It’s been a good decade for movie lovers. Despite popular complaints that CGI has stifled creativity and major studios have squashed interest for intelligent films, plenty of thought-provoking and challenging works found mainstream audiences. Computer generated effects may have killed the Star Wars franchise (in my mind at least) but the digital revolution also helped many indie and experimental filmmakers realize their visions with little compromise. It was a rare month that I didn’t see a great new film, and here are some of the scenes I found most memorable.

Primer, 2004: The camera pans around Aaron
It’s hard to believe this is Shane Carruth’s first film, especially considering he did everything from the writing to playing a lead role. The direction is decidedly non-showy which gives the few tricky shots extra emphasis. The convoluted plot intentionally confuses the audience and Carruth’s character Aaron. The gravity of the situation he’s involved in hits home when both the camera and Aaron’s understanding of events come full circle.

Secretary, 2002: Four peas for dinner
The sadomasochistic affair between a secretary and her boss may strike some people as bizarre, especially the strange unspoken rules they develop in their romantic roles. It certainly does to her perplexed family as she eats an obsessively arranged meal. What some may find to be a twisted ritual illustrates a love these two characters would gladly suffer anything to realize.

The Fountain, 2006: Flowers burst from Dr. Creo’s chest
The mix of trippy sci-fi, drama and romance becomes an avant-garde mess long before the climax. The cryptically symbolic storyline probably loses most of its audience. However, the overpowering tangle of loss and hope is undeniable as Hugh Jackman’s character explodes into bloom. I saw plenty of tissues come out at the theater when he realizes in surprise how his dead wife lives on.

The Prestige, 2006: The secret of The Disappearing Man trick is revealed
The film and its actors are at times overly dramatic to the point of silliness, but the big reveal gives me chills. Hugh Jackman plays a magician driven by grief, vengeance, and professional rivalry to make the ultimate sacrifice. The revenge he finally achieves seems secondary to a ghoulish act of perpetual self-punishment.

Donnie Darko, 2001: Waking memories of erased events
To appreciate this movie you need to feel it rather than expect full understanding of what happens. That’s exactly what the characters do in the final act as they process the fleeting dreams of an alternate timeline. Each person reacts differently to visions of the paths their lives may take, from satisfaction to horrific guilt. Gary Jules narrates their disorienting epiphanies in a haunting rendition of “Mad World,” a song that chokes me up whenever I hear it.

Mulholland Drive, 2001: Crying at Club Silencio
It’s a classic David Lynch scene, both baffling and beautiful. Naomi Watts and Laura Harring play women brought together by a mystery and unexpected love. As they watch a surreal performance they realize it’s all an illusion—just like their own idealized lives. They share a tearful farewell before Watts awakens to a horrible reality she’d prefer to forget. At least I think that’s what happens.

Birth, 2005: Nicole Kidman stares into the camera
Birth is one of the most under-appreciated films of the decade, and the one that got me to finally shake my irrational dismissal of Nicole Kidman as a serious actress. (Her divorcing whack-job Tom Cruise may have helped a lot with that too.) A young boy’s preposterous claim that he is her dead husband reincarnated shakes the widow to her core. The support of her rational family and fiancée does nothing to quell her growing emotional turmoil, and ironically may even be feeding it. A trip to the opera gives her and the audience an opportunity to meditate on recent events. During an uncomfortably long and slow zoom, Kidman’s unblinking face broadcasts all the crazy questions and life-altering decisions she grapples with. Rarely does such a silent performance say so much.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004: Sitting silently in the submarine
I seem to be in a minority of people who cite The Life Aquatic as their favorite Wes Anderson film. I won’t deny it has plenty of flaws, worst of which is wasting such a talented cast on flat caricatures. That just makes it more amazing that the crew coming together for their captain in a moment of quiet tenderness almost brings me to tears.

The Wrestler, 2008: Entering the deli counter
Darren Aronofsky held back his usual bag of cinematic tricks to focus on tragic characters. It’s his most tempered film to date, and the combination of handheld camera POV, pacing, sound, and Mickey Rourke’s subtle performance add up to a perfect balance of emotional story-telling. The scene plays unremarkably but in a few seconds tells everything you need to know about the life and state-of-mind of a fallen hero.

Napoleon Dynamite, 2004: Napoleon busts out the moves
A high school’s biggest loser risks humiliation when coming to the aid of a friend, and wins over the entire student body with some ridiculous dance moves. Napoleon’s gentle, unabashed silliness drew me to the theater five times. (The previous record-holder was 1985’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.) The climax is a celebration of self-expression against a critical world. Cynics write off the film as fluff but watching it elevates me to pure joy.