This was the year of the bad girl, in a manner of speaking. The best movies featured women who went outside the cinematic box of how women should behave and did all sorts of interesting and/or inexplicable things. As for men, their stories were locked into classic modes of masculinity, and in this sense, the girls outran the guys. But then again, don't we always?
1. The Broken Circle Breakdown
Directed by Belgium's Felix van Groeningen, this is part worshipful tribute to America's Deep South and its music, part wrenching love story of a red-hot, sizzling couple. Veerle Baetens is gorgeous as Elise/Alabama, a professional tattoo artist who also sings in her husband's bluegrass band and whose voice will haunt your memory forever.