Choosing a contrarian view directly - and openly - in opposition to that of the romantic peeer through the rose colored glasses that was The Dreamers, Garrel examines the anti-turbulence that followed the May '68 Paris riots without a shred a modesty. Casting his son, Louis (a brilliant move, as he also appeared in The Dreamers), Garrel takes the New Wave approach, observing the aimlessness of Bohemia as the momentary thrill of conviction and sincerity gives way to the far easier haze of opiates, flirtation and hapless bouts of poetry. To pinpoint a universal scope through an exhaustive absorption of youthful indifference would have been easy; Garrel, however, is in it for all the marbles, feverishly watching with sadness and joy as, one by one, these characters find themselves forced into betrayal of their ideals. Sympathetic to these ideals, he treats each one as disposable, leaving the main character to finally accept his position as the last man standing and see finality only in his subconscious, as a dream overtakes him. What's particularly lovely about the film is its sense of itself, celebrating with full verve and vigor those moments when conquering boredom is the greatest possible achievement and seguing into passion is about the most severe and bracing of experiences. Watch as they dance to The Kinks' "This Time Tommorrow" and there's positively no question about it: Garrel maintains his sincerity, even if his film is most likely too personal to connect with the lion's share of its audience.

Magical, and very special. Burton worked mileau like a mainstream David Lynch back in these days. See here: The first thirty minutes is almost non-stop colloquialism, set in some middle American pastel caricature of the 'burbs in Blue Velvet. Every step is taken with confidence, the slow building lust for Winona Ryder calling up the human nature of the long isolated title character. Depp runs the show, though: His polite waif falls between pitiable and lovable, often mixing the two. Visually spectacular, with a score by longtime collaborator Danny Elfman that would go on to perform as the music for every winter-set movie trailer.