Film Festivals 2004
Another great year for documentary fans with the gripping 'Capturing the Friedmans', political offerings 'Control Room', Robert McNamara in 'Fog of War', and the disturbing psyche of 'The Corporation'. For music lovers there was the fascinating 'End of the Century: The Sory of the Ramones', 'The Mayor of Sunset Strip', 'Metallica: Some Kind of Monster' and 'Festival Express'. Hector Babenco broke a long absence from directing with the powerhouse 'Carandiru' while Zhang Yimou's lush 'Hero' made it to New Zealand screens along with 'Motorcycle Diaries', gut-wrenching Korean flick 'Old Boy', heart-tugger 'Osama' and the delightful 'Triplets of Belleville' to name just a few.
The Saddest Music in the World (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Guy Maddin
Starring: Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney, Maria de Medeiros, David Fox
Director Guy Maddin's works are like a window to an alternate film universe - this unforgettable feverish whirligig of a movie is the closest the cul... Read more
Go Further (2003)
6.7/10
Director: Ron Mann
Starring: Woody Harrelson
From award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, "Go Further" explores the idea that the single individual is the key to large-scale transformationa... Read more
The Yes Men (2003)
6.9/10
Director: Chris Smith, Dan Ollman, Sarah Price
Starring: Andreas Bichlbauer, Mike Bonanno, Sal Salamone, Michael Moore
A comedic documentary following Andy and Mike, prankster activists who set up a website mimicking the World Trade Organisation. Finding themselves inv... Read more
Born Into Brothels (2003)
7.3/10
Director: Ross Kauffman, Zana Briski
A portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a N... Read more
Festival Express (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Bob Smeaton
Starring: Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead
In the summer of 1970, a group of rock music's biggest acts hopped aboard a customized train and traveled across Canada for a series of explosive conc... Read more
Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Tom Peosay
Starring: Narrated by, Martin Sheen, H H Dalai Lama, Robert Thurman, etc ...
Ten years in the making, this award-winning documentary exposes the real cost of the 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet. Powerfully chronicled through de... Read more
Apres Vous... (2003)
6.6/10
Director: Pierre Salvadori
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Jose Garcia, Sandrine Kiberlain, Marilyne Canto, Michele Moretti...
A.k.a. "After You". Antoine (Daniel Auteuil), a maitre d' at an upmarket Parisian brasserie, prevents the suicide of a stranger (Jose Garcia) and atte... Read more
End of the Century: The Story of The Ramones (2003)
8/10
Director: Michael Gramaglia, Jim Fields
Starring: The Ramones, Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone
In 1974 the New York City music scene was shocked into consiousness by a band of misfits from Queens called the Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery bar... Read more
The Stroll (2003)
7.4/10
Director: Aleksei Uchitel
Starring: Irina Pegova, Pavel Barshak, Yevgeni Tsyganov
A.k.a. "Progulka". Olya (Irina Pegova) steps out of a luxurious car and begins a stroll through the streets of St Petersburg, striking up an acquainta... Read more
The Motorcycle Diaries (2003)
7.8/10
Director: Walter Salles
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo De La Serna, Mia Maestro
From executive producer Robert Redford and acclaimed director Walter Salles ("Central Station") comes a love letter to a continent and its people. Bas... Read more