My Top Film Festival movies for 1997 (in list order)
Official Selections at Cannes, Venice and Berlin. The English speaking market makes a comeback to the prestige festivals...
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17 titles
- DirectorAng LeeStarsKevin KlineJoan AllenSigourney WeaverIn suburban New Canaan, Connecticut, 1973, middle-class families experimenting with casual sex and substance abuse find their lives beyond their control.1. Ang Lee's modern classic... (Cannes)
- DirectorGary OldmanStarsRay WinstoneKathy BurkeCharlie Creed-MilesA rough, short-tempered patriarch of a working-class family sees his life and the relationships around him slowly unravel.7. Gary Oldman gets powerhouse performances... (Cannes)
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsIan HolmSarah PolleyCaerthan BanksA bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.9. Egoyan's look into the mourning of youth... (Cannes)
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsLeonardo DiCaprioClaire DanesJohn LeguizamoShakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.11. The Baz version of Shakespeare.... (Berlin)
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsWoody HarrelsonCourtney LoveEdward NortonThe story of controversial pornography publisher Larry Flynt, and how he became a defender of free speech.12. The perfect vehicle for Forman... (Berlin)
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.20. The wild Kitano... (Venice)
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsOssie DavisCharles S. DuttonAndre BraugherA disparate group of African-American men travel by bus to Washington, DC for the Million Man March.26. Worth getting on the bus for... (Berlin)
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsStephen DillaneWoody HarrelsonMarisa TomeiAmerican and British journalists Flynn and Michael Henderson, along with their respective news teams, meet at the beginning of the Bosnian war in Sarajevo. During their reports, the group find an orphanage run by the devoted Mrs. Savic near the frontline. Feeling sympathy, Henderson decides to take one of the children, Emira, illegally back to England.31. Winterbottom goes to war... (Cannes)
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.37. Another fine Minghella epic... (Berlin)
- DirectorWayne WangStarsJeremy IronsGong LiMaggie CheungThe story of Hong Kong, from New Year's Day to June 30th, 1997, when the British left their colony and turned it over to the People's Republic of China.38. Jeremy's glory... (Venice)
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsKevin SpaceyRussell CroweGuy PearceAs corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.42. Welcome to Hollywood, Crowe & Pearce... (Cannes)
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsCarole BouquetDaniel AuteuilPatrice ChéreauA love story or a tale of the resistance, this poignant movie tells both the haunting story of a French resistance cell in Lyon but also the love of Lucie Aubrac for her husband, and the lengths she goes to to rescue her husband from prison on more than one occasion. Based on a true story Lucie Aubrac works as both history lesson and love story.66. Auteuil stars in it and Berri directs it, that's all you need to know... (Berlin)
- DirectorNick CassavetesStarsSean PennRobin WrightJohn TravoltaAfter being released from a psychiatric institution, a man tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his now-ex wife from the events that led up to his incarceration.78. Following in his father's footsteps... (Cannes)
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKoji YakushoMisa ShimizuMitsuko BaishôA businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After the release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking almost to no one except an eel he befriended while in prison.84. Strange and wonderful... (Cannes)
- DirectorSamantha LangStarsPamela RabeMiranda OttoPaul ChubbYoung Katherine and her older friend Hester live at the isolated farm run by Hester and her father Francis. Katherine works as a maid and wants to leave that place because there's too much work. Hester, however, gets attracted to Katherine and hold her there, promising to give her less work in the future. When old Francis dies, Hester decides to sell the farm for cash. They move to small cottage on the edge of the farm and plan to go to Europe for the money they got. But tragic accident and theft of their money change their plans.89. Very dark but still fascinating... (Cannes)
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.96. Haneke really challenges his viewers... (Cannes)
- DirectorJohnny DeppStarsJohnny DeppMarlon BrandoMarshall BellA down-on-his-luck American Indian recently released from jail is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film, the resulting pay of which could greatly help his poverty stricken family.98. A dark and bleak subject handled with care by Depp... (Cannes)