How Many Of The ‘Best’ Films Of The 21st Century Pass The Bechdel Test?

The BBC have got critics to create a list of the best films of the 21st century. But how many pass the Bechdel Test?

How Many Of The 'Best' Films Of The 21st Century Pass The Bechdel Test?

by Jess Commons |
Published on

So, turns out Mullholland Drive is the best film of the 21st century.

According to a new survey conducted by the BBC that took the opinions of 177 critics into consideration, David Lynch's surreal noir film is the best film made since 2000.

Also in the top ten? There Will Be Blood, Spirited Away, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Tree Of Life.

My own personal feelings about Tree Of Life aside (do yourself a favour and run far away from anyone with copy on DVD), there's one really rather positive thing about this list that sticks out. See, over half the films pass the Bechdel Test.

If you're still in the dark about the Bechdel Test, it's simple manner of determining how much thought has been put into female character development. To pass, the film is required to feature two women, who have a conversation, about something other than a man.

Plenty of huge films don't pass. Things like Lord of the Rings (all three of them), every Harry Potter film except the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Run Lola Run...

Out of 102 films on this list, using the the help of BechdelTest.com, 52 pass, 39 fail, and 12 are unknown.

Here's the results.

1 Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001) Yes

2 In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000) Yes

3 There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) No

4 Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)Yes

5 Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)Yes

6 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004 No

7 The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)No

8 Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000) Unknown

9 A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011) Yes

10 Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) No

10 No Country For Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007) Yes

12 Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006) Yes

12 Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) No

14 The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012) Unknown

15 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) Yes

16 Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012) No

17 Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) No

18 The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009) Yes

19 Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) Yes

20 Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)Yes

21 The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)No

22 Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)Unknown

22 Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)Yes

24 The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)No

25 Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2001) No

26 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)No

27 The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)No

28 Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002) Yes

    30 Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)No

    31 Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011)Yes

    32 The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)No

    33 Son of Saul (László Nemes, 2015)Unknown

    33 The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) Yes

    35 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)Yes

    36 Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014)Yes

    37 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) Yes

    38 City of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002)No

    39 The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)Yes

    39 Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005) No

    41 Inside Out (Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen, 2015)Yes

    42 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)Yes

    42 Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012) Yes

    42 Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011)Yes

    45 Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)Yes

    45 Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)Yes

    45 Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014)Yes

    48 Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015) Yes

    49 Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)Unknown

      49 The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2015)Unknown

      52 Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) No

      53 Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2013)Yes

      53 Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)No

      53 Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011) No

      56 Werckmeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 2000)Unknown

      56 Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012) Yes

      58 A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)Yes

      58 Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth, 2009) Yes

      58 Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene, 2004) Unknown

      58 Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006)unknown

      58 Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013) No

      63 Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)Yes

      63 The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013) No

      63 The Turin Horse (Bela Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 2011)Unknown

      66 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (Kim Ki-duk, 2003)No

      66 The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)No

      68 Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015)Yes

      68 The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)Yes

      70 Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012)Yes

      70 Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012)Yes

      72 Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)No

      72 Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch, 2013) Yes

      74 Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012) Yes

      75 Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003) Yes

      75 Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)No

      75 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)No

      78 Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)Yes

      78 The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2003)Unknown

      78 The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)Yes

      81 A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, 2009)No

      81 A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009)No

      81 A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001)No

      81 Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) No

      81 Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)No

      86 Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)Yes

      86 Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)Yes

      88 Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, 2015)No

      89 The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008) Yes

      90 Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton, 2003)No

      90 Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)No

      90 Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)Yes

      90 Ratatouille (Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, 2007)No

      90 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)No

      90 The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)No

      90 The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009)No

      97 Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002) Yes

      97 The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000) Yes

      97 White Material (Claire Denis, 2009)Yes

      100 Carlos (Olivier Assayas, 2010) Unknown

      100 Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)Yes

      100 Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016) Yes

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      This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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