I know. There's nothing you want to see less than a first person diary from one of the world's horrible war zones. I sure as hell didn't want to see it and didn't anticipate it making a list of the best movies of the year. But what '5 Broken Cameras' does so well is mix in everyday life with the demonstrations and police state brutality. There's also a built-in cinematic gimmick. We know at the beginning that our central character gets five of his cameras busted. With each hurled rock we wonder “is this gonna' be the one to take out camera number three?”

Best part: If this were fiction, I'd cite the marital unrest or the murder of a comrade as dramatic high points. Can't really do that when it is real life.