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'.
Keane (2005)
7/10
Director: Lodge Kerrigan
Starring: Damian Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Amy Ryan, Tina Holmes, Liza Colon-Zayas
We first meet Keane (Damian Lewis), an unkempt, thirty-something, searching desperately at a New York bus terminal for his six-year-old daughter who w... Read more
Hell ( L'Enfer ) (2005)
5.9/10
Director: Danis Tanovic
Starring: Emmanuelle Beart, Karin Viard, Marie Gillain, Guillaume Canet, Jacques Gamblin,...
Three sisters, Sophie (Emmanuelle Beart), Celine (Karin Viard) and Anne (Marie Gillain) have drifted apart since a traumatic childhood incident. Plun... Read more
The White Masai (2005)
Director: Hermine Huntgeburth
Starring: Nina Hoss, Jacky Ido, Katja Flint, Antonio Prester
A truly incredible love story based on Corinne Hofmann's autobiography about her journey to Kenya and her culture-shock romance with a Masai warrior.... Read more
CRAZY (2005)
3.7/10
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Starring: Michel Cote, Marc-Andre Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Emile Vallee, Pierre-Luc Brill...
Zac Beaulieu was born on Christmas Day in 1960 and lives with his parents and four brothers in Quebec. He grows up longing for acceptance from his ho... Read more
49 Up (2005)
8.2/10
Director: Michael Apted
And now they are 49. Michael Apted's legendary social experiment continues with 10 of the original 12 participants taking part. With each entry seem... Read more
Wah-Wah (2005)
6.9/10
Director: Richard E Grant
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Nicholas Hoult, Emily Watson, Julie Walters,...
South African-born actor Richard E Grant makes his directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical comedy/drama set against the colonial British wit... Read more
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont (2005)
7.6/10
Director: Dan Ireland
Starring: Rupert Friend, Robert Lang, Anna Massey, Joan Plowright, Zoe Tapper, Marcia Warr...
Mrs Palfrey (Joan Plowright) has been uneasy since her husband passed away, and decides to move from her home in Scotland to London, to be nearer her... Read more
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005)
6.8/10
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Gillian Anderson, Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, James Fleet, Stephen Fry, Naomie Har...
As with their previous collaboration ('24 Hour Party People'), Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan subvert the medium; making a film about a 'docume... Read more
Factotum (2005)
6.6/10
Director: Bent Hamer
Starring: Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Fisher Stevens, Adrienne Shelly, Didier...
The life of celebrated poet, novelist and wild man Charles Bukowski is examined in this darkly humourous, booze-drenched adaptation of his novel. Mat... 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