 |
| Anka Sasnal's It Looks Pretty From A Distance (Poland, 2012) - A trip into a particular circle of rural Polish hell, "It Looks Pretty From a Distance" finds painter-turned-filmmaker Wilhelm Sasnal applying his photorealist inclinations to a post-industrial community that survives on scrap and salvage, stripped of most of the virtues that would qualify it as human. At a distance is precisely where auds will want to keep the characters, although art-film lovers will embrace Sasnal's feature debut (co-helmed with his wife, sometime-model Anka Sasnal). Commercial potential seems bleak, but festival play has been lusty. 2012NDNF, 2012ROTic. RATING: 7 |
Saturday, December 29, 2012
It Looks Pretty From A Distance
In April The Following Year, There Was A Fire
 |
| Wichanon Somumjarn's In April The Following Year, There Was A Fire (Thailand, 2012) - Nuhm is a construction foreman working in Bangkok. The political instability in Thailand has making its presence felt in all business sectors. Nuhm suddenly finds himself out of jobs. He decides to leave Bangkok to go back to his hometown in the northeast of Thailand to attend his high school friend’s wedding during the Thai New Year in April -- which also happens to be the hottest month of the year. Nuhm reunites with his old friends at the wedding in Khon Kaen. He also runs into Joy, a senior from his high school whom he used to have a crush on, and is now an office woman. They exchange their phone numbers. Suddenly, the film turns into another direction. Some interview footage of the director’s father and brother is included, and we learn that the film is a semi-autobiography of the director’s life. The character of Nuhm is, nonetheless, as much a construct as it is real. From this point on, the film becomes the voyage of a young man into the labyrinths of the real and the imagined, the documentary and the fiction, the past and the present – and notonly of his self but also of the Thai society writ large. |
A Fish
 |
| Park Hong Min's A Fish (South Korea, 2012) - A professor of logic and metaphysic named Jeon-hyuk got news from a detective agency that they found his wife in Jindo. He is on his way to find her, leaving his lecture and everything else behind. The man from the detective agency said that his wife is turning into a possessed shaman in Kasa Island which is incomprehensible to him. In this miserable situation, he decided to get her back and on the way strange accidents started to occur. At some point, he realizes he is dead and his wife is doing a shaman ritual to rid his dead body of its soul. 2011BUS, 2012ROTic. RATING: 6 |
Les Miserables (2012)
 |
| GREAT MOVIES: Tom Hooper's Les Miserables (UK/US, 2012) - With Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe starring - and singing - for director Tom Hooper, the highly anticipated Les Misérables is a bold sung-through adaptation of the massively popular stage musical that substitutes close-up intimacy and naturalism for theatrical scale and sheen. The approach could well divide audiences, with fans of the show and musical theatre in general falling heavily for the full-on emotion and non-fans finding it all a bit confusing and over the top. 2013PALM. RATING: 9 |
Django Unchained
 |
| MUST SEE: Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (US, 2012) - The "D" is silent, though the name of "Django Unchained's" eponymous gunslinger sounds like a retaliatory whip across the face of white slaveholders, offering an immensely satisfying taste of antebellum empowerment packaged as spaghetti-Western homage. Christened after a coffin-toting Sergio Corbucci character who metes out bloody justice below the Mason-Dixon line, Django joins a too-short list of slaves-turned-heroes in American cinema, as this zeitgeist-shaping romp cleverly upgrades the mysterious Man in Black archetype to a formidable Black Man. Once again, Quentin Tarantino rides to the Weinsteins' rescue, delivering a bloody hilarious (and hilariously bloody) Christmas counter-programmer, which Sony will unleash abroad. |
This Is 40
 |
| Judd Apatow's This Is 40 (US, 2012) - Judd Apatow's instincts have rarely been sharper, wiser or more relatable than in "This Is 40," an acutely perceptive, emotionally generous laffer about the joys and frustrations of marriage and middle age. Boasting the empathy, texture and underlying seriousness that have characterized the filmmaker's output, this warts-and-all family portrait is anchored by splendid turns from Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, reprising their already full-bodied supporting roles from "Knocked Up." Although a more mature work than its 2007 predecessor in every sense, "This" is still a bracingly ribald, foul-mouthed affair that will score as a year-end crowdpleaser and home-format favorite. RATING: 7. |
Return Of Burma
 |
| Midi Z's Return to Burma (Burma, 2012) - A Burmese construction worker in Taiwan returns to Myanmar with thoughts of staying put in Midi Z's intriguing though repetitive semiautobiographical debut, "Return to Burma." Shot under the censors' radar, the digital pic presents a melancholy though not hopeless look at a country whose experiment with elections has done little for a populace seeing few opportunities at home. Tyro helmer over-pushes the constant talk of money, and he's not quite sure where to end things, but interest remains generally constant and the country's dearth of representation will ensure some fest life. 2012ROTic. RATING: 7 |
Monday, December 24, 2012
2013 Palm Springs International Film Festival
| This year’s Festival attendees selected The Sapphires (Australia) directed by Wayne Blair, as the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey (USA) directed by Ramona Diaz received the Audience Award Best for Documentary Feature.The FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year goes to Rama Burshtein's Fill The Void. FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor of the Year in a Foreign Language Film went to Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano and Giovanni Arcuri from Caesar Must Die (Italy) directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. Emilie Dequenne from Our Children (Belgium), directed by Joachim Lafosse, received the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress of the Year in a Foreign Language Film. The New Voices/New Visions selected The Cleaner (Peru) directed by Adrian Saba. New this year, the Cine Latino Award, was presented to Blancanieves(Spain), directed by Pablo Berger. Stolen Seas (Somalia/Kenya/UK/Italy), directed by Thymaya Payne, received The John Schlesinger Award, which is presented to a first-time documentary filmmaker. Jump (Ireland/UK), directed by Kieron J. Walsh, received the HP Bridging the Borders Award presented by Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard. |
4Some
Jan Hrebejk
Czech
2012
7
Boxes Juan
Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori
Paraguay
2012
80
Millions
Waldemar Krzystek
Poland
2012
900 Days
Jessica
Gorter Russia
2012
After Lucia
Michel Franco
Mexico
2012
Allez,
Eddy! Gert
Embrechtcs
Belgium
2012
Amour Michael
Haneke
Austria 2012
Angel's Share, The
Ken Loach UK
2012
Any Day Now
Travis Fine
US
2012
Barbara
Christian
Petzold
Germany
2012
Beauty
Daniela Seggiaro
Argentina
2011
Beware of Mr. Baker Jay Bulger US
2012
Beyond The Hills
Christian
Mungiu
Romania 2012
Beyond The Walls / Hors Les Murs
David
Lambert Belgium
2012
Blancanieves
Pablo Berger
Spain
2012
Bound By Flesh Leslie Zemeckis
US
2012
Breakaway
Ian
Lorenos
Philippines 2012
Buta Ilgar
Najaf
Azerbaijan 2012
Bwakaw
Jun Robles
Lana
Philippines 2012
Caesar Must Die
Paolo Taviani, Vittorio
Taviani Italy
2012
Call Girl
Mikail
Marcimain
Sweden 2012
Camion
Rafael
Ouellet
Canada
2012
Caretaker's Tale, The
Katrina
Weideman
Denmark 2012
Caught In The Web Chen Kaige
China
2012
Checkmate
Jose Maria
Cabral
Dominican Republic
2012
Children of Sarajevo
Aida Begic
Bosnia
2012
Clandestine Childhood
Benjamin Avila
Argentina
2012
Cleaner, The
Adrian Saba
Peru
2012
Clown, The
Selton Mello
Brazil
2011
Color of The Chameleon, The Emil
Christov
Bulgaria
2012
Crawl Herve Lasgouttes
France
2012
Dandelions, The Carine Tardieu
France
2012
Daughter, The
Alexander
Kazatkin
Russia
2012
Dead Man and Being Happy,
The Javier Rebollo
Spain
2012
Deep, The
Baltasar
Kormakur
Iceland
2012
Defiant
Requiem Doug
Shultz US
2012
Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey
Ramona Diaz
US
2012
Dormant Beauty Marcho
Bellocchio
Italy
2012
Dreamers
Noelle
Deschamps
France
2012
Drought
Everardo
Gonzales
Mexico
2011
Eagles Dror Sabo Israel
2012
Eat Sleep
Die Gabriela
Pitchler
Sweden
2012
Either Way
Hafsteinn
Gfunnar Sigurosson
Iceland
2011
Electrick Children
Rebecca
Thomas US
2012
Elephants
Emmanuel Saada
France
2013
End of Time, The
Peter Mettler
Switzerland
2012
End, The
Jorge
Torregrossa
Spain
2012
Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
Brad Bernstein US
2012
Fierce Green Fire, A
Mark
Kitchell US
2012
Fifth Season, The
Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Belgium
2012
Fill The Void
Rama
Burshtein
Israel
2012
Filmistaan
Nitin
Kakkar India
2012
Final Member, The
Jonah Bekhor
Iceland
2012
First Comes Love Nina Davenport
US
2012
Flying Blind
Katarzyna
Klimkiewicz
UK
2012
Foster Boy, The Markus Imboden
Switzerland
2012
Fruit Hunters, The Yung Chang
Canada
2012
Ginger and Rosa
Sally Potter UK
2012
Girl, The
David Riker
US
2012
Goltzius and The Pelican Company
Peter
Greenaway UK
2013
Great Expectations
Mike Newell
UK
2012
Hannah Arendt
Margarethe
Von Trotta
Germany 2012
Headshot
Penek Ratanaurang
Thailand 2011
Here and There / Aqui Y
Alla
Antonio Mendez Esparza
Spain
2012
Hijacking, A
Tobias
Lindholm
Denmark 2012
Hunt, The
Thomas
Vinterberg
Denmark 2012
Hypnotist, The
Lasse
Hallstrom
Sweden 2012
I Belong
Dag Johan
Haugerud
Norway 2012
I Do Glenn Gaylord
US
2012
I, Anna
Barnaby
Southcombe
UK
2012
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of A Pimp Jorge
Hinojosa
US
2012
Imagine
Andrzej
Jakimowski
Poland
2012
In The Fog
Sergei
Loznitsa
Russia
2012
In The Shadow
David
Ondricek
Czech
2012
Inch' Allah
Anais
Barbeau Lavalette
Canada
2013
Inescapable
Ruba Nadda
Canada
2012
Informant
Jamie
Meltzer US
2012
Intouchables, The
Eric Toledano
France
2011
Inuk Mike Magidson
Greenland
2012
Jackpot
Magnus
Martens
Norway
2012
Jews of Egypt
Amir Ramses
Egypt
2012
Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean
Matthew
Mishory US
2012
Jump Kieron J. Walsh
Ireland
2012
Just The Wind
Benedek
Fliegauf
Hungary 2012
Kauwboy
Boudewijn
Koole
Netherlands 2012
Key of Life
Kenji Uchida
Japan
2012
Kid Fien Troch Belgium
2012
King Curling
Ole Endresen
Norway
2011
Koch Neil Barsky
US
2012
Kon Tiki
Joachim
Roenning, Espen Sandberg
Norway
2012
La Playa D.C.
Juan Andres
Arango
Colombia 2012
La Source
Patrick Shen
US, Haiti 2012
Last Sentence, The Jan Troell
Sweden
2012
Laurence Anyways
Xavier Dolan
Canada
2012
Les Miserables
Tom Hooper
US, UK
2012
Little World
Marcel
Barrena Spain
2012
Liv and Ingmar
Dheraaj
Akolkar
Norway 2012
Lore Cate
Shortland
Germany, Australia
2012
Lost Loves
Chhay Bora
Cambodia
2012
Love, Marilyn
Liz Garbuz
US
2012
Magnificent Presence
Ferzan
Ozpetek Italy
2012
Margarita
Dominique
Cardona
Canada
2012
Marie Kroyer
Bille August
Denmark
2012
Mental
P.J. Hogan
Australia
2012
Midnight's Children
Deepa Mehta
India
2012
Modest Reception
Mani Haghigi Iran
2012
Mold Ali Aydin
Turkey
2012
Molly
Maxwell Sara
St. Onge
Canada
2012
More Than
Honey Markus Imhoof
Switzerland
2012
Multiple Visions
Emilio
Maille Mexico
2012
Mumbai's King
Manjeet
Singh India
2012
Nairobi Half Life
Tosh Gitonga
South Africa
2012
No Place on Earth Janet Tobias US
2012
Nuala Pattrick Farrelly
Ireland
2012
One Night / Una Noche
Lucy Mulloy
Cuba, US 2012
Our Children
Joachim Lafosse
Belgium
2012
Our Homeland
Yang Yonghi
Japan
2012
Out of The Clear Blue Sky
Danielle
Gardner US
2012
Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey
Wendy J.N.
Lee US
2012
Papadopoulos and Sons
Markus
Markou UK
2012
Passion of Michelangelo, The
Esteban Larrain Chile
2013
Pervert's Guide To Idiology, The
Sophie Fiennes
UK
2012
Piazza Fontana: The Italian
Conspiracy Marco Tullio Giordana
Italy
2012
Pieta Kim Ki
Duk South Korea 2012
Ping Pong
Hugh
Hartford UK
2012
Place at The Table, A
Kristi
Jacobson US
2012
Playground Chronicles
Brahim
Fritah France
2012
Purge Antii Jokinen
Finland
2012
Putzel Jason Chaet US
2012
Pympton: Starring George Pympton as Himself Tom Bean
US
2011
Reality Matteo
Garrone Italy
2012
Renoir Gilles Bourdos
France
2012
Repentant, The
Merzak
Allouache
Algeria
2012
Road North
Mika
Kaurismaki
Finland
2012
Room 237
Rodney
Ascher US
2012
Royal Affair,
A Nikolaj Arcel
Denmark
2012
Rust and Bone
Jacques
Audiard
Belgium
2012
Sadourni's Butterflies
Dario
Nardi
Argentina 2012
Sapphires, The
Wayne Blair
Australia
2012
Satellite Boy
Catriona
McKenzie
Australia
2012
Shameless
Filip
Marczewski
Poland
2012
Sharqiya
Ami Livne Israel
2012
Shine of Day, The
Tizza Covi Austria
2012
Shining, The
Stanley
Kubrick US
1980
Shores of Hope
Toke
Constantin Hebbeln
Germany
2012
Sister Ursula Meier
Switzerland
2012
Sleeping Voice, The
Benito Zambrano
Spain
2011
Smiling Through The
Apocalypse
Tom Hayes US
2012
Snitch Cartel, The Carlos Moreno
Colombia
2012
Soongava Dance of The Orchids
Subarna
Thapa Nepal
2012
Stand Up Guys
Fisher
Stevens US
2012
Still Michael McGowan
Canada
2012
Stolen Seas
Thymaya Payne
Somalia
2011
Suicide Shop, The Patrice
Leconte
France
2012
Suskind
Rudolf Van
Der Berg
Netherlands 2012
Tabu Miguel Gomes
Portugal
2012
Third Half, The
Darko
Mitrevski
Macedonia 2012
This Life - Some Must Die, So Others Can Live Anne
Grethe Bjarup Riis Denmark 2012
Time of My Life Nic Balthazar
Belgium
2012
Touch of The Light Chang Yung Chi
Taiwan
2012
Trip, A
Nejc Gazvoda
Slovenia
2011
Two Lives
Geog Maas
Germany
2012
Unfair World
Filippos
Tsitos Greece
2011
Unfinished Song Paul Andrew Williams
UK
2012
United In Anger: A History of Act Up
Jim Hubbard
US
2012
Valley of Saints
Musa Syeed India
2012
Wall, The
Julian Roman
Polsler
Austria
2012
War Witch / Rebelle
Kim Nguyen
Canada
2012
What Is This Film Called Love? Mark Cousins
US
2012
When Day Breaks
Goran
Paskaljevic
Serbia
2012
When I Saw You Anne Marie Jacir
Palestine
2012
Whisper to A Roar, A
Ben Moses US
2012
White Elephant, The
Pablo Trapero
Argentina
2012
White Tiger
Karen
Shakhnazarov
Russia
2012
World is Funny, The
Shemi Zarhin
Israel
2012
World Not Ours, A
Mahdi
Fleifel
Lebanon, UK 2012
Yema Djamila Sahraoui
Algeria
2012
A Burning Hot Summer
 |
| Philippe Garrel's A Burning Hot Summer (France, 2011) - It may be Philippe Garrel's first film in color in more than a decade, but otherwise there's little sense of the vet Gallic helmer trying something different in "That Summer." With son Louis again cast -- or rather, typecast -- as a mopey hipster who vaguely philosophizes about love, life and heartbreak with badly coiffed friends and a stunning woman (a cringe-worthy Monica Bellucci), this partially wistful but mostly messy effort will appeal to Garrel completists, if such people still exist. After its Venice and Toronto preems, pic will hit Gallic arthouse screens Sept. 28. 2011VENic. RATING: 6 |
When Nigh Falls
 |
| MUST SEE: Ying Liang's When Night Falls (China, 2012) - 2012LOCic Best Director Winner and Best Actress Winner. The mother of a murderer awaits and prepares to meet her son. The true story of a man who killed six Shanghai policemen after suffering police beatings as a punishment for riding an unlicensed bicycle. This film was produced as a part of the Jeonju Digital Project. 2012LOCic, 2012TOR. RATING: 8 |
Memories Look at Me
 |
| MUST SEE: Song Fang's Memories Look At Me (China, 2012) - Song Fang’s remarkable directorial debut, in which she travels from Beijing to Nanjing for a visit with her family (many of whom play themselves), gracefully expounds on several poignant topics: how an adult child’s relationship with her parents changes as they grow older, and how to negotiate one’s place as a single woman in a world of married couples. Song, who many will remember for her wonderful performance as the nanny and aspiring filmmaker in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Flight of the Red Balloon (NYFF 2007), perfectly captures the rhythms of brief sojourns home, trips filled with reunions (both joyful and heart-wrenching), reminiscences, and moments of feeling painfully out of place. Winner of the Best First Feature prize at this year’s Locarno Film Festival. 2012LOCfotp, 2012NYFF. RATING: 8 |
The Guilt Trip
 |
| Anne Fletcher's The Guilt Trip (US, 2012) - Pairing Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen as a neurotic New Jersey mother-son odd couple, then sending the two on a road trip through Texas and the South, Anne Fletcher's "The Guilt Trip" would seem to have uncovered some rarely tapped veins of Oedipal and culture-clash comedy. Yet the film scarcely bothers to mine them, making for a timid, modestly pleasant time-passer distinguished mostly by its unexplored potential. All the same, the attraction of seeing Streisand in her first non-"Fockers" role in more than a decade, as well as the general dearth of grandma-friendly comedies, should generate healthy holiday weekend business. RATING: 4 |
Jack Reacher
 |
| MUST SEE: Christopher McQuarrie's Jack Reacher (US, 2012) - A surprisingly dark noir heart beats at the center of Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise’s effort to establish a new franchise beachhead. Based on author Lee Child’s series, 18 novels and counting, about an off-the-grid former military investigator turned crusading antihero, director Christopher McQuarrie’s film is an appealing genre piece built on a solid foundation of smartly modulated friction, blending old-fashioned fisticuffs with an engaging murder inquiry that reeks of mysterious frame-up. RATING: 8 |
Crawl
 |
| Herve Lasgouttes' Crawl (France, 2012) - CRAWL tells the emerging romance between Martin, a young man living on casual jobs and small robberies, and Gwen a dedicated swimmer who trains everyday in high-sea. Their lives changed when she gets pregnant and he is charged with murder. 2012VENd, 2013PALM. RATING: 7 |
Beauty (2012)
 |
| Daniela Seggiaro's Beauty (Argentina, 2012) - Don't ever let anyone cut your hair off’, Yolanda’s grandmother tells her in their Wichí Lhamtés language. Their beautiful long hair is the pride of the indigenous women of this nation. They live in north eastern Argentina, where they lead a secluded life in extreme poverty. Yolanda works as a housemaid for a large Argentinean family. Her employers are not wealthy people. The man of the house often leaves his overworked wife alone. Everyone is busy preparing for the ‘Quinceañera’, the fifteenth birthday of the daughter Antonella. Yolanda is bossed around by the family, who – although they are not rude – treat her without respect. When the family are all at table laughing and talking, Yolanda sits in front of her plate in the kitchen, alone. Sometimes she complains to her mother, when she sees her in front of the house. Most of the time, however, she endures her lot with great patience. That is, until one day, the family takes her along to the hairdresser. Afterwards, Yolanda takes to her bed for several days, falls ill and refuses to say a word. At her ‘Quinceañera’ celebrations Antonella climbs onto a small stage and dances flamenco. For Yolanda, it is a truly cutting experience. 2012BERgen, 2013PALM. RATING: 7. |
Friday, December 21, 2012
Deranged
 |
| Park Jeong Woo's Deranged (South Korea, 2012) - about mutant parasite outbreak in South Korea.RATING: 7 |
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
2012 London Critics' Circle Nominations
 |
| Michael Haneke's Amour Leads 2012 London Film Critics' Nominations |
The Sky Movies Award: FILM OF THE YEAR
Amour (Artificial Eye)
Argo (Warners)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (StudioCanal)
Life of Pi (Fox)
The Master (Entertainment)
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Amour (Artificial Eye)
Holy Motors (Artificial Eye)
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (New Wave)
Rust and Bone (StudioCanal)
Tabu (New Wave)
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
The Imposter (Picturehouse/Revolver)
London: The Modern Babylon (BFI)
Nostalgia for the Light (New Wave)
The Queen of Versailles (Dogwoof)
Searching for Sugar Man (StudioCanal)
The May Fair Hotel Award: BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Berberian Sound Studio (Artificial Eye)
The Imposter (Picturehouse/Revolver)
Les Miserables (Universal)
Sightseers (StudioCanal)
Skyfall (Sony)
The Spotlight Award: ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln (Fox)
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables (Universal)
Mads Mikkelsen – The Hunt (Arrow)
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master (Entertainment)
Jean-Louis Trintignant – Amour (Artificial Eye)
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty (Universal)
Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone (StudioCanal)
Helen Hunt - The Sessions (Fox)
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook (Entertainment)
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour (Artificial Eye)
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Alan Arkin – Argo (Warners)
Javier Bardem – Skyfall (Sony)
Michael Fassbender – Prometheus (Fox)
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master (Entertainment)
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln (Fox)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Amy Adams – The Master (Entertainment)
Judi Dench – Skyfall (Sony)
Sally Field – Lincoln (Fox)
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables (Universal)
Isabelle Huppert – Amour (Artificial Eye)
BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR – In association with Cameo Productions
Daniel Craig – Skyfall (Sony)
Charlie Creed-Miles - Wild Bill (The Works/Universal)
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln (Fox)
Toby Jones – Berberian Sound Studio (Artificial Eye)
Steve Oram – Sightseers (StudioCanal)
BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Emily Blunt – Looper (eOne) and Your Sister’s Sister (StudioCanal)
Judi Dench – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Fox) and Skyfall (Sony)
Alice Lowe – Sightseers (StudioCanal)
Helen Mirren – Hitchcock (Fox)
Andrea Riseborough – Shadow Dancer (Paramount)
YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Samantha Barks – Les Miserables (Universal)
Fady Elsayed – My Brother the Devil (Verve)
Tom Holland – The Impossible (eOne)
Will Poulter – Wild Bill (The Works/Universal)
Jack Reynor – What Richard Did (Artificial Eye)
The American Airlines Award: DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master (Entertainment)
Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty (Universal)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (New Wave)
Michael Haneke – Amour (Artificial Eye)
Ang Lee – Life of Pi (Fox)
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master (Entertainment)
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty (Universal)
Michael Haneke – Amour (Artificial Eye)
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained (Sony)
Chris Terrio – Argo (Warners)
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER
Ben Drew, writer/director – Ill Manors (Revolver)
Sally El Hosaini, writer/director – My Brother the Devil (Verve)
Dexter Fletcher, co-writer/director – Wild Bill (The Works/Universal)
Bart Layton, writer/director – The Imposter (Picturehouse/Revolver)
Alice Lowe & Steve Oram, writers – Sightseers (StudioCanal)
The Sky 3D Award: TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran, costumes (Universal)
Argo – William Goldenberg, film editing (Warners)
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Ben Richardson, cinematography (StudioCanal)
Berberian Sound Studio – Joakim Sundstrom & Stevie Haywood, sound design (Artificial Eye)
Holy Motors – Bernard Floch, makeup (Artificial Eye)
Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda, cinematography (Fox)
Life of Pi – Bill Westenhofer, visual effects (Fox)
The Master – Jack Fisk & David Crank, production design (Entertainment)
My Brother the Devil – David Raedeker, cinematography (Verve)
Rust and Bone – Alexandre Desplat, music (StudioCanal)
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM: Sponsored by PREMIER
Helena Bonham Carter
2012 Lumiere Award
 |
| Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone leads 2012 Lumiere Award nominations |
Amour, Michael Haneke
Rust and Bone (De rouille et d’os), Jacques Audiard
Camille Rewinds (Camille Redouble), Noémie Lvovsky
Holy Motors, Leos Carax
Farewell My Queen (Les adieux à la reine), Benoît Jacquot
Best Director
Jacques Audiard, Rust and Bone
Leos Carax. Holy Motors
Michael Haneke, Amour
Noemie Lvovsky, Camille Rewinds
Cyril Mennegun, Louise Wimmer
Best Screenplay
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Rust and Bone
Leos Carax, Holy Motors
Benoit Jacquot, Gilles Taurand, Farewell My Queen
Noemie Lvovsky, Maud Ameline, Pierre-Olivier Mattei, Florence Seyvos, Camille Rewinds
Valerie Zenatti, Thierry Binisti, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (Une bouteille à la mer)
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Catherine Frot, Haute Cuisine
Noemie Lvovsky, Camille Rewinds
Corinne Masiero, Louise Wimmer
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Best Actor
Guillaume Canet, A Better Life (Une vie meilleure)
Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
Jeremie Renier, Cloclo
Mathias Schoenaerts, Rust and Bone
Jean Louis Trintignant, Amour
Best female Newcomer
Agathe Bonitzer, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
Judith Chemla, Julia Faure, India Hair, Camille Rewinds
Izia Higelin, Mauvaise fille
Sofiia Manousha, Le noir (te) vous va si bien
Soko Augustine
Best Male Newcomer
Clement Metayer, Something in the Air (Après mai)
Stephane Soo Mongo, Rengaine
Pierre Niney Comme des frères
Mahmoud Shalaby A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
Ernst Umhauer pour In the House (Dans la maison)
Best French-language Film (outside France)
Our Children (A Perdre La Raison), Joachim Lafosse
Laurence Anyways, Xavier Dolan
The Pirogue, Moussa Touré
Sister (L’Enfant d’en haut), Ursula Meier
Monsieur Lazhar, Philippe Falardeau
2012 National Film Registry Selection
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| Otto Preminger's Anatomy of A Murder become one of the 25 film selected for 2012 National Film Registry List |
Often compared favorably with "High Noon," this innovative western from director Delmer Daves starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in roles cast against type and was based on a short story by Elmore Leonard.
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Director Otto Preminger brought a new cinematic frankness to film with this gripping crime-and-trial movie shot on location in Michigan's Upper Peninsula where the incident on which it was based had occurred. "Anatomy" -- starring James Stewart, Ben Gazzara and Lee Remick -- endures today for its first-rate drama and suspense, and its informed perspective on the legal system. The film includes an innovative jazz score by Duke Ellington and one of Saul Bass's most memorable opening title sequences.
The Augustas (1930s-1950s)
Scott Nixon, a traveling salesman based in Augusta, Ga., was an avid member of the Amateur Cinema League who enjoyed recording his travels on film. In this 16-minute silent film, Nixon documents some 38 streets, storefronts and cities named Augusta in such far-flung locales as Montana and Maine. Arranged with no apparent rhyme or reason, the film strings together brief snapshots of these Augustas, many of which are indicated at pencil-point on a train timetable or roadmap. Nixon photographed his odyssey using both 8mm and 16mm cameras loaded with black-and-white and color film, amassing 26,000 feet of film that now resides at the University of South Carolina.
Born Yesterday (1950)
Judy Holliday's sparkling lead performance as not-so-dumb "dumb blonde" Billie Dawn anchors this comedy classic based on Garson Kanin's play and directed for the screen by George Cukor. Holliday's work in the film (a role she had previously played on Broadway) was honored with the Academy Award for best actress and has endured as one of the era's most finely realized comedy performances.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Truman Capote's acclaimed novella -- the bitter story of self-invented Manhattan call girl Holly Golightly -- arrived on the big screen purged of its risque dialogue and unhappy ending. George Axelrod's screenplay excised explicit references to Holly's livelihood and added an emotionally moving romance, resulting, in Capote's view, in "a mawkish valentine to New York City." Capote believed that Marilyn Monroe would have been perfect for the film and judged Audrey Hepburn, who landed the lead, "just wrong for the part." Critics also have lauded the movie's director Blake Edwards for his creative visual gags and facility at navigating the film's abrupt changes in tone. Composer Henry Mancini's classic "Moon River," featuring lyrics by Johnny Mercer, also received critical acclaim. Mancini considered Hepburn's wistful rendition of the song on guitar the best he had heard.
A Christmas Story (1983)
Humorist Jean Shepherd narrates this memoir of growing up in Hammond, Ind., during the 1940s when his greatest ambition was to receive a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The film is based in part on Shepherd's 1966 compilation of short stories titled "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash," which originated on his radio and television programs. Writer-director Bob Clark had long dreamed of making a movie based on Shepherd's work and his reverence for the material shows through as detail after nostalgic detail rings true with period flavor. Peter Billingsley -- with his cherubic cheeks, oversized glasses and giddy grin -- portrays Shepherd as a boy. Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon are his harried-yet-lovable parents.
The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Title Fight (1897)
Independently produced motion picture recordings of famous boxing contests were a leading factor in establishing the commercial success of movies in the late 19th century. Championship boxing matches were the most widely popular sporting contests in America in that era, even though the sport was banned in many states in the 1890s. Soon after Nevada legalized boxing in 1897, the Corbett-Fitzsimmons title fight was held in that state in Carson City on St. Patrick's Day of that year. With a running time of approximately 100 minutes, "The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Title Fight" was the longest movie produced at that time. "Corbett-Fitzsimmons" was a tremendous commercial success for the producers and contestants James J. Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons (the victor), generating an estimated $750,000 in income during the several years that it remained in distribution. This film also is deserving of a footnote in the technical history of motion pictures. Producers of early boxing films protected their films from piracy by engineering film printers and projectors that could only accept film stock of a proprietary size. The film prints of the fight were manufactured in a unique 63mm format that could only be run on a special projector advertised as "The Veriscope."
Dirty Harry (1971)
Clint Eastwood's role as rogue police officer Harry Callahan in director Don Siegel's action-packed, controversial paean to vigilante justice marked a major turning point in Eastwood's career. A top 10 box-office hit after its release, "Dirty Harry" struck a nerve in the era's politically polarized atmosphere with those who believed that concern over suspects' rights had gone too far. While a number of critics characterized the film as "fascistic," Eastwood countered that Harry, who disregards police procedure and disobeys his superiors, represents "a fantasy character" who "does all the things people would like to do in real life but can't." The film's kinesthetic direction and editing laid the aesthetic groundwork for many of the 1970s' gritty, realistic police dramas.
Hours for Jerome: Parts 1 and 2 (1980-82)
Nathaniel Dorsky shot the footage for what would become his silent tone poem, "Hours for Jerome," between 1966 and 1970. He edited that footage over a two-year period. The film's title evokes the liturgical "Book of Hours," a medieval series of devotional prayers recited at eight-hour intervals throughout the day. Dorsky's personal devotional loosely records the daily events of the filmmaker and his partner as an arrangement of images, energies and illuminations. "Part 1" presents spring through summer and "Part 2" looks at fall and winter -- a full year in 45 minutes. Named filmmaker of the decade in 2010 by Film Comment magazine, Dorsky creates his works to be projected at silent speed, between 17 and 20 frames per second instead of the usual 24 frames per second for sound film.
The Kidnappers Foil (1930s-1950s)
For three decades, Dallas native Melton Barker and his company traveled through the southern and central sections of the United States filming local children acting, singing and dancing in two-reel narrative films, all of which Barker titled "The Kidnappers Foil." Since home movies were an expensive hobby, he developed a business to provide them. He assembled 50 to 75 would-be Shirley Temples and Jackie Coopers, ages 3 to 12, to act out the melodramatic story: a young girl is kidnapped from her birthday party and eventually rescued by a search party of local kids. Most prints of these films no longer exist, although some have been discovered in vintage movie houses or local historical societies. The Texas Archive of the Moving Image holds a collection of these itinerant films and hosts Internet resources for those who appeared in them as children.
Kodachrome Color Motion Picture Tests (1922)
This two-color (green-blue and red) film was produced as a demonstration reel at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, under the direction of Kodak scientist John Capstaff. It features leading actresses, including Mae Murray, Hope Hampton, and Mary Eaton, posing and miming for the camera to showcase the capability of the complex Kodachrome process to capture their translucent movie star complexions and colorful, high-fashion clothing. The Kodachrome Color Motion Picture Tests of 1922 was the first publicly demonstrated color film to attract the general interest of the American film industry. Many feature films produced by major studios incorporated two-color sequences using Kodachrome and the rival Technicolor film stocks until three-strip Technicolor became the industry standard in the late 1930s.
A League of Their Own (1992)
Director Penny Marshall used the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943-1954) as a backdrop for this heartfelt comedy-drama. "A League of Their Own," featuring an ensemble cast that includes Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell, not only illuminates this fascinating, under-reported aspect of American sports history, but also effectively examines women's changing roles during wartime.
The Matrix (1999)
A visionary and complex film, the science-fiction epic "The Matrix" employed state-of-the-art special effects, production design and computer-generated animation to tell a story -- steeped in mythological, literary, and philosophical references -- about a revolt against a conspiratorial regime. The film's visual style, drawing on the work of Hong Kong action film directors and Japanese anime films, altered science fiction filmmaking practices with its innovative digital techniques designed to enhance action sequences. Directors Andy and Lana Wachowski and visual effects supervisor John Gaeta (who received an Academy Award for his efforts) expertly exploited a digitally enhanced simulation of variable-speed cinematography to gain ultimate control over time and movement within images. The film's myriad special effects, however, do not undermine its fundamentally traditional, if paranoid, story of man against machine.
The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair (1939)
Produced by Westinghouse for the 1939 World's Fair, this industrial film is a striking hour-long time capsule that documents that historic event within a moralistic narrative. Shot in Technicolor, the film follows a fictional Indiana family of five (mom, dad, son, daughter and grandma) as they venture from grandma's quaint house in Long Island to the fair's popular pavilions. The whole family enjoys the gleaming sights, especially the futuristic technologies located in the Westinghouse Pavilion (including something called "television").
One Survivor Remembers (1995)
In this Academy Award-winning documentary short film by Kary Antholis, Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein recounts her six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty. At age 16, her comfortable life was shattered by the Nazi invasion of Poland. She and her family were sent to concentration and slave labor camps. She alone survived. Mixing footage shot in contemporary Europe at key locations of Klein's story with interviews and personal photographs, "One Survivor Remembers" explores the effects that her experience had on the rest of her life.
Parable (1964)
In the 1930s, a number of Protestant groups, concerned about the perceived meretricious effects of Hollywood films, began producing non-theatrical motion pictures to spread the gospel of Jesus. One of the most acclaimed and controversial films in this tradition, "Parable" debuted at the New York World's Fair in May 1964 as the main attraction of the Protestant and Orthodox Center. Without aid of dialogue or subtitles, the film relies on music and an allegorical story that represents the "Circus as the World," in the words of Rolf Forsberg, who wrote and co-directed the film with Tom Rook for the Protestant Council of New York. "Parable" depicts Jesus as an enigmatic, chalk-white, skull-capped circus clown who takes on the sufferings of oppressed workers, including women and minorities. The fair's president Robert Moses sought to have it withdrawn. Other fair organizers resigned with one exclaiming, "No one is going to make a clown out of my Jesus." A disgruntled minister threatened to riddle the screen with shotgun holes if the film was shown. Undaunted, viewers voted overwhelmingly to keep the film running, and it became one of the fair's most popular attractions. The Fellini- and Bergman-inspired film received the 1966 Religious Film Award of the National Catholic Theatre Conference, along with honors at the 1966 Cannes, Venice and Edinburgh film festivals.
Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia (1990)
International relief worker Ellen Bruno's master's thesis at Stanford University, "Samsara," documents the struggle of the Cambodian people to rebuild a shattered society in the aftermath of Pol Pot's killing fields. "Samsara" is a Sanskrit term that literally means "circle" or "wheel," and is commonly translated as "cycle of existence." Bruno fleshes out this concept by using ancient Buddhist teachings and folklore to provide a context for Cambodia's struggle. Described as poetic, heartbreaking and evocative, the film brings a humanistic perspective to the political chaos of Southeast Asia with a deliberate, reflective and sometimes dreamlike pace as it intertwines the mundane realities of daily life with the spiritual beliefs of the Khmer people.
Slacker (1991)
Along with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" (1989), "Slacker" is widely regarded as a touchstone in the blossoming of American independent cinema during the 1990s. A free-floating narrative, the film follows a colorful and engaging assortment of characters in Austin, Texas, throughout the course of a single day. Shot on 16mm film with a budget of $23,000, director Richard Linklater dispensed with a structured plot in favor of interconnected vignettes. This resulted in a film of considerable quirky charm that has influenced a whole generation of independent filmmakers. "Slacker" was eventually picked up by a major distributor and earned more than $1 million at the box office.
Sons of the Desert (1933)
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, along with comedian Charley Chase, star in this riotous comedy of fraternity and marital mishaps. Directed by veteran comedy director William A. Seiter for Hal Roach Studios, "Sons of the Desert" successfully incorporated into a feature-length film many of the comedic techniques that had made Laurel & Hardy such masters of short-subject humor. The film was ranked among the top 10 box-office hits after its release. Film scholars and fans consider it to be the duo's finest feature film.
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)
When "The Spook Who Sat by the Door" was restored for DVD release in 2004, the New York Times called it "a story of black insurrection too strong for 1973." Based on a controversial best-selling 1969 novel by Sam Greenlee and with a subtly effective score by jazz legend Herbie Hancock, the film presents the story of a black man hired to integrate the CIA who uses his counter-revolutionary training to spark a black nationalist revolution in America's urban streets. Financed mostly by individual African-American investors, some commentators lambasted the film for its sanctioning of violence and distributor United Artists pulled the movie from theaters after a successful three-week run.
They Call It Pro Football (1967)
Before "They Call It Pro Football" premiered, football films were little more than highlight reels set to the oom-pah of a marching band. In 1964, National Football League commissioner Pete Rozelle agreed to the formation of NFL Films. With a background in public relations, he recognized that the success of the league depended on its image on television, which required creating a mystique. "They Call It Pro Football," the first feature of NFL Films, looked at the game "in dramaturgical terms," capturing the struggle, not merely the outcome, of games played on the field. Written and produced by Steve Sabol, directed by John Hentz and featuring the commanding cadence of narrator John Facenda and the music of Sam Spence, the film presented football on an epic scale and in a way rarely seen by the spectator. "They Call It Pro Football" established a mold for subsequent productions by NFL Films and has well earned its characterization as the "Citizen Kane" of sports movies.
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Told largely with revealing news clips and archival footage interspersed with personal reminiscences, "The Times of Harvey Milk" vividly recounts the life of San Francisco's first openly gay elected city official. The film, which received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, traces Harvey Milk's ascent from Bay Area businessman to political prominence as city supervisor and his 1978 assassination, which also claimed the life of San Francisco mayor George Moscone.
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
During a short-lived period following the success of such youth-oriented films as "Bonnie and Clyde," "The Graduate" and especially "Easy Rider" in the late 1960s, Hollywood executives financed -- with minimal oversight -- a spate of low-budget, innovative films by young "New Hollywood" filmmakers. With influences ranging from playwright Samuel Beckett to European filmmakers Robert Bresson, Jacques Rivette and Michelangelo Antonioni, one such film was the minimalist classic "Two-Lane Blacktop." The film follows two obsessed but laconic young operators of a souped-up 1955 Chevy (singer-songwriter James Taylor and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson) as they engage in a cross-country race with a 1970 Pontiac GTO, whose loquacious, middle-aged driver (Warren Oates) continually reinvents his past and intended future. The drivers' fixation on speed, mastery and competition is disrupted when a 17-year-old drifter (Laurie Bird) joins their masculine world and later leaves them in disarray. Director Monte Hellman and screenwriter Rudolph Wurlitzer allow audiences time to absorb the film's spare landscapes, car-culture rituals and existential encounters, and to reflect on the myth of freedom that life on the road traditionally has embodied.
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1914)
Harriet Beecher Stowe published her great anti-slavery novel in 1852. Adapted for the stage in 1853, it was continuously performed in the U.S. well into the 20th century. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was frequently adapted to movies after 1900, but always with white actors in the lead roles until this version, said to be the first feature-length American film that starred a black actor. Sam Lucas -- actor, musician, singer and songwriter -- had become famous in the 19th century for his performances in vaudeville and minstrel shows produced by Charles Frohman. In 1878, Frohman achieved a breakthrough in American theatrical history when he staged a production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," featuring Lucas in the lead role. Thirty-six years later, Lucas was lured out of retirement by the World Producing Corp. to recreate his historic role on film and, in the process, set an important milestone in American movie history.
The Wishing Ring; An Idyll of Old England (1914)
Director Maurice Tourneur, called by film historian Kevin Brownlow "one of the men who introduced visual beauty to the American screen," arrived in America in 1914. Previously, he was as an artist (assisting sculptor August Rodin and painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes), actor and innovative director in French theater and cinema. Tourneur's third American film, "The Wishing Ring," was once believed lost until Brownlow located a 16mm print of the film in northern England. The print subsequently was copied to 35mm by the Library of Congress as part of an effort funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to preserve America's film heritage. At the time of its initial release, the film was admired for its light and pleasing cross-class romantic story, its fresh performances and the authenticity of its "Old England" settings -- although it was shot in New Jersey. Historians of silent cinema have lionized the film since its rediscovery. William K. Everson praised its "incredible sophistication of camerawork, lighting, and editing." Richard Koszarski deemed it "an extraordinary film - probably the high point of American cinema up to that time."
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