Since folks have been sending me the New York Times “Century’s Best Movies” list, I decided to make my own. There is some overlap, of course, but my list is better, in my humble opinion. My process was not very scientific, but I tried to consider the totality of each film in terms of cinematography, script, direction, editing, and performance, as well as the uniqueness of the subject matter. So, here are 125 of the best films from 2000 to 2025, listed in chronological order. I have a more inclusive list with over 400 films here. Unlike the New York Times list, more than half of my list is made up of non-American movies. Some twenty-first century directors who seem to stand out for me are the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jim Jarmusch, Terrence Malick, Michael Haneke, Béla Tarr, Sean Baker, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Asghar Farhadi, and Céline Sciamma.
Werckmeister Harmonies by Béla Tarr (Hungary, 2000)
Yi Yi by Edward Yang (Taiwan, 2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Ang Lee (China, 2000)
Memento by Christopher Nolan (United States, 2000)
Best in Show by Christopher Guest (United States, 2000)
In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai (Hong Kong, 2000)
Songs from the Second Floor by Roy Andersson (Sweden, 2000)
The Gleaners and I by Agnès Varda (France, 2000)
Monsoon Wedding by Mira Nair (India, 2001)
Y Tu Mamá También by Alfonso Cuarón (Mexico, 2001)
The Piano Teacher by Michael Haneke (Austria, 2001)
Fat Girl by Catherine Breillat (France, 2001)
Wet Hot American Summer by David Wain (United States, 2001)
Amélie by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (France, 2001)
Mulholland Drive by David Lynch (United States, 2001)
Ghost World by Terry Zwigoff (United States, 2001)
Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson (United States, 2001)
Real Women Have Curves by Patricia Cardoso (United States, 2002)
Uzak by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey, 2002)
City of God by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund (Brazil, 2002)
Punch-Drunk Love by Paul Thomas Anderson (United States, 2002)
Naqoyqatsi by Godfrey Reggio (United States, 2002)
Saraband by Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 2003)
Dogville by Lars von Trier (Denmark, 2003)
Coffee and Cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch (United States, 2003)
Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino (United States, 2004)
Nobody Knows by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan, 2004)
Take Out by Sean Baker (United States, 2004)
Kung Fu Hustle by Stephen Chow (China, 2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry (United States, 2004)
Paradise Now by Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine, 2005)
Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog (United States, 2005)
The Squid and the Whale by Noah Baumbach (United States, 2005)
Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch (United States, 2005)
Babel by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Mexico, 2006)
Climates by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey, 2006)
Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro (Spain, 2006)
Inland Empire by David Lynch (United States, 2006)
Encounters at the End of the World by Werner Herzog (United States, 2007)
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud (France, 2007)
There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson (United States, 2007)
No Country for Old Men by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (United States, 2007)
The Headless Woman by Lucrecia Martel (Argentina, 2008)
Let the Right One In by Tomas Alfredson (Sweden, 2008)
Still Walking by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan, 2008)
Synecdoche, New York by Charlie Kaufman (United States, 2008)
35 Shots of Rum by Claire Denis (France, 2008)
In Bruges by Martin McDonagh (United Kingdom, 2008)
Prince of Broadway by Sean Baker (United States, 2008)
Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos (Greece, 2009)
About Elly by Asghar Farhadi (Iran, 2009)
Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold (United Kingdom, 2009)
Mary and Max by Adam Elliot (Australia, 2009)
The Limits of Control by Jim Jarmusch (United States, 2009)
The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke (Austria, 2009)
Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino (United States, 2009)
Another Year by Mike Leigh (United Kingdom, 2010)
Tomboy by Céline Sciamma (France, 2011)
The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick (United States, 2011)
I Wish by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan, 2011)
Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland, 2011)
A Separation by Asghar Farhadi (Iran, 2011)
Samsara by Ron Fricke (United States, 2011)
The Turin Horse by Béla Tarr (Hungary, 2011)
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey, 2011)
Amour by Michael Haneke (Austria, 2012)
Electrick Children by Rebecca Thomas (United States, 2012)
Frances Ha by Noah Baumbach (United States, 2012)
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson (United States, 2012)
The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson (United States, 2012)
Gimme the Loot by Adam Leon (United States, 2012)
Holy Motors by Leos Carax (France, 2012)
Kauwboy by Boudewijn Koole (Netherlands, 2012)
Blue Jasmine by Woody Allen (United States, 2013)
Her by Spike Jonze (United States, 2013)
Mother of George by Andrew Dosunmu (Nigeria, 2013)
Under the Skin by Jonathan Glazer (Scotland, 2013)
Ida by Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland, 2013)
Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan, 2013)
Omar by Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine, 2013)
Blue Is the Warmest Colour by Abdellatif Kechiche (France, 2013)
Birdman by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Mexico, 2014)
Interstellar by Christopher Nolan (United States, 2014)
Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey, 2014)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night by Ana Lily Amirpour (Iran, 2014)
Boyhood by Richard Linklater (United States, 2014)
Tangerine by Sean Baker (United States, 2015)
Cemetery of Splendour by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand, 2015)
The Witch by Robert Eggers (United States, 2015)
The Second Mother by Anna Muylaert (Brazil, 2015)
American Honey by Andrea Arnold (United Kingdom, 2016)
Moonlight by Barry Jenkins (United States, 2016)
In Between by Maysaloun Hamoud (Palestine, 2016)
The Salesman by Asghar Farhadi (Iran, 2016)
After the Storm by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan, 2016)
Paterson by Jim Jarmusch (United States, 2016)
The Florida Project by Sean Baker (United States, 2017)
Get Out by Jordan Peele (United States, 2017)
The Square by Ruben Östlund (Sweden, 2017)
Eighth Grade by Bo Burnham (United States, 2018)
Sorry to Bother You by Boots Riley (United States, 2018)
Mid90s by Jonah Hill (United States, 2018)
Burning by Lee Chang-dong (Korea, 2018)
Shoplifters by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan, 2018)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma (France, 2019)
Parasite by Bong Joon Ho (Korea, 2019)
Midsommar by Ari Aster (United States, 2019)
Atlantics by Mati Diop (Senegal, 2019)
Hustlers by Lorene Scafaria (United States, 2019)
Uncut Gems by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie (United States, 2019)
A Hidden Life by Terrence Malick (United States, 2019)
The Lighthouse by Robert Eggers (United States, 2019)
Nomadland by Chloé Zhao (United States, 2020)
Dinner in America by Adam Carter Rehmeier (United States, 2020)
El Planeta by Amalia Ulman (Spain, 2021)
Red Rocket by Sean Baker (United States, 2021)
Don’t Look Up by Adam McKay (United States, 2021)
Tár by Todd Field (United States, 2022)
Broker by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Korea, 2022)
Aftersun by Charlotte Wells (Scotland, 2022)
The Banshees of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh (Ireland, 2022)
Perfect Days by Wim Wenders (Japan, 2023)
Janet Planet by Annie Baker (United States, 2024)
Anora by Sean Baker (United States, 2024)
List compiled by Shalon van Tine. Film stills provided by Film Grab.