griggs's - Favourite 2021 Films List

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"Shiva Baby" is a darkly playful comedy of chaos about a young bisexual woman grappling with tradition and independence over the course of one climactic day-long shiva, a Jewish gathering of friends and family during a time of mourning.

A highlight of 2020's Toronto International Film Festival and SXSW, and featuring a standout lead performance from emerging actor-comedian Rachel Sennott, the acclaimed feature debut from writer-director Emma Seligman is bold, modern filmmaking at it's most daring, hilarious and unforgettable.

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Enid (Niamh Algar / Beau Gadsdon) is a film censor during Britain's infamous 'video nasty' era of the 80s.

After her latest viewing has a disturbingly familiar storyline, she attempts to solve the past mystery of her sister's disappearance and embarks on a quest that dissolves the line between fiction and reality.

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Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) has made a mint selling off the assets of the dozens of senior citizens who are trapped in her permanent care.

She and her partner Fran (Eiza González) stumble upon a veritable golden goose in the form of Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), a mark with no apparent family or debt, only a tidy fortune to be mined. However, while their scam is underway, Marla and Fran discover that Ms. Peterson is not who they thought she was, and that their actions have disturbed the designs of a crime lord (Peter Dinklage), who will stop at nothing to protect his mother.

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'Petite Maman' is a sublime modern fairytale about the quiet wonder of mother-daughter relationships. After the death of her beloved grandmother (Margot Abascal), eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) meets a mysterious friend in the woods.

Together they embark on a fantastical journey of discovery which helps Nelly come to terms with this newfound loss. Celine Sciamma's new masterwork examines childhood, memory and loss with a typically delicate touch, elegantly weaved together into an enchanting and moving depiction of love and acceptance.

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After nearly losing her life in a horrible car accident, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle / Adèle Guigue) has been living with a high-purity, medical-grade titanium alloy implant firmly fixed to her skull.

And ten challenging years after her extensive cranioplasty, Alexia is now a silently violent go-go dancer at underground automotive shows. But life is unpredictable - instead of being put off by cars, Alexia has developed a bizarre fetishistic fascination with automobiles. In the meantime, as a spate of grisly homicides terrorises the city, fire chief Vincent (Vincent Lindon) unexpectedly reunites with his long-lost son, Adrien (also Agathe Rousselle). But time changes people - after all, the boy has been missing for a decade. Without a doubt, everything has its time, and now it's time to draw the final curtain. Who is the bruised, taciturn stranger that demands a place in Vincent's tender heart?

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There is a philosophical theory that we should be born with a small amount of alcohol in our blood; that modest inebriation opens our minds to the world around us diminishing problems and increasing creativity.

Intrigued Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) and three of his friends all weary high school teachers, embark on a risky experiment to maintain a constant level of intoxication throughout the workday. Initial results are positive, but as the units are knocked back and stakes are raised, it becomes increasingly clear that some bold acts carry severe consequences.

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Guled (Omar Abdi) and Nasra (Yasmin Warsame) are a loving couple, living in the outskirts of Djibouti city with their teenage son Mahad (Kadar Abdoul-Aziz Ibrahim). However they are facing difficult times: Nasra urgently needs an expensive operation to treat chronic kidney disease.

Guled is already working hard as a gravedigger to make ends meet: how will they find the money to save Nasra and can they keep the family together?

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Following the closure of a gypsum mine in the Nevada town she calls home, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road in this "exquisite film" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).

Exploring an unconventional life as a modern-day nomad, Fern discovers a resilience and resourcefulness unlike any she's known before long the way, she meets other nomads who become mentors in the vast landscape of the American West.

An audacious, genre-defying mix of horror and folklore, 'Lamb' is the debut feature from Icelandic writer-director Valdimar Johannsson. A couple on a remote sheep farm find a mysterious newborn and decide to raise it as their own, but soon face the consequences of defying the will of nature.

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Nicolas Cage takes on a set of violent animatronic amusement park mascots in this action packed, nail-biting tale of terror that will take you on the ride of your life! Stranded in a remote town with a car that won't work and no way to pay the local repair shop, The Janitor (Nicolas Cage -

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse) agrees to spend the night in an abandoned theme park full of animatronic characters that were once a joy to the kids of the town, but now hold a dark secret. As night falls, these once happy mascots come to life and they're out for blood. Survive at any cost, it's only one night!