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At number four is the darkest, most disturbing movie on this list, mostly because its entirely true. Darwin's Nightmare shows the horrifying effect on Tanzania and its Lake Victoria of the fishing for the Nile Perch. The environmental, economic, and political destruction of this small, poverty-ridden country is heartbreaking, and director Hubert Sauper pulls no punches in showing the destruction of this small country and the unwavering efforts of a few Tanzanian activists to stop the destruction of their homeland. This incredible film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary, but lost to some movie about adorable penguins walking around in the snow. What a world.

My number three and two films are the first and last feature films by two brilliant and respected artists. Number three is Me and You and Everyone We Know, the sweet and touching feature debut of Miranda July. July is an experimental filmmaker, artist, author and musician, and makes her feature film debut with what I like to think of as the thinking man's Love Actually. The two protagonists are a recently divorced shoe salesman and a lonely performance artist (played by July), and as we explore their lives and their budding romance we see all the people either directly or remotely associated with them and how all of them are looking for the same thing: some sort of real, human connection. Me and You and Everyone We Know is charming and witty and so much fun to watch.

The White Countess was the last Merchant/Ivory film, as producer Ismail Merchant died before it was released. The number two film on my ballot, The White Countess is a fitting sendoff for the man who produced some of the best period pieces of all time. Ralph Fiennes stars as a blind American diplomat in Shanghai in the lead up to World War II. His situation is complicated when he meets Sofia (played by Natasha Richardson in what is also one of her last films), a Russian refugee who is supporting her dead husband's aristocratic family. Kazuo Ishiguro penned this complex film, which features beautiful sets and costumes along with several fantastic performances.

And what would I consider the best overlooked film of 2005? That would have to be Neil Jordan's outstanding adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel Breakfast on Pluto. Jordan is best known for his complex romantic drama The Crying Game, but Breakfast on Pluto is one of his best films, as much an ode to his homeland of Ireland as it is the heartbreaking and complex story of a young man coming of age in the ‘70s, dealing with love, political upheaval, and his developing sexuality. Cillian Murphy got a lot of attention in 2005 for his incredibly creepy roles in Batman Begins and Red Eye, but he gives his best performance as Kitten, a transgendered MtF trying to find himself. If the appeal of seeing Cillian Murphy in drag isn't tempting enough (a joy only matched by seeing Gael Garcia Bernal in drag in Bad Education), then I don't know what to tell you. Breakfast on Pluto is a touching, beautiful film that might jerk a few tears out of you.

The Best Overlooked Films of 2005:

1) Breakfast on Pluto
2) The White Countess
3) Me and You and Everyone We Know
4) Darwin's Nightmare
5) Layer Cake
6) The Edukators
7) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
8) Mirrormask
9) Mysterious Skin
10) Oliver Twist

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