Sight & Sound‘s newly unveiled list of the best films of 2021 polled more than 100 voters.
The prestigious film magazine produced a list of the 50 best movies of the year. London-born Joanna Hogg’s ‘The Souvenir Part II” took top honors, followed closely by Celine Sciamma’s “Petite Maman” and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car.”
You definitely won’t see Hogg’s film anywhere near French critics lists since that country hasn’t really adhered to Hogg’s cinema in any way shape or form. Notice the blatant absence on the Cahiers du Cinema list.
Both “The Souvenir” and “The Souvenir Part II” are set to be released in France this coming February, but some France-based critics I’ve spoken to did not like these films at all when they were screened at Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight sidebar this past June. Hogg’s films seem to be very specific to Anglo-Saxon tastes.
Here are the top 11 best movies from the Sight and Sound poll (which is actually a top 50 and can be found in its entirety inside the magazine’s January 2022 issue).
01. The Souvenir Part II
02. Petite maman
03. Drive My Car
04. Memoria
05. Titane
06. The Power of the Dog
07. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
08. Summer of Soul
09. Annette
10. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
11. Bergman Island