Dense, contradictory and distressingly honest, "Valley of Tears" is that rarity among political documentaries: a genuinely thought-provoking film.

"The Corporation" is a dense, complicated and thought-provoking film, but it simplifies its title character.

"Our Guys" is a quiet, intelligent, complicated, thought-provoking film that deserves to be seen.

But Michael Haneke's icy black-and-white pastoral was by far the most mature, measured and thought-provoking film of this year's competition.

Amid the prizes for hard-hitting and thought-provoking films such as Fire in Babylon were some amusing speeches.

"Ararat," is hands down the year's most thought-provoking film.

Film buffs can increasingly look to the Web as a sort of cyberspace cafe for follow-up discussion when viewing a controversial or thought-provoking film.

In 2008, Lustig helped establish an independent production company Six Point Films to produce "meaningful, thought-provoking independent films".

If "Ararat" is the year's most thought-provoking film, its ingeniously convoluted structure tends to box in its characters.

James Berardinelli gave the film three stars out of four, calling it "involving, energetic, and occasionally thought-provoking".