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'.
Lovely and Amazing (2001)
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Starring: Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, Jake Gyllenhaal, James LeGros,...
Nicole Holofcener's follow-up feature to her critically acclaimed debut "Walking and Talking", "Lovely and Amazing" is an intimate family portrait of... Read more
Travelling Birds ( aka Winged Migration ) (2001)
Director: Jacques Perrin
Witness as five film crews follow a rich variety of bird migrations through 40 countries and each of the seven continents. With teams totaling more th... Read more
Cabin Fever (2002)
5.6/10
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Arie Vervee...
This bloody horror film follows five recent college graduates as they travel to a remote North Carolina cabin for the party of a lifetime. The pals' c... Read more
Respiro (2002)
7/10
Director: Emanuele Crialese
Starring: Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato, Francesco Casisa, Veronica D'Agostino
Welcome to Lampedusa, a Mediterranean island paradise as mysterious as it is beautiful, a tropical heaven where ocean waves pound deep mysterious cave... Read more
All or Nothing (2002)
7.6/10
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, Alison Garland, James Corden, Ruth Sheen, Marion...
Three-time Oscar-nominated writer/director Mike Leigh ("Secrets and Lies") delivers this "rewarding... vibrant... poetic slice-of-life drama" (Variety... Read more
Christmas (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Gregory King
Starring: David Hornblow, Darien Takle, Helen Pearse-Otene, Tony Waerea
Broke, jobless and chronically depressed, eldest son Keri returns to the family home for Christmas, where he must face the emotional train-wreck that... Read more
Volcano High (2001)
Director: Tae-gyun Kim
Starring: Hyuk Jang, Min-a Shin, Su-ro Kim
Kyeong-su is a seemingly hopeless case, transferred to Volcano High - a school for only the most supernaturally gifted martial arts students. When riv... Read more
Shaolin Soccer (2001)
7.3/10
Director: Stephen Chow
Starring: Stephen Chow, Vicki Zhao
Sing is an exceptionally skilled Shaolin kung fu devotee who's fallen on hard times when his amazing 'leg of steel' catches the eye of an equally down... Read more
Together (2002)
7.4/10
Director: Chen Kaige
Starring: Tang Yun, Liu Peiqi, Chen Hong, Wang Zhiwen, Chen Kaige
Moving drama from director Chen Kaige ("Farewell My Concubine") centers on a 13-year-old violin prodigy whose father takes him from their small provin... Read more
Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)
7.8/10
Director: Paul Justman
Starring: The Funk Brothers
Long-overdue tribute to The Funk Brothers, Berry Gordy's team of superlative musicians who backed such Motown giants as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Th... Read more