The CBC's Eli Glasner picks the 21 best films of 2021

2021 was the year movies came back. After theatres reopened, long-delayedfranchises shook off the dust and shared theirstories. There was a desert epic, a final Bond filmstarring Daniel Craig and a host offairy tales, real and imagined, to enjoy.Here are 21 excellent films to check out.

21. Summer of Soul

The Guardian calledSummer of Soulthe best concert film ever, and it iscertainly a contender. Captured in pristine quality, Questlove's documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival which, like Woodstock,took place in 1969uncovers a powerful moment ofhealing for Black Americans, featuring funktastic performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and more.

20. Petite Maman

In the woods, an eight-year-old girl makes a new friend her mother at a younger age.Existing somewhere between a ghost story and time travel,Petite Maman isa quiet ruminationon youth and who we becomefrom the director of Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

19. The Lost Daughter

Olivia Colman is an actor with an endless range and yet her unsettling performance in The Lost Daughtermay surprise longtime fans.Maggie Gyllenhaal's directoral debut starts slowly, with Colman as an author on vacation, but what develops is an unflinching look atmotherhood.

18. No Time to Die

James Bond, family man?Daniel Craig's final outing as 007 offered up the usual buffet of boffo action and exquisite scenery, but this capstone of Craig's run was surprisingly sentimental, with a finale certain to leave fans shaken and stirred.

17. Drunken Birds

From drug cartels in Mexico to migrant workers in Quebec, director Ivan Grbovic explores the all-too-human cost of globalization in this lush look at the people caught in the middle.

16. Flee

The best animated movie of the year is a documentary about escaping Afghanistan.Putting a personal lens onthe refugee experience,FleefindsAmin Nawabirecounting his harrowing journey from his homeland to Denmark.It's about what you leave behind and the burdens you carry.

15. Jockey

A bit of a cheat because this opens in Canada in January, but ever since I watched Jockeyat TIFF, the film starring Clifton Collins Jr.has been rattling around in my head. This quiet character study about a rider afraid of being put out to pasture is the kind of independent film that's becoming a rarity.

14. Night Raiders

Night Raiders does for the Indigenous sci-fi genre what Black Panther did for Afrofuturism, with a thrilling story that reframes Canada's legacy of residential schools topowerful effect.

13. C'Mon C'Mon

All hail director Mike Mills who continues to delight with quiet cinematic miracles.Featuring the talents ofJoaquin Phoenix as a radio journalist forced to become an instant parent, C'Mon C'Mon is a film about joy, sadness and learning to listen.

12. Spencer

A thought experiment about motherhood using the world's most famous woman as a startingpoint, Spencer is daring, beautiful and brave as Kristen Stewart flings herself into a heartbreakingversion of the People's Princess.

• WATCH speaks with Kristen Stewart about becoming Diana:

11. Shiva Baby

Danielle is having a very bad day, trapped at a mourning gatheringwith her parents, extended family and her sugar daddy.A hilarious setupfrom exciting new writer/directorEmma Seligman.

10. No Ordinary Man

A documentary about transcultural icon and jazz musicianBilly Tipton, No Ordinary Man is remarkable not only for the life story it chronicles but itsstorytelling methodutilizing a range of musicians to reflect the spectrum of the trans experience.

9. West Side Story

First,it stuns you with beauty, the camera craning over a rapidly changing city. Then it surprises you with its relevance. Energized and inspired, director Steven Spielberg serves up a new vision of West Side Story with authenticity and attitude.

8. The Power of the Dog

Benedict Cumberbatch burrows deep intocharacter in thisfilm about a rough cowboy with a hidden life.From the looming landscape of Montana to the unspoken secrets hovering in the ether, director Jane Campion captivates as always.

7. Pig

A curious beast of a film,PigfindsNicolas Cage playinga scruffy, almost feral ex-chef who lives in the woods with his loyal truffle-hunting pig. When his hog is pig-napped, he's forced to confront the gastronomicworld he abandoned. Cage does devastatingdamage with his words in this film about living a life of meaning.

6. Passing

Set in 1920s Harlem, the performance of Tessa Thompson's career is just a click away on Netflix in this film about friendship, deception and desire.

5. Spider-Man: No Way Home

I went in skeptical and left satisfied. Yes, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse did the idea of parallel Earths and characters crossing over better, but No Way Home is the best live-action Spider-Man film in years.

4. Tick Tick Boom!

Andrew Garfield absolutely dazzles as Jonathan Larson, an aspiring musicalcomposerfighting for his big break. Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tick Tick Boom! bursts withBroadway loveand nimble meta moments.Bravo.

3. Nightmare Alley

God bless weirdos like Guillermo del Toro who follow their passions.After giving us skyscraper-sized robot battles and twisted fables,del Toro delightsremaking afilm noir classic with art deco glamour anda peerless performance byBradley Cooper as a con man seduced by his own abilities.

2. Beans

Mohawk directorTracey Deer lived through the Oka Crisis and took the pain and trauma she experiencedand transmuted it into a stunning coming-of-age story about a young girl discovering her strength.A radical act of empathy.

1. Dune

Dune is thefulfilmentof a journey that started many years ago with a young boy named Denis Villeneuve who fell in love with Frank Herbert'snovels. As adirector,Dunehad always been Villeneuve'sgoal. Ask him about his dream project and his eyes would light up.But Villeneuvewaited, levelling up with films like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 until he was ready and could make Dunethe way he wanted.The result isan uncompromising vision aboutfeuding families, faith and sand worms. For science fiction fans starved for new vistas and worlds to visit,Duneis a feast filled with details and drama.It may require multiple viewings forDuneto revealits secrets, but it's clear Villeneuve is just getting started.