2001-2010

  • Christopher Harris – still/here (2001)

    2001-2010Christopher HarrisDocumentaryExperimentalUSA

    Quote:
    still/here is a meditation on the vast landscape of ruins and vacant lots that constitute the north side of St. Louis, an area populated almost exclusively by working class and working poor African Americans. On a basic level, the film constructs a documentary record of the blight and decay of that part of the city. For the most part, still/here is not an overt assessment of social injustices but the politics of class and race within American society are integral to the film. In still/here, the ruins are emblematic of an unimaginable absence at the core of much of the African Diaspora’s experience in North America. From the countless Africans lost in the Middle Passage to the lost future generation of unborn descendant of those that perished during the voyage, to the loss of family and loved ones that were sold away during slavery, absence has been and continues to be a fundamental feature of the African-American experience.Read More »

  • Sean Baker & Shih-Ching Tsou – Take Out (2004)

    2001-2010DramaSean BakerShih-Ching TsouUSA

    An undocumented Chinese immigrant falls behind on payments on an enormous smuggling debt. Ming Ding has only until the end of the day to come up with the money.Read More »

  • Patrice Chéreau – Persécution (2009)

    2001-2010ArthouseDramaFrancePatrice Chéreau

    Synopsis:
    The solitary Daniel and Sonia share an uneasy love/hate relationship. Daniel’s life is disrupted by the appearance of a stranger that proceeds to insinuate himself in his life. The man’s persistence takes its toll on Daniel and Sonia, leaving Daniel alone with nagging questions of “Why?”Read More »

  • Frederick Wiseman – The Garden (2005)

    2001-2010DocumentaryFrederick WisemanUSA

    Description
    A documentary on Madison Square Garden. Filmed in 1997 and prevented from public screening by the operators of Madison Square Garden.Read More »

  • Bertrand Bonello – Tiresia (2003)

    2001-2010Bertrand BonelloDramaFranceQueer Cinema(s)

    Quote:
    According to ancient mythology, Tiresia was both a man and a woman. Blinded by the rage of the goddess, the gods granted him higher vision. This version of the myth takes place in the suburbs of Paris. Tiresia is a Brazilian transexual of extreme beauty, earning her living as a prostitute, she shares an appartment illegally with her brother Terranova. With his morbid and poetic ideals, he falls madly in love with her, finding no other way to keep her for himself, he decides to kidnap her. Robbed of her daily fix of hormones, Tiresia finds herself slowly turning back into a man.Read More »

  • Kazuo Kuroki – Utsukushii natsu kirishima AKA A Boy’s Summer in 1945 (2002)

    Kazuo Kuroki2001-2010AsianDramaJapan

    Quote:
    Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki’s sixth decade behind the camera, “A Boy’s Summer in 1945” (literally “A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima”) is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan’s surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer (“Preparation of the Festival,” “Ronin-gai”) who’s long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.Read More »

  • Arnaud Desplechin – Rois et Reine AKA Kings and Queen (2004)

    2001-2010Arnaud DesplechinArthouseDramaFrance

    Synopsis :
    Parallel storylines tell the current state of affairs for two ex-lovers: Nora’s a single mother who comes to care for her terminally ill father; holed in up in mental ward, Ismael, a brilliant musician, plots his escape.Read More »

  • Samira Makhmalbaf – Panj é asr AKA At Five In The Afternoon (2003)

    2001-2010DramaIranSamira Makhmalbaf

    Quote:
    In the bombed-out ruins of post-Taliban Kabul, Noqreh (Agheleh Rezaie) lives with her conservative father (Abdolgani Yousefrazi) and her sister-in-law, Leylomah (Marzieh Amiri), in temporary refuge buildings. Although her father insists that she go to the religious school, Noqreh sneaks into a secular school for girls. Her teacher encourages her to run for class president, and she finds support from a refugee poet (Razi Mahebi), who introduces her to the work of Garcia Lorca. Noqreh dreams about becoming president of Afghanistan, and she bases her political ideals on former Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto.Read More »

  • Urs Odermatt – Mein Kampf (2009)

    2001-2010AustriaComedyUrs Odermatt

    The young, despotic and untalented artist Adolf Hitler comes to Vienna to study art. He befriends the Jew Schlomo Herzl working on a novel with the title “Mein Kampf”. Hitler is rejected by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Herzl’s concern for the sad young man continues, and leads him to a new career with disastrous consequences for world history.Read More »

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