SPECIAL ENTRY OR THE OTHER LIST |
|
1. Welcome (2009), French film directed by Philippe Lioret. It's a heart breaking film about a young man who was born in the wrong country and had his love of his life removed away from him. Should our worth defined by the country we were born in? Watch this film and decide yourself what should define who you are. (text by Ž.J.) |
|
2. Lars and the Real Girl (2007), American-Canadian comedy-drama film written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie. A delusional young guy strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet. |
|
3. Ratcatcher (1999), UK, France, written and directed by Lynne Ramsay. The slice-of-life, coming-of-age story follows James as he tags along with the older lads; has a friendship with his quirky wee rodent-loving neighbor, Kenny; spends time with Margaret Anne, myopic, slightly older, the local sexual punching bag; and, has a moment or two of joy. But there is a secret that follows James everywhere. Will it be ever revealed? |
|
4. Kids (1995), American drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark. An amoral, HIV-positive skateboarder sets out to deflower as many virgins as possible while a local girl who contracted his disease tries to save his next target from her same fate. |
|
5. O Fantazma (2000), Portuguese explicit gay-themed film directed by João Pedro Rodrigues. Young and handsome Sergio works the night shift as a trash collector. He can't force himself to connect with his pretty female co-worker Fatima, who displays an avid interest in him, so instead Sergio roams the city with the trash company's pet dog. Eventually Sergio becomes fascinated with a sleek motorcycle, and then also its arrogant owner - a young man totally indifferent to Sergio. The frustrated trash collector's surfacing desires unleash his darkest impulses. |
|
6. Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006), USA, comedy-fantasy-romance film written and directed by Goran Dukić. A film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide. |
|
7. Alpha Dog (2007), American crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes. A drama based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to be on the FBI's most wanted list. Johnny and a couple pals kidnap Jake's 15-year-old brother, Zach. Zach's okay with it, figuring his brother will pay the debt soon. Johnny assigns his buddy Frankie to be Zach's minder, and they develop a brotherly friendship. Zach parties with his captors as things begin to spin out of control. Is Zach in danger? |
|
8. 4 Minutes (Vier Minuten) (2006), German drama film directed by Chris Kraus. An elderly piano teacher trains a young convict at a women's penitentiary. |
|
9. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile) (2007), Romanian film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu. Drama about a woman who assists her friend to arrange an illegal abortion in 1980's Romania. |
|
10. Talk to Her (Hable con ella) (2002), Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Two men share an odd friendship while they care for their girlfriends who are both in deep comas. |
|
11. The House of Sand (Casa de Areia) (2005), Brazilian film directed by Andrucha Waddington. It stars real life mother and daughter Fernanda Montenegro and Fernanda Torres. A woman is taken along with her mother in 1910 to a far-away desert by her husband, and after his passing, is forced to spend the next 59 years of her life hopelessly trying to escape it. |
|
12. Spun (2002), American crime comedy-drama directed by Jonas Åkerlund. An out-of-control speed freak (Schwartzman) is introduced his drug of choice's creator (Rourke) by his dealer (Leguizamo). A massive three-day adventure ensues (with Fugit, Murphy, and Suvari in tow). |
|
13. Breaking the Waves (1996), Spain, Denmark, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, directed by Lars von Trier. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 1970s, it is about an unusual young woman, Bess McNeill, and of the love she has for Jan, her husband. |
|
14. Lilya 4-ever (Lilja 4-ever) (2002), Swedish drama film directed by Lukas Moodysson. Lilja is 16 years old. Her only friend is the young boy Volodja. They live in Estonia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej. He is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life. |
|
15. Se7en (1995), American thriller film, with horror and neo-noir elements, written by Andrew Kevin Walker, directed by David Fincher. Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi. |
|
16. Irina Palm (2007), Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, UK, France, tragicomedy film directed by Sam Garbarski. Maggie, a 50-year-old widow, desperately needs some money to pay for a medical treatment for her ill grandson. After one attempt at trying to find a job, Maggie finds herself roaming the streets of London Soho. Her eye is caught by a small poster in the window of a 'shop' called "Sexy World" which reads: "Hostess wanted." |
|
17. Romeo + Juliet (1996), USA, film adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy of the same name, directed by Baz Luhrmann. Shakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue. |
|
18. Natural Born Killers (1994), American crime/black comedy film directed by Oliver Stone about two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and mass murderers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media. Clockwork Orange (1971), UK, USA, film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick. In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem... but not all goes to plan. |
|
19. Maldeamores (2007), Puerto Rican film starring Luis Guzmán, written by Carlos Ruíz Ruíz and Jorge Gonzales, and directed by Ruíz and his wife Mariem Pérez Riera. A three-part look at the ironies of love, with stories that involve a young boy, a hostage situation, and a divorced elderly couple caught in a love triangle. |
|
20. District B13 (Banlieue 13) (2004), French action film directed by Pierre Morel and written and produced by Luc Besson. Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb. District 9 (2009), South African science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell. An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology. |
|