2000s

  • Jae-young Kwak – Keulraesik AKA The Classic (2003)

    2001-2010DramaJae-young KwakRomanceSouth Korea

    Synopsis
    Shy Ji-hae’s friend is having problems expressing her feelings to the boy she loves, so she asks Ji-hae to write e-mails to him in her name. As the boy falls in love with her letters, Ji-hae discovers the story of her mother’s romance which is remarkably similar to her own circumstances.Read More »

  • Lav Diaz – Ebolusyon ng isang pamilyang Pilipino AKA Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004)

    2001-2010ArthouseEpicLav DiazPhilippines

    Quote:
    An especially long film. And a special long film. An even more special detail is that, while watching it, the film gives you an inevitable feeling that it should last exactly this long, if not longer. The manner of production is also noteworthy. The film was shot bit by bit over a period of nine years, first on film and more recently on video. It is a method of shooting that was partly necessitated by financial considerations, but that also fits in well with the epic story that extends over a period of more than fifteen years. The film spans the Marcos regime’s state of siege in the Philippines (1971-1987). As the title indicates, Diaz follows the adventures of a family against the backdrop of the social and political developments in this crucial period in history. Read More »

  • Ki-duk Kim – Shi gan AKA Time (2006)

    2001-2010AsianDramaKi-duk KimSouth Korea

    Consumed by jealousy, a woman takes an extreme step and undergoes surgery for a new face. Although her lover of 2 years misses her, he falls in love with the new face, not knowing it’s the same woman.Read More »

  • Raoul Ruiz – Combat d’amour en songe AKA Love Torn in Dream (2000)

    1991-2000ArthouseFranceRaoul Ruiz

    Quote:
    Raul Ruiz’s Love Torn in a Dream is introduced with a fake newsreel, taking place in postwar France, in which the cast of the film meet with the producer, who explains the film’s complex weave of nine narratives. A diagram in which each story is represented by a letter of the alphabet explicates the intertwining of the nine tales. As the producer explains each actor’s role, the film begins. The stories, rooted in folklore, bump up against each other as the film leaps back in forth in time. They involve a jewel stolen from a painting, a mirror that “steals” what it reflects, a seminary student who dresses as a priest to hear the nuns’ confessions, brothers who combat each other in their search for a group of rings, a man whose everyday life is predicted by a website 24 hours in advance, a Catholic who finds out he’s really Jewish, and a treasure map that leads to a pirate’s chest. Each of the main cast members plays multiple roles. Ruiz veterans Melvil Poupaud and Elsa Zylberstein play the lead roles, while Lambert Wilson, Christian Vadim, Diogo Dória, José Meireles, and Rogério Samora play supporting roles.Read More »

  • Pascal-Alex Vincent – Donne-moi la main AKA Give Me Your Hand (2008)

    2001-2010DramaFrancePascal-Alex Vincent

    Twin 18-year-olds hitchhike to their mother’s funeral in Spain. The journey changes their lives forever.Read More »

  • Volker Schlöndorff – Ulzhan (2007)

    2001-2010ArthouseDramaKazakhstanVolker Schlöndorff

    Somewhere in the endless steppes of Central Asia lies a treasure. One man holds the key to it, a fragment of an ancient map. But in his restless quest, Charles isn’t looking for fame or glory. He’s looking for a way to heal his wounded soul. He’s looking for love. Ulzhan felt it the first time she laid eyes on him.Read More »

  • Marek Koterski – Dzien Swira aka Day of the Wacko (2002)

    2001-2010ComedyDramaMarek KoterskiPoland

    Quote:
    24 hours in the bitter life of a frustrated divorced teacher who stays in the vicious circle of his numerous obsessions.

    Marta Jazowska for culture.pl wrote:
    Afilm portraying the painstaking life of a 44 year literature professor with obsessive-compulsive behaviour. Divorced, pedantic and frustrated his life consists of a series of rituals performed around the simplest every tasks. Capturing his unbearable stagnation and anger, the film is about isolation and lonelinessRead More »

  • Toshiaki Toyoda – Nain souruzu AKA 9 Souls (2003)

    2001-2010ArthouseAsianJapanToshiaki Toyoda

    Quote:
    Nine convicts escape from prison; most are convicted murders. They commandeer a van from a strip club. Their plan is to find a stash of counterfeit money that a deranged cell mate told them about, divide it, then part ways. They make it to the site where the money is supposed to be hidden, and then one by one, each seeks out the place he wants to be, a version of home, somewhere to connect. Will it end well for any of them?Read More »

  • Ryuichi Hiroki – Vibrator (2003)

    2001-2010AsianDramaJapanRyuichi Hiroki

    Quote:
    The film’s main character Rei (Terashima Shinobu)is a freelance writer bombarded by the voices in her own head – her mother’s scolding, the gossip of friends at school, and the voice of her own unrequired desires. Losing sleep and developing eating disorders, and dependent on alcohol, Rei is on the brink of losing her mind.
    Then one night, when she stops by a convenience store to purchase alcohol, she meets a long distance trucker (Omori Nao), and everything changes. Mysteriously attracted to this stranger, and prodded by the voices in her head, she joins him in a journey she hopes will eventually be the key to her salvation.Read More »

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