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There are few things more polarizing than when people list the best of anything – especially movies. The editors at BBC Culture decided to do the incomprehensible and polled 177 film critics around the world to determine the 100 best films of the 21st Century. While it’s refreshing to see a list of great films that doesn’t include The Godfather or Citizen Kane (which are objectively great movies, of course, but make some room for the new classics!) this list is, as you can imagine, fairly white male-centric. It’s an incredibly interesting compilation of the last 16 years of film, though, and certainly shows that we are living in a great, ever-evolving time for movies. The most important question is, of course, was your favorite movie included? How about your least favorite? Take a look at the full list below and see for yourself.
THE 21ST CENTURY’S 100 GREATEST FILMS (ACCORDING TO THE BBC)
100. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016) [Where to stream Toni Erdmann]
100. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000) [Where to stream Requiem for a Dream]
100. Carlos (Olivier Assayas, 2010) [Where to stream Carlos]
99. The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000) [Where to stream The Gleaners and I]
98. Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002) [Where to stream Ten]
97. White Material (Claire Denis, 2009) [Where to stream White Material]
96. Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton, 2003) [Where to stream Finding Nemo]
95. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012) [Where to stream Moonrise Kingdom]
94. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) [Where to stream Let the Right One In]
93. Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007) [Where to stream Ratatouille]
92. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) [Where to stream The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford]
91. The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009) [Where to stream The Secret in Their Eyes]
90. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002) [Where to stream The Pianist]
89. The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008) [Where to stream The Headless Woman]
88. Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, 2015) [Where to stream Spotlight]
87. Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) [Where to stream Amélie]
86. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002) [Where to stream Far From Heaven]
85. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, 2009) [Where to stream A Prophet]
84. Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) [Where to stream Her]
83. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001) [Where to stream A.I. Artificial Intelligence]
82. A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009) [Where to stream A Serious Man]
81. Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011) [Where to stream Shame]
80. The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2003) [Where to stream The Return]
79. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000) [Where to stream Almost Famous]
78. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013) [Where to stream The Wolf of Wall Street]
77. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007) [Where to stream The Diving Bell and the Butterfly]
76. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003) [Where to stream Dogville]
75. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014) [Where to stream Inherent Vice]
74. Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012) [Where to stream Spring Breakers]
73. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004) [Where to stream Before Sunset]
72. Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch, 2013) [Where to stream Only Lovers Left Alive]
71. Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012) [Where to stream Tabu]
70. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012) [Where to stream Stories We Tell]
69. Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015) [Where to stream Carol]
68. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001) [Where to stream The Royal Tenenbaums]
67. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008) [Where to stream The Hurt Locker]
66. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (Kim Ki-duk, 2003) [Where to stream Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring]
65. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009) [Where to stream Fish Tank]
64. The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013) [Where to stream The Great Beauty]
63. The Turin Horse (Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 2011) [Where to stream The Turin Horse]
62. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) [Where to stream Inglourious Basterds]
61. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013) [Where to stream Under the Skin]
60. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006) [Where to stream Syndromes and a Century]
59. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005) [Where to stream A History of Violence]
58. Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembène, 2004) [Where to stream Moolaadé]
57. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012) [Where to stream Zero Dark Thirty]
56. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, director; Ágnes Hranitzky, co-director, 2000) [Where to stream Werckmeister Harmonies]
55. Ida (Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013) [Where to stream Ida]
54. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011) [Where to stream Once Upon a Time in Anatolia]
53. Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) [Where to stream Moulin Rouge!]
52. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) [Where to stream Tropical Malady]
51. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) [Where to stream Inception]
50. The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2015) [Where to stream The Assassin]
49. Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014) [Where to stream Goodbye to Language]
48. Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015) [Where to stream Brooklyn]
47. Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014) [Where to stream Leviathan]
46. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010) [Where to stream Certified Copy]
45. Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013) [Where to stream Blue is the Warmest Color]
44. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) [Where to stream 12 Years a Slave]
43. Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011) [Where to stream Melancholia]
42. Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012) [Where to stream Amour]
41. Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015) [Where to stream Inside Out]
40. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005) [Where to stream Brokeback Mountain]
39. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) [Where to stream The New World]
38. City of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002) [Where to stream City of God]
37. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) [Where to stream Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives]
36. Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014) [Where to stream Timbuktu]
35. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) [Where to stream Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]
34. Son of Saul (László Nemes, 2015) [Where to stream Son of Saul]
33. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) [Where to stream The Dark Knight]
32. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006) [Where to stream The Lives of Others]
31. Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011) [Where to stream Margaret]
30. Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003) [Where to stream Oldboy]
29. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) [Where to stream WALL-E]
28. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002) [Where to stream Talk to Her]
27. The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010) [Where to stream The Social Network]
26. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002) [Where to stream 25th Hour]
25. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) [Where to stream Memento]
24. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012) [Where to stream The Master]
23. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005) [Where to stream Caché]
22. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003) [Where to stream Lost in Translation]
21. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014) [Where to stream The Grand Budapest Hotel]
20. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) [Where to stream Synecdoche, New York]
19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) [Where to stream Mad Max: Fury Road]
18. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009) [Where to stream The White Ribbon]
17. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) [Where to stream Pan’s Labyrinth]
16. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012) [Where to stream Holy Motors]
15. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) [Where to stream 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days]
14. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012) [Where to stream The Act of Killing]
13. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006) [Where to stream Children of Men]
12. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) [Where to stream Zodiac]
11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) [Where to stream Inside Llewyn Davis]
10. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007) [Where to stream No Country for Old Men]
9. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011) [Where to stream A Separation]
8. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000) [Where to stream Yi Yi: A One and a Two]
7. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011) [Where to stream The Tree of Life]
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) [Where to stream Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]
5. Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014) [Where to stream Boyhood]
4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) [Where to stream Spirited Away]
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) [Where to stream There Will Be Blood]
2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000) [Where to stream In the Mood for Love]
1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001) [Where to stream Mulholland Drive]
