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).
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Akira Terao, Mieko Harada, Mitsuko Baisho
Eight mesmerising tableaus explore the subconscious at various stages of an elderly mans life in this visually stunning work from the master Japanese... 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
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
High Hopes (1988)
7.6/10
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Philip Davis, Ruth Sheen, Edna Dore, Philip Jackson
A provocative, original, slice-of-life Comedy-Drama about love, alienation and responsibility centred on a young laid-back working class couple, his a... Read more
A Short Film About Love (1988)
8.3/10
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko
A young man falls in love with an older woman who lives in the flats across the courtyard. He watches her and her succession of lovers until she becom... 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
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
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
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
Heathers ( Blu-ray ) (1988)
7.3/10
Director: Michael Lehmann
Starring: Christian Slater, Kim Walker, Shannen Doherty, Winona Ryder, Lisanne Falk
Welcome to Westerburg High, where Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) is beginning to tire of her membership in the powerful yet cruel clique of 'Heathers'... Read more