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Film Comment's Year-End Critics' Poll, Ranked

Every December since 2000, Film Comment — the magazine of Film at Lincoln Center — has polled critics on the year's best films, pausing only for its 2020 hiatus. Here is every film from those aggregate year-end polls in our library, re-ranked by our composite score across 20+ lists, awards and polls.

764 films from this list are in our library; the top 100 by composite score are shown — the ranking is ours, not the list's own order.

  1. 1
    Parasite2019 · Bong Joon-ho · South Korea · comedy, drama, thriller
    5.72

    Palme d'Or winner 2019 · Oscar Best Picture winner 2019 · Film Comment year-end poll 2019 #1

  2. 2
    In the Mood for Love2000 · Wong Kar-wai · Hong Kong, China / France / Thailand · romance, drama
    5.13

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #5 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #9

  3. 3
    Spirited Away2001 · Hayao Miyazaki · Japan · fantasy, animation, drama
    4.98

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 2002 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2002 · Kehr's annual top 10 2002 #1

  4. 4
    Mulholland Drive2001 · David Lynch · United States · mystery, thriller, crime
    4.61

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2001 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2001 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #8

  5. 5
    There Will Be Blood2007 · Paul Thomas Anderson · United States · drama, western, thriller
    4.26

    Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2007 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2008 #2

  6. 6
    The Tree of Life2011 · Terrence Malick · United States · sci-fi, fantasy, drama
    4.26

    Palme d'Or winner 2011 · Film Comment year-end poll 2011 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2011 #2

  7. 7
    No Country for Old Men2007 · Ethan Coen, Joel Coen · United States · drama, thriller, western
    4.20

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2007 · Film Comment year-end poll 2007 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2008 #1

  8. 8
    Moonlight2016 · Barry Jenkins · United States · drama
    4.15

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2016 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #3 · Film Comment year-end poll 2016 #2

  9. 9
    The Hurt Locker2008 · Kathryn Bigelow · United States · action, thriller, war
    3.95

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2009 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2010 · Film Comment year-end poll 2009 #1

  10. 10
    The Pianist2002 · Roman Polanski · France / Germany / United Kingdom · musical, drama, biography
    3.86

    Palme d'Or winner 2002 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2003 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2003 #1

  11. 11
    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003 · Peter Jackson · New Zealand / United States · fantasy, adventure
    3.69

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2003 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2004 · Letterboxd Top 250 #11

  12. 12
    Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives2010 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul · Thailand / France · comedy, drama, fantasy
    3.69

    Palme d'Or winner 2010 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2010 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2011 #2

  13. 13
    Boyhood2014 · Richard Linklater · United States · drama
    3.66

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2015 · Film Comment year-end poll 2014 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2014 #2

  14. 14
    A Separation2011 · Asghar Farhadi · Iran · drama
    3.62

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 2011 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2012 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 2011 #1

  15. 15
    Shoplifters2018 · Hirokazu Koreeda · Japan · drama
    3.56

    Palme d'Or winner 2018 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2018 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2019

  16. 16
    Yi Yi2000 · Edward Yang · Taiwan, China / Japan · drama
    3.56

    Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #3 · Sarris's annual top 10 2000 #1 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #8

  17. 17
    One Battle After Another2025 · Paul Thomas Anderson · United States · drama, thriller, action
    3.50

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2025 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2026 · Film Comment year-end poll 2025 #1

  18. 18
    Brokeback Mountain2005 · Ang Lee · United States · romance, drama
    3.49

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2006 · Venice Golden Lion winner 2005 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2005

  19. 19
    The Departed2006 · Martin Scorsese · United States / Hong Kong, China · drama, thriller, crime
    3.41

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2006 · Film Comment year-end poll 2006 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 2006 #1

  20. 20
    Amour2012 · Michael Haneke · France / Germany / Austria · drama
    3.39

    Palme d'Or winner 2012 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2013 #1 · César Best Film winner 2013

  21. 21
    The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001 · Peter Jackson · New Zealand / United States · fantasy, adventure, action
    3.35

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2002 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2001 · AFI 100 (2007) #50

  22. 22
    Anatomy of a Fall2023 · Justine Triet · France · thriller, crime, drama
    3.33

    Palme d'Or winner 2023 · César Best Film winner 2024 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2023 #3

  23. 23
    Roma2018 · Alfonso Cuarón · United States / Mexico · drama
    3.24

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2019 · Venice Golden Lion winner 2018 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2018

  24. 24
    Beau Travail1999 · Claire Denis · France · drama
    3.23

    Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #7 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #14

  25. 25
    Drive My Car2021 · Ryusuke Hamaguchi · Japan · drama
    3.17

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2021 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2022 · Film Comment year-end poll 2021 #2

  26. 26
    12 Years a Slave2013 · Steve McQueen · United Kingdom / United States · drama, biography
    3.14

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2013 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2014 · TIFF People's Choice winner 2013

  27. 27
    Anora2024 · Sean Baker · United States · comedy, drama
    3.08

    Palme d'Or winner 2024 · Oscar Best Picture winner 2024 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2025 #2

  28. 28
    Argo2012 · Ben Affleck · United States · thriller, drama, biography
    3.07

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2012 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2013 · Ebert's annual top 10 2012 #1

  29. 29
    Million Dollar Baby2004 · Clint Eastwood · United States · drama
    3.00

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2004 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2005 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 2004 #1

  30. 30
    Mad Max: Fury Road2015 · George Miller · Australia / United States · action, adventure, sci-fi
    2.96

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2015 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2015 #3 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #7

  31. 31
    Lost in Translation2003 · Sofia Coppola · United States / Japan · comedy, romance, drama
    2.95

    Film Comment year-end poll 2003 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 2003 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2003

  32. 32
    A Brighter Summer Day1991 · Edward Yang · Taiwan, China · drama
    2.89

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1992 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #78

  33. 33
    The Child2005 · Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne · Belgium / France · drama
    2.89

    Palme d'Or winner 2005 · Film Comment year-end poll 2006 #4 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2005 #4

  34. 34
    4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days2007 · Cristian Mungiu · Romania / Belgium · drama
    2.80

    Palme d'Or winner 2007 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #6 · Film Comment year-end poll 2007 #9

  35. 35
    The Image Book2018 · Jean-Luc Godard · Switzerland / France · documentary
    2.74

    Palme d'Or winner 2018 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2019 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2019 #18

  36. 36
    The Zone of Interest2023 · Jonathan Glazer · United Kingdom / Poland / United States · drama, war
    2.68

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 2023 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2024 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2023

  37. 37
    The Social Network2010 · David Fincher · United States · biography, drama
    2.68

    Film Comment year-end poll 2010 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2011 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 2010 #1

  38. 38
    Slumdog Millionaire2008 · Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan · United Kingdom · romance, drama, crime
    2.65

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2008 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2009 · TIFF People's Choice winner 2008

  39. 39
    The White Ribbon2009 · Michael Haneke · France / Germany / Austria · drama, mystery
    2.58

    Palme d'Or winner 2009 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2010 #4 · Film Comment year-end poll 2009 #12

  40. 40
    Inside Llewyn Davis2013 · Ethan Coen, Joel Coen · United States / France · drama, musical, comedy
    2.58

    Film Comment year-end poll 2013 #1 · Cannes Grand Prix winner 2013 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #18

  41. 41
    Tropical Malady2004 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul · Thailand / Italy / Germany · drama
    2.46

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2004 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #95

  42. 42
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon2000 · Ang Lee · United States / Taiwan, China / Hong Kong, China · romance, fantasy, action
    2.44

    TIFF People's Choice winner 2000 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2000 · Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #6

  43. 43
    Dancer in the Dark2000 · Lars von Trier · Denmark / Sweden / Germany · musical, drama
    2.43

    Palme d'Or winner 2000 · Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #8 · Kehr's annual top 10 2000 #2

  44. 44
    Blue Is the Warmest Colour2013 · Abdellatif Kechiche · France / Belgium / Spain · drama, romance
    2.43

    Palme d'Or winner 2013 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2013 #3 · Film Comment year-end poll 2013 #12

  45. 45
    Oldboy2003 · Park Chan-wook · South Korea / Japan · drama, thriller, mystery
    2.38

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 2004 · Kehr's annual top 10 2005 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2004 #6

  46. 46
    Before Sunset2004 · Richard Linklater · United States · romance, drama
    2.36

    Film Comment year-end poll 2004 #3 · Sarris's annual top 10 2004 #1 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #26

  47. 47
    Birdman2014 · Alejandro González Iñárritu · United States · comedy, drama
    2.36

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2014 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2015 #4 · Film Comment year-end poll 2014 #8

  48. 48
    Inglourious Basterds2009 · Quentin Tarantino · Germany / United States · war, drama, adventure
    2.36

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2009 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2009 · Film Comment year-end poll 2009 #7

  49. 49
    The Artist2011 · Michel Hazanavicius · France / Belgium · comedy, romance, drama
    2.35

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2011 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2012 · César Best Film winner 2012

  50. 50
    The Irishman2019 · Martin Scorsese · United States · crime, drama, biography
    2.33

    Film Comment year-end poll 2019 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2019 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2019

  51. 51
    Precious2009 · Lee Daniels · United States · drama
    2.29

    Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner 2009 · TIFF People's Choice winner 2009 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2009

  52. 52
    The Power of the Dog2021 · Jane Campion · United Kingdom / United States / New Zealand · drama, western
    2.28

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2022 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2021 · Film Comment year-end poll 2021 #6

  53. 53
    Traffic2000 · Steven Soderbergh · United States / Germany / Mexico · crime, drama, thriller
    2.28

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2001 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2000 · Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #16

  54. 54
    The Fabelmans2022 · Steven Spielberg · United States · drama
    2.27

    TIFF People's Choice winner 2022 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2022 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2023 #4

  55. 55
    The Queen2006 · Stephen Frears · United Kingdom / France / Italy · biography, drama, documentary
    2.27

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2007 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2006 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2007 #4

  56. 56
    Elephant2003 · Gus Van Sant · United States · drama, thriller
    2.26

    Palme d'Or winner 2003 · Film Comment year-end poll 2003 #3 · Hoberman's annual top 10 2003 #9

  57. 57
    A Prophet2009 · Jacques Audiard · France / Italy · drama, crime, thriller
    2.25

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 2009 · César Best Film winner 2010 · Film Comment year-end poll 2010 #5

  58. 58
    A History of Violence2005 · David Cronenberg · Germany / United States · thriller, crime, drama
    2.24

    Film Comment year-end poll 2005 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2005 #2 · Hoberman's annual top 10 2005 #1

  59. 59
    Sideways2004 · Alexander Payne · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    2.23

    Film Comment year-end poll 2004 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2004 · Sarris's annual top 10 2004 #2

  60. 60
    Army of Shadows1969 · Jean-Pierre Melville · France / Italy · drama, war
    2.21

    Film Comment year-end poll 2006 #3 · Sarris's annual top 10 2006 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #211

  61. 61
    Get Out2017 · Jordan Peele · United States / Japan · horror, mystery, comedy
    2.21

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #95 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2017 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2017 #4

  62. 62
    The Dark Knight2008 · Christopher Nolan · United States / United Kingdom · action, film-noir, thriller
    2.18

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2008 #3 · Empire 500 (2008) #15 · Letterboxd Top 250 #25

  63. 63
    Spotlight2015 · Tom McCarthy · United States · drama, biography
    2.17

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2015 · Film Comment year-end poll 2015 #7 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2016 #7

  64. 64
    Whiplash2014 · Damien Chazelle · United States · musical, drama
    2.16

    Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner 2014 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2014 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2015 #7

  65. 65
    All We Imagine as Light2024 · Payal Kapadia · India · drama
    2.14

    Film Comment year-end poll 2024 #1 · Cannes Grand Prix winner 2024 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2024 #5

  66. 66
    You Can Count on Me2000 · Kenneth Lonergan · United States · drama
    2.13

    Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner 2000 · Sarris's annual top 10 2000 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #9

  67. 67
    City of God2002 · Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund · Brazil / France · drama, crime
    2.13

    Letterboxd Top 250 #10 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2003 #6 · Ebert's annual top 10 2002 #2

  68. 68
    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind2004 · Michel Gondry · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    2.13

    Film Comment year-end poll 2004 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #93 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #17

  69. 69
    Afternoons of Solitude2024 · Albert Serra · Spain / France / Portugal · documentary
    2.11

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2025 #1 · San Sebastián Golden Shell winner 2024 · Film Comment year-end poll 2025 #6

  70. 70
    It Was Just an Accident2025 · Jafar Panahi · Iran / France · drama
    2.09

    Palme d'Or winner 2025 · Film Comment year-end poll 2025 #4 · Criterion Collection spine #1317

  71. 71
    The Aviator2004 · Martin Scorsese · United States · biography, drama, thriller
    2.06

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2005 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2004 · Film Comment year-end poll 2004 #12

  72. 72
    Once Upon a Time in Hollywood2019 · Quentin Tarantino · United States / United Kingdom · comedy, drama, crime
    2.06

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2019 #2 · Film Comment year-end poll 2019 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2019

  73. 73
    Winter Sleep2014 · Nuri Bilge Ceylan · Turkey / Germany / France · drama
    2.00

    Palme d'Or winner 2014 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2015 #8 · Film Comment year-end poll 2014 #38

  74. 74
    Tár2022 · Todd Field · Germany / United States · drama, musical
    2.00

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2023 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2022 · Film Comment year-end poll 2022 #11

  75. 75
    Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019 · Céline Sciamma · France · drama, romance
    2.00

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #30 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2020 #3 · Letterboxd Top 250 #49

  76. 76
    Y tu mamá también2001 · Alfonso Cuarón · Mexico · drama, comedy, romance
    1.99

    Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #5 · Film Comment year-end poll 2002 #3 · Ebert's annual top 10 2002 #6

  77. 77
    Winter's Bone2010 · Debra Granik · United States · drama, crime
    1.98

    Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner 2010 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2010 · Film Comment year-end poll 2010 #6

  78. 78
    Fahrenheit 9/112004 · Michael Moore · United States · documentary
    1.97

    Palme d'Or winner 2004 · Film Comment year-end poll 2004 #15 · Sarris's annual top 10 2004 #4

  79. 79
    Gravity2013 · Alfonso Cuarón · United States / United Kingdom · drama, thriller, adventure
    1.96

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2013 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2013 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2013 #4

  80. 80
    The Grand Budapest Hotel2014 · Wes Anderson · United States / Germany · comedy, drama, adventure
    1.96

    Film Comment year-end poll 2014 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2014 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #25

  81. 81
    Mystic River2003 · Clint Eastwood · United States / Australia · mystery, thriller, crime
    1.95

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2004 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2003 #2 · Kehr's annual top 10 2003 #1

  82. 82
    Licorice Pizza2021 · Paul Thomas Anderson · United States · drama, comedy
    1.95

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2022 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2022 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2021

  83. 83
    Talk to Her2002 · Pedro Almodóvar · Spain · drama, romance
    1.93

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2003 #2 · Sarris's annual top 10 2002 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2002 #4

  84. 84
    Phantom Thread2017 · Paul Thomas Anderson · United States / United Kingdom · drama, romance
    1.92

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2018 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2017 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2018 #4

  85. 85
    Adaptation2002 · Spike Jonze · United States · comedy, drama
    1.91

    Film Comment year-end poll 2002 #2 · Sarris's annual top 10 2002 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 2002 #3

  86. 86
    Gosford Park2001 · Robert Altman · United States / Italy / United Kingdom · crime, mystery, comedy
    1.89

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 2001 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2002 #7 · Sarris's annual top 10 2001 #2

  87. 87
    Carol2015 · Todd Haynes · United Kingdom / United States · romance, drama
    1.88

    Film Comment year-end poll 2015 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2016 #2 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #14

  88. 88
    Elle2016 · Paul Verhoeven · France / Germany / Belgium · thriller
    1.88

    César Best Film winner 2017 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2016 #2 · Film Comment year-end poll 2016 #3

  89. 89
    Zodiac2007 · David Fincher · United States · thriller, crime, drama
    1.82

    Film Comment year-end poll 2007 #3 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2007 #5 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #19

  90. 90
    Pan's Labyrinth2006 · Guillermo del Toro · Mexico / Spain · fantasy, drama, war
    1.80

    Ebert's annual top 10 2006 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2007 #10 · Film Comment year-end poll 2006 #15

  91. 91
    The Wind Will Carry Us1999 · Abbas Kiarostami · Iran / France · drama
    1.77

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1999 #2 · Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #2 · Kehr's annual top 10 2000 #3

  92. 92
    Far from Heaven2002 · Todd Haynes · United States · romance, drama
    1.77

    Film Comment year-end poll 2002 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 2002 #4 · Hoberman's annual top 10 2002 #5

  93. 93
    The Class2008 · Laurent Cantet · France · drama, comedy
    1.76

    Palme d'Or winner 2008 · Film Comment year-end poll 2008 #13

  94. 94
    Synonyms2019 · Nadav Lapid · France / Israel / Germany · drama
    1.75

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 2019 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2019 #3 · Film Comment year-end poll 2019 #15

  95. 95
    Burning2018 · Lee Chang-dong · South Korea / Japan · thriller, drama
    1.74

    Film Comment year-end poll 2018 #2 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2018 #4 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2019 #10

  96. 96
    A.I. Artificial Intelligence2001 · Steven Spielberg · United States · sci-fi, drama
    1.74

    Sarris's annual top 10 2001 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2001 #5 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #61

  97. 97
    BPM (Beats per Minute)2017 · Robin Campillo · France · drama
    1.73

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 2017 · César Best Film winner 2018 · Film Comment year-end poll 2017 #19

  98. 98
    Toni Erdmann2016 · Maren Ade · Germany / Austria · drama, comedy
    1.73

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2016 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2016 #1 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #95

  99. 99
    The Square2017 · Ruben Östlund · Sweden / Germany / France · comedy, drama
    1.73

    Palme d'Or winner 2017 · Film Comment year-end poll 2017 #20

  100. 100
    Titane2021 · Julia Ducournau · France / Belgium · drama, horror
    1.73

    Palme d'Or winner 2021 · Film Comment year-end poll 2021 #20

The critics who fill out this ballot are a particular breed of viewer — the kind who will chase a Thai ghost story or a three-hour chamber drama with the same appetite most audiences save for the year's prestige releases. Film Comment's December poll is where that appetite gets tallied, and its taste leans harder toward world cinema and the auteur margins than almost any other year-end verdict. Our list keeps the poll's membership but overrules its order, and the friction between the two is the point.

The magazine behind the ballot

Film Comment is the house journal of Film at Lincoln Center, the New York institution once called the Film Society of Lincoln Center. It began in 1962 as a quarterly under the title Vision: A Journal of Film Comment, founded by Joseph Blanco, and moved to a bimonthly rhythm in late 1972. Across six decades it has been shaped by editors from Richard Corliss to Gavin Smith, and its criticism has always tilted toward cinema as an art rather than an industry. The year-end poll, which gathers contributors' picks for the season's best, has run each December since 2000; it went quiet only in 2020, when the magazine suspended print during the pandemic. What the poll represents is not box office or Oscar momentum but the collective enthusiasm of working cinephile critics.

Where cinephile taste meets the wider record

Our ranking pulls every film from those aggregate polls — 764 titles in the library — and re-sorts them by composite score across more than twenty lists, awards and polls. When a film wins on both fronts it rises fast: Parasite (2019) tops our order at a score of 5.72, and In the Mood for Love (2000), a fixture of every serious cinephile's shelf, follows right behind at #20 library-wide. The more revealing cases are where the critics' instinct runs ahead of the broad consensus our score encodes. Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) lands only at #74 by score, and Godard's late collage The Image Book (2018) trails at #198 — both rated by the wider record well below where a room of critics would place them. The poll's occasional crossover with the mainstream survives too: Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) holds #73. Read the list, then, as an argument about consensus — the critics nominated everyone here, but the numbers decide who leads.