Andrey Zvyagintsev’s The Return earns a prestigious spot among the century’s best
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s drama The Return earned two awards at the Venice Film Festival and later secured a place in The Hollywood Reporter’s list of the 50 best films of the 21st century. The film was ranked 32nd on this influential ballot, which reflects a broad consensus among critics who evaluated works released between 2000 and 2021. The selection emphasizes what critics considered steady, enduring merit across two core criteria: an expert accord on inclusion and adherence to a defined release window, ensuring the list reflects modern cinema rather than a longer historical sweep.
Within the Top 50, The Return sits alongside other celebrated titles that helped shape early 21st‑century cinema. Notable entries include Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love, Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Jordan Peele’s Get Out, and Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, each illustrating a diverse range of storytelling, performance, and visual innovation that resonated with contemporary audiences and critics alike.
Looking at the top tier of the ranking, several iconic works stand out. Edward Yang’s Yi Yi leads the list, followed by the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, a contribution that blends music, mood, and character with quiet depth. Agnes Varda’s The Gleaners and I appears as a landmark in documentary-driven personal cinema, while David Fincher’s Zodiac and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive further demonstrate the breadth of genre experimentation and stylistic risk celebrated in the era. Together, these selections illustrate a cinematic landscape that values personal vision, technical craft, and cultural resonance as much as mainstream popularity.
For audiences in Canada and the United States, the ranking highlights titles that continue to inform contemporary film discourse, influence emerging filmmakers, and spark ongoing conversations about genre boundaries, narrative clarity, and thematic ambition. The Return, with its restrained pacing, stark landscapes, and emotionally precise performances, exemplifies how a film can achieve lasting impact through careful storytelling choices rather than blockbuster scope. Critics note that such films invite repeated viewing, inviting audiences to unpack subtle emotional currents, visual motifs, and moral tensions that reveal themselves anew with each viewing.
In reflecting on this curated list, it becomes clear that the 21st century has seen cinema expand in both scope and sensitivity. The included titles demonstrate how directors from different regions and cultural backgrounds contribute to a global cinematic dialogue. The Return stands as a touchstone within that dialogue, offering a quiet, piercing examination of family, memory, and the ambiguous spaces between trust and doubt. The ranking honors works that balance artistry with accessible storytelling, inviting viewers to engage deeply while remaining open to surprise and interpretation. The result is a portrait of modern cinema that rewards patient viewing, attentive analysis, and ongoing discussion among critics, scholars, and fans alike.