10 Anticipated Films of 2021
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
2020 is done.
It is now 2021, and we have a whole slew of films to look forward to. Naturally, a lot of releases from last year have made their way over to this one, so there is going to be some overlap between my last anticipated list (boy, did I know nothing this time last year) and what’s in store in 2021. So, I won’t be including works I already discussed in this previous article, including Dune and that Paul Thomas Anderson project that still doesn’t have a name. However, I still will have some 2020 films that I didn’t necessarily discuss before that I am super eager to see still, as well as works that were slated for 2021 from the get-go.
Also, today is January 1st, which marks the two year anniversary of the release of Films Fatale. Thank you all so much for tuning in to our articles, reviews, masterclass lessons, decades lists and the like. We have some exciting stuff in store for 2021, including an expansion of our crew, my decades project wrapping up this year (with a new list every first Monday of each month now, so we’re speeding the releases up; look forward to my Best 100 Films of the 1950’s list in a few days), and other advancements. Again, I couldn’t be more grateful to share my love of film with all of you. Thank you for letting me be able to.
On that note, I’m going to continue doing just that. Here are my ten anticipated films of 2021, in alphabetical order (I usually include tentative release dates, but I’m not going to tempt fate during a pandemic).
Babylon
La La Land has endured enough time to be slated as an overrated film by some (still recovering from its award season power) and a misunderstood homage by others. I’m in the latter category, so something like Babylon excites me greatly. If La La Land was Damien Chazelle’s answer to the Stanley Donen musical (and similar works), then Babylon is his love letter to cinema entirely. This transition from the silent era to talkies (and the Golden Age of Hollywood) sounds like it’s being made by the right filmmaker, and I cannot wait to see his throwback. Enough information is still up in the air, but I’m nonetheless enthusiastic.
Blossoms
One of the first indications of COVID-19’s wrath was the wrapping up of the set of Blossoms until further notice. Now, Wong Kar-wai’s upcoming picture is finished production and is in its post phases. With the 4K theatrical presentations of his previous films and the Criterion Collection’s commemorative boxset, the last piece of this celebratory trifecta of cinema is for Blossoms to get its eventual release to the world; who knows, maybe its release will mark the end of this awful pandemic, and come full circle. Regardless of sentimental connotation, isn’t it always the perfect time for some new Wong Kar-wai? I’d say so.
Blue Bayou
After Justin Chon began to flex his filmmaking muscles with his second directorial effort Gook, it only made sense that the actor was ready for the big time. That opportunity is Blue Bayou, in which he also stars alongside Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander (who, as far as I’m concerned, has warranted better roles since her breakthrough year of Ex Machina and The Danish Girl). This story about the possible deportation of a Korean-American who has settled down with a family sounds intriguing, and it could be the major turning point Chon deserves in his career.
The Green Knight
I feel like the never ending wait for David Lowery’s The Green Knight is comeuppance for forgetting to put this film on my 2020 list. How could I not have remembered to include this film the first time? Well, I’m not messing up this second chance. The killer cast (including an adventurous Dev Patel who is in a new, exciting stage of his career) is promising enough, but Lowery’s uncompromising vision is the real deal here. I’m dying to see this auteur get completely unhinged, especially after something as minimally heartbreaking as A Ghost Story. Hopefully The Green Knight finally gets delivered this year: I can’t take it anymore.
The French Dispatch
Another film I goofed on by forgetting is Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. I feel like the idiosyncratic filmmaker has entered a new wave of his filmography ever since The Grand Budapest Hotel: as if he has included a sense of poignancy and a legitimate dramatic heft to his works ever since (see Isle of Dogs for his most moving picture thus far). The French Dispatch feels like it could be a continuation of this hot streak, and I’m champing at the bit to know what compelling Anderson feels like (if I’m right in predicting how the film will play out). The initial trailer for this film included some crazy camera shots and positions that feel like Wes Anderson has evolved as a pop-up picture book director, and that can only mean great things.
Judas and the Black Messiah
Shaka King’s upcoming story of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton (of the Illinois chapter) feels like it will be one of the more gripping works of 2021. You have the dynamic tandem of Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield (who also worked together in Get Out), which is already all I personally need to watch this film (two of our generation’s finest actors is a deal). The complex life of Hampton is another major selling point (I recommend watching the brilliant documentary The Murder of Fred Hampton as your history lesson before getting into this feature film).
Luca
Pixar has been incredibly hit-or-miss the last decade (such hits include Toy Story 3, Inside Out, and the recently released Soul, so I’m hardly complaining). Luca feels like another possible success, but the main draw for me is how the film feels like a return to Pixar’s more explorative side (outside of Pete Docter’s existential evaluations, of course). A lot of film analysts have already picked up major Call Me By Your Name vibes from the released material (the name “Luca” might be a coincidence, but who knows anymore), and having Pixar place you in its version of the seas of Italy is already music to my ears. Toss in the intriguing sea monster plot line, and I have to know more.
The Northman
So, Robert Eggers is making a new picture after the fantastic releases of The Lighthouse and The Witch? Okay. He’s going to Iceland to tell tales of Amleth? Nice. He’s got a strong cast including friends Willem Dafoe and Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as newcomers like Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman and Ethan Hawke? Interesting. He’s been the first director in nearly twenty years to bring Björk back to the big screen? Say no more. Knowing the details of his past works and the mind blowing adventures he’s capable of taking us on, I need little else to get me to see The Northman the literal minute it comes out. It could be further proof that Eggers is one of the great American directors of our time.
The Power of the Dog
We haven’t seen a feature film by Jane Campion since the great Bright Star (although she has been killing it on television with her Top of the Lake series). Campion is one of the greatest revivalists of older eras in history, thanks to her meticulously crafted period dramas. Seeing what she can do with an acclaimed text, like Thomas Savage’s The Power of the Dog, is enough to draw me in. From the cast to the Netflix distribution, it seems like Campion might have been given carte blanche to do whatever she feels like with a large vision, and she fully deserves this opportunity.
The Stars At Noon
I can’t say no to new Claire Denis films. We last saw her English language debut with High Life, which was a jaw dropping science fiction arthouse gem. It looks like she’s going for round two with The Stars At Noon; she’s even working with Robert Pattinson again on this upcoming feature. The plot reeks of deception and anxiety. I love poetic Denis works, but I also live when she’s testing political, societal and mental limits (like in White Material), so I look forward to her unique perspective on tension this time around.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.