The blockbusters of summer are receding in the rearview mirror. Vacations end, school begins and the awards season heats up even as the weather cools. Until the December 31^st deadline for Oscar-eligible releases, expect to see the serious and the worthy.

Leading the pack in the abandonment of frothy fare is the Toronto Film Festival, with what its organizers describe as a return to relevant cinema. From September 6^th through the 15^th, the festival screens 349 films from 55 countries, many with somber themes: the CIA’s secret detention practices (Rendition), a child’s escape from Poland during the World War II (Fugitive Pieces), organized crime in London (Eastern Promises), U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq (Redacted).

Does relevance have to be such a downer, though? And is relevance always a desirable trait in a film? Before you stow the sunscreen: what do you think are the most and least relevant films of the past few years?