The article argues that films from the 2010s should only be called masterpieces if their reputation endures beyond initial acclaim. It identifies several critically praised films that, in the author’s view, have continued to grow in stature and are likely to remain culturally significant.

– Rango: Gore Verbinski’s Oscar-winning animated Western is praised for its striking desert imagery, humour and eclectic genre influences.
– It’s Such a Beautiful Day: Don Hertzfeldt’s surreal animated feature follows a stick figure facing neurodegenerative illness, memory loss and mortality.
– Inside Llewyn Davis: The Coen Brothers’ bleak folk-music drama follows an unsuccessful singer through a cyclical week of setbacks in 1960s New York.