CLETIS:
You will be pleased to know that Mulholland Drive isn't now, and wasn't overlooked when released. Yes, the idiot Academy didn't nominate it for Best Picture (Best Director was its only nomination; just like Blue Velvet in '86; Lynch is the only director to have that dubious distinction twice), but it received raves and won the prestigious New York Film Critics Award for Best Picture (just like Brokeback!). Since then, if you check out movie buff sites, it is a clear front-runner for Best Picture of the Decade (along with The Pianist, Moulin Rouge, In the Mood for Love, Eternal Sunshine, Russian Ark, Brokeback Mountain, and maybe one or two others I am not thinking of). It would have been my favorite of 2001, but admittedly the twist diminished it for me a bit for reasons I won't get into for fear of causing a spoiler. It also put Naomi Watts on the map (wasn't she great; also not nominated, unbelievable), but so was unsung Laura Herring.
Requiem for a Dream also has a cult following, movie buffs remain outraged that Ellen Burstyn lost the Oscar to Julia Roberts. Not a personal favorite, I frankly thought Burstyn way-overdid it, but many people love that movie.
I just saw Gerry and whole-heartedly agree. Usually I don't like anything with Matt Damon or especially anybody named Affleck, LOL, but they were terrific. Often really like Gus Van Sant - Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, though sometimes I don't get it (Elephant).
MAYA: Perhaps Brokeback wasn't a big deal in France because they are not as puritanical as so many Americans - I hope. Curious to see if it will receive a Cesar nomination for Foreign Film. Thanks!