Best MUBI Movie Exclusives From 2021 (2024)

In 2007, Efe Cakarel decided to create a new streaming platform, MUBI, after being unable to watch Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece In the Mood For Love online. Now, MUBI has a huge collection of wonderful, hand-picked cinema and introduces a new film every single day, some of which you may not be able to find anywhere else. They began exclusively distributing new releases roughly five years ago, and have built their library of MUBI exclusives (akin to a Netflix original movie) into an incredible collection of films, especially over the past few years.

From a South Korean story about the loneliness of urban life to an Argentine absurdist drama, here are some of the best exclusive films MUBI released in 2021, ranked.

8 Aloners

South Korean director Hong Sung-eun’s notable feature debut, Aloners, centers on a young woman, Jina (played by Gong Seung-yeon, one of the best Asian newcomers), who leads a solitary existence until the death of a lonely neighbor leads her to question her life. Hong opened up to Variety about the inspiration behind Aloners, saying, "One day, I chanced upon a documentary about lonely death and ended up crying profusely for no reason. It made me rethink the idea of living alone as the realization of dying alone was scary. Jina is the character that encapsulates all of these thoughts". Aloners is a sensitive and personal film from a director to watch.

Related: Best South Korean Movies of the 2010s, Ranked

7 Moneyboys

A graduate of the Vienna film academy, where he studied under Michael Haneke, C. B. Yi made a rare film about contemporary gay life in his homeland, China. His first feature, Moneyboys, tells the story of the young sex worker Fei (played by Taiwanese teen idol Kai Ko) whose family gratefully receives his money but don't accept his hom*osexuality. Visually captivating, melancholic, and tender, Moneyboys is one of the best dramas with Asian LGBTQ+ characters.

6 The Tale of King Crab

The fiction feature debut of two Italian documentarians, Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, The Tale of King Crab, explores the adventures of a bizarre figure from local legend, a 19th-century Italy drunkard named Luciano (Gabriele Silli). This bold folktale gives us two episodes in the life of Luciano — the first one tells about Luciano’s forbidden love and something destructive he commits; the second one shows how he is hunting for treasure with the help of a king crab. Those who look for unique, fantastical storytelling will like The Tale of King Crab.

5 Mariner of the Mountains

Mariner of the Mountains is a dreamy and cinematic journey made in search of origins. Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz takes us to Algeria, the country from which his estranged father emigrated. Aïnouz narrates Mariner of the Mountains as a letter to his recently deceased mother, whom he had hoped to visit Algeria with. A poetic essay on the filmmaker’s family history, this documentary also draws a vivid portrait of the country where Aïnouz goes for the first time.

4 Wet Sand

Described by the director of the film, Elene Naveriani, as "a homage to the forgotten people, a struggle against bigotry, an act of empowerment for generations struggling with their identity," Wet Sand recounts a love story between a LGBTIQ+ Romeo and Juliet who live in secret for decades. The drama is set in a small village in Georgia where a local strange one, Eliko, dies by suicide. His secret lover of the last 22 years, Amnon (Gia Agumava), and granddaughter Moe (Bebe Sesitashvili) organize a funeral. Heartbreaking and brave, Wet Sand forces the viewer to take a stand.

3 White Building

Selected as the Cambodian submission for the Best International Feature Film category of the 2022 Academy Award, this soulful feature debut from Kavich Neang takes us to the real-life White Building, the sort of teeming anthill of humanity that has become a cultural landmark of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The film centers on young aspiring hip hop dancer Samnang (played by Piseth Chhun, who won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival Horizons selection for White Building role) living in this apartment building with his family for generations. White Building is about Samnang’s coming of age when his home is scheduled to be demolished. It is a beautiful tale of youthful dreams and melancholy in Southeast Asia.

2 Between Two Dawns

Between Two Dawns is an astonishingly assured debut from a new voice in world cinema, Turkish director Selman Nacar. This social drama centers on young Kadir (played by Mücahit Koçak) managing his family’s textile factory. After a grievous workplace incident, Kadir faces a moral dilemma. Nacar told Cineuropa, "I wanted to see the psychology of my character in a short amount of time... The battle between law, ethics and justice." This battle turned out to be heart-wrenching, realistic, and definitely worth watching.

Related: These Are Some of the Best International or Foreign Movies on Netflix

1 The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet

Argentine filmmaker Ana Katz’s modern black and white film, The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet, centers on a 30-something laid-back protagonist, Sebastian (Daniel Katz, the director’s brother), and his silent dog as they are navigating a chaotic world. The absurdist drama deals with the changes in Sebastian’s life, including a series of temporary jobs and a meteorite falling to Earth. "It’s a film that has an interesting, loopy conception of time — seemingly aimless dialogue scenes are played out in full, then years pass in the blink of an eye — and, in its own gentle, unhurried way, does a remarkable thing of encapsulating all human life (births, deaths, love, family, jobs) in just 73 minutes", Empire stated.