Eastern European Cinema
Again this category lumps a lot of countries together where the Alice collection is not large enough to warrant separate shelf-space for each country represented. Eastern European films are often categorised by a healthy black humour, an ability to look hardship in the eye and laugh - if somewhat bitterly at times. Included here are films from Poland, Austria, Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. To look for films from a specific country refer to the 'By Country' link on the left.
Vodka Lemon (2003)
6.8/10
Director: Hiner Saleem
Starring: Romen Avinian, Lala Sarkissian
Kurdish filmmaker Hiner Saleem earned critical comparisons to Fellini, Kusturica, Iosseliani, and Kaurismaki with this breakout comedy. A whimsical, f... Read more
Zelary (2003)
7.7/10
Director: Ondrej Trojan
Starring: Ana Geislerova, Gyorgy Cserhalmi, Ivan Trojan, Miroslav Donutil
Based on Kveta Legatova's novella about Eliska (Ana Geislerova) a nurse involved in the Czech resistance movement in Prague. When forced to flee into... Read more
Autumn Spring (2002)
7.6/10
Director: Vladimir Michalek
Starring: Vlastimil Brodsky, Stella Zazvorkova, Stanislav Zindulka, Ondrej Vetchy, Zita Ka...
Fanda (Vlastimil Brodsky) is an incurable prankster, even when faced with his own imminent death and a bemused and ungrateful family, Fanda wants to c... Read more
Dog Days (2001)
7.1/10
Director: Ulrich Seidl
Starring: Maria Hofstatter, Alfred Mrva, Erich Finsches
It's a stifling hot weekend in the suburbs of Vienna, somewhere between the autobahn and the exit roads, the hypermarkets and the new housing estates.... Read more
The Naked (2001)
7.6/10
Director: Witold Swietnicki
Starring: Anna Pudlowska, Barbara Gasior, Agnieszka Pasko, Irene Kolodziej, Waldemar Polte...
From Polish director Witold Swietnicki, and a cast of everyday people comes an unusual satire on the routine madnesses of everyday life. In an office... Read more
Avalon (2001)
6.5/10
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski
Anime master Mamoru Oshii's ("Ghost in the Shell") live-action feature directorial debut is a mesmerizing sci-fi tale set in a future world where peop... Read more
Dark Blue World (2001)
7.3/10
Director: Jan Sverak
Starring: Ondrej Vetchy, Krystof Hadek, Tara Fitzgerald
Enthralling WWII drama from "Kolya" director Jan Sverak details the adventures of pilot pals Ondrej Vetchy and young Krystof Hadek, who are forced to... Read more
No Man's Land (2001)
8/10
Director: Danis Tanovic
Starring: Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Simon Callow, Katrin Cartlidge
Set at the height of the Bosnian Civil War in 1993, writer/director Danis Tanovic's Oscar-winning dark comedy boils the absurdity of warfare down to i... Read more
Dust (2001)
6.6/10
Director: Milcho Manchevski
Starring: David Wenham, Joseph Fiennes, Anne Brochet
Love and war divide two brothers in this cross between a harsh Mexican western ("El Topo") and an urban drama. From the award-winning director of "Bef... Read more
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
8.3/10
Director: Bela Tarr
Starring: Hanna Schygulla, Lars Rudolph
Bela Tarr's gravely haunting, challenging existential meditation is set in a bleak and wintry Hungarian village which is visited by a distinctly odd t... Read more