Ranking What Was Really The Best Film Of Every Year 1990-2021
10. 2012 - Amour
Actually won: Argo.
Like Gladiator, Argo is the kind of Best Picture winner that would be much better remembered had it not won the statue. A tightly-wound and exciting thriller it may be, but a Best Picture champion it is not.
No, the best of the year - beating out nominees Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty - was actually Michael Haneke's beautiful and haunting ode to old age and unconditional love, Amour, which follows an elderly couple as they come to terms with their final days.
It's too emotionally devastating for the Academy to go for it, but Amour's portrayal of dementia and sacrifice makes it one of the most powerful films ever made, simply told but utterly unforgettable in the way all the best films are.