1. Melancholia – Lars von Trier, The Tree of Life – Terrence Malick

It was with a sense of ‘yin and yang’ that two titans of cinema reached the top of their game in 2011. The completeness with which Melancholia, a study on the fear of death, and The Tree of Life, on the fear of life itself, fall together is so poetic that one almost imagines Malick and von Trier to have conspired that it be so. In beauty, each is only equalled by the other.

The Tree of Life sees Malick back on Badlands form; from earth-shattering absurdism to a touch of Oedipus, boundaries are broken left and right. In Melancholia, Von Trier has grown from the relentless abhorrence of Dancer in the Dark and Antichrist to find himself welcomed among the greats (despite the odd faux pas at Cannes).

NB. Extra points to Von Trier for coaxing a noteworthy performance out of the formerly laughable Kirsten Dunst.

3. The Skin I Live In – Pedro Almodóvar

2011 was the year for unspeakable acts in resplendent surroundings. Here, Almodóvar is Kubrick-esque once again, blurring the lines of seduction and gore, while stumbling upon a worthy successor to Penélope Cruz’s role of hot Spanish muse in Antonio Banderas. We are beguiled as much as we are repulsed.

4. Tyrannosaur – Paddy Considine

For a directorial debut, a British Independent Film Award and a BAFTA nomination ain’t bad. This is the finest British film for years (only two have made the list, I hasten to add), far-outclassing the tedious Colin Firth rot that has been foisted upon us under various guises. Olivia Colman is heartbreaking as the victim of an abusive marriage. Step aside, Meryl – this was the performance of the year.

5. The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius

Not the subtlest of homages, nor is it without its critics, but for restoring our faith in the love of movies, this is little short of a wonder. Where social realism and gruff dialogue litter the landscape of modern cinema, The Artist has more to say without even uttering a word.

6. Drive – Nicolas Winding Refn

Aesthetically dazzling, and with the kind of aching malaise not seen since Lost in Translation, Drive is all existentialism  and burning rubber. The boringly on-trend Carey Mulligan is exquisite as a strained and victimised mother, while Ryan Gosling forces us to concede that he may indeed have brains as well as brawn.

7. Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen

The Parisian edition of Allen’s love letters to European culture is a mesmerising satirical fairytale. Owen Wilson is Woody Allen incarnate; a pair of urban neurotic glasses away from a Madame Tussauds waxwork, his charming self-deprecation and hesitant one-liners carrying considerably more weight away from his usual territory of junk-food romcoms. This is no Annie Hall, but it’ll do.

8. Senna – Asif Kapadia

An unflinching account of the union of man and machine, this is the best documentary since Man on Wire. The genre is under-represented, but in Senna, original footage is used with such a lightness of touch that we feel we are seeing into the mind of the athlete himself. A remarkable story, this is the automotive equivalent of Raging Bull.

9. The Descendants – Alexander Payne

After Alexander Payne’s Sideways and About Schmidt­, this one was always going to be fairly offbeat. A fascinating scenario in which a father copes with grief, adultery and divorce, all while his wife lies in a coma, develops into an awkwardly mesmerising comedy. The distance between a broken family and the carefree world is disarming on a serene Hawaiin backdrop.

10. Bridesmaids – Paul Feig

Yup, I went there.