Tough article this. Not that watching movies is tough, but really – what is an art house movie? Defined by Wikipedia, it refers to a “serious, noncommercial, independently made film that is aimed at a niche audience, rather than a mass audience.”

        However helpful that definition is, I prefer the use of negative examples. For instance:

• Titanic, Shrek, Spiderman and Star Wars are definitely not art films (though they might have been artfully made).
• Saving Private Ryan is not an art film (but it is a serious movie).
• Napoleon Dynamite is not an art film (but it was independently made).

        This is how I see it. Art house movies are films at their basest, focusing on the holy trinity of Screenplay, Acting and Direction. They usually revolve around the lives of ordinary people – so what you stand to lose in ‘entertainment’ terms, you gain in passion, empathy and feeling. Art house movies thus stay with you longer than, say, Transformers would.

        But enough of my theorizing. Onto the top 10.

10. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

        Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this is a truly disturbing film that is almost too hard to watch. Gang rape, violence, torture – Orange has got it all. Most disturbing of all is the fact that you’d actually end up sympathising with Alex, committer of the most heinous crimes caught on film.

        Memorable Scene: The opening sequence when Alex stares creepily at the camera. Yikes.

9. Memento (2001)

        Christopher Nolan’s Memento tells the story of Leonard, a man suffering from anterograde amnesia, which prevents him from forming new memories (naturally, Leonard tattoos himself constantly to help remember). But this is no 50 First Dates – it’s a classic thriller that screws with your mind.

        Memorable Scene: When Leonard finds out the motel owner is conning him, the guy laughs and says he’ll forget about the whole thing anyway. Sucka!

8. Fargo (1996)

        I love Coen Brothers movies, and Fargo only just pips The Big Lebowski as my fave Coen film. This story of bumbling crooks out for a quick buck is so ludicrous, you wonder how it holds up. But it does, because of a great ensemble cast of William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi and Frances McDormand.

        Memorable Scene: The whole film is peppered with the hilarious use of faux-Scandinavian accents. "Ya? Ya."