Il Divo
Italy's Paolo Sorrentino turns a potentially stuffy political biopic into a slick, beautifully styled piece of cinema, homing in on an extraordinary power player with an almost impregnable personality.

The Class
Based on a former teacher's memoirs, this intelligent, veritéstyle drama follows a year in an urban French classroom, and raises some provocative points about education and multiculturalism.

The Age Of Stupid
A none-too-optimistic eco-fi lm to file alongside Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, though this communicates its urgent message with enough energy and rigour to avoid being depressing.

The Damned United
A slice of modern British history that will leave many non-football fans cold, but Brian Clough's notoriously ill-fated stint in charge of Leeds is handled with wit, energy, and merciless retro styling.

Genova
Another change of tack for Michael Winterbottom; even if this quiet tale of grief, blossoming sexuality and supernatural visitation is conventional by his standards, it's all executed with care.