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No Man's Land Bosnia/France/Belgium/U.K. - 2001, 98 mins. 
Director/Screenwriter: Danis Tanovic Justifiably awarded the Best Screenplay prize at the last Cannes Film Festival, Bosnian director Donis Tanovic's No Man's Land is a tragicomic feature about the war in Bosnia that fulfills the promise of the beautiful, more sober short videos he mode during the actual fighting. The film begins in 1993 with a group of Bosnian soldiers lost in dense fog who end up in an empty Serbian trench. World-weary Ciki (Branko Djuric) finds a rifle, which protects him when suspicious Bosnian Serbian soldiers check it out. Finally, only he and the inexperienced Bosnian Serb Nino (Rene Bitorajac) occupy the site, or so they think, and they play at miniature war with each other, often in a humorous way, in tune with the blackly comic spirit of the film. During a standoff, they discover Tzera (Filip Savagorvic) - a heavy Bosnian whom they'd both presumed dead - alive in a trench, and lying on a spring-loaded mine which will detonate if he moves. The United Notions contingent known as UNPROFOR sends a tank; a french sergeant tries to help, only to be called away by his arrogant, self-aggrandizing British commander; a pushy, world-renowned TV journalist (Katrin Cartlidge) endeavors to sensationalize the grove situation. In the end, Tanovic adroitly and shockingly holds the various parties accountable for their actions and inaction. - Howard Feinstein
The Business of Strangers
Director/Screenwriter: Patrick Stettner Stockard Charming dominates this role of the subtle rituals and power games of the corporate world. Panicked that she may soon be fired, successful businesswoman Julie Styron (Channing) takes it out on a young assistant (Julia Stiles). Later that evening, with both stuck in a hotel bar between layovers, the two women reunite and warily get to know one another. They drink, they lie, and they flirt, gradually revealing more about themselves and the sacrifices they have made to succeed. The presence of a sleazy corporate headhunter, however, raises the stakes, and their night turns into a devious (and suddenly dangerous) game of psychological cat-and-mouse with the man and - even more so - with each other. Debut director Patrick Stettner stylishly juxtaposes the sterility of the corporate landscape (well-pressed power suits, airport hotels, no-atmosphere bars) against the all-too-human aggressions and deceptions of his characters. The film, however, belongs to Charming and Stiles: their brilliant interplay and the depth of their portrayals give us a glimpse into an emotional terrain that most films ignore, a place where the business of strangers revolves around power - not just that of men over women, but that of two unwavering women pitted against one another. - Jason Sanders
One Eyed King
Director/Screenwriter: Robert Maresco "Five against the world" is the vow taken by a quintet of childhood chums in Hell's Kitchen, and now that they're young men with increasingly divergent interests and responsibilities it sometimes seems everyone's out to get them in a world where, as someone succinctly puts it, "anybody dies in this neighborhood it's fifty-fifty he got whacked." So when one of their number, ex-junkie Dennis (Jason Gedrick) is found dead of on overdose on the roof, Frankie (William Baldwin), the conscience of the group, begins to suspect local boss Holly (Armand Assante). His sleuthing leads to unease among the surviving friends (Jim Breuer, Dash Mihok, Joris Jarsky), but with the help of weary cop Eddie (Chazz Polminteri) and ex-girlfriend Helen (Connie Britton), he confronts the guilty party in a bare-knuckle showdown. Set to a cavalcade of vintage rock tunes, Robert Moresco's directorial debut thrums with the energy of the street and the camaraderie of five young men torn between their allegiances and environment. - Eddie Cockrell
Life as a House
Director: Irwin Winkler Terminally ill, a failed architect (Kline) decides that in the last summer of his life he will demolish his ramshackle house and build his dream home. He enlists the reluctant aid of his estranged sixteen-year-old son (Christensen). Family, friends, and neighbors are soon caught in a tangled, unpredictable web of relationships, and in a momentous, unforgettable summer, many walls are demolished, new ones built, and old ones renovated. From breathtaking images of the film's setting - a group of homes perched on a steep Los Angeles cliff-side overlooking the ocean - to intimate views of the dying man's efforts to connect with his deeply cynical son, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond captures the radiant beauty in both the human and physical landscapes. - David Schwartz
The Devil's Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo)
Director: Guillermo del Toro Following the success of his two darkly beautiful horror films, CRONOS and MIMIC, Mexican-born director Guillermo del Toro has turned his considerable talents to a Gothic ghost story in his latest engaging work.The Devil's Backbone is a supernatural thriller steeped in nightmarish atmosphere and featuring his trademark visual imagery. Set near the end of the Spanish Civil War as society crumbles, the film takes place at Santa Lucia, a desolate desert orphanage run by the refined and mysterious Professor Casares, and his wife Carmen. Hidden on the grounds of Santa Lucia are gold ingots being kept for the Republican army; in the center of the courtyard lies an unexploded bomb dropped by a Fascist plane. When twelve-year-old Carlos arrives at the orphanage, he is met with hostility by his fellow charges and the bad-tempered handyman Jacinto, but he eventually settles into an uneasy friendship with a bully. Very soon, Carlos discovers even greater tenor at Santa Lucia in the form of the disfigured ghost of Santi, a little boy who was murdered the night the bomb fell. At first, Santi pleads for Carlos to help free him from his suffering, but then warns of impending tragedies. Finally, he begs the increasingly distraught Carlos to carry out a horrifying act of revenge. A palpable tension is created between real and supernatural explanations for Carlos' experiences and for the ghoulish souls he encounters. This tightly made film is stylishly shot, with intense, rich hues and moody shadows, creating an atmosphere of almost unbearable suspense. Ramiro Puerto (Toronto Film Festival) |
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