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).
The Handmaid's Tale (1990)
6/10
Director: Volker Schlondorff
Starring: Natasha Richardson, Aidan Quinn, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall
A stylish adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel of the not-so-distant future where certain young women are used to bear 'pure' children for the milita... Read more
The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
7.4/10
Director: Hal Hartley
Starring: Adrienne Shelly, Robert Burke, Christopher Cooke
Tall, mysterious man returns to his hometown after a stint in prison, causing a variety of reactions from the locals. This quirky, independently made... Read more
The Vanishing (1988)
7.8/10
Director: George Sluizer
Starring: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Johanna Ter Steege
A sleek psycho-chiller with an absorbing plot about the vanishing without a trace of a young woman at a gas station, and the terrifying battle of wits... Read more
Trop Belle Pour Toi ( Too Beautiful For You ) (1989)
6.7/10
Director: Bertrand Blier
Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, Carole Bouquet
Gerard Depardieu is the star of this highly praised comedy, as a wealthy bourgeois businessman with an incredibly beautiful wife, (Carole Boquet) who... Read more
UHF ( aka The Vidiot from UHF ) (1989)
7/10
Director: Jay Levey
Starring: Weird Al Yankovic, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, David Bowe, Victoria Jackso...
Despite this being his only starring role, Yankovic plays it to the hilt in this quirky cult film from the 80's. Yankovic stars as George Newman, a ho... Read more
User Friendly (1990)
5.2/10
Director: Gregor Nicholas
Starring: Alison Bruce, David Letch, Judith Gibson, William Brandt
If a carved wooden dog with teeth like a shark followed you home...what would you do?! Augusta thinks the statue might be just what she needs, but ex-... Read more
Vampire's Kiss (1988)
5.9/10
Director: Robert Bierman
Starring: Maria Conchita Alonso, Nicolas Cage, Kasi Lemmons, Jennifer Beals
A bizarre black comedy (from the writer of 'After Hours'), with a suitably demented Nicolas Cage ('Raising Arizona') playing an arrogant, pretentious... Read more