Here, in my order of preference, are the films I saw at the 2000 festival:

 

·          My Favourite: Maelstrom

Up-and-coming Canadian director Denis Villeneuve's latest, Maelstrom is a fantastic story of failure and redemption. The first half is quite depressing, but do stick around for the second half, where the redemption part comes in

 

·          Honourable Mention: The Price of Milk

A charming romantic fairy tale set amidst the majestic landscape of New Zealand. If only the story moved more quickly through the middle and more slowly and coherently through the ending, this would have been my runaway favourite, but even as it is, it's a heart-warming and cute romantic comedy well worth seeing.

 

I also recommend:

·          Possible Worlds – A substantial and philosophical mystery, this latest film from Canadian director Robert Lepage makes for entertaining and rewarding viewing.

·          The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz – Extremely associative and right-brained, a lot of people would call this dark British comedy artsy, but I'd prefer to call it thought-provoking. Even if the somewhat silly story doesn't draw you in, the style really gets your brain engaged, and that's always a great accomplishment for any film, in my opinion. Whether you give in and let the confusion wash over you, or try to piece it together like a puzzle, it comprises a commendable creative achievement.

 

Also worth seeing:

·          The Long Holiday – An autobiographical documentary about a film-maker who is diagnosed with cancer and decides there are still places he wants to go. It's an interesting combination of travelogue, (he travels from his home in Amsterdam to, among other places, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burkina Faso), and documentary of living with cancer. Ultimately it's a life-affirming celebration of humanity in all its wonder and frailty, although it's a bit less spectacular than that sounds.

·          Songs From The Second Floor – A Bergman-esque artsy Scandinavian film, this film's slow pace and stark imagery isn't for everybody, but if you have an interest in surrealism and symbolism, there's a lot of meat here to chew on, as it explores the nature of modern life.

·          Mechanism – A gangster adventure from Yugoslavia, a la Tarantino. Certainly not as snappy or stylish as Tarantino, but quite comparable to Hollywood movies like Dog Day Afternoon or the Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. Perhaps the most notable thing about this was actually the question-and-answer session after the movie, which turned ugly, as some people took the director to task for making such a violent film without sensitivity to the situation in his country, but thankfully most of the audience supported him in his stance that just because he lives in Yugoslavia doesn't mean he has to make any particular kind of movie in any particular way.

·          Little Cheung – A slice-of-life from Hong Kong, this film tells the story of a little boy and his family as the return of Chinese rule approaches and passes. It's an entertaining story that anyone should be able to enjoy, (as long as you don't demand an MTV-pace to your story), with some fairly subtle political commentary.

·          101 Reykjavik – An Icelandic slacker comedy with a darkly wicked sense of humour. I wanted to see it to get a glimpse of life in Iceland...I'm honestly not sure whether it gives you that or not, but even if it doesn't, it is entertaining.

·          To Die (or Not) – A Spanish tale of failure and redemption, not completely unlike Maelstrom, but much more structured and tightly tied together. Certainly a clever concept, well-executed, even if the first half does wear you down a bit like Maelstrom.

·          The Low Down – A British slacker comedy/drama with a realistic feel, probably because much of it was improvised. Not something to go too far out of your way for, but a good way to spend a couple of hours.

·          Swedish Beauty – A fairly standard coming-of-age story set in Sweden in the sixties...worth seeing, but if you want a Swedish coming-of-age story, I would certainly recommend My Life As A Dog before this.

·          Comedie de l'Innocence – A strange and difficult-to-describe French drama about a little boy with a family identity crisis. It left me feeling rather unsettled, but it was interesting.

 

Avoid:

·          Petite Cherie (Little Darling) – A horrible story about horrible people, with no real redeeming value.

 

Feedback is welcome...thanks for reading!