2. Fargo - Winner: Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh - United Kingdom)
Despite the weather conditions Joel and Ethan Coen had to face during production, they were able to present Minnesota winter as it truly is. Cold. Minnesota had it's second-warmest winter in the past century. Daily highs remained mostly steady from the mid-20s to the upper 40s, reaching 46 degrees Fahrenheit in January. But there are moments in the Coens' magnum opus that capture the essence of winter in Minnesota. Slow, stoic, waiting for spring to arrive but sticking it out during the four to seven months of winter. Peter Stormare's Gaear Grimsrud is the yin to the yang that is Steve Buscemi's Carl Showalter. With Jean holed up in their cabin, Carl goes ape because of the terrible TV service. As his breath is as clear as cigarette smoke every time he exhales, the dead look on his face expresses more than words can say. "Just stop. Give it a rest. Do something else. There's nothing more you can do about it. You have less patience than an eight-year-old on Christmas morning." Jerry Lundegaard has the same frustration when he can't scrape the ice off his windshield. But he sits in his car with some serenity. Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) says it best. "There's more to life than a little money, you know? Don't cha know that? And here you are, and it's a beautiful day. Well......I just don't understand it." Joel and Ethan Coen originally wanted the title to be "Brainerd." But it just doesn't have the soul. "Fargo" foretells the journey that the Coens' face in their career. They will far go what anyone could anticipate. Overcome and achieve. There is no gold standard for the Coens. Joel and Ethan turn their work into platinum.