How many of the 'best' films of the 21st century pass the Bechdel Test?

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.

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…

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

9 A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011) Yes

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

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

12 Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006) Yes

13 Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) No

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

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

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

29 WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)No

30 Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)No

33 Son of Saul (László Nemes, 2015)Unknown

34 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

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

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

43 Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012) Yes

44 Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011)Yes

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

46 Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)Yes

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

50 Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)Yes

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

52 Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) No

53 Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2013)Yes

54 Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)No

57 Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012) Yes

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

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

60 Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene, 2004) Unknown

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

64 The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013) No

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

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

67 The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)No

68 Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015)Yes

69 The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)Yes

72 Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)No

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

74 Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012) Yes

75 Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003) Yes

76 Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)No

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

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

81 A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, 2009)No

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

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

84 Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) No

87 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

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

92 Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)Yes

95 The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)No

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

97 Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002) Yes

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

99 White Material (Claire Denis, 2009)Yes

100 Carlos (Olivier Assayas, 2010) Unknown

This article was originally published on The DeBrief

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