2000s

  • Pou-Soi Cheang – Gau ngao gau AKA Dog Bite Dog (2006)

    2001-2010ActionCrimeHong KongPou-Soi Cheang

    Plot Synopsis from beyondhollywood.com
    Although many Hong Kong thrillers like to style themselves as being gritty and nihilistic, “Dog Bite Dog” is one of the few with the guts to actually follow through on such claims, being one of the darkest and brutal films of the last few years. As such, it marks a change for director Soi Cheang, previously known for light horror outings such as “Home Sweet Home” and “The Death Curse”, though he certainly takes the subject matter between his teeth and succeeds in producing a film which cuts like a knife through the glossy, choreographed violence usually seen in the genre.Read More »

  • Ramin Bahrani – Plastic Bag (2009)

    2001-2010Ramin BahraniShort FilmUSA

    Quote:
    This short film by American director Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo) traces the epic, existential journey of a plastic bag (voiced by Werner Herzog) searching for its lost maker, the woman who took it home from the store and eventually discarded it. Along the way, it encounters strange creatures, experiences love in the sky, grieves the loss of its beloved maker, and tries to grasp its purpose in the world.Read More »

  • Kim Longinotto & Jano Williams – Gaea Girls (2000)

    1991-2000DocumentaryJano WilliamsKim LonginottoUnited Kingdom

    “This fascinating film follows the physically grueling and mentally exhausting training regimen of several young wanna-be GAEA GIRLS, a group of Japanese women wrestlers. The idea of them may seem like a total oxymoron in a country where women are usually regarded as docile and subservient. However, in training and in the arena, the female wrestlers depicted in this film are just as violent as any member of the World Wrestling Federation, and the blood that’s drawn is very real indeed. One recruit, Takeuchi, endures ritual humiliation not seen on screen since the boot camp sequences of FULL METAL JACKET. In DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE, Kim Longinotto cinematically explored the previously unexplored world of the Tehran divorce courts. Working with co-director Jano Williams, Longinotto has been given access to shoot an insider’s verité account of this closely guarded universe.” – Chicago Film FestivalRead More »

  • Les Blank & Gina Leibrecht – All in This Tea (2007)

    2001-2010DocumentaryGina LeibrechtLes BlankUSA

    Quote:
    During the 1990s, David Lee Hoffman searched throughout China for the finest teas. He’s a California importer who, as a youth, lived in Asia for years and took tea with the Dali Lama. Hoffman’s mission is to find and bring to the U.S. the best hand picked and hand processed tea. This search takes him directly to farms and engages him with Chinese scientists, business people, and government officials: Hoffman wants tea grown organically without a factory, high-yield mentality. By 2004, Hoffman has seen success: there are farmer’s collectives selling tea, ways to export “boutique tea” from China, and a growing Chinese appreciation for organic farming’s best friend, the earthworm.Read More »

  • Mike Leigh – All or Nothing (2002)

    2001-2010ArthouseDramaMike LeighUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    Phil (Timothy Spall) is an overweight taxi driver who gets up late in the day and works intermittently, barely communicating with his family except for a few grunts. His philosophy of life is expressed as “We’re all born alone. We die alone. There’s nothing we can do about it”. Mike Leigh has given us powerful portrayals of the underclass in his previous films Naked, Secrets and Lies, and Life is Sweet but none more powerful and moving than his latest, All or Nothing.Read More »

  • Rosa von Praunheim – Dein Herz in meinem Hirn AKA Your Heart in My Brain (2005)

    2001-2010CampGermanyHorrorQueer Cinema(s)Rosa von Praunheim

    Quote:
    For whatever reason, this low-budget shot-on-DV film seems to have never been released in any format and is very rare. This is a web rip and the best (and only) print of the film currently available. Inspired by the gay German cannibalism case involving Armin Meiwes (whose story inspired no less than three other films, including Martin Weisz’s Grimm Love (2006) and Marian Dora’s Cannibal (2006) and Ulli Lommel’s Diary of a Cannibal), von Praunheim’s film caused much controversy, mainly because it was partially funded by German tax money.Read More »

  • Margarethe von Trotta – Tatort: Unter uns (2007)

    2001-2010CrimeGermanyMargarethe von Trotta

    Quote:
    The former owner of a craftsman’s business, Wolfgang Kunert, who has been unemployed for a long time, is waiting at the job agency. When it is his turn after four hours of waiting time, which Heidi Ganz, the agency responsible for him, cannot offer him any work and points out his misconduct in general, he loses his nerves. He pulls out a gun and takes Mrs. Ganz hostageRead More »

  • Shinji Aoyama – Eri Eri rema sabakutani AKA Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani? [+Extra] (2005)

    2001-2010AsianJapanSci-FiShinji Aoyama

    My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
    On the same day of this word created from the depth of despair, the Christ passed away on the cross, A.D.2015, Virus has been spreading in many cities worldwide. It is a suicidal disease. The virus is infected by pictures. People, once infected, certainly come down with the disease, which leads to death. They have no way of fighting against the disease filled with fear and despair. The media calls the disease the Lemming Syndrome.Read More »

  • Jean-Michel Carré – Charbons ardents AKA Burning Coal (2000)

    1991-2000DocumentaryFranceJean-Michel CarréPolitics

    In the ‘eighties, the clash between Thatcher and Scargill in England over the way of managing the country’s economy provoked a series of strict State measures aimed against the working classes, and more particularly against the miners whose trade union had grown into too powerful an opposition force. As had happened in the majority of mines, the Towell mine in Wales was then closed down. Deciding not to give in to bitterness and refusing to head for the dole queue, a group of miners planned to buy back the land and proposed that each employee reinvest his severance allowance and become a shareholder in the new company.Read More »

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