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Darren Arnofsky, 1998, bw (8.4*)
Best Directing Award, Sundance
Very interesting puzzle movie that was brilliant young director Darren Aronofsky's first film, shot in b&w and obviously on a shoestring. The film is primarily a metaphysical one, about finding a mathematical key to order in the universe. On his search, he runs across a group of mathematicians who are inputting the numeric values of the Bible's characters into a computer for analysis.

This unusual film is about thinking, about the inside of the director's cosmic thoughts. Light on action, it's about as deep in intellectualism as a film can get, searching for a hidden meaning to life and the cosmos. We all do it, but it's a tough subject to film. At any rate, it's entirely unusual and creative, and is better than many big budget films, and was shot for just 60,000. (For the champion no budget film, check out Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi, an action film of a mariachi guitarist being mistaken for a gang's hit man who carries a guitar case full of weapons)

Aronofsky's next film after this debut was the brilliant (and mind numbing) Requiem for a Dream (2000), starring Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn and Jennifer Connelly. Also worth seeing is The Fountain, a multi-level story about a brain cancer researcher and the search for the fountain of youth. He also directed The Wrestler in 2008
Awards page at IMDB