With much anticipation for the films making an entry on Oscar nominations, we look back at the list of the best picture Oscar winners of the last decade, that truly won everyone over. From being based on a true Story to some fantasy or dark humour, previous year-winning films make for a good watch list until a new one is added this year.

Best Picture Oscar Winners of the Last Decade

2021 – CODA

CODA which stands for Child of Deaf Adults is an emotional and the first streaming platform film to take the Oscars’ top prize. It follows seventeen-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones) who is gifted with a voice that her parents can’t hear, being the sole hearing member of a deaf family.

Her life revolves around acting as an interpreter for her parents (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur) and working on the family’s struggling fishing boat every day before school with her father and older brother (Daniel Durant). But when Ruby joins her high school’s choir club, she discovers a gift for singing and finds herself drawn to her duet partner Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo).

Encouraged by her enthusiastic, tough-love choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) to apply to a prestigious music school, Ruby finds herself torn between the obligations she feels to her family and the pursuit of her own dreams. Watch this film on Apple TV+.

2020 – Nomadland

In a year when most of the world was restricted among four walls, this film came as a breath of fresh air and won us over. The story shows that following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road to explore a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad.

Apart from Best Picture, Chloé Zhao became the second woman and the first Asian American woman to win for directing, while Frances McDormand won her third best actress trophy. Watch it on Disney+ Hotstar.

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2019 – Parasite

Often tagged as a dark modern-day fairytale or a social commentary, in this film Greed and class discrimination threaten the relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan in Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar winner, which broke many records. It is the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and diverted attention to the South Korean film industry which has many gems like this.

Even this year hopes are high for another South Korean masterpiece – Decision to Leave to bag a few nominations. You can watch this 2019 film on Amazon Prime Video.

2018 – Green Book

Based on a true story, the film won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (for Mahershala Ali). The story shows when Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighbourhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on ‘The Green Book’ to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans.

Confronted with racism, and danger as well as unexpected humanity and humour, they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime. Watch this film on Amazon Prime Video.

2017 – The Shape of Water

Coming from the creative mastermind, Guillermo del Toro, the story is set during 1960s Cold War America. Trapped in an isolated life at a high-security government laboratory, Elisa, a mute maintenance worker (Sally Hawkins), discovers a top-secret experiment. From there, she begins an unexpected, transformative journey of love with an otherworldly creature.

It was the second fantasy film to win Best Picture, after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Watch it on Disney+ Hotstar.

2016 – Moonlight

Winning best-adapted screenplay & best picture, Moonlight is a timeless story of human connection and self-discovery. It chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighbourhood of Miami.

Chiron finds guidance in Juan, a drug dealer, who teaches him to carve his own path. As he grows up in Miami, Juan’s advice leaves a lasting impression on him. It shows the contemporary African-American life and a personal portrayal of identity, family, friendship, and love. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.

2015 – Spotlight

It is an investigative thriller that tells the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world.

Marking a consecutive win for the Michael Keaton starrer, Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.

2014 – Birdman

Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance is directed by Alejandro Iñárritu and tells the story of an actor (Michael Keaton), famous for portraying an iconic superhero – as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to the opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself. The film also stars Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts.

Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.

2013 – 12 Years a Slave

Winner of three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, 12 Years a Slave is the harrowing true story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York who was abducted, transported to the South, and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty by a malevolent slave owner, (portrayed by Michael Fassbender) as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive but to retain his dignity.

In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) forever alters his life. Watch this film on Netflix.

2012 – Argo

This film is also based on real events and chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis, focusing on the little-known role that the CIA and Hollywood played—information that was not declassified until many years after the event. Starring Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, and John Goodman.

Watch this film on Amazon Prime Video.

Which of the above-mentioned films did you find the best? Let us know in the comment section below.

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