Film Festivals 1990
This punter believes this was the best film festival ever to grace Christchurch's screens (in this case the old Regent Theatre). The entire line-up had absolutely no deadwood. A few of the great many highlights included Jane Campion's "An Angel At My Table" and "Sweetie", Akira Kurosawa's "Dreams", Hal Hartley's "The Unbelievable Truth" the acclaimed "Cinema Paradiso", the marvellous "Jesus of Montreal", from the Netherlands came the sleek psycho-chiller "The Vanishing" and from Mexico came Alex Jodorowsky's unforgettable "Santa Sangre" (right).
Last Exit To Brooklyn (1989)
6.8/10
Director: Uli Edel
Starring: Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Burt Young
A powerful and disturbing adaptation of Hubert Selby's controversial novel. Set in Brooklyn in 1952, the story centres around a massive strike by fact... Read more
Paperhouse (1988)
6.8/10
Director: Bernard Rose
Starring: Glenne Headly, Ben Cross, Charlotte Burke
Little Anna has a very active imagination and a talent for drawing, but that does not explain quite everything in this eerie, psychological thriller.... Read more
Red Riding Hood (1988)
5.7/10
Director: Adam Brooks
Starring: Isabella Rossellini, Amelia Shankley, Rocco Sisto, Craig T Nelson
Craig T Nelson, Isabella Rossellini and Amelia Shankley star in this tale of the faithful little girl who must brave the forest and the big bad wolf t... Read more
Roger and Me (1989)
Director: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore
An acclaimed look by journalist Michael Moore at the devastation caused in his hometown of Flint, Michigan when General Motors decided to close most o... Read more
Rosalie Goes Shopping (1989)
6/10
Director: Percy Adlon
Starring: Alex Winter, Brad Davis, Judge Reinhold, Marianne Sagebrecht
Bavarian-born Marianne Sagebrecht ('Bagdad Cafe') has settled with American husband Brad Davis in Stuttgart, Arkansas. She's become obsessed with spen... Read more
Ruby and Rata (1990)
6/10
Director: Gaylene Preston
Starring: Vanessa Rare, Yvonne Lawley, Simon Barnett
The winning flick about Ruby, an elderly woman not yet ready for a retirement home and Rata, a would be rock singer and solo mother well practiced in... Read more
Santa Sangre (1989)
7.7/10
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Starring: Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell
Unforgettable imagery is used to tell the story of two circus performers, an armless woman and her insane son who acts as his mother's hands. Jodorows... Read more
Sweetie (1989)
6.9/10
Director: Jane Campion
Starring: Genevieve Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos
A true original, this darkly comic, shocking and sublime film from Jane Campion ('An Angel at my Table') tells the story of two very different sisters... Read more
Tap (1989)
6.5/10
Director: Nick Castle
Starring: Gregory Hines, Joe Morton, Sammy Davis Jr, Suzzanne Douglas
Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis, Jr. and some legendary hoofers star in a rousing dance showcase about a second-generation tapper and parolled jewel thief... Read more
Testimony (1987)
7.1/10
Director: Tony Palmer
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Terence Rigby, Ronald Pickup
The enthralling study of the life and times, the artistry and the anguish of the Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich - a Russian who fell from grace... Read more