1. Tulpan: Remarkable romantic comedy set among a nomadic tribe in Kazakhstan.
2. An Education: Nick Hornby's sensitive adaptation of journlaist Lynn Barber's excellent memoir of her first boyfriend.
3. The White Ribbon: Michael Hameke's Palme d'Or winner at Cannes is set in a German village just before the start of the First World War.
4. 2012: Roland Emmerich's thrilling apocalypse movie with John Cusack as the hero.
5. Fantastic Mr Fox: Wes Anderson’s take on Roald Dahl is full of quirky magic — with a sly George Clooney voicing Mr Fox.

Critics' Choice

Film

Andrew O'Hagan

quote An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance quote

2012 Theatre

Fiona Mountford

quote The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C quote

Blood Brothers Music

John Aizlewood

quote The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed quote

Muse

Reader reviews

Theatre

Rachel Dalziel

quote I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play quote

Gilbert Is Dead Restaurants

Raja, London

quote I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food quote

Babbo Music

Katy, London

quote Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW! quote

Muse

Mexican heatwave

By Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Metro 06.09.06

Add your view

Arthouse eye candy: A tribute to the screen work of Amores Perros star Gael García Bernal forms part two of the NFT season

Look here too

Ever since Amores Perros confidently exploded on to our screens in 2000, Mexican movies have been at the forefront of all that's hip and exciting in modern cinema.

Narrated with passion and fearsome amounts of energy, audacious director Alejandro González Iñárritu's searing tale featuring three interconnected stories embedded within different strata in Mexico City life (Sat, Sep 13 and 23) also happened to star every arthouse cinema-loving lady's favourite eye candy, Gael García Bernal.

A dedicated NFT tribute to Bernal's screen work forms part two of this season in October. Meaning that although part one is called Feel The Heat... Mexican Cinema Now, it doesn't have to go straight for the boil with recent hot box office hits such as Y Tu Mamá También (Oct 1 and 16) and The Motorcycle Diaries (Oct 7 and 11) but can transport you far more fascinatingly back as far as the 1930s, where, bolstered by the invention of sound, Mexico was leading the charge of Spanish-language film production with lavish productions such as 1936's ¡Vámonos Con Pancho Villa! (Fri and Mon), a stirring and cruel tale of the farmers' revolution.

Thanks to state subsidy, the homegrown industry continued to flourish during the 1940s, with dark social dramas including 1949's Salón Mexico (Sep 17, 22, and 30), Emilio Fernandez's noir narrative of Mexican cabaret dancers. And the establishment of the country's first film school in 1963 created a generation of independent talent, including familiar names such as Alfonso Cuarón and Devil's Backbone director Guillermo del Toro, the latter represented here by his elegantly cinematic 1993 vampire film Cronos (Tue and Sep 26). A must for anyone wanting to bite deeper into one of the globe's most vibrant cinema trends.

Tonight until Sep 30, National Film Theatre, South Bank SE1, various times, £8.60, £6.25 concs. Tel: 020 7928 3232. www.bfi.org.uk/nft Tube: Waterloo/Embankment