Last month, BBC Culture published a list of 100 best movies (goo.gl/8Hh2NY) that have been released across the planet ever since the turn of the century. These 16 years have been a rollicking ride and this list distilled from the personal choices of 177 critics affirms that.
I have a few reservations considering how documentaries don't find a mention and neither does a single Indian movie. That said, this list can be a great port of entry for the uninitiated into the wildly inventive sphere of world cinema.
My favourite 10 movies from this list:
Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2013): A daring two-part love story from the Portuguese critic-turned-director is set in modern-day Lisbon, mid-century Mozambique. Gambling, voodoo, sad crocodiles and a Portuguese version of Be My Baby blend into a monochrome poem of the past.
Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011): This searing portrait of a sex-obsessed man (Michael Fassbender) in New York City who tempers down his libido after his sister (Carey Mulligan) moves in with him is a must-watch.
Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012): This ridiculously debauched movie about four teenage girls who flee to Florida is the maverick director's most accessible movie. At the risk of sounding like an Amazon algorithm, I would say that if you liked Spring Breakers, you definitely should watch Korine's Gummo and Trashhumpers.
Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004): The wildly funny movie about a couple that reunites after spending one night a decade ago is his most celebrated piece of work. The cracking dialogues and massive range of conversations have upped the ante for a whole generation looking for meaningful amorous relationships.
Apichatpong Weerasethaku's whole oeuvre: I was chuffed to my boots when I saw three movies by this Thai auteur making it to the list. His beautiful grasp of magical realism and Thai culture of supernormal stuff makes him one of those rare directors who can pull off something so imaginative that only Marquez and Murakami could pull off on page.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007): I still vividly remember how devastated I was by this Romanian movie set in the final years of the ghastly Ceausescu era. Mungiu's matter-of-fact way of showing a dead fetus still lingers in my mind. What's more, the movie opened the doors for the maddeningly amazing strain of Romanian New Wave cinema.
Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013): This tragicomic tale of a troubadour trying to make it big in New York right before Dylan was to hit the circuit is required viewing. While I am no fan of their otherwise ironic, aw-shucksy observations of America, this particular movie had me pleased as punch.
Son of Saul (László Nemes, 2015): There are uncomfortable movies and there's Nemes' interpretation of the Holocaust. While concentrating on the eponymous character, Nemes renders everything else to background and this includes piles of bodies jutting out of the gas chambers in Auschwitz. There are moments when I felt like screaming at Nemes for being non-judgmental of the Nazis and probably that's where the triumph of the movie lies.
Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015): I don't think there's been a greater achievement in Hollywood during the period under review than this deliciously deranged recreation of the 1979 Mel Gibson-starrer by the same director. Miller's Kevlar-like grip on the audience's consciousness deserves to be celebrated for years to come.
Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012): This movie about the lead up to Osama bin Laden's death is deeply immersive and properly uncomfortable. Bigelow's evisceration of torture techniques by CIA makes Zero Dark Thirty this century's Apocaylpse Now.
While this is an exhaustive list of movies, I would wager that these five movies were genuine shoo-ins:
The Tribe (Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, 2014)
Avatar (David Cameron, 2009)
Tiny Furniture (Lena Dunham, 2010)
Night and Day (Hong Sang-soo, 2008)
Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)
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