Film Festivals 2003
2003 brought many filmic gems from around the world. Some highlights were Rolf De Heer's stunning 'The Tracker'; New Zealand's entry, a delicious, black holiday comedy 'Christmas'; from Brazil, the astonishing debut of Fernando Meirelles, 'City of God' and from Russia, the longest tracking shot in film history, 'Russian Ark'. From the US came the unique and captivating bio-pic 'American Splendor' and tongue-in-cheek horror 'Cabin Fever' as well as documentaries 'The Kid Stays in the Picture' featuring the infamous Robert Evans, and Noam Chomsky's 'Power and Terror'.
Blue Velvet (1986)
7.8/10
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Laura Dern, Dennis Hopper, Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dean Stockwell
The most talked about film of the '80s, David Lynch's controversial, surreal mystery is set amid the manicured lawns of small town America where a wor... Read more
The Conversation (1974)
7.9/10
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Teri Garr, John Cazale, Harrison Ford, Gene Hackman, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Wil...
Gene Hackman is brilliant as Harry Caul, the surveillance man who becomes the object of surveillance himself. Coppola's great achievement is evoking a... Read more
The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
7/10
Director: John Malkovich
Starring: Javier Bardem, Laura Morante, Juan Diego Botto
This taut political thriller set in Latin America marks John Malkovich's explosive directorial debut. Javier Bardem ("Before Night Falls") stars as le... Read more
I Capture the Castle (2002)
7.1/10
Director: Tim Fywell
Starring: Marc Blucas, Rose Byrne, Sinead Cusack, Tara Fitzgerald, Romola Garai, Bill Nigh...
A fun-filled romantic comedy about 17-year-old Cassandra and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle... Read more
Secretary (2002)
7/10
Director: Steven Shainberg
Starring: James Spader, Jeremy Davies, Lesley Ann Warren, Patrick Bauchau, Maggie Gyllenha...
Fresh off a stint in a mental hospital, upbeat but repressed office worker Maggie Gyllenhaal takes a job as personal assistant to tightly-wound lawyer... Read more
Russian Ark (2002)
7.4/10
Director: Alexander Sokurov
Starring: Sergei Dreiden, Maria Kuznetsova, Leonid Mozgovoy
Director Alexander Sokurov's ("Mother and Son") audacious cinematic tour-de-force follows an unseen narrator who magically finds himself transported t... Read more
Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
7.4/10
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong
The sometimes harrowing life of London's immigrant population is the focus of director Stephen Frears' engrossing drama. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a doctor... Read more
Sweet Sixteen (2002)
7.5/10
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Michelle Abercromby, Martin Compston, Michelle Coulter, Annmarie Fulton, Tommy M...
Liam's mum is in prison and due to be released in time for his sixteenth birthday. Dreaming of the family life he never had, Liam is determined to mak... Read more
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
7.1/10
Director: George Clooney
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Rutger Hauer
Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney and Julia Roberts star in the comedy thriller that poses an irresistible question: what would happen if a... Read more
Open Hearts (2002)
7.6/10
Director: Susanne Bier
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Paprika Steen
A young engaged couple in Copenhagen, Cecille (Sonja Richter) and Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), finds their relationship changed forever when Joachim is... Read more