Fargo

The Coens’ darkly comic small-town noir unfolds against the relentless whiteness of the desolate wintry Midwest, beautifully captured by Roger Deakins’ steely photography. Purportedly based on real events while edging on an almost surrealistic extreme, it subverts the crime genre with a half-cocked kidnapping ruse that goes awry almost from the get-go. Surrounded by a parade of hapless, money-grubbing men, local police chief Marge Gunderson – seven months pregnant yet sharp as a tack – tracks down the bandits with unflinching determination and emerges as one of cinema’s most iconic heroines, made real by Frances McDormand in her first Oscar-winning performance.

Cannes Film Festival: Best Director

Academy Awards: Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay