There have been a lot of great films released since the year 2000, but some of them stood above the rest and elevated the medium to a whole new level of storytelling. These are the 25 best films of the 21st century according to film critics around the globe, and where you can watch them for yourself.
BBC Culture recently reached out to 177 of the world’s most prominent film critics and asked them each for their top 10 picks for films released between the beginning of 2000 and the present day. When it was all said and done, BBC looked over the votes and came up with a list of the 100 greatest films of the 21st century. If you want to skip to the extra good stuff, and give yourself a quick education in great film, here are the top 25 with links to where you can watch them on any of your devices.
25. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, or available on DVD/Blu-ray.
24. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, and Vudu. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
23. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
22. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
Where to watch: Streaming on Showtime Anytime (cable login required), or available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
21. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
20. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
18. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
17. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
16. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
15. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)
Where to watch: Streaming on Hulu, and available for rent or purchase on iTunes and Amazon Video. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
14. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)
Where to watch: Streaming on Netflix, and available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, and Vimeo. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
13. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
Where to watch: Streaming on HBO Now and HBO Go, and available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
12. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)
Where to watch: Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
10. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
Where to watch: Streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
9. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
8. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000)
Where to watch: Available on DVD/Blu-ray, and sometimes streamable on YouTube.
7. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
Where to watch: Streaming on Netflix, and available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
5. Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)
Where to watch: Streaming on Hulu and Showtime Anytime, and available rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
Where to watch: Only available on DVD and Blu-ray.
3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
Where to watch: Streaming on Netflix, and available for rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
Where to watch: Available on DVD/Blu-ray, and you can sometimes find it on YouTube.
1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
Where to watch: Available for rent or purchased on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube. Also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
You can check out the complete list of all 100 films here. And if you’re curious who the critics are and what each of their lists looked like, you can see that here.