CIFF 2009 Diary, Days 2-5

Day 2: Saturday, Sept 26

Tetro (2009, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)

Family again. But this time the family does not deal with the mafia but instead with the arts -- music, theatre, opera, ballet and literature. A tale of 2 brothers forms the core but there is also a second rivalry of 2 brothers (the two brother’s father vs their uncle) around the nucleus. Women, the love interests, left standing by.

The Black and White gives La Boca a beautiful sensual feel. It starts with a blinding light and ends with a similar light. Flicker, flicker, off.

Houston, We have a problem (2008, USA, Nicole Torre)

Oil. Wars and boardroom deals. Politics and foreign policies, all about oil. The black gold has driven humanity forward and it may prove to be their downfall.

Good to see the ideas that one reads about in books and papers given coverage on film. It is essential that people watch this film but what good will come out of it? The film covers the emergence of alternative forms of energy in the latter half and that is where hope lies for humanity. Hopefully, the politicians get that message as well. Otherwise, the clock is ticking and more wars may await.

The White Ribbon (2009, co-production, Michael Haneke)

In The White Ribbon Haneke displays the same keen observation towards society and culture that was evident in Cache, although the methodology between the two films differs in terms of images vs words. In the absorbing Cache, it was solely the images that gave clues to the character’s true feelings and the audiences were required to derive their own conclusions. But in The White Ribbon, the character’s words clearly spell out the hatred and feelings of disgust. On some occasions, the images do convey the hatred & fear but words are the real weapon here.

The White Ribbon does take a while to catch fire though. The first hour appears to be devoid of much drama as we get a dry glimpse into the character’s daily lives and activities. But after the first signs of the horror and hatred in the village are revealed, then the purpose of those earlier scenes which depicted the mundane activities is made clear. After that point, the film is a riveting pulsating catalogue of the hatred and evil that would be unleashed beyond the borders of a single village and across the European landscape.

The use of a narrator to carry us through the small town tale in The White Ribbon feels a bit like Lars von Trier from Dogville and Manderlay. In fact, Dogville and The White Ribbon have quite a bit in common as both films use the story of a few selected characters to stand in for a nation -- in both cases, the directors are trying to depict their understanding of the psyche of a larger group of people by focussing on a selected few characters. While von Trier set his film on a stage set thereby eliminating any feelings for the character’s environment, Haneke uses a real environment to depict the character’s daily routines thereby making his film feel like a living breathing case study.

Day 3: Sunday, Sept 27

Crackie (2009, Canada, Sherry White)

Ah Newfoundland. Beautiful landscape but devoid of jobs. Not a stereotype but a reality as documented by the large number of people that leave the place to head west to look for jobs, especially in Alberta. Sherry White’s film also picks up on this aspect as the young Mitsy is abandoned by her mother who heads to Alberta to etch out a better living. Crackie is an engaging coming of age tale garnished with a mix of humour and drama. The humour is provided by Mary Walsh who plays the strong outspoken grandmother who looks after Mitsy.

Revache (2008, Austria, Goetz Spielmann)

I had been looking forward towards this movie since it made the cut for Cannes back in 2008. And I was not disappointed as this beautiful bank heist + moral tale certainly delivers. Also like in Spielmann’s previous film Antares, steamy sex is thrown in for good measure. Having now seen two movies each by the Austrian film-makers Goetz Spielmann and Ulrich Seidl, there are overlapping similarities in both film-makers style, especially considering both film-makers start their recent films in sex centers before expanding to a larger canvas.

Police, Adjective (2009, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)

Serious conversations between characters regarding the meaning of words and grammar forms a rich cinematic experience. Things are presented in a simple easy to absorb manner with long takes mixed with precious moments of humour. The film builds up on Corneliu Porumboiu’s previous film 12:08 East of Bucharest and also has a nod towards The Death of Mr. Lazarescu as it depicts another example of the bureaucratic circle of paperwork hell.

Day 4: Monday, Sept 28

The Happiest Girl in the World (2009, Romania co-production, Radu Jude)

Winning a free car was supposed to usher in new freedom for Delia Fratila. All she had to do was act in a 35 second car commercial and drive away with her new car. But things don’t turn out to be that simple. Her parents want to exchange the car for money to finance a better future and the commercial shoot turns out to be an artistic and physical challenge. Funny and engaging. Another vintage film from Romania.

Day 5: Tuesday, Sept 29

The Last Lullaby (2008, USA, Jeffrey Goodman)

This was a real discovered gem of the festival. Originally there was only a single screening of this film (Sunday 7:15 pm) which I had intended on seeing but unfortunately missed. Scott, a true film buff, raved about this film later on and I wondered when I would get to see it. But thankfully a second screening was added on Tuesday and true to Scott’s words, The Last Lullaby is indeed a treat.

Price (Tom Sizemore), a retired assassin for hire, rescues a girl from a bunch of kidnappers and demands a ransom from the father for his opportunistic rescue effort. Price disappears after he collects the money but things get interesting when the girl’s father tracks him down and offers a hit job with a lot of money. On paper, it looks to be easy money. But in the tradition of film noir, it turns out to be anything but. Stylistically shot and nicely acted (Sasha Alexander looks immensely charming), The Last Lullaby is easily superior to a majority of what Hollywood has to offer. So you can be sure that this film won’t play in a multiplex any time soon, but it is one that has to be seen.

St. Nick (2009, USA, David Lowery)

The last few years have seen a richer and different America depicted on screen thanks to film-makers such as Ramin Bahrani’s (Man Push Cart & Chop Shop) and Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy). Now, David Lowery’s name can be included in that list as his St. Nick is a beautiful addition to the new American cinema that is emerging despite the dominating presence of the mostly suffocating one-dimensional Hollywood cinema on the North American screens.

While the main story of St. Nick is about two young run away kids, the film also highlights the current America where empty abandoned houses reflect the tough economic times. At the film’s start, the young boy examines one such abandoned house and gets about making it habitable both for himself and his younger sister. While it is engaging to watch such a young boy go about fixing the house, it is also heart breaking to see these two kids skip past childhood and head straight into the struggles of adulthood. Since the two have no money, they have to resort to stealing to feed themselves. In this aspect, the film is related to Wendy and Lucy as both films examine the young character’s struggle to make ends meet while on the road.

St. Nick is also another shining example of a film that does not need to drown the screen with dialogue and instead lets the powerful visual language of the camera convey its thoughtful story.

CIFF 2009, wrap-up

The 10th edition of CIFF ended up being the best programmed year in the festival’s history. I managed to catch 22 films over 9 days as I missed one day of film viewing. In fact, it has been a few years since I have managed to watch a film on each of the 10 days. My overall total number was less than I had hoped for but in the end, even getting to this total took a lot of effort. But I managed to do something that I have longed for a long time now -- watching 7 films in one day. A few years ago some festival programmers mentioned how they watched 7 films in a single day at TIFF. For me getting to that number appeared to be impossible as the maximum number of films that anyone could watch at CIFF and VIFF was 6 (I managed 6 at VIFF in 2007). This year, when the print of Cyborg She didn’t arrive on time for the wednesday night (Sept 30) screening, CIFF added a screening for that film at 10:45 am on saturday. I was already planning on watching 6 films that saturday and this additional screening gave me the perfect chance to hit 7. In the end, it was close as the 7th film was sold out and I just managed to snag one of the last few spots in the theater.

Best Films -- Canada, South Korea, Romania and France

Romania had a very strong showing at the festival with three excellent films. Police, Adjective is simply outstanding. Corneliu Porumboiu brings the same style of humour that he used in 12:08 East of Bucharest. In both films, the funniest moments arise while watching characters engaged in serious discussion; what is serious chatter for the characters is rich comedy for the audience. The Happiest Girl in the World is another interesting dry humour product from Romania. The entire film is essentially about a 35 second commercial but there is plenty of drama around filming that commercial such as the lead girl’s tussle with her parents, the production crew’s silliness, producer interference and the director’s struggle to maintain his view. Katalin Varga rounded out the trio of Romania’s strong candidates.

The Prophet is engaging and a delight to watch. The Korean film Breathless is easily one of the best films I have seen this year. The film manages to draw a direct line from domestic abuse to gangster violence. It is not an easy film to watch but it is also powerful, raw and just damn brilliant.

But...the best film of the festival for me was the Quebecois film I Killed my Mother. It is hard to believe that the director, Xavier Dolan, wrote this film when he was 17 and directed this at the age of 19. The topic of a teenager’s tussle with their mother is universal but Dolan shows plenty of maturity and intelligence in this outstanding debut feature.

22 precious films

All the films deserve a proper write-up but I am taking the easy way out and lining up the films in order of preference. The ratings are somewhat fluid as most films are quite good.

I Killed My Mother (2009, Canada, Xavier Dolan): 10/10
Breathless (2009, South Korea, Yang Ik-June): 10/10
Police, Adjective (2009, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu): 10/10
The Prophet (2009, France, Jacques Audiard): 10/10
Katalin Varga (2009, Romania co-production, Peter Strickland): 9/10
Revache (2008, Austria, Goetz Spielmann): 9/10
The Happiest Girl in the World (2009, Romania co-production, Radu Jude): 9/10
Wrong Rosary (2009, Turkey, Mahmut Fazil Coskun): 9/10
Cooking History (2008, co-production, Peter Kerekes): 8.5/10
The White Ribbon (2009, co-production, Michael Haneke): 8.5/10
The Last Lullaby (2008, USA, Jeffrey Goodman): 8.5/10
Tetro (2009, USA, Francis Ford Coppola): 8/10
St. Nick (2009, USA, David Lowery): 8/10
White Night Wedding (2009, Iceland, Baltasar Kormákur): 7.5/10
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009, USA, Damien Chazelle): 7.5/10
Houston, We have a problem (2008, USA, Nicole Torre): 7.5/10
Crackie (2009, Canada, Sherry White): 7.5/10
Juntos (2009, Canada/Mexico, Nicolás Pereda): 7/10
Gigantic (2008, USA, Matt Aselton): 7/10
Daybreakers (2009, Australia, the Spierig brothers): 7/10
Cyborg, She (2008, Japan, Jae-young Kwak): 6/10
Seven Minutes in Heaven (2008, Israel, Omri Givon): 5/10

Festival Diary/Notes

Opening Day

Days 2-5

Days 6-8

Days 9-10

Venues

Best Films of 2009

I saw plenty of excellent films in 2009 and I cannot restrict my list to 10 or even 20 films. My short list has 57 titles that I enjoyed in varying aspects so I have decided to break things up into three categories to reflect a subjective ordering -- Gold (Favourites), Silver (Honorable Mention), Bronze (Worthy viewing). All the films in each category are listed in order of viewing and are 2009 released films or older films that only saw the light of day in my city this year (such as Zidane and Wendy and Lucy).

Gold -- 23 titles

Zidane (France, Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno)
Wendy and Lucy (USA, Kelly Reichardt)
Birdsong (Spain, Albert Serra)
Call If You Need Me (Malaysia, James Lee)
Buick Riviera (Croatia, Goran Rusinovic)
Be Calm and Count to Seven (Iran, Ramtin Lavafipour)
Border (Armenia/Holland, Harutyun Khachatryan)
Everyone Else (Germany, Maren Ade)
Milk (Turkey, Semih Kaplanoglu)
Karaoke (Malaysia, Chris Chong Chan Fui)
Ain’t No Tomorrows (Japan, Yuki Tanada)
The Storm (Turkey, Kazim Öz)
The Hurt Locker (USA, Kathryn Bigelow)
District 9 (South Africa/New Zealand, Neill Blomkamp)
Katalin Varga (Romania co-production, Peter Strickland)
Police, Adjective (Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)
The Happiest Girl in the World (Romania co-production, Radu Jude)
I Killed My Mother (Canada, Xavier Dolan)
Breathless (South Korea, Yang Ik-June)
The Prophet (France, Jacques Audiard)
The Class (France, Laurent Cantet)
In the Loop (UK, Armando Iannucci)
The Limits of Control (USA, Jim Jarmusch)

Silver -- 21 titles

The International (USA/Germany/UK, Tom Tykwer)
Che, part two (USA, Steven Soderbergh)
The Blessing (Denmark, Heidi Maria Faisst)
Can go Through Skin (Holland, Esther Rots)
My Only Sunshine (Turkey co-production, Reha Erdem)
This Longing (Malaysia, Azharr Rudin)
Fujian Blue (China, Weng Shou Ming)
Lulu & Jimi (Germany/France, Oskar Roehler)
Daytime Drinking (Korea, Young-Seok Noh)
Vacation (Japan, Hajime Kadoi)
Independencia (Philippines, Raya Martin)
Mid-August Lunch (Italy, Gianni Di Gregorio)
Still Walking (Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda)
Fish Eyes (Korea/China, Zheng Wei)
Rough Cut (Korea, Hun Jang)
Revache (Austria, Goetz Spielmann)
Wrong Rosary (Turkey, Mahmut Fazil Coskun)
Man on Wire (UK/USA, James Marsh)
Firaaq (India, Nandita Das)
The Damned United (UK/USA, Tom Hooper)
35 Shots of Rum (France, Claire Denis)

Bronze -- 13 titles

Dev D (India, Anurag Kashyup)
Gulaal (India, Anurag Kashyup)
Pontypool (Canada, Bruce McDonald)
Guidance (Sweden, Johan Jonason)
Amreeka (USA/Canada, Cherien Dabis)
Genova (UK, Michael Winterbottom)
Mary and Max (Australia, Adam Elliot)
Public Enemies (USA, Michael Mann)
The White Ribbon (Germany co-production, Michael Haneke)
The Last Lullaby (USA, Jeffrey Goodman)
Cooking History (Slovakia co-production, Peter Kerekes)
Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (France, Dany Boon)
Tulpan (Kazakhstan co-production,Sergei Dvortsevoy)

2009: Film Log

Total # of films seen in 2009: 339

The total number includes films (fiction & docs) over a length of 60 minutes.

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Film (Year, Country, Director): [optional rating out of 10], [optional comments]

Jan 2009

Slumdog Millionaire (2008, UK/USA, Danny Boyle/Loveleen Tandan): 8.5, repeat viewing
Ghajini (2008, India, A.R Murugadoss): 4.5
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008, India, Aditya Chopra): 6
Hostel Part II (2007, USA, Eli Roth): 5
Dil Kabaddi (2008, India, Anil Senior): 6.5
Comrades in Dreams (2004, Germany, Uli Gaulke): 7.5
Brand Upon the Brain (2006, Canada, Guy Maddin): 7
Valkyrie (2008, USA, Bryan Singer): 7.5
Meerabai Not Out (2008, India, Chandrakant Kulkarni): 2
Fires on the Plain (1959, Japan, Kon Ichikawa): 10
The Ballad of Narayama (1983, Japan, Shohei Imamura): 8
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008, USA, Guillermo del Toro): 6
Ghost Town (2008, USA, David Koepp): 7
Mongol (2007, Russia/Mongolia/co-prod, Sergei Bodrov): 8.5
Gran Torino (2008, USA, Clint Eastwood): 8
The Wrestler (2008, USA, Darren Aronofsky)
Diary of the Dead (2007, USA, George A. Romero):
Employee of the Month (2004, USA, Mitch Rouse): 7
Anger Management (2003, USA, Peter Segal): 6.5
Eagle Eye (2008, USA, D.J Caruso): 5
Bangkok Dangerous (2008, USA, Pang Brothers): 5.5
Sangre de mi Sangre (2007, Argentina/USA, Christopher Zalla): 6

Feb 2009

Rambo II (1985, USA, George P. Cosmatos): 4
Rambo III (1988, USA, Peter MacDonald): 5.5
Luck, by Chance (2008, India, Zoya Akhtar): 7
Chandini Chowk to China (2008, India, Nikhil Advani): 4
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006, India, Karan Johar): 2
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965, UK, Martin Ritt): 10
Victory (2009, India, Ajit Pal Mangat): 0
Billu Barber (2009, India, Priyadarshan): 5.5
Body of Lies (2008, USA, Ridley Scott): 8.5
MI-5, Season One (2002, UK, various): 7.5
The Namesake (2006, USA/India, Nair): 8.5
The International (2009, multiple, Tom Tykwer): 9
Pineapple Express (2008, USA, David Gordon Green): 3
Sicko (2007, USA, Michael Moore): 7.5
Ganja Queen (2007, Australia, Janine Hosking): 7.5
Chronicles of an Escape (2006, Argentina, Adrián Caetano): 9
Zidane (2006, France, Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno): 9.5
W. (2008, USA, Oliver Stone): 5

Mar 2009

Dev D (2009, India, Anurag Kashyup): 8.5
Delhi-6 (2009, India, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra): 3
Oh my God (2008, India, Sourabh Shrivastava): 7.5
Cargo 200 (2007, Russia, Aleksey Balabanov): 8
Che, part One (2008, USA, Steven Soderbergh): 8
I’m a Cyborg but that’s ok (2006, Korea, Chan-wook Park):
Refugees of the Blue Planet (2006, France/Canada, Hélène Choquette/Jean-Philippe Duval): 7
Delta (2008, Hungary, Kornél Mundruczó): 9
Guimba (1995, Mali/Burkina Faso/Germany, Cheick Oumar Sissoko): 5
Zack and Miri make a Porno (2008, USA, Kevin Smith): 7.5
Lakeview Terrace (2008, USA, Neil LaBute): 6
Erin Brokovich (2000, USA, Steven Soderbergh): 7.5
Young People F***ing (2008, Canada, Martin Gero): 6.5
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008, USA, Nicholas Stoller): 10, repeat viewing
Japanese Girls on the Harbor (1955, Japan, Hiroshi Shimizu): 8
Boarding Gate (2007, France, Olivier Assayas): 6.5
Che, part two (2008, USA, Steven Soderbergh): 9
Ashes of Time Redux (2008, Hong Kong, Wong Kar Wai): 6
Gulaal (2009, India, Anurag Kashyup): 8.5
Jugaad (2009, India, Anand Kumar): 3
It’s a Free World (2007, UK, Ken Loach): 7.5
Bombón: El Perro (2004, Argentina, Carlos Sorin): 8
Wendy and Lucy (2008, USA, Kelly Reichardt): 10
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, France, Carl Theodor Dreyer): 9
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008, USA, Woody Allen): 9
Pontypool (2008, Canada, Bruce McDonald): 8.5

Apr 2009

RocknRolla (2008, UK, Guy Ritchie): 5.5
Rope (1948, USA, Alfred Hitchcock): 8
King of Bollywood (2004, India, Piyush Jha): 6.5
Sunshine Cleaning (2008, USA, Christine Jeffs): 7
Foreign Correspondent (1940, USA, Alfred Hitchcock): 7
Intolerence (1916, USA, D.W. Griffith): 6
Strangers on a Train (1951, USA, Alfred Hitchcock): 7.5
Saboteur (1942, USA, Alfred Hitchcock): 9
I’ve Loved you so Long (2008, France, Philippe Claudel): 8
Tokyo! (2008, co-production, Michel Gondry/Leos Carax/Bong Joon-ho): 8
Phantom India (1969, France, Louis Malle): 6.5
Calcutta (1969, France, Louis Malle): 7
Dans Paris (2006, France, Christophe Honoré): 7.5

May 2009

Aa Dekhen Zara (2009, India, Jehangir Surti): 3.5
Frozen River (2008, USA, Courtney Hunt): 7
Enough! (2006, Algeria, Djamila Sahraoui): 7
Aloo Chaat (2009, India, Robby Grewal): 6.5
Dry Summer (1964, Turkey, Metin Erksan): 7.5
Chop Shop (2008, USA, Ramin Bahrani): 8
When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950, USA, John Ford): 8
Up the River (1930, USA, John Ford): 5.5
Hangman’s House (1928, USA, John Ford): 5
Three Bad Men (1926, USA, John Ford): 6
The Housemaid (1960, South Korea, Kim Ki-young): 9
Iron Horse (1924, USA, John Ford): 6

June 2009

Taxi to the Dark Side (2007, USA, Alex Gibney): 8
99 (2009, India, Krishna D.K/Raj Nidimoru):
Born in Brothels (2006, USA, Zana Briski/Ross Kauffman): 5
Synedoche, New York (2008, USA, Charlie Kaufman): 9
Three Monkeys (2008, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan): 7
Achilles and the Tortoise (2007, Japan, Takashi Kitano)
April Showers (2009, Portugal, Iva Ferriera)
Be Calm and Count to Seven (2009, Iran, Ramtin Lavafipour)
Sorry, Thanks (2009, USA, Dia Sokol)
Three Wise Men (2007, Finland, Mika Kaurismäki)
What a Wonderful World (2007, France/Morocco, Faouzi Bensaïdi)
Stay the Same Never Change (2009, USA, Laurel Nakadate)
Because we were born (2008, France/Brazil, Jean-Pierre Duret/Andrea Santana)
Border (2009, Armenia/Holland, Harutyun Khachatryan)
Everyone Else (2009, Germany, Maren Ade)
Katia’s Sister (2008, Holland, Mijke de Jong)
Native Dancer (2008, Kazakhstan, Gulshat Omarova)
Vacation (2008, Japan, Hajime Kadoi)
Calimucho (2008, Holland, Eugenie Jansen)
Independencia (2009, Philippines, Raya Martin)
Our Beloved Month of August (2008, Portugal, Miguel Gomes)
Two Lines (2009, Turkey, Selim Evci)
Adela (2008, Philippines, Adolfo Jr.)
All Around Us (2008, Japan, Ryosuke Hashiguchi)
Bullet in the Head (2008, Spain, Jaime Rosales)
Mid-August Lunch (2008, Italy, Gianni Di Gregorio)
Milk (2008, Turkey, Semih Kaplanoglu)
Nucingen House (2008, France, Raoul Ruiz)
Pandora’s Box (2008, Turkey, Yesim Ustaoglu)
Peaceful Times (2008, Germany, Neele Leana Vollmar)
Still Walking (2008, Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda)

July/August 2009

The Headless Woman (2008, Argentina, Lucrecia Martel)
Rough Cut (2008, Korea, Hun Jang)
The Reader (2008, USA, Stephen Daldry): 6
Frost/Nixon (2008, USA, Ron Howard): 8
Waltz with Bashir (2008, Israel, Ari Folman): 8.5
Two Lovers (2008, USA, James Gray): 8
Khela (2008, India, Rituparno Ghosh): 6.5
Ryna (2005, Romania, Ruxandra Zenide):
X Files: I Want to Believe (2008, USA, Chris Carter): 4
Doubt (2008, USA, John Patrick Shanley): 8
Nishijapon (2005, India, Sandip Ray): 8
Revolutionary Road (2008, USA, Sam Mendes): 8.5
The Hurt Locker (2008, USA, Kathryn Bigelow): 9.5
Love Aaj Kal (2009, India, Imtiaz Ali): 5
Short Kut (2009, India, Neeraj Vora): 3
Public Enemies (2009, USA, Michael Mann): 8.5
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, USA, David Fincher): 6
Push (2009, USA co-production, Paul McGuigan): 3
Coraline (2009, USA, Henry Selick): 8
Bright Future (2003, Japan, Kiyoshi Kurosawa):
District 9 (2009, South Africa/New Zealand, Neill Blomkamp): 10
Kambakkht Ishq (2009, India, Sabir Khan): 0
Inglourious Basterds (2009, USA, Quentin Tarantino): 7.5
(500) Days of Summer (2009, USA, Marc Webb): 8
Detective Naani (2009, India, Romilla Mukherjee): 3
Religulous (2008, USA, Larry Charles): 8
Kabluey (2007, USA, Scott Prendergast): 7

September 2009

12 (2008, Russia, Nikita Mikhalkov): 8.5
Last Year at Marienbad (1961, France, Alain Resnais):
The Night of Truth (2004, Burkina Faso, Fanta Régina Nacro):
Insolação (2009, Brazil, Felipe Hirsch/Daniela Thomas): 4
White Material (2009, France, Claire Denis): 7
The Proposal (2009, USA, Anne Fletcher): 4
Star Trek (2009, USA, J.J. Abrams): 7
The Spirit (2008, USA, Frank Miller): 3
Knowing (2009, USA/UK, Alex Proyas): 7.5
I Served the King of England (2006, Czech Republic, Jirí Menzel): 8
Siberiade (1979, Russia, Andrei Konchalovsky)

Birdsong (2008, Spain, Albert Serra)

Can go Through Skin (2009, Holland, Esther Rots)

My Only Sunshine (2009, Turkey co-production, Reha Erdem)

The Way I Spent the End of the World (2006, Romania/France, Catalin Mitulescu)
Katalin Varga (2009, Romania co-production, Peter Strickland): 9
White Night Wedding (2009, Iceland, Baltasar Kormákur): 7.5
Tetro (2009, USA, Francis Ford Coppola): 8

Fish Eyes (2009, Korea/China, Zheng Wei)

Houston, We have a problem (2008, USA, Nicole Torre): 7.5
The White Ribbon (2009, co-production, Michael Haneke): 8.5
Crackie (2009, Canada, Sherry White): 8

Call if you need me (2009, Malaysia, James Lee)

Daytime Drinking (2008, Korea, Young-Seok Noh)

Revache (2008, Austria, Goetz Spielmann): 9
Police, Adjective (2009, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu): 10
The Happiest Girl in the World (2009, Romania co-production, Radu Jude): 9.5
The Last Lullaby (2008, USA, Jeffrey Goodman): 8.5

Amreeka (2009, USA/Canada, Cherien Dabis)

Karaoke (2009, Malaysia, Chris Chong Chan Fui)

St. Nick (2009, USA, David Lowery): 8
Juntos (2009, Canada/Mexico, Nicolás Pereda): 7

October 2009

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009, USA, Damien Chazelle): 7.5
Wrong Rosary (2009, Turkey, Mahmut Fazil Coskun): 9
Cyborg, She (2008, Japan, Jae-young Kwak): 6
I Killed My Mother (2009, Canada, Xavier Dolan): 10
Gigantic (2008, USA, Matt Aselton): 7
Cooking History (2008, co-production, Peter Kerekes): 8.5
Breathless (2009, South Korea, Yang Ik-June): 10
Seven Minutes in Heaven (2008, Israel, Omri Givon): 5/10
Daybreakers (2009, Australia, the Spierig brothers): 7
The Prophet (2009, France, Jacques Audiard): 10
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009, USA, P.J. Hogan): 5
Sin Nombre (2009, Mexico/USA, Cary Fukunaga): 8
O Sangue (1989, Portugal, Pedro Costa): 10
Goodbye Solo (2009, USA, Ramin Bahrani): 8
State of Play (2009, USA co-production, Kevin Macdonald): 5
Encounters at the End of the World (2007, USA, Werner Herzog): 9
Days and Clouds (2007, Italy co-production, Silvio Soldini): 9
Kaos (1984, Italy, Paolo Taviani/Vittorio Taviani):
Chacun con Cinema (2007, France, various directors)
Wake up Sid (2009, India, Ayan Mukherjee): 5
Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? (2001, Portugal/France, Pedro Costa): 9
Rachida (2002, Algeria/France, Yamina Bachir): 7
Law Abiding Citizen (2009, USA, John Maybury): 4
Sugar (2008, USA, Anna Boden/Ryan Fleck): 8
Bye Bye Money (1974, Italy/France, Marco Ferreri)
Adventureland (2009, USA, Greg Mottola): 7.5
The Edge of Love (2009, UK, John Maybury)
Watchmen (2009, USA, Zack Snyder): 6
Falafel (2004, Lebanon/France, Michel Kammoun): 8
Close-up (1990, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami): 7.5
It’s Winter (2006, Iran, Rafi Pitts): 10
Salt of This Sea (2007, Palestine co-production, Annemarie Jacir): 8.5
Love Khichdi (2009, India, Srinivas Bhashyam): 3
Rudo y Cursi (2009, Mexico/USA, Carlos Cuarón): 7
Dil Bola Hadippa! (2009, India, Anurag Singh): 2
Shadow Kill (2002, India, Adoor Gopalakrishnan): 8, repeat viewing
The Orphange (2007, Mexico/Spain, Juan Antonio Bayona): 6
The Romance of Astrea and Celadon (2007, France co-production, Eric Rohmer): 7
The Mirror (1972, Soviet Union, Andrei Tarkovsky)

Nov 2009

Kaminey (2009, India, Vishal Bhardwaj): 6
Ali Zaoua (2000, Morocco co-production, Nabil Ayouch): 8
Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977, India, Satyajit Ray): 8.5
Be Good (2009, France, Juliette Garcias)
Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (2008, France, Dany Boon): 8.5
Gabbeh (1996, Iran, Mohsen Makhmalbaf): 8
The Mirror (1997, Iran, Jafar Panahi): 9
The Kite (2003, Lebanon co-production, Randa Chahal Sabag): 7
Delbaran (2001, Iran co-production, Abolfazl Jalili): 8.5
The Fish Fall in Love (2005, Iran, Ali Raffi): 8
Aagey se Right (2009, India, Indrajit Nattooji): 0
The Class (2008, France, Laurent Cantet): 10
Duplicity (2008, USA, Tony Gilroy): 6.5
Beaufort (2007, Israel, Joseph Cedar): 8
Aladin (2009, India, Sujoy Ghosh): 1
My Suicide (2009, USA, David Lee Miller)
Khamosh Pani (2003, Pakistan co-production, Sabiha Sumar): 9
Do Knot Disturb (2009, India, David Dhawan): 0
Unmade Beds (2009, UK, Alexis Dos Santos)
Bombay 405 Miles (1980, India, Brij)
Trouble the Water (2008, USA, Carl Deal/Tia Lessin): 8
Love Exposure (2008, Japan, Shion Sono)
In the Loop (2009, UK, Armando Iannucci): 10
Dead Snow (2009, Norway, Tommy Wirkola): 3
Man on Wire (2008, UK/USA, James Marsh): 9
The Pear Tree (1998, Iran, Dariush Mehrjui): 6.5
Chéri (2009, UK/France/Germany, Stephen Frears): 7.5
Polytechnique (2009, Canada, Denis Villeneuve): 8
Boy A (2007, UK, John Crowley): 8
Firaaq (2008, India, Nandita Das): 9
Le Circle Rouge (1972, France, Jean-Pierre Melville): 10
The Cyclist (1987, Iran, Mohsen Makhmalbaf): 8
The Damned United (2009, UK/USA, Tom Hooper): 9
Away We Go (2009, USA/UK, Sam Mendes): 7.5
The Cow (1969, Iran, Dariush Mehrjui): 8
The Suitors (1989, Iran, Ghasem Ebrahimian): 6
Absurdistan (2007, Germany, Veit Helmer): 7
The Taking of Phelam 123 (2009, USA, Tony Scott): 6.5

Dec 2009

Of Time and the City (2008, UK, Terence Davies)
The Brothers Bloom (2008, USA, Rian Johnson): 5
A Serious Man (2009, USA, Coen Brothers): 8
In the Pit (2006, Mexico, Juan Carlos Rulfo)
Atanarjuat (2001, Canada, Zacharias Kunuk): 7
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006, Canada/Denmark, Norman Cohn/Zacharias Kunuk): 5
Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque (2004, France, Jacques Richard): 8
Whatever Works (2009, USA, Woody Allen)
Jeanne Dielman....(1975, France/Belgium, Chantal Akerman): 8
Up (2009, USA, Pete Docter/Bob Peterson): 5
The Gleaners and I (2000, France, Agnes Varda)
Spirited Away (2001, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
Roadside Romeo (2008, India, Jugal Hansraj)
Tulpan (2008, Kazakhstan co-production,Sergei Dvortsevoy): 8.5
35 Shots of Rum (2008, France, Claire Denis): 9
Il Divo (2009, Italy/France, Paolo Sorrentino)
Paper Heart (2009, USA, Nicholas Jasenovec)
What’s Your Raashee? (2009, India, Ashutosh Gowariker): 3
Saraband (2003, Sweden co-production, Ingmar Bergman): 7.5
Wings of Desire (1987, West Germany/France, Wim Wenders): 7
Jerichow (2008, Germany, Christian Petzold): 6
Antichrist (2009, Denmark co-production, Lars von Trier): 7
Flash of Genius (2009, USA/Canada, Marc Abraham): 7.5
The Box (2009, USA, Richard Kelly): 8
Funny People (2009, USA, Judd Apatow): 7.5
Ballast (2008, USA, Lance Hammer)
Lifeboat (1944, USA, Alfred Hitchcock)
Rocket Singh (2009, India, Shimit Amin): 7.5
Paraguayan Hammock (2006, Paraguay co-production, Paz Encina)
Scarface (1932, USA, Howard Hawks)
Up in the Air (2009, USA, Jason Reitman): 8
The Human Condition, Part I (1959, Japan, Masaki Kobayashi)
Avatar (2009, USA/UK, James Cameron): 8
The Limits of Control (2009, USA, Jim Jarmusch): 9.5
The Girlfriend Experience (2008, USA, Steven Soderbergh): 6
3 Idiots (2009, India, Rajkumar Hirani): 7.5
The New World (2005, USA/UK, Terrence Malick): 9

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