Courtesy of Big World Pictures

Set in the 19th century, this Romanian road movie follows gendarme Costandin and his son across a barren landscape, in search of a slave who has run away and is suspected of having an affair with a nobleman's wife. While the unflappable Costandin comments on every situation with a cheery aphorism, his son takes a more contemplative view of the world. Inspiring comparisons to films as diverse as The Searchers, The Last Detail, and Pulp Fiction, this richly entertaining epic won the best director prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.