YNOT at the Movies

Even though we still have not come out of the devastating pandemic yet, films are now opening at a pace similar to the pre-Covid level. After skipping composing a top-ten list last year, now I resume this annual tradition. Here are the ten best films among the 287 feature-length narrative and documentary films I watched during the calendar year of 2021, no matter when and if a film was released in the US during 2021.

10. Try Harder! (USA 2021 | 85 min. | Documentary | My Review)

    The director Debbie Lum and her crew followed Lowell's senior class for an entire year in and out of school and turned 300 plus hours of footage into an intimate, insightful, endearing, heartfelt, and inspiring documentary "Try Harder!"

    

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9. Nine Days (USA 2020 | 124 min. | My Review)

   The Japanese-Brazilian writer-director Edson Oda's intelligent feature directorial debut "Nine Days" unfolds a nine-day-long process of selecting a soul to be born into a human life on earth. It's a thought-provoking reflection on human life and our own existence.

   

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8. You Will Die at 20 (Sudan/France/Egypt/Germany/Norway/Qatar 2020 | in Arabic | 103 min.)

   Sudan’s first Oscar entry, the director Amjad Abu Alala's radiant debut "You Will Die at 20" tells an arresting story about a boy who is under the haunting prophecy from a Sheikh that he will die at the age of twenty.

   

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7. The Whaler Boy (Китобой | Russia/Poland/Belgium 2020 | in Russian/English | 93 min.)

   The Russian writer-director Philipp Yuryev's feature directorial debut "The Whaler Boy" terrifically tells a captivating story of a 15-year-old boy in a remote fishing village who falls in love with a webcam girl from the United States, and he takes on an incredible journey to meet his love.

   

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6. Dear Tenant (親愛的房客 | Taiwan 2020 | in Mandarin/Min Nan | 106 min. | My Review)

   The director Cheng Yu-Chieh's melancholic drama "Dear Tenant" beautifully captures the intense love from a grieving gay man in a story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

   

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5. Minari (USA 2021 | in Korean/English | 115 min.)

   The director Lee Isaac Chung's tender semi-autobiographical "Minari" tells of a Korean immigrant family's quest for the American dream on an Arkansas farm.

   

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4. Blue Bayou (USA/Canada 2021 | 119 min. | My Review)

   With fierce rage and genuine compassion, the acclaimed writer-director Justin Chon's new film "Blue Bayou" superbly unfolds an agonizing immigration drama.

   

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3. Corpus Christi (Boże Ciało | Poland/France 2019 | in Polish | 115 min.)

   Bartosz Bielenia gives an astounding performance in the Oscar-nominated engrossing drama "Corpus Christi" as the 20-year-old charismatic ex-con posing as a priest in a small grieving village.

   

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2. C'mon C'mon (USA 2021 | 108 min. | My review)

   The writer-director Mike Mills's marvelous new film "C'mon C'mon" is like a lyrical sonata with Joaquin Phoenix and Woody Norman hitting on perfect notes on every touching beat.

   

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1. Lamb (Dýrið | Iceland/Sweden/Poland 2020 | in Icelandic | 106 min. | My review)

   The director Valdimar Jóhannsson's striking feature directorial debut "Lamb" fantastically keeps the enigmatic atmosphere intact and constantly surprises us each time it makes a turn.

   

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