The Times started this earlier this week, and like I’ve said, I’m unable to resist the call to list making. For the past few years, when one of these comes out I get annoyed that mainstream critics’ list don’t contain enough Chinese films, and that the ones they do list are the most boring, obvious choices. The Times list has three, which considering they only list 25 movies, isn’t a bad ratio, and only one of them is In the Mood for Love or Yi yi, which is nice. I haven’t done an actual best of the century list for awhile, so here it goes. One film per director, but with no more than three other titles by them I think are great listed as an aside.

1. The New World (Terence Malick, 2005)
Also: The Tree of Life, Knight of Cups, Song to Song

2. Millennium Mambo (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2001)
Also: Three Times, Flight of the Red Balloon, The Assassin

3. Oki’s Movie (Hong Sangsoo, 2010)
Also: The Day He Arrives, Hill of Freedom, Yourself and Yours

4. Running on Karma (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, 2003)
Also: My Left Eye Sees Ghosts, Exiled, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2

5. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)
Also: Blissfully Yours, Syndromes and a Century, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

6. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
Also: Inland Empire

7. La Commune (Paris 1871) (Peter Watkins, 2000)

8. Oxhide II (Liu Jiayin, 2009)
Also: Oxhide, 607

9. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)
Also: Like Someone in Love

10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)

11. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)
Also: In the Mood for Love, My Blueberry Nights, The Grandmaster

12. The Midnight After (Fruit Chan, 2014)

13. Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley, 2008)

14. Love Exposure (Sion Sono, 2008)
Also: Suicide Club, Tokyo Tribe

15. It Felt Like a Kiss (Adam Curtis, 2009)
Also: The Century of the Self, The Power of Nightmares, The Trap

16. The Missing Picture (Rithy Panh, 2013)

17. Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016)
Also: The Limits of Control, Only Lovers Left Alive

18. Linda Linda Linda (Nobuhiro Yamashita, 2005)
Also: La La La at Rock Bottom

19. Miami Vice (Michael Mann, 2006)
Also: Ali, Public Enemies, Blackhat

20. La danse (Frederick Wiseman, 2009)
Also: At Berkeley, National Gallery, In Jackson Heights

21. Baahubali (SS Rajamouli, 2015 & 2017)

22. Mountains May Depart (Jia Zhangke, 2015)
Also: Platform, Still Life, The Hedonists

23. Los Angeles Plays Itself (Thom Andersen, 2003)
Also: Get Out of the Car, The Thoughts that Once We Had

24. 35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis, 2008)
Also: Friday Night, L’Intrus, Bastards

25. Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003)
Also: What Time is it There? Stray Dogs, Journey to the West