The high-concept Hong Kong thriller starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung brought meticulous plotting to the Hong Kong crime picture and was remade by Martin Scorsese as ‘The Departed.’
This go-for-broke goof on classic Chinese warrior dramas and revenge thrillers packs a lot of action, a crazed cascade of comedy, and a non-stop barrage of loving jabs at classic martial arts adventures in 99 minutes.
The always provocative Michael Haneke won the Palm d’or for his historical drama about the corruption under the nostalgic surface of a rural village in Germany before World War I.
Pierre Morel’s twist on ‘Escape From New York’ set in a near-future Paris is a lean, clean, B-movie action machine fueled by adrenaline and indignation.
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi plays himself in this road movie into rural Iran to find a young woman who posted a video pleading with filmmaker for help.
Arnaud Desplechin’s mercurial, knotty and cinematically vibrant drama of family dysfunction stirred up over a Christmas gathering is a film that pulses with human life in all its terrible and beautiful irrationality.
