Michael Haneke films, Ingmar Bergman films. You clearly see their experience with actors and actresses, and the rehearsals from theater that focus so intensively on the characters. And it's not only one or two great performances in each film, but almost always the whole ensemble that was casted perfectly.
Michael Haneke has pretty fantastic casting agents. He + them not only cast the perfect mix of professionals, well-known and unknown actors, but also make them work together as an ensemble that is one of a kind in today's cinema.
I was most impressed by
The White Ribbon /
Das weiße Band, with a cast full of children, playing along some of the most profilic german-speaking actors atm, even if they only have a tiny role. And I have to express my love for Susanne Lothar again.
Amour was also great for the superb two leads. If I ever want to point fingers about someone being snubbed at the Oscars, it's most definitely Jennifer Lawrence winning over Emanuelle Riva in 2013.
Bergman is very similar in this regard to me. He worked mostly with the people that he knew very well from his theater productions. And he wrote his characters with certain actors and actresses in mind. You see how they fill out the roles perfectly in every film. You also see a pattern in what type of characters are played by which of his actors. And the best is, you also see how he pushes them into new directions over all the different productions they star in.
Winter Light and
Cries and Whispers are prime examples for me.
Cotillard was phenomenal in that film. Been kind of disappointed in everything I've seen her in since.
She's really great in
Deux jours, une nuit. It's a more subtle film and more subtle acting though.