by and for the midnight crowd. I’ll take seven more, please and thank you. (Meg Shields)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on HBO Max.
15. Drive My Car
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s tour-de-force drama about human connectivity and communication is easily the longest of the films on our list. But it’s a film that’s so much more than its runtime. Anchored by a wonderful lead performance from Hidetoshi Nishijima as Yūsuke Kafuku, a veteran actor grappling with loss while he attempts to direct a multi-lingual rendition of Uncle Vanya for a theater program in Hiroshima, Japan. It’s a fluid, elegantly constructed film that is both meditative and deeply captivating. If you can overcome that one-inch barrier of subtitles and set aside 3-hours of your life, you will be rewarded with a rich and often-cathartic experience. A brilliant cast executes a wonderfully written story as they are beautifully photographed by cinematographer Hidetoshi Shinomiya. I promise it’s worth it. (Neil Miller)
Where to find it: Currently only in theaters.
14. The Novice
Writer-director Lauren Hadaway rockets onto the filmmaking scene with The Novice, one of 2021’s most intense moviegoing experiences. The multiple Indie Spirit Award nominee follows Alex (Isabelle Fuhrman), a queer college freshman who joins the rowing team and quickly becomes obsessed with her need to succeed. Fuhrman, best known for her role in Orphan, gives a firecracker performance as a character who’s both physically determined and psychologically brittle.
The Novice calls to mind other gutsy portraits of desperate strivers. Like Whiplash, but the fact that no one around her is forcing Alex to work this hard gives her pursuit of perfection an added edge of danger. A drama built like a horror film, The Novice builds to a fever pitch, only to leave you with a pit of anxiety in your stomach. (Valerie Ettenhofer)
Where to find it: Currently available on VOD.
13. Riders of Justice
Revenge movies can satisfy even when they’re by the numbers because there’s catharsis in vengeance. Of course, that means the ones that go well beyond the expected earn an extra special place in our retribution-loving hearts. Anders Thomas Jensen’s fifth feature collaboration with Mads Mikkelsen is a tonal shift for the pair. And while it still includes dark humor and wonderful characters it also comes fully loaded with violence. Mikkelsen plays a man seeking revenge for the death of his wife, and that’s really all you need to know going in – everything else is best experienced firsthand. Let the humanity of it all wash away the bloodlust. (Rob Hunter)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Hulu.
12. Petite Maman
Time travel is so often an intimidating cinematic device. Between the mind-bending physics of it all and the threat of ripple effects to consider, it can be as tricky for filmmakers to set up as it can for audiences to get their heads around. In Petite Maman, however, stepping back into the past is as simple as a walk through a forest. Celine Sciamma strips the concept back to its elemental imaginative appeal. She’s specifically interested in using time travel as a means of bridging the aching gulf between parents and children; who, though bound together forever, are so often unable to see the other as they truly are.
Sciamma frames the impossible encounter between eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) and her mother (Gabrielle Sanz) matter-of-factly. But there’s enchantment all over this film, from Claire Mathon’s spellbinding cinematography to the central performances by real-life twin sisters, whose natural rapport is transfigured into something breath-taking and profound under Sciamma’s masterly direction. (Farah Cheded)
Where to find it: Releasing on MUBI on February 4, 2022.
11. The Lost Daughter
The film that humbled Paul Schrader. The Lost Daughter is a masterpiece and stunning directorial debut from Maggie Gyllenhaal. It’s one of those movies that when it’s finished, you just want to sit and be with it for as long as you can. The film has a biting honesty, one that explores what it is like to exist as a mother, woman, daughter, and partner in the world.
The ways in which the film navigates time is particularly impressive. Olivia Coleman’s performance as Leda, and Jessie Buckley’s performance as the same character at a younger age, are in perfect dialogue and harmony with one another. We feel and understand the ways Coleman’s Leda has grown and developed from Buckley’s. But we also see their shared shortcomings and how they manifest in different ways and circumstances.
One of the many admirable qualities of this movie is the way it deals with memory. Coleman’s Leda will often see or experience things that trigger flashbacks, but sometimes the connection between the past and present is not readily available or obvious. Most films deal with cliches in this respect: a character sees a yellow house, and then the film flashes back to the character as a child standing in front of a different yellow house. Not here. Instead, memories are triggered by emotion, mood, and various other associations. Memory is not rational or linear, or as clear-cut as movies often want us to believe. The Lost Daughter brilliantly captures the nuances of memory and offers a brutal and beautiful depiction of love, regret, and endurance. (Will DiGravio)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Netflix.
Related Topics: 2021 Rewind
