À tout de suit (Right Now)
Benoît Jacquot, France, 2003, 95mins
A stylish, erotically charged thriller, À tout de suit is the highly anticipated new film from acclaimed French director Benoit Jacquot (Sade, A Single Girl). Based on actual events, it tells the story of sexy, free-spirited Lili, a Parisian art student who falls for a charismatic bank robber and joins him on the run, a dizzying cross-continent escape through Spain, Morocco and Greece, when a sudden betrayal leaves her stranded in the middle of nowhere. Visually stunning, À tout de suit is a mesmerizing account of one woman’s breathtaking journey of self-discovery. Source: www.cinemaguild.com/atoutdesuite“This small, nearly perfect film is really about the sad chains of events that can follow when people foolishly surrender to their dumbest romantic impulses.” Stephen Holden, New York Times
Ali Zaoua, prince de la rue (Ali Zoua: Prince of
the Streets) Nabil Ayouch, Morocco/Tunisia/France/Belgium,
2000, 95mins
The vacant lots and streets of Casablanca are home to a band of kids who sleep in the open air and support themselves through petty crime under the tutelage of Dib, boss of their scruffy underage Mafia. Four of the gang, Ali, Kouka, Omar, and Boubker, rebel against Dib's oppressive rule and strike out on their own, running away from "home" a second time. When Dib's thugs try to return them by force, Ali is killed. The remaining three friends stash the body and set off on a frenetic quest to give him a proper burial. Bound together by their search, they find meaning, transcendence, and a measure of peace. Despite their marginalisation, the boys still long for love and tenderness, and they still dream. Ali's fantasy was to escape to the seas, become a sailor, reach the island "where two suns set," become the royal prince, and "meet a lovely woman." Set against the cruel street world, with its incessant rhythm of crime, violence, and degradation, is a sensitive, poetic evocation of the emotions of the protagonists and the dead Ali. Source: www.screenrush.co.uk
Baara (The Porter) Souleymane Cissé,
Mali, 1978, 90mins
The first feature film ever produced in Mali, Baara (The Porter) is about a young man caught in the growing political and economic tensions of urban Africa. Balla Diarra is a worker in the capital city of Bamako who struggles to survive on his meagre income. After his friend is murdered by an unfeeling factory boss, he must confront increasingly violent choices. Set in a modern city rather than a mythical past or traditional village, Baara offers a portrait of African life not often seen on the American screen. Source: www.kino.com
Le Couperet (The Axe) Costa-Gavras,
France / Belgium / Spain, 2005, 122mins
Retrenched and out of work for two years, chemist Bruno Davert has had about all he can stand. His oldest son is in trouble with the law, his wife is subjecting him to marriage counselling and he can’t seem to land a job even after numerous interviews. But when he hears of a paper factory that is apparently rolling in money, he devises a plan to secure a job with the corporation. Eliminate the competition! Inspired by the novel from celebrated writer Donald E. Westlake, Costa-Gavras has crafted a biting political satire on capitalism and corporate trends, presented as a wonderfully dark comedy of middle aged desperation.
Source: ww.worldmovies.net"A black comedy with plenty to say …” Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
Drum Zola Maseko, South Africa/USA,
2004, 104mins
Based on true events from 1955 Johannesburg, this story is so compelling and eye-opening that it is a triumph. It also helps that the cast is not only excellent, but obviously committed to getting the truth out. Henry Nxumalo (Taye Diggs) is an ace reporter for Drum magazine who, with the help of his sidekick photographer (Gabriel Mann), is giving the government headaches over his articles about Apartheid injustice. His editor (Jason Flemyng) is at first reluctant to print them, but when they prove big selling points for the magazine, he encourages Henry to really go for it. But the next story—about how the government plans to flatten the city's liveliest township and seize the land from its black owners--could be trouble for them all. A lively and fascinating sense of local culture infuses this film, from the period details to the inventive use of music and locations. The central story about Henry's journey into activism is gripping, especially with Diggs' strong performance. As the men who work with him, Mann and Flemyng are standouts, and Moshidi Motshegwa is superb as his ong-suffering wife.
Source: http://www.shadowsonthewall.co.uk
L’Esquive (Games of Love and Chance)
Abdelatiff Kechiche, France, 2002, 117mins
Set in the housing projects of Paris, Abdel Kechiche's jagged-edge street story seems at first to be one of those well-intentioned movies about inner-city kids discovering the power of theatre. But L'Esquive, isn't about this group of mainly white and Arab teenagers uncovering the timeless truths in the titular Marivaux play; it's about the way those truths repeat themselves whether the kids realise it or not. The play's class-ordained romances rewrite themselves along racial lines, as nervous Krimo (Osman Elkharraz) dumps his Arab girlfriend for vain, pretty Lydia (Sara Forestier) and bribes her co-star to drop out so he can seize the role of Arlequin. Kechiche's feel for France's polyglot youth culture is acute.
Source: www.citypaper.net
Finyé (The Wind) Souleymane
Cissé, Mali, 1983, 105mins
Heremakono (Waiting for Happiness)
Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritania/ France, 2002, 90mins
L'Île de Black Mór Jean
Francois Laguionie, France, 2004, 85mins
Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages
Michel Ocelot/ Benedicte Galup, France, 2005, 75mins