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'.
The Tracker (2002)
7.5/10
Director: Rolf de Heer
Starring: Noel Wilton, Gary Sweet, Damon Gameau, Grant Page, David Gulpilil
In 1922, The Tracker (David Gulpilil) has the job of tracking an Aborigine (Noel Wilton) suspected of murdering a white woman, and leads a police offi... Read more
Personal Velocity (2002)
6.6/10
Director: Rebecca Miller
Starring: Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, Fairuza Balk
Three very different women. One daring leap of faith. Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey and Fairuza Balk star in this compelling drama about three women who... Read more
Spider (2002)
6.8/10
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, John Neville, Bradley Hall, Ly...
Master of cerebral horror David Cronenberg directs this mind-bending psychodrama. In a London halfway house, paranoid-schizophrenic Ralph Fiennes stru... Read more
Chaos (2001)
7.1/10
Director: Coline Serreau
Starring: Catherine Frot, Vincent Lindon, Rachida Brakni
Seething dark comedy from writer/director Coline Serreau ("Romuald and Juliette") centers on a middle-class Parisian woman (Catherine Frot) who witnes... Read more
The Last Waltz (1978)
8.2/10
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: The Band, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell,...
One of the greatest concert movies ever made, 'The Last Waltz' documents the 1976 Thanksgiving night farewell concert given by The Band at the Winterl... Read more
Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself (2002)
6.9/10
Director: Lone Scherfig
Starring: Jamie Sives, Adrian Rawlins, Shirley Henderson, Lisa McKinlay, Mads Mikkelsen, J...
The good-hearted Harbour has spent his whole life trying to take care of his motherless and suicidal little brother, Wilbur. The brothers are insepara... Read more
Raising Victor Vargas (2002)
7.1/10
Director: Peter Sollett
Starring: Victor Rasuk, Judy Marte, Melonie Diaz, Altagracia Guzman
Victor doesn't have much, but that's not stopping him from trying to go out with Judy, the prettiest girl on the block. All he's got is hope and a one... Read more
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)
7.9/10
Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
The popular anime series "Cowboy Bebop" gets its own feature-length film with the aptly named "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie". Set in the late 21st century,... Read more
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
7.3/10
Director: Dai Sijie
Starring: Xun Zhou, Chen Kun, Liu Ye
Set in China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970s, the story follows Luo (Chen Kun) and Ma (Liu Ye), two young men from the city who are sent t... Read more
Springtime in a Small Town (2002)
7/10
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Starring: Xin Baiqing, Wu Jun, Hu Jingfan
An assured return from Tian Zhuangzhuang ("The Blue Kite") with his first film for ten years. Beautifully capturing the setting of a once-grand mansio... Read more