Film Festivals 1998
Highlights from this year's festivals include Neil LaBute's searing black comedy 'In the Company of Men', the Coen brothers' 'The Big Lebowski' and Martin Scorsese's Tibetan ode, 'Kundun'. Gary Oldman made his directing debut with the intense 'Nil By Mouth' and the understated Australian thriller 'The Interview' showcased Hugo Weaving's great talent. Special mention also for the lyrical comedy/drama, 'Lawn Dogs', Tony Gatlif's 'Gadjo Dilo' and the deeply and delightfully weird, 'Gummo'.
Artemisia (1997)
6.8/10
Director: Agnes Merlet
Starring: Michel Serrault, Valentina Cervi, Maurice Garrel
A powerful biographic study of a talented Italian woman artist, Artemisia Gentileshi, struggling against the narrow mindedness of Renaissance attitude... Read more
Eve's Bayou (1997)
7.3/10
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Jurnee Smollett
A richly textured gothic family drama set in Louisiana in 1962. Samuel L. Jackson is a loving but philandering doctor whose adulterous ways lead Eve,... Read more
Gummo (1997)
6.7/10
Director: Harmony Korine
Starring: Linda Manz, Max Perlich, Chloe Sevigny
Harmony Korine, the creator of 'Kids', offers a startling glimpse of the suburb of Xenia, Ohio; a world existing in the aftermath of a tornado that ra... Read more
The Hanging Garden (1997)
7.1/10
Director: Thom Fitzgerald
Starring: Chris Leavins, Kerry Fox, Troy Veinotte
Paints a lyrical and savagely humorous picture of homecoming as a gay man returns to Nova Scotia for his sister's wedding. This offbeat drama jumps ba... Read more
Kundun (1997)
7/10
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong
A beautifully crafted saga of the 14th Dalai Lama, from his childhood in Tibet to his exile following the Chinese takeover. A cast of non-professional... Read more
Lawn Dogs (1997)
7.6/10
Director: John Duigan
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Christopher McDonald, Kathleen Quinlan, Mischa Barton
Landscaper Sam Rockwell ('Box of Moonlight') observes the foibles of the privileged people around him in a posh surburban gated community and forms an... Read more
My Son The Fanatic (1997)
7/10
Director: Udayan Prasad
Starring: Om Puri, Rachel Griffiths, Stellan Skarsgard
This insightful, multi-layered, heartwarming film examines a Pakistani coming to terms with his life in England. Parvez (Om Puri), a good natured taxi... Read more
Nil By Mouth (1997)
7.4/10
Director: Gary Oldman
Starring: Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles
Gary Oldman draws on his own dysfunctional working-class London background for his impressive writer/director debut, which casually puts you in the mi... Read more
Radiance (1997)
6.3/10
Director: Rachel Perkins
Starring: Rachael Maza, Deborah Mailman, Trisha Morton-Thomas
A mixture of the dramatic and humorous unfold as three young women re-unite, after many years apart, for their mother's funeral. Each with a different... Read more
The Tango Lesson (1997)
6.8/10
Director: Sally Potter
Starring: Sally Potter, Pablo Veron, Gustavo Naveira
Semi-autobiographical tale of director/star/writer and former dancer Sally Potter (director of "Orlando") who finds love and the meaning of life in th... Read more