Yes and no. I liked (note: not LOVED) Das Leben der Anderen a great deal, and I appreciated what it tried to do. Incidentally, your description of Das Leben is an apt description of my feelings about Volver: I liked it as well, but it takes too long to get going: the beginning is a mess (except for the “girls trouble” joke) and the whole first third feels like a sophomore De La Iglesia film.

Also, for an Almodovar picture, I prefer him to be less conventional, which does not simply mean adding crossdressers or transsexuals, but something of the moral ambiguity that made Hable con ella and La mala educacion such intriguing films; both were superior films because of it. With Volver it was never a secret how things were going to turn out for the characters (apart from the unravelling of the ghost story, which has no emotional resonance to speak of).

Neither Das Leben der Anderen or Volver (or any of the Best Film nominees for that matter - I’ve seen them all) are in my soon to be published year-end top ten. Generally, I would have nominated much less mainstream fare, though there are two mainstream films in said top ten, just not any of the EFA nominees… (some of the titles in my top ten were released too late to be considered for EFA nomination).