| March of the Penguins | Luc Jacquet | nature documentary, documentary film |
| Munich | Steven Spielberg | political thriller film, drama film, spy film |
| Angel-A | Luc Besson | drama film |
| Transporter 2 | Louis Leterrier | action film, thriller film |
| Fatima, the Algerian Woman of Dakar | Med Hondo | drama film |
| Cold Showers | Antony Cordier | coming-of-age film, drama film, LGBTQ-related film |
| Habana Blues | Benito Zambrano | drama film, musical film |
| Paradise Now | Hany Abu-Assad | drama film, thriller film, crime film |
| Buenos Aires 100 km | Pablo José Meza | coming-of-age film |
| Taxi | Tim Story | comedy film, action film, thriller film, screwball comedy film, buddy cop film |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | Jean-François Richet | action film, thriller film, crime film |
| 36 Quai des Orfèvres | Olivier Marchal | drama film, neo-noir, crime film |
| Kaena: The Prophecy | Pascal Pinon, Chris Delaporte | fantasy film, action film, speculative fiction film, adventure film, science fiction film |
| Look at Me | Agnès Jaoui | coming-of-age film, romantic comedy film, drama film |
| Time of the Wolf | Michael Haneke | drama film, post-apocalyptic film, dystopian film |
| The Human Stain | Robert Benton | romance film, drama film, thriller film |
| His Brother | Patrice Chéreau | romance film, drama film, LGBTQ-related film |
| Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself | Lone Scherfig | drama film, comedy film |
| The Man Without a Past | Aki Kaurismäki | drama film, comedy film |
| Erotic Adventures of Little Red Riding Hood | Luca Damiano | pornographic parody film, pornographic film |
| The Quiet American | Phillip Noyce | romance film, political thriller film, mystery film, drama film |
| The Pornographer | Bertrand Bonello | drama film |
| The Importance of Being Earnest | Oliver Parker | romantic comedy |
| All or Nothing | Mike Leigh | romance film, drama film, comedy film |
| The Truth About Charlie | Jonathan Demme | mystery film, comedy thriller, neo-noir, romantic comedy |
| The Soul Keeper | Roberto Faenza | romance film, melodrama, war film, biographical film |
| The Luzhin Defence | Marleen Gorris | romance film, drama film |
| City of God | Kátia Lund, Fernando Meirelles | coming-of-age film, drama film, hood film, crime film |
| The Golden Bowl | James Ivory | drama film |
| Heaven | Tom Tykwer | romance film, drama film, crime film |
| Brotherhood of the Wolf | Christophe Gans | martial arts film, drama film, monster film, historical film, thriller film, kung fu film, adventure film, science fiction film |
| Under the Sand | François Ozon | drama film |
| The City of Lost Children | Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro | arthouse science fiction film, fantasy film, dystopian film, science fiction film, steampunk film |
| How I Killed My Father | Anne Fontaine | drama film, thriller film |
| Human Resources | Laurent Cantet | drama film |
| Bully | Larry Clark | teen film, drama film, LGBTQ-related film, rape and revenge film, independent film, crime film |
| Vatel | Roland Joffé | romance film, drama film, biographical film |
| Va savoir | Jacques Rivette | romantic comedy film, drama film |
| Trouble Every Day | Claire Denis | drama film, horror film, erotic film |
| Enemy at the Gates | Jean-Jacques Annaud | romance film, drama film, action film, war film |
| Code Unknown | Michael Haneke | drama film |
| Cecil B. Demented | John Waters | comedy film, comedy thriller, LGBTQ-related film, crime film |
| Taxi 2 | Gérard Krawczyk | comedy film, action film, thriller film, buddy film |
| Dancer in the Dark | Lars von Trier | drama film, trial film, musical film |
| April Captains | Maria de Medeiros | drama film, historical film |
| The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc | Luc Besson | drama film, historical film, medieval film, war film, biographical film, epic film, historical drama |
| Close-Up | Abbas Kiarostami | trial film, docufiction |
| The Straight Story | David Lynch | drama film, adventure film, road movie, biographical film |