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.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring (2003)
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Starring: Oh Yeong-Su, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Yeong-min
A tiny Buddhist monastery floats on a raft amidst a breathtaking landscape, tended to by a solitary Monk. Into this serene setting comes a young child... Read more
Father and Son (2003)
6.7/10
Director: Alexander Sokurov
Starring: Andrei Shchetinin, Aleksei Nejmyshev, Aleksandr Razbash
Alexander Sokurov, the visionary director of "Russian Ark", presents another powerful work of intense beauty and emotion. Following the critically acc... Read more
Kitchen Stories (2003)
7.3/10
Director: Bent Hamer
Starring: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norstrom, Reine Brynolfsson, Bjorn Floberg
A Swedish researcher strikes up an unlikely friendship with a cranky Norwegian farmer in this splendidly low-key comedy of manners. It's the 1950s, an... Read more
Control Room (2003)
7.8/10
Director: Jehane Noujaim
This bristling documentary about Al Jazeera, the satellite news network, during the American invasion of Iraq is a seminal film that explores how trut... Read more
Bad Santa (2003)
7.1/10
Director: Terry Zwigoff
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, Tony Cox, John Ritter, Brett Kell...
Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton like you've never seen him before) is the department store Santa who doesn't give a f*** if you've been naughty o... Read more
Monsieur Ibrahim (2003)
7.5/10
Director: Francois Dupeyron
Starring: Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger
Set against the backdrop of 1960s Paris, this wondrous French drama details the relationship between a disconnected Jewish teen and a kindly Muslim de... Read more
Since Otar Left (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Julie Bertuccelli
Starring: Ester Gorintin, Nino Khomassouridze, Dinara Droukarova
Three generations of women share a crowded apartment in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi. Strong-willed, elderly matriarch Eka lives for letters a... Read more
The Corporation (2003)
8.1/10
Director: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott
Based on a book by Joel Bakan, this documentary considers the fact that, under American law, corporations are individuals and have the same rights as... Read more
Osama (2003)
7.4/10
Director: Siddiq Barmak
Starring: Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar
The first feature film from post-Taliban Afghanistan, this award-winning drama is set during the radical Islamic regime's rule. With women forbidden t... Read more
Touching the Void (2003)
8/10
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Nicholas Aaron, Richard Hawking, Joe Simpson, Simon Yates
The remarkable true story of mountain climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates is the focus of this harrowing docudrama. In 1985, the fearless pair sets o... Read more