Film

This Video Wrap-Up Of The Best Films Of 2021 Has Gone Viral, And With Good Reason

Watch it to be reminded of what cinema is capable of.

by Joseph Earp  13 January 2022
David Ehrlich drops video countdown of the best films of 2021

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year — the release of film critic David Ehrlich’s countdown of the best films of 2021.

Each January, Ehrlich — who writes for acclaimed publication Indiewire — drops the clip, which edits together key moments from his standout films with astonishing song choices. It’s an ingenious method of getting the most undersung and underseen films of the year out there, a celebration of the marvels that the moving image has to offer.

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And this year, Ehrlich has outdone himself. Opening with a montage of strange images, beautiful sounds and striking edits, the fifteen-minute long clip rushes through blockbusters, quirky classics, and indie majesties. It’s sweeping in its scope, with something to love for every type of film viewer, and a testament to Ehrlich’s voracious tastes as a film critic and film lover.

The quick-eyed amongst you will notice a whole swathe of incredible films, from the Dev Patel-starring weirdo period piece The Green Knight to Lana Wachowski’s batshit insane piece of Hollywood revisionism, The Matrix: Resurrections. Oh, and the song that starts the whole thing off? That’s one of the amazing soundtrack cuts from Anette, written and directed by Leos Carax, a totally surreal musical that features Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard and yes, the titular Anette, played by a puppet.

Oh, and there’s some social good to the video as well. “If you like these videos and want me to make another one for 2022, please consider donating to this fundraiser I’ve created in collaboration with Jane Campion — she’s selected 3 urgent non-profits that provide abortion access to women in Texas,” Ehrlich wrote in an accompanying Tweet, linking out readers to a GoFundMe campaign. Campion, Ehrlich and providing support to those in need? Seems like a pretty perfect enterprise to me.

Watch the video in full here, and be awed again at the wonders that cinema can provide.