All articles by Dan Fainaru – Page 48
-
Reviews
House Of Fools (Dom Durakov)
Dir. Andrei Konchalovsky. Russia-France. 2002. 104mins.Released from the strict disciplines of Hollywood film making, to which he adhered during his Western exile, veteran Andrei Konchalovsky, now firmly re-established back in Moscow, lets his hair down and plunges into a very personal exploration of the Russian experience with House Of ...
-
Reviews
Broken Wings (Knafayim Shevuroth)
Dir. Nir Bergman, Israel, 2002. 87mins.Having already secured top awards first in Jerusalem and then in Tokyo, this coming-of-age story in a dysfunctional family mourning the accidental death of the father, is bound to become Israel's film of the year for 2002. The auspicious debut of Nir Bergman, a ...
-
Reviews
The Legend Of Suriyothai
Dir. Chatri Chalerm Yukol. Thai 2001/US 2002. 154minsThis mammoth historical pageant, originally directed by a prince who is also one of his country's leading filmmakers, broke all home box office records in Thailand last summer, grossing over $14 million, about three times as much as Titanic did in that territory. ...
-
Reviews
Blue Moon
Dir. Andrea Maria Dusl. Austria. 2002. 97mins.The auspicious directorial debut from Viennese columnist Andrea Maria Dusl, this road movie which takes Eastern Europe as its subject, should have no problem finding receptive audiences in German-speaking countries. In particular, the presence of Josef Hader, one of Vienna's top cabaret acts, and ...
-
Reviews
The Star (Zvezda)
Dir. Nikolai Lebedev. Russia. 2002. 97mins.Russian production company Mosfilm has every right to be proud of the technical standards achieved by its patriotic saga The Star - but that's about all it can be proud of. Adapted from a novel by Sergei Kazakevich, the son of a Jewish teacher who ...
-
News
Heavy security surrounds Jerusalem Film Festival
Despite heavy security measures that resulted in a number of venue changes and the absence of the US majors - the 19th Jerusalem Film Festival proceeded without any major hitches.While there were cancellations and no-shows - Shapira Films, one of the leading Israeli distributors, among them - the festival maintained ...
-
Reviews
Supplement
Dan Fainaru in JerusalemDir. Krzystof Zanussi. Poland 2002. 101mins.Polish moralist Krzystof Zanussi, whose ethical codes permeate every one of his movies, is at it again. Going back to the plot of his 2000 award-winning feature Life As A Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease, but looking at it from a different angle, ...
-
Reviews
Euro Pudding (L'Auberge Espagnole)
Dir. Cedric Klapisch. France-Spain. 115mins.The latest ensemble piece by French director Cedric Klapisch possesses as much promise as his 1996 breakthrough number, When The Cat's Away. Warmly received in France, where it is playing on 398 screens and has registered 1.2m admissions ($6.24m) after three weeks, this featherweight comedy explores, ...
-
Reviews
The Seagull's Laughter (Mavahlatur)
Dir. Agust Gudmunsson. Iceland 2001. 104 mins.The new offering from veteran Icelandic director Agust Gudmunsson initially posits itself as a post-war coming-of-age social satire. Yet this acerbic comedy soon offers up several lively portraits of women looking to assert themselves in a world very much controlled by men. Based on ...
-
Reviews
Nowhere In Africa (Nirgendwo In Afrika)
Dir. Caroline Link. Germany. 2001. 134mins.A sprawling epic about a Jewish family sheltering in Africa just before World War Two, Nowhere In Africa is a natural crowd pleaser that has already stormed to success in Germany. Adapted from Stefanie Zweig's best-selling autobiography, the film, which is now playing on 224 ...
-
Reviews
Year Of The Devil (Rok d'Abla)
Dir. Petr Zelenka. Czech Republic. 88mins.The opening film at this year's Karlovy Vary festival was another musical -mockumentary by Petr Zelenka, who has already scored in this genre on home ground, both with a television series (Padlock 1982-2007) and the 1996 feature Happy End (Mnaga). Inspired by a concert by ...
-
Reviews
Cuckoo (Kokoshka)
Dir: Alexander Rogozhkin. Russia. 2002. 100 min.Awarded best director and best actor (Ville Haapasalo) at last week's Moscow Film Festival, where it proved an audience favourite, Alexander Rogozhkin's new film is another of his contemporary metaphors that deals with war and peace, man's instinct for survival and his need to ...
-
Reviews
Fate (Yazgi)
Dir. Zeki Demirkubuz. Turkey. 2001. 115mins.The first of three Tales Of Darkness features by Zeki Demirkubuz, Turkey's most promising new film-maker, this free adaptation of Albert Camus' novel The Stranger is bound to attract plenty of festival activity. The best indication of the film's nature and eventual future comes with ...
-
Reviews
Temptations
Dir: Zoltan Kamondi. Hungary. 2002. 88mins.Hungary is back after a long absence in the Berlinale competition with an entry that attempts to cover as many of the burning Magyar issues of the hour as its 88 minutes running time will allow. So many, in fact - from generation gap to ...
-
Reviews
Bad Guy (Na Bun-Na Ja)
Dir. Kim Ki-Duk. South Korea. 2001. 101mins.Certainly one of the most provocative filmmakers around, Korea's Kim Ki-Duk seems to be also one of the most prolific. After two consecutive years in Venice (The Isle in 2000 and Address Unknown in 2001) here he is in the Berlinale race, as unsettling, ...
-
Reviews
Invincible
Dir: Werner Herzog. UK/Germany. 2001. 130mins.After many years dedicated to stage, documentaries and guest performances in films directed by others, Werner Herzog, one of the original pillars of New German cinema, makes a return to feature-length fiction. However, as with his previous films (such as The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser ...
-
Reviews
Quitting
Directed by Zhang Yang. China. 2001. 118min.Having one major national hit, Spicy Love Soup (1997), behind him and an international fest favourite, Shower (1999), confirming his talent, Zhang Yang is considered one of the most promising talents to come out of China in recent years. Quitting, a powerful docu-drama tracing ...
-
News
Jerusalem votes for Late Marriage
Seriously concerned that political tensions might hurt this year's event, Jerusalem festival chief Lia van Leer was relieved to some 7,000 people roar with delight at the opening night, open-air screening of Shrek. Dover Kosashvili's Late Marriage was the main prize winner, taking prizes for Best Israeli Feature Film and ...
-
Reviews
Firefly Dreams
Dir. John Williams, Japan 2001, 104 min.Although this fully Japanese-financed production looks and feels thoroughly authentic in every respect, it is written, directed and edited by a Cambridge-educated Englishman, John Williams, who has been living in Japan since 1988. For his debut feature Williams adopts the slow, deliberate pace ...
-
Reviews
Luna's Game
Dir. Monica Laguna. Spain 2001. 102 mins. A disappointing attempt to deal with two different types of addiction, Monica Laguna's second feature takes far too many short cuts and avoids too many pertinent questions to deal with the many tasks it sets for itself. Ana Torrent, in the lead role ...