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).
A Dry White Season (1989)
7/10
Director: Euzhan Palcy
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae, Jurgen Prochnow, Susan Sarandon, M...
Donald Sutherland is South African school teacher Ben du Toit, someone who has remained isolated from the racial violence in his country until his bla... Read more
Jesus Of Montreal (1989)
7.5/10
Director: Denys Arcand
Starring: Catherine Wilkening, Lothaire Bluteau
The marvellous, emotional and humourous story of modern day hypocrisy, as experienced by a group of actors who stage a radical interpretation of the l... 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
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
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
7.4/10
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Matt Dillon, James LeGros, Kelly Lynch, Heather Graham, James Remar, William Bur...
An electrifying movie about two couples who live together and travel around robbing hospitals and pharmacies, grabbing fistfuls of pills and capsules.... Read more
Henry V (Branagh) (1989)
7.7/10
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Emma Thompson, Alec McCo...
An energetic, extraordinarily well-acted and perfectly cast version of Shakespeare's play adapted and directed by tyro-star Kenneth Branagh. Henry V i... Read more
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
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
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
Cinema Paradiso ( Blu-ray ) (1988)
8.5/10
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Starring: Jacques Perrin, Leopoldo Trieste, Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio
A charming, bittersweet tribute to the power of movies which won 1989's Best Foreign Film Academy Award. A filmmaker returns to his Sicilian hometown... Read more