Film Festivals 1997
Yet another all-sorts year with something for all tastes. From Atom Egoyan's controversial "The Sweet Hereafter" and Kirby Dick's provocative "Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Lanagan, Supermasochist" to the warm and witty "Kolya" from the Czech Republic and the harrowing and visually stunning "Zero Kelvin" from Norway. The Wachowski Brothers' stylish contemporary noir "Bound" was good company for David Cronenberg's not-for-all-tastes minor masterpiece "Crash". Peter Greenaway offered up his stylistic "The Pillow Book".
A Self Made Hero (1996)
7.4/10
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Mathieu Kassovitz, Anouk Grinberg, Albert Dupontel
Mathieu Kassovitz plays a young Frenchman who manages to avoid military service in WWII. His one great talent is his confidence and his ability as a s... Read more
A Summer's Tale (1996)
7.7/10
Director: Eric Rohmer
Starring: Amanda Langlet, Melvil Poupaud, Aurella Nolin
The third part in Eric Rohmer's "Tales of the Four Seasons" tells the sweet tale of a young man torn between three women. With naturalistic settings,... Read more
Swingers (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Ron Livingston, Jon Favreau, Heather Graham
Doug Liman's debut is a surprisingly winning look at the romantic and social entanglements of a group of Los Angeles lounge lizards. Jon Favreau and V... Read more
When We Were Kings (1996)
8/10
Director: Leon Gast
Starring: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown
Muhammad Ali and George Foreman's Rumble in the Jungle, the 1974 heavyweight championship fight that suddenly turned Zaire into the temporary sports a... Read more
East Side Story (1996)
6.7/10
Director: Dana Ranga
Starring: Chris Doerk, Erich Gusko, Helmet Hanke
This fascinating and fun, though not campy, documentary focuses on Soviet musicals, which were made to distract audiences from the oppressive politica... Read more
Crash (1996)
6.4/10
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Rosanna Arquette, Deborah Kara Unger
James Spader, Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette are a motley assortment of car crash survivors seeking more and more perverse thrills to communicate,... Read more
Big Night (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci
Starring: Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
An impeccably crafted, endearing story of Italian immigrant brothers trying to survive as restauranteurs in 1950's America. Isabella Rossellini, Ian H... Read more
Big Night (Blu-ray) (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci
Starring: Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
An impeccably crafted, endearing story of Italian immigrant brothers trying to survive as restauranteurs in 1950's America. Isabella Rossellini, Ian H... Read more
The Daytrippers (1995)
6.9/10
Director: Greg Mottola
Starring: Hope Davis, Parker Posey, Stanley Tucci, Liev Schreiber, Campbell Scott, Pat McN...
Happily married Eliza (Hope Davis) discovers a letter written to her husband Louis (Stanley Tucci), signed 'Forever Sandy'. Her curiosity pricked by t... Read more
Zero Kelvin (1995)
7.4/10
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, Gard B Eidsvold, Bjorn Sundquist, Camilla Martens
Visually stunning and psychologically intense, 'Zero Kelvin' finds three men at odds with the elements and each other when they embark on a fur-trappi... Read more