2000 Recommendations
Once again, the Montreal World Film Festival offers us a huge variety of films to
choose from and, indeed, far too many for any normal human being
to actually see. The trick, like in most festivals, is to
pinpoint the ones that are really worth watching. The following
list will hopefully give a good overview as to which movies are
worth watching.
Hundreds of films
shown during the festival will also be shown here for the first
time, some of which will be lucky enough to be distributed by American or Canadian production companies, while others will be
never to be seen again. Because of this, many of these films have
not yet garnered any attention, or a place in the following
"Recommended" list. But, like every year, there are
gems amidst these unknown films, and the only way to find them is
to take a chance and see a few.
Main
Recommendations:
-
The Adventures of God (Las Aventuras de Dios - Argentina) - a fantasy adventure as a couple tries to escape from a prison of dreams
-
The Blackboard (Iran) - the second effort from young Iranian director Samira Makmalbaf
-
Combat d'Amour en Songe (Chili/Portugal/France) - a fairy tale for adults full of philosophical discussions by director Raoul Ruiz
-
Les Destinées Sentimentales (France/Switzerland) - from the director of Irma Vep, with Emmanuelle Béart and Isabelle Huppert, said to be a beautiful film
-
Faithless (Trolosa - Sweden) - director Liv Ullman directs a tale of infidelity and morality based on a script by Ingmar Bergman
-
Harry, He's Here to Help
(Harry, un Ami Qui Vous Veut du Bien - France) - half comedy, half suspense about a family's chance meeting with a man who is ready to do anything to help them out
-
Hochelaga (Quebec) - this powerful and violent Quebec crime drama about biker gangs has received very strong word-of-mouth
-
Maelstrom (Quebec) - the latest film from Quebec director Denis Villeneuve about a woman who accidentally runs over a Norway fisherman
-
Monday (Japan) - the latest creation from Japanese director Sabu
-
State and Main (US) - David Mamet's turn to poke fun at Hollywood when a large film crew arrives at a small Vermont town
-
Taboo (Gohato - Japan) - the director of Empire of the Senses is back with a film on a 19th century Shogun and the militia that protects him, starring Takeshi Kitano
-
The Taste of Others
(Le Gout des Autres - France) - the opening film for the festival, widely acclaimed French ensemble film.
-
Water Drops on Burning Rocks (Gouttes d'Eau sur Pierres Brulantes - France) - based on a never-before-staged R. W. Fassbinder play, this promises some sexually perverse fun
-
The Wedding (Svadba - France/Russia/Germany) - a dramatic comedy about a small family wedding outside Moscow
-
The Yards (US) - a crime drama with a great cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Walhberg and James Caan
Additional
films worthy of note:
-
The Big Animal (Poland) - a Polish comedy written by the late, great Krzysztof Kieslowski
-
Born in Absurdistan (Austria) - a babies-switched-at-birth drama / comedy between a family of Turkish immigrants and a racist Austrian couple
-
Breaking the Silence (China) - the latest opus from director Sun Zhou has had mixed reviews, but with the delightful Gong Li it's hard to resist
-
Brother 2 (Brat 2 - Russia) - a colossal success in its native Russia, this sequel sees the hero, an ex-army veteran, in confrontation with the Chicago mob
-
Cecil B. Demented (US) - renegade auteur John Waters latest film mocks the Hollywood establishment
-
Hysteric (Japan) - based on a true-life account, the film has been called the Japanese Bonnie & Clyde
-
Little Cheung (Hong Kong) - the latest from Made in Hong Kong director Fruit Chan
-
A Matter of Taste (Une Affaire de Gout - France) - an intriguing loss-of-identity suspense / drama
-
The Policewoman (Die Polizistin - Germany) - a young policewoman is assigned to one of the worst areas of the city
-
Thanks for the Chocolate
(Merci Pour Le Chocolat - France) - the latest from acclaimed French director Claude Chabrol
-
Under Suspicion (US/France) - US version of a French crime drama with Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman
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