Nostalgia for the Light (12A)

Patricio Guzman's remarkable film is a meditation on the solar system, but also an exploration of his country's past.

That country is Chile, still recovering from the traumatic degradations of the Pinochet years. He journeys to the remote Atacama Desert, a magnet for astronomers because of its transparent air – and the dumping ground for thousands of political opponents who were disappeared by the military regime.

Today it is scoured by the unfortunate relatives, still seeking traces of their loved ones. Guzman subtly dovetails these different bodies of searchers into a touching essay on remembrance.