Jean-Luc Vincent

Before shocking us all with an unexpected skill for comedy, Dumont was admired for his radically bleak explorations of human tragedy, like this stark, absorbing portrait of a tortured artist with a mesmeric Juliette Binoche.

No one’s enjoying Dumont’s foray into comedy more than us. The former king of New French Extremity has proven to take slapstick like a duck to water with this darkly twisted, hysterically funny whodunnit meets class satire. Plus—to close our devoted tribute—Binoche like you’ve never seen her before.