The Best MOVIES OF THE 21st CENTURY
by TheTruthAboutMovies | created - 14 Oct 2016 | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Mulholland Drive (2001)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 383,990 | Gross: $7.22M
2. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Not Rated | 145 min | Drama, Mystery
A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.
Directors: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky | Stars: Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla, János Derzsi
Votes: 15,958 | Gross: $0.03M
3. The New World (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale
Votes: 89,909 | Gross: $12.71M
4. Roma (2018)
R | 135 min | Drama
A year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey, Carlos Peralta
Votes: 169,839
5. The Tree of Life (2011)
PG-13 | 139 min | Drama, Fantasy
The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken
Votes: 184,154 | Gross: $13.30M
6. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama
A washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough
Votes: 666,667 | Gross: $42.34M
7. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,200,871 | Gross: $223.81M
8. Babel (I) (2006)
R | 143 min | Drama
Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, which jump starts an interlocking story involving four different families.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal, Mohamed Akhzam
Votes: 317,183 | Gross: $34.30M
9. The Revenant (I) (2015)
R | 156 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson
Votes: 874,650 | Gross: $183.64M
10. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,949 | Gross: $2.73M
11. Son of Saul (2015)
R | 107 min | Drama, War
A Jewish-Hungarian concentration camp prisoner sets out to give a child he mistook for his son a proper burial.
Director: László Nemes | Stars: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn, Todd Charmont
Votes: 51,967 | Gross: $1.78M
12. The Turin Horse (2011)
Not Rated | 155 min | Drama
A rural farmer is forced to confront the mortality of his faithful horse.
Directors: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky | Stars: János Derzsi, Erika Bók, Mihály Kormos, Ricsi
Votes: 19,431 | Gross: $0.05M
13. Lost in Translation (2003)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris
Votes: 489,292 | Gross: $44.59M
14. Russian Ark (2002)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, History
A 19th century French aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in Russia, travels through the Russian State Hermitage Museum and encounters historical figures from the last 200+ years.
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Sergey Dreyden, Mariya Kuznetsova, Leonid Mozgovoy, Mikhail Piotrovsky
Votes: 21,826 | Gross: $0.04M
15. Oppenheimer (I) (2023)
R | 180 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.
Votes: 729,642 | Gross: $326.11M
16. Shame (2011)
NC-17 | 101 min | Drama
A sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Lucy Walters
Votes: 206,283 | Gross: $4.00M
17. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
R | 134 min | Drama, Romance
Ennis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Votes: 382,335 | Gross: $83.04M
18. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
NC-17 | 180 min | Drama, Romance
Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 163,104 | Gross: $2.20M
19. Poor Things (2023)
R | 141 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef
Votes: 252,228
20. Laurence Anyways (2012)
Not Rated | 168 min | Drama, Romance
A drama that charts ten years in a transgender woman's relationship with her lover.
Director: Xavier Dolan | Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuel Schwartz, Suzanne Clément, Nathalie Baye
Votes: 22,211
21. Still the Water (2014)
Not Rated | 121 min | Drama, Romance
On a subtropical island, a teenage couple deal with the interwoven cycle of life, death and love.
Director: Naomi Kawase | Stars: Nijirô Murakami, Junko Abe, Miyuki Matsuda, Tetta Sugimoto
Votes: 3,071
22. A Prophet (2009)
R | 155 min | Crime, Drama
A delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb
Votes: 102,197 | Gross: $2.08M
23. A Single Man (2009)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
Director: Tom Ford | Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult
Votes: 117,786 | Gross: $9.17M
24. Antichrist (2009)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm
Votes: 136,573 | Gross: $0.40M
25. The Sun (2005)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, History
Third part in Aleksandr Sokurov's quadrilogy of Power, following Moloch (1999) and Taurus (2001), focuses on Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Japan's defeat in World War II when he is finally confronted by General Douglas MacArthur who offers him to accept a diplomatic defeat for survival.
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Issei Ogata, Robert Dawson, Kaori Momoi, Shirô Sano
Votes: 2,970 | Gross: $0.08M
26. Marie Antoinette (2006)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan
Votes: 121,939 | Gross: $15.96M
27. There Will Be Blood (2007)
R | 158 min | Drama
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Martin Stringer
Votes: 641,362 | Gross: $40.22M
28. The Master (2012)
R | 138 min | Drama, History
A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by the Cause and its charismatic leader.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Jesse Plemons
Votes: 186,257 | Gross: $16.38M
29. Paterson (2016)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A quiet observation of the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Nellie, Rizwan Manji
Votes: 88,978 | Gross: $2.14M
30. Aferim! (2015)
Not Rated | 108 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Set in early 19th century Romania, a policeman, Costandin, is hired by a nobleman to find a Gypsy slave who has run away from his estate after having an affair with his wife.
Director: Radu Jude | Stars: Teodor Corban, Mihai Comanoiu, Toma Cuzin, Alexandru Dabija
Votes: 7,773 | Gross: $0.10M
31. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
R | 164 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
Young Blade Runner K's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.
Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Dave Bautista
Votes: 665,649 | Gross: $92.05M
32. Mommy (I) (2014)
R | 139 min | Drama
A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.
Director: Xavier Dolan | Stars: Anne Dorval, Antoine Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clément, Patrick Huard
Votes: 61,852 | Gross: $3.49M
33. Winter Sleep (2014)
Not Rated | 196 min | Drama
A hotel owner and landlord in a remote Turkish village deals with conflicts within his family and a tenant behind on his rent.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Stars: Haluk Bilginer, Melisa Sözen, Demet Akbag, Ayberk Pekcan
Votes: 55,585 | Gross: $0.17M
34. Girl (II) (2018)
R | 105 min | Drama
A promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.
Director: Lukas Dhont | Stars: Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Oliver Bodart, Tijmen Govaerts
Votes: 17,016
35. A Hidden Life (2019)
PG-13 | 174 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector, refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon, Karin Neuhäuser
Votes: 28,178
36. Dune (2021)
PG-13 | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A noble family becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxy's most valuable asset while its heir becomes troubled by visions of a dark future.
Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac
Votes: 857,282 | Gross: $108.33M
37. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
R | 206 min | Crime, Drama, History
When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one - until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons
Votes: 239,521
39. Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022)
R | 159 min | Comedy, Drama
An acclaimed documentarian goes on an introspective journey through surreal dreamscapes to reconcile with the past, the present and his Mexican identity.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, Íker Sánchez Solano
Votes: 15,024
40. Babylon (I) (2022)
R | 189 min | Comedy, Drama, History
A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Jean Smart, Olivia Wilde
Votes: 167,752
41. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
R | 160 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Robert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
Director: Andrew Dominik | Stars: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 192,858 | Gross: $3.90M
42. Shéhérazade (2018)
TV-MA | 109 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Zachary, 17 years old, gets out of jail. Rejected by his mother, he hangs out in the mean streets of Marseille. This is where he meets Shéhérazade.
Director: Jean-Bernard Marlin | Stars: Dylan Robert, Kenza Fortas, Idir Azougli, Lisa Amedjout
Votes: 2,658
43. The Red Turtle (2016)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and encounters a big red turtle, which changes his life.
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit | Stars: Emmanuel Garijo, Tom Hudson, Baptiste Goy, Axel Devillers
Votes: 38,787 | Gross: $0.92M
44. Venus in Fur (2013)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama
An actress attempts to convince a director how she's perfect for a role in his upcoming production.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric
Votes: 20,974 | Gross: $0.34M
45. Sweet Bean (2015)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
Burdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?
Director: Naomi Kawase | Stars: Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyara Uchida, Miki Mizuno
Votes: 12,726 | Gross: $0.12M
46. La Sapienza (2014)
Unrated | 101 min | Drama
At the height of his career, Alexandre decides to set off for Italy with the idea of completing of a book on Borromini. Along with his wife Alienor feels her relationship with Alexandre is ... See full summary »
Director: Eugène Green | Stars: Fabrizio Rongione, Christelle Prot, Ludovico Succio, Arianna Nastro
Votes: 1,150
47. Polisse (2011)
Not Rated | 127 min | Crime, Drama
A journalist covering police assigned to a juvenile division enters into an affair with one of her subjects.
Director: Maïwenn | Stars: Karin Viard, JoeyStarr, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle
Votes: 15,330 | Gross: $0.17M
48. Django Unchained (2012)
R | 165 min | Drama, Western
With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Votes: 1,695,999 | Gross: $162.81M
49. 1945 (2017)
91 min | Drama
12 August 1945, 11 AM. Two mysterious strangers dressed in black appear at the railway station of a Hungarian village. Within a few hours, everything changes.
Director: Ferenc Török | Stars: Péter Rudolf, Bence Tasnádi, Tamás Szabó Kimmel, Dóra Sztarenki
Votes: 4,293 | Gross: $1.01M
50. The Goldman Case (2023)
115 min | Crime, Drama, History
Chronicles the trial of Goldman, a French left-wing revolutionary who was convicted of several robberies and was mysteriously murdered.
Director: Cédric Kahn | Stars: Arieh Worthalter, Arthur Harari, Stéphan Guérin-Tillié, Nicolas Briançon
Votes: 1,653
51. Joker (I) (2019)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Votes: 1,489,924 | Gross: $335.45M
52. The New Girlfriend (2014)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young woman makes a surprising discovery about the husband of her late best friend.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Romain Duris, Anaïs Demoustier, Raphaël Personnaz, Isild Le Besco
Votes: 9,124 | Gross: $0.13M
53. My King (2015)
Unrated | 124 min | Drama, Romance
Tony is admitted to a rehabilitation center after a serious skiing accident. Dependent on medical staff and painkillers, she takes the time to remember the tumultuous love story she lived with Georgio.
Director: Maïwenn | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Bercot, Louis Garrel, Isild Le Besco
Votes: 14,187 | Gross: $0.05M
54. Dune: Part Two (2024)
PG-13 | 166 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem
Votes: 381,453
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