The Film: A study of a 1950s Midwestern family. Plus how the universe started.

Why It Should Win: It’s a major film from a major filmmaker that’s majorly good (with some minor flaws).  Sure, Terrence Malick has another movie on the go already, but who knows when that’ll be ready?

This is an opportunity for De Niro and co to award the top prize to one of the greatest living auteurs (who’s been in Competition before with The Thin Red Line and Days Of Heaven, winning Best Director for the latter).

It may have split the critics, but it’s the film on everyone’s lips.

Plus if Tree wins, we may finally get to hear the reclusive genius talk in public. Stranger things have happened…

Standout scene: The 20-odd-minute sequence depicting the birth of the Earth.

Awe-inspiring, transcendent, epiphanic… our thesaurus simply can’t do justice to the beauty, majesty and mystery of Malick’s vision of How It All Began.

Although the dinosaurs are slightly disappointing.