The Decade’s 10 Most Defining Movies (So Far)

This is an edition of Video Village , David Sims’s newsletter that unearths cinematic gems and brings readers into his movie obsession.

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Welcome to Video Village, a new space for The Atlantic ’s film-loving readers.

For this, my first edition, my editors challenged me to lay out my perspective on my own taste, so I’ve worked up a list of movies that I think define this strange decade thus far.

These are all personal favorites, yes, but this is not precisely a “best of” list; think more an atmospheric overview of how Hollywood looks and operates today, which will be a recurring theme of this newsletter.

Let’s get two of the most obvious picks out of the way: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer , whose release on the same day in July 2023—and during a strike that kneecapped Hollywood —resulted in a multibillion-dollar cultural phenomenon.

The industry has spent the following years trying its darndest to recapture that success—and to undo the coronavirus pandemic’s unprecedented effects on moviegoing as a whole.

Those movies aside, here’s a look at 10 other great films that illustrate the spirit of the 2020s.

Da 5 Bloods (2020, directed by Spike Lee): The decade kicked off with what still has been its oddest year, defined by COVID lockdowns, theaters going out of business, and the dominance of streaming services at a moment when the only way to experience good movies (for most people) was at home.

A lot of the wonderful films released that year feel like a blur; maybe the best example of a memory-holed masterpiece is Lee’s Vietnam epic, Da 5 Bloods , which I’d love to someday see on a giant screen with booming sound.

It boldly ties the failures of America’s intervention in that war to the country’s struggles since, with Delroy Lindo’s troubled vet turned MAGA patriot the chief emblem of its chaotic viewpoint.

Hopefully, this ambitious movie, whose production was similarly fascinating , will be rediscovered in the years ahead—ideally on a bigger screen than a television set.

The Worst Person in the World (2021, directed by Joachim Trier): The ultimate work of self-reflexive Millennial-core, the Norwegian director Trier’s sharp dramedy came just as some moviegoers were returning to theaters after lockdowns had frozen them in time and anxiety.

It follows Julie (played by Renate Reinsve), a witty 30-year-old who simply does not know what to do with her life.