Film Festivals 2006
Another eclectic clutch of fine cinema from around the world. The 30th Telecom International Festival kicked off this year with Ken Loach's 'The Wind That Shakes The Barley', exploring tense Anglo-Irish relations in the 1920s; auteur Terrence Malick returned to filmmaking with a different story of colonialism, an eerily dream-like re-telling of the Pocahontas story and the 'conquering' of 'The New World'. Speaking of dreams, the innovative Michel Gondry gave us the enchanting 'The Science of Sleep', Richard Linklater came out with the animated 'A Scanner Darkly' and Korean Joon-ho Bong revisited the monster movie nightmare with fan favourite, 'The Host'. More personal stories included the excellent Canadian coming of age flick 'CRAZY', Tommy Lee Jones's 'The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada'; low-key thriller 'Keane' and a blackly humourous tale of the prodigal son, 'Lonesome Jim'.
Scared Sacred (2004)
Director: Velcrow Ripper
An award-winning, film festival favourite, this uplifting documentary travels to the world's 'ground zeros', finding hope in the most unlikely of plac... Read more
Shortbus (2006)
6.5/10
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, PJ DeBoy, Raphael Barker, Peter Stic...
From the writer and director of cult film 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch', this New York indie-style 'smart-porn' follows a group of largely non-actors, a... Read more
Sicko (2007)
8/10
Director: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore
Michael Moore's scathing dissection of America's Health Insurance system showcases his characteristic combination of shock and humour, as he compares... Read more
Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005)
Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Frank O Gehry, Sydney Pollack, Dennis Hopper, Bob Geldof, etc ...
Director Sydney Pollack makes his documentary debut by following his old friend, ground-breaking, 'de-constructionist' architect Frank O. Gehry, aroun... Read more
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (2005)
Director: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Min-sik Choi, Yeong-ae Lee, Il-woo Nam, Byeong-ok Kim, Bu-seon Kim, Mi-ran Ra
The final instalment in Chan-wook Park's vengeance trilogy, after 'Sympathy for Mr Vengeance' and 'Old Boy', this follows the story of Guem-ja, impris... Read more
Ten Canoes (2006)
7/10
Director: Rolf de Heer, Peter Djiggir
Starring: David Gulpilil, (Voice of) , Peter Minygululu, Jamie Gulpilil, Richard Birrinbir...
Rolf de Heer's uniquely enchanting and humourous fable is the first film spoken entirely in Aboriginal languages. Set before the time of Western cont... Read more
Thank You For Smoking (2005)
7.6/10
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holme...
Nick Naylor is Big Tobacco's go-to-guy when they need a good spin on something. Like premature death, lung cancer, etc. But Nick revels in the twist... Read more
The Aura (2004)
7.2/10
Director: Fabian Bielinsky
Starring: Ricardo Darin, Dolores Fonzi, Alejandro Awada, Pablo Cedron, Jorge D'Elia, Nahue...
A spell-binding and richly textured heist film centred around an epileptic taxidermist who leads an isolated existence, harbouring fantasies of pullin... Read more
The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005)
7.7/10
Director: Byambasuren Davaa
Starring: Nansal Batchuluun, Babbayar Batchuluun, Batchuluun Urjindorj, Buyandulam Daramda...
The makers of 'The Story of the Weeping Camel' have returned to Mongolia for this similarly touching tale of a young girl who finds a lone dog and bri... Read more
The Child ( L'Enfant ) (2005)
4.2/10
Director: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Starring: Jeremie Renier, Deborah Francois, Jeremie Segard, Fabrizio Rongione, Olivier Gou...
Sofia and her boyfriend Bruno are two irresponsible teens living on the bottom rung of the social ladder. When Sofia falls pregnant and gives birth t... Read more