40-31 >

As predicted a couple of years ago this mysterious reincarnation drama keeps on lingering in the back of the mind, of course it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. It feels like a dream now, about strange encounter, false hope and everlasting loss. Magnificent closeup, blinding snow and a soothing bathtub waver like veils over the absence of truth, offering an uncomfortable solace for all who miss a loved one. Birth has become a mature spiritual journey.
 

49. La Vida Que Te Espera
(Your Next Life, 2004, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón)

 Basically a murder thriller, a whodunnit, in its heart La Vida Que Te Espera is so much more, with Marta Etura as mindbogglingly impressive female lead. Cantabria countryside forms the dewy background for the tragedy of a suspicious looking father and his two different daughters, struggling to make a living. Complicated love with always imposing Luis Tosar tests their family values, while the cattle enjoys music. Of cows and women, both meat.
 

48. Pitch Black
(2000, David Twohy)

A group of various personalities on an alien planet, two stars on the brink of their breakthrough. Mouthwatering moral dilemmas and understandable egocentrism are at the core of this spacy adventure, feeling classic but looking modern. Color filters are amazing and when finally night falls, it's very Pitch Black indeed. Badass murderer with his übercool lenses Riddick teaches and learns, during a rollercoaster ride that doesn't go over the top.
 

47. Bridge to Terabithia
(2007, Gabor Csupo)

Some movie characters are just begging to be hugged, for their overall loveliness. Josh Hutcherson is a nice boy, but all credits go to AnnaSophia Robb, the girl we all should've known when we were kids. Ode to fantasy Bridge to Terabithia is a very welcome back to basics, with special effects serving the story instead of the other way around. After opening credits showed 'and Zooey Deschanel', the enchantment never broke. Infinitely enjoyable.
 

46. The Ghouls
(2003, Chad Ferrin)

Reality tv can't be ridiculed enough, but in all its low budgetness The Ghouls is dead serious. Hitting rock bottom, then discovering a bunch of cannibals downtown, it just screams 'raise your cam' and that's exactly what cult hero Timothy Muskatell does here. It's insanity in an even sicker world, in the underbelly of a gritty city. Ferrin is a new early Ferrara, let's just hope he stays poor.
Leave glamorous horror to the multiplexes, this is the real deal.
 

45. In the Bedroom
(2001, Todd Field)

Understandable jealousy, unbearable guilt and vengeance, it's a downward spiral causing lifelong pain, in one of those rare films nominated only in all the right categories. Spacek and Wilkinson are more intense than ever (bold statement indeed), Tomei and the other supporting cast deliver stunning performances as well. In the Bedroom is an actor's movie, delving deep into our human inadequacy to cope with tragic loss. The bedroom at its coldest.
 

44. Transylvania
(2006, Tony Gatlif)

Asia Argento and Birol Ünel, quite the pair of raw characters to roam around eastern Europe with. She's in dim danger of slowly going crazy, that's why he sticks around and chops onions. The true force of Transylvania lies in its capability to transcend into dreamlike state, leading up to Bohemian exorcism and deceptive snowy redemption. Intoxicating landscapes contrast with a lack of home and a constant search of meaning. Music saves lives.
 

43. Magnus
(2007, Kadri Kõusaar)

It doesn't get any more personal than this: a not very likeable father slowly comes to terms with his son's wish to die and kind of plays himself in the film about it. Mother wasn't happy though and got it banned in Estonia, Magnus is uncomfortable enough to respect her point of view. However, the image of this sleazy man allowing his pretty boy to wander off into the reed, is just too powerful to ever forget. Poorly distributed, provoking and sad.
 

42. Irréversible
(2002, Gaspar Noé)

The worst happy end ever. Irréversible concludes with hell and takes off with heaven. But it reverses time, raping our minds in the process, viciously reminding us to savior every moment in love. Or not, because inevitably it will all be destroyed. Raging revenge all the way back to peaceful romance, red to green, this is a visual and emotional trip guaranteed to cause discomfort and epilepsy. Shocking, affecting, with a chilly tunnel as tourniquet.
 

41. The New World
(2005, Terrence Malick)

Classic story of Pocahontas by a director who is brave enough to still take his time and even more important: to make it feminine and poetic. Fighting men are present for a while then fade into the background, allowing innocent deer Q'Orianka Kilcher to take over. The New World narrates on conquering land and heart, to show that adaptation does not necessarily mean abandoning one's roots. The lady herself is the natural beauty of the land.