"This would-be "Thin Blue Line" awkwardly attempts to convince us that convicted killer Odell Barnes is innocent. In doing so, it also tries to condemn the American system of justice and indeed America itself.... [B]y the end of this tiring film, you don't even CARE whether Barnes suffered a miscarriage of justice; you feel like you're suffering through one yourself." Indiewire, Michael Giltz
"Martha, beautifully played by Valerie Donzelli, is an unstable young woman given to fits of depression. She is clearly not the ideal mother for 6-year-old.... Well-crafted and impeccably acted, but the demons driving the eponymous protagonist are needlessly elliptical, resulting in a slight loss of empathy, despite the undoubted talent on display. A tough sell in art houses is indicated." Variety, David Stratton
"Adopting a loose, playful style quite distinct from the poised minimalism of Hou Hsiao-hsien Taiwanese newcomer Hsiao Ya-chuan delivers an unassuming but absorbing reflection on destiny and inheritance, fate and chance. Stylishly shot from low angles and coolly detached distances, the concise, wispy drama has more breadth than its principal setting within the hermetic confines of a pawnshop would suggest. Festivals with a taste for offbeat new Asian cinema would appear its most likely avenue." Variety, Deborah Young
"A sly, cleverly constructed tale of various characters brought together by an abandoned baby, "The Orphan of Anyang" is shot in the style of a dry, self-conscious art movie from China but has an equally dry sense of humor that undercuts the seeming pretension. [A]nnounces a new talent to monitor on the indie Mainland scene." Variety, Derek Elley
"...sentimental if effective. Well-acted, it's the sort of film that might be unbearable in English but seems easier to swallow in a foreign tongue. Indiewire, Michael Giltz
"A thoughtful man who has directed porn films much of his life faces the hurdle of waning job satisfactionPerformances are a feast of controlled moroseness relieved by the perfectly captured comic stiffness of expedient porn dialogue. Helmer's admiration for nature is interweaved throughout the film, counterbalancing the slightly sinister urban landscapes. Elegantly lensed pic also plays as a commentary on the art movie as an endangered species" Variety, Lisa Nesselson
"Signaling first-time feature director Christine Jeffs as a promising talent, "Rain" is an evocative mood piece, enriched by gorgeous visuals, about the dissolution of a marriage as a mother reaches out for excitement and escape and her 13-year-old daughter explores her own budding sexuality. The delicate drama should segue from festival screenings into limited arthouse dates in select markets." Variety, David Rooney
"The stultifying idiocy of hardline Communist rule is adroitly mocked in "Slogans," an affecting examination of the battle between form and content in an Albanian village in the late '70s. The hypocrisy of collective rule is laid bare when a handsome young biology teacher joins the staff at a rural elementary school only to discover that sensible human behavior runs counter to the hermetic fiefdom built by local officials. Properly marketed, this tragicomic, modest pic has arthouse potential".Variety, Lisa Nesselsen
"...was rightly described by a presenter as a "miracle" that popped up at the last minute. Tightly directed by Gjergi Xhuvani, it deftly mines the humor and pathos of a young schoolteacher who arrives in a tiny mountain town in the late '70s." Indiewire, Michael Giltz
Claire Denis' new film starring Beatrice Dalle and Vincent Galo is causing controversy. "A leading French film director insisted yesterday that a movie showing brutal sex scenes, cannibalism and close-ups of ejaculation was neither controversial nor shocking." The London Times, Dalya Alberge
***********
"``Trouble Every Day,'' starring a vagina-eating Vincent Gallo and flesh-munching Beatrice Dalle, makes Hannibal the Cannibal look like an amateur, with vivid scenes of love-making that climax in a hearty meal. - Reuters
**********
"... a resolutely silly movie, largely shot in English, that plays like "An Existential American Cannibal in Paris" with a morose Vincent Gallo spending a sanguinary honeymoon in the City of Light. Over-long, under-written and needlessly obscure instead of genuinely atmospheric." Variety, Derek Elley
"Alternately light-hearted and dramatic it offers and unusually frank look at Iran's Islamic clergy in this tale of a young seminarian beleagured by doubts. Director Seyyed Reze Mir-Karimi ("The Child and The Soldier") takes a sold step forward in a film that broaches many taboos - drugs, prostitution, the people's contempt for the clergy." Variety, Deborah Young
"A small-scale first feature... follows an independently minded young woman who becomes involved with a pair of totally different men.Most of the film is a talkfest, with the characters discussing the issues in lengthy conversation scenes, punctuated by occasional bursts of romantic music." Variety, David Stratton
"A stylish, finely acted film with more formalist interest than narrative drive.... [F]ocuses closely on an unhappy heroine as she spirals down into ever more destructive levels of alcoholism. Jumping back and forth in time, the director subtly suggests the social and psychological factors leading up to the mess she's in. This non-linear experiment comes at a price, however, as the repetition and accumulation of detail seen from various angles in Paulette's memory ultimately wears the film out before its dramatic conclusion." Variety, Deborah Young