The Souvenir Part II — Features — Cinema As We Know It

Theo’s Top Ten Films of 2021

If 2020 was the year of watching movies at home, 2021 was the year of the movie theatre. For me, it meant a return to two cinemas I particularly adore which provided a chance to catch up with favorites old and new. But as the year drew to a close with COVID-19 cases again on the rise in the UK, the bizarre question of whether I should be going to the cinema again weighed on my mind. And so, it was another weird year for movies and moviegoers – but far from a bad one. The difficulty I had in putting this list together is testament to the fantastic quality of films released in the period; any year in which sublimely sweet works from Paul Thomas Anderson and Céline Sciamma didn’t make my top ten is surely a good one.

FeaturesTheo RollasonJanuary 11, 2022Top10s, Best of, Best of 2021, Top Ten of 2021, 2021, Theo Rollason, Flee, C'Mon C'Mon, Great Freedom, West Side Story, Annette, Drive My Car, Bergman Island, The Souvenir Part II, Titane, The Worst Person in the World

Greg’s Top Ten Films of 2021

Looking back on 2021, the major theme has to be the return of theaters. What they have to offer — spectacle, shared experience, dialog — cannot be replicated at home in isolation, and more so than any one release, the return of theaters was notable based on the simple fact that they enable exhibition. Going from sitting at home and streaming movies for most of 2020 to being able to finally watch a film on the big screen served as a potent reminder of what is lost when theatrical exhibition is removed from the equation. While you should seek out these films by any means necessary, my favorite films from 2021 go hand in hand with the cinematic experience.

FeaturesGreg AriettaJanuary 9, 2022Top10s, Best of, Greg Arietta, Best of 2021, Top Ten of 2021, 2021, Army of the Dead, Red Rocket, Memoria, C'Mon C'Mon, Drive My Car, Licorice Pizza, The Worst Person in the World, The French Dispatch, Titane, The Souvenir Part II