Sincerity seems to be the one thing that people crave, and it's the one thing that is the hardest to deliver on. Too cloying and you're labeled as precious; if you're too aggressive, then attempts to convey true emotion are labeled as pretentious. Irony, cynicism, and pretention have become the watchwords of our age, and vulnerability is now known as a kind of childishness. However, let us not confuse sincerity with sentimentality. Sentimentality and nostalgia threaten to overwhelm with false affectation for memories we've never had, places we've never experienced, a constant and deluded longing for things we cannot have. Sincerity, and in particular, new sincerity, instead choose to cherish what really is and provide a way to appreciate and love the things around us.

The new king of sincerity may just be up-and-coming director Rian Johnson. His latest film, The Brothers Bloom, is a con man love story and the finest example this year of this sincere type of filmmaking. Though Brothers Bloom may seem shrouded in artifice, the delightful costumes and strange plot are all necessary to the true aim of the story, and in a strange way act as camouflage, drawing the viewer in and allowing them a genuine gift in return. Rachel Weisz plays honest, cautious, and awkward as you've never seen her before, and Adrien Brody plays melancholy straight man to Mark Ruffalo's flashy mastermind. Hilarious and madcap, Johnson's art house film education shines through his script, as does his love for his characters. Surprisingly, in a film that deals exclusively with con artists and confidence games, the real lessons of loyalty and trust are evident through and through. Never preachy, always surprising, The Brothers Bloom is a prime example of all that is sincere (A more lengthy look at Brothers Bloom can be found here).

Away We Go, starring the earnest and lovable John Krasinski as well as Maya Rudolph and a host of other capable comedic actors, looks to be one of the finest examples of the genre. Nothing requires a person to grow up faster than having a baby, and though there was the bubbly Juno fiasco, there's something different about Away We Go. The twentysomething cynics of the 2000s are getting married, having children, and trying to discover what it is to be an adult. Everyone seems to be realizing that our parents didn't have a clue and that there may be a different way to parent, as the two leads in Away We Go discover. Deciding to make their way around the country looking for the best place to raise a family, the film seems to hit upon that in-between time, halfway between the post-college haze of taking care of yourself and the adult decisions that must be made to care for another human being. The film wavers between heartbreaking moments of insecurity and solid shows of courage, clearly echoing real life.

500 Days of Summer deals with love gained and love lost, with the luminous Zooey Deschanel and the impressive Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who may just be one of the most sincere actors in recent years, with films such as Brick and Mysterious Skin falling into the genre) taking us through the highs and lows of a tumultuous relationship. Right off the bat, the trailer informs us that this isn't a love story, though it would appear to be. Summer (Deschanel) does not believe in love, and when Tom (Gordon-Levitt) falls for her the two find themselves at odds. The film looks hilarious and difficult all at the same time, as the struggle to relate to, and love, another person is deeply personal to every human being. Though there has been a surfeit of quirky and eclectic romantic comedies in recent years, it is Tom's relatable desperation to hold on to someone who doesn't love him that takes 500 Days of Summer from write-off to a must-see.

The disenchanted rebellious films of the '80s gave way to the detached nonchalance of the '90s, and a new generation of filmmakers find themselves coming of age in the nameless decade. What will be remembered of these years? In an ever-expanding world where people feel increasingly distant from one another, we seek this new sincerity through our collective obsession with technology and the endless connectivity of Twitter or Facebook. We also seek it in the films we choose to see. Though elements of sincerity and honesty trail through many major releases, it is often in these smaller films that sincerity can become fully realized.

Truly sincere films present their characters, flaws and all, and allow them to breathe. The entire aim of these films is to get at some other truth, some thing that we all have in common, even if it is only one tiny fragment of the human experience. They allow us a moment of solidarity, a moment of reflection and connectivity though the film medium itself is passive. Though cynicism is easier, and sincerity can be seen as a sign of weakness, people are endlessly intrigued by genuine emotion. We sought it originally in reality television programming before it became a parody of itself, we seek it in our relationships with the ones we love. Deep at the heart of the endless ways we try to communicate with those around us is that desire to know and to be known. We speak of "true love," or looking for "the real thing," and when we hit upon it in conversation, or in a good book, or in a film where we may have least expected it, we know it right away.

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