50 Most Edifying Films of the 21st Century So Far

We’re now 25 years into this century. Over this period, thousands of movies have come and gone—most of them forgotten. But some have lingered. Some are worth revisiting.

I’ve been writing movie reviews from a Christian perspective for 24 of the last 25 years, and I’ve seen many great movies that have enriched my faith. Some films I’ve loved because they directly engaged theological ideas or spurred me on in my Christian faith. Others enriched me simply because of their common-grace beauty, goodness, and truth.

This list is a way to reflect on the most enduring and edifying films of the century so far—hopefully steering you toward a handful of films you may have missed but will be blessed by.

In curating this list, I set two rules for myself:

• No R-rated movies. I want this to be a resource most Christian families can use without worrying too much about objectionable content. All 50 movies below are rated PG-13 or lower. Still, some won’t be appropriate for all viewers, so use discernment and consult online content guides as needed.
• At least one movie from every year of the century. Bias toward the recent past can mean we forget gems from further back. So I included at least one movie from every year since 2000.

You’ll find an array of film types: arthouse, blockbuster, comedy, drama, animated, international, documentary, and a lot more. What they share is an excellence that edifies, leaving us not scandalized or depressed (as so many heralded movies do) but enriched and inspired. I hope they’ll inspire you too.

50 Edifying Films Released in the Last 25 Years

50. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Dean Fleischer Camp, 2022). Yes, this is a movie about a stop-motion-animated, one-inch talking shell. Yes, it’s cute and funny. But it’s also surprisingly insightful in its pondering of death, joy, friendship, family, and even social media. A fun and smart film for the whole family. Rent on Amazon.

49. Selma (Ava DuVernay, 2014). Featuring a strong central performance by David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr., Selma depicts the events surrounding the 1965 Selma marches to protest racial injustice and support voting rights. It’s a valuable film not only in its depiction of important American history but also as a reminder that Christian faith stands resolutely opposed to racism in theory and in practice. Watch on Paramount+.

48. Warrior (Gavin O’Connor, 2011). On the surface, this film is about two MMA wrestler brothers, played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. But really, Warrior is about family reconciliation, forgiveness, and fighting for what matters most. Think The Iron Claw but much more redemptive and hopeful. Watch on Peacock.

47. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (Marc Rothemund, 2005). A harrowing but inspiring depiction of Christian conviction and martyrdom, Sophie Scholl tells the true story of young members of the German resistance whose faith inspired them to resist the Nazi regime, at great cost. Rent on Amazon.

46. Hail, Caesar! (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2016). From the hilarious “clergy consultants” scene to the various other nods to Judeo-Christianity throughout the film (“Divine presence to be shot later,” “A Tale of the Christ,”), the Coen brothers’ film is more than a send-up of Hollywood’s golden age. Like so many other of the brothers’ movies, it has God and faith firmly in view. Rent on Amazon.

45. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012). One of the better documentaries this century, Sarah Polley’s memoir explores the elusive truth of her family history. She makes keen observations about the unreliability of memory, how history is narrated, and the ways we’re shaped—for good and ill—by stories told to us, about us, and by us. Rent on Amazon.

44. Philomena (Stephen Frears, 2013). Judi Dench shines as Philomena Lee, a woman searching for the son she was forced to give up 50 years prior. Costarring Steve Coogan as a cynical journalist, Philomena presents a compelling vision of the liberating power of forgiveness in the wake of a grievous injustice. Rent on Amazon.

43. Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass, 2013). Paul Greengrass’s talents at choreographing tense action sequences (see also United 93) are on full display in Captain Phillips. The film, which tells the true story of the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of a Maersk shipping vessel, also features what’s arguably one of Tom Hanks’s best acting performances of the century. Rent on Amazon.

42. The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2003). This contemporary Russian drama follows two boys whose father suddenly returns home after a 12-year absence. The three embark on a fishing trip together, which becomes a forum for rocky reconciliation, reconnection, and ultimately sacrificial love. Rent on Amazon.

41. Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan, 2000). A few Shyamalan movies could have made this list (Signs or The Village especially), but Unbreakable stands out not just because of how elegantly it’s made but because of how tenderly it celebrates the bond between fathers and sons. Watch on Hulu.

40. Dick Johnson Is Dead (Kirsten Johnson, 2020). There are only a few documentaries on this list, but I had to include Dick Johnson Is Dead for its originality in form and its thematic depths. This quirky movie is full of gallows humor, but it’s also a thoughtful look at how we grapple with aging loved ones and the universal nearness of death. Watch on Netflix.

39. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000). This sprawling family drama from the late Taiwanese director Edward Yang is a masterpiece of wonder in the mundane rhythms of life—Tokyo Story but set in Taipei. Set over one year, the film celebrates the bonds that make us and the everyday drama—ups, downs, beginnings, endings—that define us. Rent on Amazon.

38. Old Joy (Kelly Reichardt, 2006). Since her breakout film Old Joy, celebrated indie filmmaker Kelly Reichardt has carved out a niche for herself as an auteur of slow-burn, existential, PNW-set cinema. In Old Joy, she examines the tender fragility of male friendship and how it changes as adulthood replaces the adventures of youth. Watch on Max.

37. Lars and the Real Girl (Craig Gillespie, 2007). Featuring Ryan Gosling in an early breakout role, Lars and the Real Girl contains profound insights about our human longing for connection and community. Church culture and Christian community actually come off well in this film, which shows the beauty of how a community of grace can help broken individuals within it heal and grow. Watch on Prime Video.

36. Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009). This historical romance is set in the final three years of the poet John Keats’s life, when he found the love (and creative muse) of his life in Fanny Brawne yet didn’t live long enough to marry her. For poets and literary types, but also Romantics and appreciators of beauty, this film is a must-see. Rent on Amazon.

35. The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004). In a century overstuffed with superhero movies that have all started to blend together, The Incredibles stands out. Massively entertaining for viewers of every age, this entry in the Pixar pantheon is both a barrel of retrofuturistic fun and a winning celebration of the nuclear family. Watch on Hulu.

34. Columbus (Kogonada, 2017). Kogonoda got his start as a talented video essayist, but Columbus put him on the map as a major feature filmmaker. Set in the unlikely architectural hub of Columbus, Indiana, the film invites viewers to look closer at the everyday beauty around them. It’s “slow cinema” at its attentive best. Rent on Amazon.

33. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Werner Herzog, 2010). The eccentric Werner Herzog has a way of drawing out the weird and wonderful mysteries of the subjects he covers in documentaries. Cave of Forgotten Dreams is characteristically mesmerizing and curious, probing the meaning of the famous cave painting in France’s Chauvet Cave in a way that raises big questions about the culture-making impulse ingrained in humanity. Watch on Pluto TV.

32. Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019). In the talented hands of Greta Gerwig, Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel received a faithful but fresh adaptation. Featuring sharp performances from some of today’s best young actors—Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh—the film breathes new life into a romantic classic. Rent on Amazon.

31. O.J.: Made in America (Ezra Edelman, 2016). For my money, this sprawling eight-hour ESPN film is the best documentary of the 21st century. And it’s the definitive chronicle of one of the defining American history moments of the 20th century. It’s about race in America, a changing media landscape, sports, celebrities, Los Angeles, and so much more. Watch on Hulu.

30. Juror #2 (Clint Eastwood, 2024). Clint Eastwood’s best film this century is also his most recent film. It’s a riveting courtroom drama that presents two leading characters with a critical moral choice: tell the truth (even if it costs you) or obscure the truth for some “greater good” justification. Watch on Max.

29. The Salt of the Earth (Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders, 2014). Wim Wenders’s documentary about Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado is a beautiful celebration of how art can bring healing, hope, and dignity to suffering. Rent on Amazon.

28. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik, 2018). This quietly devastating father-daughter drama follows a military veteran with PTSD who lives as a survivalist in an Oregon forest along with his teenage daughter. The film celebrates familial love and devotion, even as it examines a broken situation where a parent struggles to sufficiently protect a child. Rent on Amazon.

27. 1917 (Sam Mendes 2019). From a filmmaking perspective, 1917’s “one long shot” narrative conceit is certainly a feat and an immersive marvel. But the heart of this film is its rousing call to sacrificial duty: making the best use of your time for purposes bigger than yourself. Watch on Netflix.

26. The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023). A few years removed, this film’s potency still sticks. The concept is radical: a Holocaust movie where we don’t see but only hear the horror, with the on-screen drama focused on the mundane lives of a Nazi officer and his family just over the barbed-wire wall from a concentration camp. It’s provocative as an examination of evil’s frequently quotidian shape. Watch on Max.

25. Belfast (Kenneth Branagh, 2021). The sehnsucht longing for “home”—that ever-fluid, ever-fragile concept—is on full display in Belfast. Set amid the 1960s Northern Irish “Troubles,” the film centers on the stable love of a nuclear family as the world around them seems to fall apart. Watch on Peacock.

24. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, 2018). In a quarter century that saw the revival of superhero movies and comic-book cinematic universes, countless entries have become forgettable. But this animated installment in the Spider-Man franchise is memorable—not just because it features some of the century’s best animation but also because, as Joe Carter points out, it’s “a deeply moral movie.” Rent on Amazon.

23. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001). Born out of a concept from Stanley Kubrick, Spielberg’s exploration of artificial intelligence provided prescient food for thought at the turn of the century—not just about robot intelligence but also about the nature of family and the inadvertent ways our technological interventions to “make a family” can backfire. Watch on Paramount+.

22. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012). Wes Anderson’s whimsical hipster aesthetic isn’t for everyone, but it works in this film. Anderson tells a colorful coming-of-age story about children testing their mettle in the domesticated wilds of scout camp. Retro, nostalgic, and surprisingly profound, the film uncannily inhabits the playful wonder of childhood. Rent on Amazon.

21. Minari (Lee Isaac Chung, 2020). Lee Isaac Chung’s Christian faith is evident in all his films, even as it isn’t the focal point. Minari is a semi-autobiographical movie about one Korean family’s immigrant experience in the Bible Belt. It portrays Christians, churches, and faith as quirky but valuable as a grounding force in a world of challenges and change. Rent on Amazon.

20. Friday Night Lights (Peter Berg, 2004). Though the spinoff TV series ultimately surpassed it in quality and cultural influence, the original film—based on the H. G. Bissinger book—is excellent and worth revisiting or watching for the first time. The film’s performances and distinct style (handheld docu-style photography, Explosions in the Sky soundtrack) elevated the film far above the average high school sports saga. Watch on Amazon Prime.

19. Amazing Grace (Michael Apted, 2006). One of this century’s most overtly “appreciative of Christianity” movies is this historical chronicle of William Wilberforce’s campaign to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire. Among other merits, the film features a memorable performance by Albert Finney as “Amazing Grace” hymn writer John Newton. Watch on Amazon Prime.

18. Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008). From acclaimed French director Olivier Assayas, this Musée d’Orsay–funded film features adult children grappling with the death of a parent. Elegant, slow, observational, and supremely beautiful, Summer Hours is one of the century’s most artful and subtly powerful films. Watch on AMC+.

17. Still Walking (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2008). This Japanese film would make a lovely double feature with Summer Hours. It’s also about multiple generations of family spending time together in mundane moments, recognizing what changes and stays the same as relationships progress and time presses on. Nothing too “dramatic” happens, as with Summer Hours, but both films feel marvelously attuned to the beautiful mystery of life. Watch on Amazon Prime.

16. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005). Malick’s take on John Smith and Pocahontas is characteristically unconventional—more interested in sensory lyricism than traditional “plot.” This is clear from the film’s memorable opening scene, where the prelude of Wagner’s Das Rheingold provides the soundtrack to the dawn of a civilizational clash between worlds old and new. Unconventional, yes. But also sublime. Rent on Amazon.

15. Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023). In a modern world where self-indulgence is more common than self-denial, and abandoning commitments to “follow your heart” is grievously esteemed, Past Lives is a refreshing and countercultural romance. It finds elegant beauty in virtue, restraint, and fidelity in a manner that feels all too rare. Watch on Paramount+.

14. Paddington (Paul King, 2014), Paddington 2 (Paul King, 2017), and Paddington in Peru (Dougal Wilson, 2025). Technically, the third film in this franchise released in early 2025, but I’m going to count this trio of films as one entry. Certainly this is the most endearing, delightful, family-friendly cinematic trilogy of the century so far. It feels as old-school and elegant as it does silly and sweet. Watch on Max, rent on Amazon, and watch in theaters.

13. The Eight Mountains (Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, 2023). This Italian-language film, featuring a haunting Nordic-folk soundtrack from Daniel Norgren, is both visually beautiful (set in the Italian Alps) and thematically rich. It’s about the complexities of male friendship, fathers and sons, and the way our paths through life can converge and diverge with those we love. Rent on Amazon.

12. The Lost City of Z (James Gray, 2016). I’m a sucker for father-son adventure stories, especially set in bygone eras when daring jungle explorations and frontier bravery were marks of manly virtue. In the hand of James Gray—one of the best American directors to emerge this century—this story is more than just adventurous; it also captures humanity’s innate spiritual ache. Watch on Amazon Prime.

11. Up (Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson, 2009). When parents first watched Up with their kids, the opening sequence—showing a married couple’s love story unfold in less than 10 minutes—had grown adults weeping. The rest of the movie is great too, but that opening captures the best of peak Pixar: whimsically animated storytelling built on a foundation of classical virtues. Watch on Hulu.

10. A Quiet Place (John Krasinski, 2018). Though I also recommend the other two films in this franchise, the original stands out as a fantastic alien thriller and as one of the best, most family-affirming films of the century, period. The scares, the emotion, the familial love and sacrifice on display . . . it’s the best of cinema. Watch on Paramount+.

9. Of Gods and Men (Xavier Beauvois, 2010). This beautiful French film depicts the true story of nine Cistercian monks in Algeria whose faithful desire to minister in a dangerous part of the world ultimately cost them their lives. A wordless “last supper” scene near the film’s end—as Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” plays—is especially transcendent and unforgettable. Rent on Amazon.

8. Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015). This old-fashioned, girl-meets-boy romance feels like a relic in today’s movie landscape of transgressive gender confusion and sexual deviancy. But that’s not the only thing going for it. The film is also a thoughtful reflection on the liminal immigrant experience and the spiritual tug of elusive “home.” Watch on Hulu.

7. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017). The way Nolan’s narrative threads spiral, tighter and tighter in tension, until a climactic point of release—a glassy-eyed Kenneth Branagh recognizing “home,” as unexpected grace arrives—is simply a master class of cinematic grandeur. Rent on Amazon.

6. The Kid with a Bike (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2011). There are about seven Dardenne brothers’ movies I could have included on this list. The Kid with a Bike makes the cut because it so beautifully captures the power of grace, the theological potency of adoption, and God’s heart for vulnerable children. Bonus points for one of the best cinematic uses of classical music (Beethoven) I’ve seen. Rent on Amazon.

5. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003). Peter Jackson’s trilogy ranks high among the best cinematic trilogies of all time. Certainly it’s the top one of the 21st century. If you haven’t yet seen these, carve out a weekend (or a few weekends!) to experience Tolkien’s epic tale on the biggest-screen TV you can find. Watch on Max.

4. Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, 2016). Every time I show this film to a class or film discussion group, it sparks meaningful conversation. The film is brilliant in form and content: narratively compelling, full of beautiful sound and images, and most of all provocative in the theological and philosophical questions it ponders. Rent on Amazon.

3. A Hidden Life (Terrence Malick, 2019). I stand by my original review, which called Malick’s film a “faith-based masterpiece.” The true story of an Austrian Christian’s resistance to Nazism during World War II, A Hidden Life is theologically rich in content and also takes on a prayerful, liturgical form. Hauntingly beautiful from start to finish. Rent on Amazon.

2. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003). More than just the ultimate Dad movie, Peter Weir’s Napoleonic wartime saga is an elegant expression of bygone virtues: gallant masculinity instead of “toxic” masculinity, warrior-poet renaissance men as proficient with Mozart’s violin concertos as with naval gunnery, and sacrificial service for the protection of home. Rent on Amazon.

1. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011). I’ve called it the best Christian film ever made, and so far this century the only other film that could come close to claiming that title is also a Malick film (A Hidden Life). It’s unconventional (to say the least), and it might leave you perplexed on first viewing. But like most great art, Tree of Life’s wealth of wisdom and beauty isn’t always low-hanging fruit—it’s found further up and further in, new riches with each viewing. Rent on Amazon.