FILMS OF THE YEAR

Donald Clarke's films of the year

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Lovers Winslet and Carrey employ boffins to erase their memories of one another. The first of Charlie Kaufmann's scripts to exhibit real emotional purchase.

The Return (Vozvrascheniye): Andrey Zvyagintsev's grim Russian drama combines the visual mysticism of Tarkovsky with sinister, insidious plotting worthy of Barbara Vine.

Before Sunset: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke chat. Richard Linklater's sequel to his own Before Sunrise is even wittier and more touching than the original. Best ending of the year.

Dead Man's Shoes: Shane Meadows's relentless revenge drama, featuring a terrifyingly calm Paddy Considine, is utterly original in its melding of extreme violence with low comedy.

Old Boy: Park Chan-wook's tale of a man seeking those responsible for his lengthy imprisonment is a tour de force of extreme cinema.

The Bourne Supremacy: Vroom! Vroom! Thump! Thump! Paul Greengrass's nauseatingly jiggly espionage sequel delivers more uncomplicated thrills than any other mainstream flick this year.

Lost in Translation: Sofia Coppola's spacey, sort-of romance has already taken on the character of an established masterpiece.

Capturing the Friedmans: A commendably open-minded investigation of a notorious case of child molestation in 1980s Long Island, Andrew Jarecki's weird documentary grips throughout.

The Incredibles: Pixar's humane comedy concerning resting superheroes is, technically speaking, the greatest leap forward in the medium since Toy Story.

Elephant: Gus Van Sant's hypnotic, avant-garde meander through a day in the life of a high school about to be plunged into violence.