Take us on an indelible tour through the highest and lowest points of the human experience.

There is never a shortage of options if you're looking for an intimate foreign drama about family bonds. But the eloquent insights of director Claire Denis stand alone.

This animated documentary, from former Israeli soldier Ari Folman, blends both tactics to devastating effect. Perhaps only animation could give us the distance that makes his subject bearable: the personal cost of his own participation in the 1982 Lebanon War.

Steven Spielberg's best war film -- and one of the two or three best movies the director has made.

Rahim and Arestrup are both so outstanding that if this were an English-language film, they'd probably be nominated for Oscars, too.

It's irrefutably art, and undeniably vital.

An usually insightful rendering of an ordinary family, Hirokazu Kore-eda's contemplative Japanese drama is the sort of movie that makes its greatest impact long after you've seen it.

In this film, a single word is worth more than all the expensive effects imaginable.

Once isn't especially complex, but the chemistry between its appealing leads (who contribute to the lovely score) feels deeply true. You'd have to look awfully hard to find such sincerity in a Hollywood romance.

Even those who've long noted Polley's intelligence on screen will be amazed by the perception she displays as a filmmaker.

Immensely moving and strikingly original, Kelly's story of a brilliant, disturbed teen (Jake Gyllenhaal) drowning in the cultural morass of the 1980s now feels bloated.

While their latest achievement can't quite one-up "WALL-E," it offers soaring highs that are bound to enchant viewers of any age.

David France's survey of AIDS advocacy should be invaluable to every frustrated movement, as both a road map and a reminder of how vital personal activism remains.

It's miles away from big-budget, pop-culture entertainment, but you may be surprised by its impact.

It's wonderful. Epic and heartbreaking and just as grand as it needs to be.

Though some see Treadwell as an idealistic martyr who made the ultimate sacrifice for his passion, others vilify him as an arrogant fool who courted his own end.

A smashing success on its own terms, though as a transcendent love story it lacks the firm foundation in human reality that characterizes Lars Von Trier's superior "Breaking the Waves."

It's part grim Beckett-like drama, part joyous picaresque, and all quite mesmerizing.

It's a stunner.

One of the freshest, richest, most original films to come out of Hollywood in a very long time.

Exhibiting the same sort of patience as his sensible hero, Philibert has created an extraordinarily humane portrait of a partnership between one adult and his very fortunate charges.

Every scene has its highlights, from amusing observations about sex to poignant truths about parenting and partnerships. But what you'll remember most is the exquisitely lovely final scene, in which Cholodenko reminds us that all we need is a single moment of perfection -in a family, or even in a film - to believe that somehow, things will always be all right.

With this moving, contemplative portrait of an artist who has suddenly become an old man, de Oliveira refuses to patronize either his hero or his audience.

A technical and visual tour-de-force.

Consistently compelling and required viewing for anyone remotely interested in pop culture.

Hou intends to celebrate the classic 1956 children's film "The Red Balloon," and he has done a beautiful job. In fact, he may well have created a future classic of his own.

Bursting with so much amped-up energy, you may need to rest once it's finally done.

First-time filmmaker Edet Belzberg may be the first person to assign any value to the lives of the homeless Romanian youngsters featured in her harrowing documentary.