Hey, everyone. This post is part of @cinetv's CineTV Contest: Your Favorite Movie(s) From 2021.

Now, to be honest, 2021 wasn't an overall impressive year for me going to the movies as most movies seemed slightly above average. However, on the other side, there were two films that I watched that happened to really impress me and I have gone back to watch them a few times since. Including one time ahead of this post to pick one but I ended up going with both.

So, without further ado, here are my 2 favorite films from 2021

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Listening to Kenny G

Listening to Kenny G is a documentary directed by Penny Lane, who previously directed another documentary I watched called "Hail Satan?". This movie is an exploration of the popular instrumentalist Kenny G. It goes deep into what's special about him and how come people like him so much.

What I Liked About The Movie

With a simple premise like that, you wouldn't expect a lot from the movie. But, it was so much more than just that.

The movie dives into the world of music criticism. Why do people love Kenny G? Why do people hate Kenny G? And how does that relate to Kenny G himself as a person and a musician.

You get to see both sides of the coin as well as an in-depth look at the reasoning behind each feeling. And it is also done in a rather humorous and informative fashion. It provided me with laughter and some thought-provoking ideas.

It was the kind of documentary that covers a perfect subject to make a documentary about as the character in question, Kenny G, is an interesting man himself as he is a rather colorful person to listen to while he was interviewed in the movie.

Critics are also interviewed and they had amazingly put-together skating, often hilarious criticism of Kenny G. Each person interviewed had charisma and character.

I left the movie challenging my own perception and the way I view Kenny G himself, as well as musicians/singers in general. I was even challenging my own perception of movies.

This comes with intelligent commentary on genre and insights into the music industry. There's also a surprising amount of information that was an interesting surprise for me to learn.

Finally, not knowing Kenny G won't affect your viewing of this movie so don't let the fact that you don't know him or even care about him prevent you from watching it. It is a very well-shot, edited, and produced documentary.

The Worst Person in the World

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While Listening to Kenny G was a great documentary, when it comes to the full-featured film, my pick is this Norwegian romantic drama.

The Worst Person in the World was directed by Joachim Trier. It is the third of what he considers a thematic trilogy with Reprise and Osla Agust 31st. The other two were also enjoyable to watch, they're unrelated to this, so, you don't need to watch ahead of this one.

I never thought there will come a day when a romantic movie would be my favorite of the year, but here we are.

The Worst Person in the World shows you an indecisive woman dealing with her day-to-day life and how it relates to future decisions.

What I Liked About This Film

First of all, the performance of the lead cast was a joy to watch. After all, Renate Reinsve won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in this film.

The film provides a great character study with the lead role being some kind of a narcissist in an honest and real fashion. There's always the feeling that each decision makes sense to who she is. It's almost like a puzzle and each piece fits perfectly and is not forced.

The film is shot beautifully capturing the general feeling of the film in a mesmerizing fashion. Some of the shots were ones I repeated while watching the movie because I couldn't wait for the movie to finish to rewatch them.

The film is also heavily organized, which is impressive considering how chaotic it seems on the outside. It shows itself as having a prologue, 12 chapters, and an epilogue. A whole complex journey that you find yourself diving into. It is well structured that it doesn't even feel like it is 2 hours long.

The greatest part of the movie for me was the prologue. For me, a movie is as good as its beginning, and this film has just that. All information delivered was done so in an entertaining fashion with great energy.

It does take a rather cliche turn toward the end, but it doesn't ruin the movie a bit for me as it remains a joy to watch as it was funny and meaningful.

The End

Both movies get a strong 8 out of 10 from me with Listening to Kenny G edging ever so slightly above as it had the better ending. But, overall, I still believe both are worth a watch. Please don't let one being a documentary while the other being Norwigan prevent you from watching both/either.