Ten-best lists are, among other things, educated guesses about what will last, a sanctioned way of taking a stab at recognizing work that will endure despite the inevitable changes in cinematic taste and style. Of all the films that fit that criteria in 2012, and there are several, the one I am surest about is the one I'm making my top film: Michael Haneke's "Amour."

"Amour," the devastating winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes as well as the top four European film awards, uses shattering performances by Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva to show what happens to a long and harmonious marriage when the wife suffers a series of debilitating strokes. No film moved me more or made me think harder about the vicissitudes of the human experience. You can't ask for more than that.

The rest of my list, expanded when necessary, is listed in alphabetical order: