Too many good films to choose from. Here is my list of ten runners-up, arranged in alphabetical order. It represents half a dozen national cinemas, including Romania, a country that continues to produce some of the best films around; I have seen at least five masterpieces from Romania over the past five years.
For better or worse, the list doesn’t include non-fictional films.
Adaptation (2003), Spike Jonze
City of God (2002), Brazil, Fernando Mereilles
The Dark Knight (2008), Chris Nolan
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005), Romania, Cristi Puiu
In Praise of Love (2001), France, Jean-Luc Godard
Lost in Translation (2003), Sofia Coppola
Munich (2005), Spielberg
There Will Be Blood (2007), Paul Thomas Anderson
Wall-E (2008), Disney-Pixar
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2003), Mexico, Alfonso Cuaron
Yi Yi (2000), Taiwan, Edward Yang