The Associated Press' film writers picks for best movies of 2021:
LINDSEY BAHR:
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1. āThe Lost Daughterā: Thereās an element of danger, real and theoretical, permeating every moment of Maggie Gyllenhaalās electric adaptation of the Elena Ferrante novel. Despite the idyllic Greek seaside setting and the intoxicating premise of a solo vacation, the unease hovers oppressively as we follow the brilliant, passionate, selfish, cruel and inscrutable Leda Caruso (Olivia Colman) through some unorthodox choices, past and present. Not only is she one of the richest characters that has ever graced our screens, itās the kind of film that will bury itself in your subconscious.
2. āLicorice Pizzaā: Itās a rare film that makes you nostalgic for a time and place you never knew, but Paul Thomas Andersonās breezy, sunny āLicorice Pizzaā does just that for the San Fernando Valley of Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and Alana Kaneās ( Alana Haim ) youths. Awash in Southern California calm and optimism, this is a playful and joyous ode to the big personalities, embellished stories, endless possibilities and endearing Hollywood-adjacency of a place that barely exists anymore.
3. āDuneā: A bigger-than-IMAX vision that is as smart as it is spectacular, Denis Villeneuveās āDuneā is far and away the best blockbuster of the past few years. There was so much baggage and failure and missed opportunities swirling around āDuneā that itās kind of miraculous that they were able to make something this clear-eyed, thrilling and visually unique. The best part is itās not even finished yet.
4. ā The Souvenir Part II ā: Art house films donāt typically get sequels with numerals on them for many reasons, most of them boring and money related, so itās a bit of a miracle that āThe Souvenir Part IIā even exists. But perhaps more extraordinary is what a great film it is as director Joanna Hogg and her star/stand-in Honor Swinton Byrne unpack Julieās tragic first love and her evolution as an artist.
5. āDrive My Carā: There is a tranquility to the Japanese drama āDrive My Car,ā which filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi adapted from a Haruki Murakami short story about a widowed actor who develops a connection with his chauffeur, while putting together a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya. Donāt be scared off by the three-hour runtime, which lately has seemed to be the exclusive province of bloated epics: Here, it is sublime.
6. āBarb and Star go to Vista Del Marā: Writing about the absurd joys of āBarb and Star Go to Vista Del Marā is almost a disservice to something that just needs to be experienced, preferably in pastel culottes with curlers in your hair and a blended tropical drink in hand. It was a big swing that could have been a disaster. Instead, we got a new comedy classic. Letās just hope it doesnāt take Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig another 10 years to dream up their next adventure.
7. āLucaā: This is the only film on the list that Iāve seen more than 10 times already. Itās not exactly by choice, thereās a 2-year-old in the equation, but itās not a chore either. In fact, itās a joy to be transported into the Cinque Terra-inspired town of Portorosso to watch a few adolescent sea monsters dream of Vespas and a better future. It also has a tremendous score and a lively soundtrack of mid-century Italian bops.
8. āThe Power of the Dogā: A story about loneliness in the barren Montana frontier of 1925, Jane Campionās stunning and sure-footed film is as rich and layered as a novel, playing out as a mystery, a Western, and a meditation on masculinity, femininity, class, love and hate. Benedict Cumberbatchās, brilliant, unbathed, casually cruel rancher Phil Burbank is a villain for the ages.
9. āThe Hand of Godā: Paolo Sorrentinoās autobiographical film āThe Hand of Godā may deal with tragedy and fate and ācoming-of-ageā but it is hardly a maudlin or overly sentimental affair. This is a shimmering, ecstatic love letter to family that uses all of the colors in the box.
10. āEl Planetaā: Director Amalia Ulman acts alongside her real mother in āEl Planeta,ā a ferociously pointed satire about two women with severely limited funds attempting to live out a glamorous farce in post-crisis Spain by scamming and shoplifting their way through high-end establishments and wearing their best while doing so.
Also of note: āThe Rescue,ā āBergman Island,ā āFlee,ā āThe World to Come,ā āThe Green Knight,ā āSummer of Soulā
JAKE COYLE:
1. āThe Worst Person in the Worldā: Joachim Trierās richly compassionate character study wasnāt my first movie back in theaters this year, but it was the first film that filled me with all the joy, delight and surprise of going to the movies. Trierās film, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and properly opens in February, stars Renate Reinsve as an uncertain Oslo 30-something finding her way. I havenāt yet worked out whether it was the movieās warm, exuberant humanity or the experience of seeing it on the big screen in a theater with other people that moved me to tears. But whatās the difference?
2. āThe Beatles: Get Backā: Itās been an extraordinary year in music documentary thanks to revelations like Questloveās āSummer of Soulā and Todd Haynesā āThe Velvet Underground.ā But Peter Jacksonās eight-hour Beatles hang-out is an overwhelming cultural artifact not just because of how it reframes so much about what we know about Paul, John, George and Ringo, but for how it captures artistic creation and collaboration in real time. As much as āGet Backā is about the bandās dissolution, itās how in sync they can be with one another thatās often astonishing and sweet.
3. āLicorice Pizzaā: Paul Thomas Andersonās shaggy-dog story of self-discovery in ā70s San Fernando Valley feels to me like a loose, easy-breathing culmination for Anderson, a virtuoso filmmaker here at his most tender and organic. āLicorice Pizza,ā crammed with the comic chronicles of adolescence and young adulthood, is the most lived-in movie of the year.
4. āThe Souvenir Part IIā: Even better than part one, Joanna Hoggās sequel to her deeply autobiographical drama is simply one of the most sublime portraits of an artist as a young filmmaker there is. If Anderson resurrects ā70s California in āLicorice Pizza,ā Hoggās film is just as detailed in its ā80s London. Filmmaking is rarely so acutely personal ā and yet generously expansive -- as this.
5. āThe Truffle Huntersā: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershawās exquisitely charming documentary is about old Italian men who scavenge truffles with faithful canine companions. Their tradition, though, is imperiled by the greed of those who would thwart or even kill the dogs so they can better compete for the high-priced delicacy. With lush, pointillist imagery (and dog cams!), the filmmakers unearth an enchanting, vanishing world. (For a truffle-hunting double feature, pair with "Pig," starring a fabulous Nicholas Cage.)
6. āDrive My Carā: Dogs are a clue to happiness, too, in Ryusuke Hamaguchiās emotional epic, a staggering work of quiet, profound intimacy. There is much under the hood of āDrive My Carāā art, grief, friendship, Chekhov. A lot of movies are described as āa ride,ā but Hamaguchiās melancholy masterwork, where the opening credits arrive 40 minutes in, earns that label in its own uniquely winding way.
7. āThe Mitchells vs the Machinesā: A classic family road trip movie, with a robot apocalypse thrown in, along with a pug easily mistaken for a loaf of bread. An antic delight.
8. āPetite Mamanā: CĆ©line Sciammaās āPortrait of a Lady on Fireā was my favorite film of 2019, but I was still unprepared for what a gentle gem her follow-up, āPetite Maman,ā would be. In just 72 minutes, Sciamma composes a spare but enormously rich fairy tale about an 8-year-old girl who, in a time of grief, meets another girl mysteriously similar to her in the woods. Thereās a magic here that Maurice Sendak would have adored.
9. āThe Humansā: A family gathers in a rundown Chinatown apartment for Thanksgiving as darkness falls in Stephen Karamās chilling adaptation of his own Tony-winning play. Like the apartment, they all have their own painted-over failings and faults, and the conversation throbs with existentialist reverberations. In a flawless cast, Richard Jenkins and Jayne Houdyshell are particular standouts.
10. āThe Hand of God": Autobiographical doesnāt feel like a natural mode for Paolo Sorrentino, but thatās part of what makes his most personal film so full of wonders. Sorrentinoās film, about a childhood in Naples that stretches from the divine to the profane, from bliss to tragedy, is best when heās gazing not at himself as a young man but outward, at his seaside city and the family around him.
Also: āRed Rocket,ā āThe Power of the Dog,ā āThe Lost Daughter,ā āA Hero,ā āCODA,ā āTitane,ā āFlee,ā āDune,ā āAnnette,ā āRiders of Justiceā
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Follow the AP film critics on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldbahr and http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP