1997
Running time: N/A
The animated Gorgeous chronicles the trials and tribulations of a woman dealing with society's rituals of beautification. --Rod Myers
Running time: N/A
Gone, Gone, Forever Gone depicts a fascinating story of refined emotions within the heart of a country whose history has been a tumultuous ride for many generations. Director Ho Quang Minh and screenwriter Nguy Ngu tell a parable of the turbulent years between the 1940s to the 1980s through the eyes of a Buddhist convent and the three siblings whose lives have been divided and must now find reconciliation. The sister, a former imperial concubine turned Buddhist nun, witnesses the partition of Vietnam into north and south.
Running time: N/A
Except for the period clothing of the late middle ages, this story could have been torn from the headlines coming out of Bosnia, or elsewhere in the Balkans in the past few years. It vividly shows the hatreds and cruelties between Muslims and Christians resulting from the long occupation of the area by the Turks, making it very clear why present-day attitudes exist there. A peasant farmer and his young wife and child, living in their mountain home, are attacked by a few local Turkish thugs, leaving the wife dead and their young daughter, Maria, unable to speak from shock.
Running time: N/A
Sadie's not Georgia. Georgia is a folk-rock legend, with a pure, strong voice , "no ambition," and a contented family life on the outskirts of Seattle. Sadie is the dregs of the bottle Janis Joplin was drinking from, a raspy-throated, no-holds-barred singer whose art is all about revealing absolutely everything, with a voice that may not be able to stand up to the challenge. Through all Sadie's screw-ups, Georgia has been there. Not an easy role at either end. It tends to ennoble one half and embitter the other. Still, she takes Sadie in, of course.
Running time: N/A
Erik Jambor's Gamalost tells the story of a professor and his wife who invite his graduate assistant and her husband over for dinner. Things soon turn ugly when the invited couple is served news even more unsettling than the Norwegian cheese that is the film's title. --Matthew Aquino
Running time: N/A
Confused about the politics of men versus women in the 90's? Help is on the way! This latest update of the battle of the sexes is focused on that time-honored staple of American male mythology, the weekly poker game. Perhaps it is the last male bastion in a society which has become unisex and sensitive (a la Alan Alda) to the political correctness imperative. Bill is the weekly host for the game, which is a late-night cut-throat affair.
Running time: N/A
The Flying Camel is a delightful comedy following the touching, and often tenuous, friendship between three unlikely misfits. The problems between Israeli Jews and Arabs aren't so big as to keep Bauman, a Jewish professor, and Phares, an Arab garbage collector-slash-engineer, from working together on a joint project, each with their own agenda. Old Bauman lives alone in a junkyard shack, surrounded by a pitiful collection of garbage, junk, and a few architectural gems.
Running time: N/A
David Munro, creator of the Cinequest favorite Bullethead, has returned with a surreal film about the desolate emotional landscape that trauma can create. First Love, Second Planet is the dysfunctional fantasy of Crystal, who seeks love on the barren, scorched landscape of Venus, named for the goddess of sensual love. --Matthew Aquino
Running time: N/A
A young Spaniard student, Rafael, is abruptly summoned home from his French boarding school and rudely thrust into the lethal chaos of the Spanish Civil War. Before he has even a chance to catch his breath, he finds himself in Pamplona, a lieutenant in Franco's fascist army, under the command of the chillingly bizarre Colonel Masagual (Jean-Louis Trintignant of Krysztof Kieslowski's Red). In "basic training," the young officer is pressed into a horrific service as a member of the Colonel's firing squad.
Running time: N/A
Daniel Mellitz' La Femme Pickle (winner of The San Jose Visual Arts Film and Video Festival Award) is a mock-documentary about the ups and downs of a student film shoot. In the wake of Living in Oblivion, this film casts a refreshing and witty light on the process of shooting a low-budget film. --Hayet Ennabli