Best Undistributed Films (2005)

TOP 9
[in alphabetical order]

Clean - Olivier Assayas / France-Can

L'Enfer - Danis Tanovic / France

Gabrielle - Patrice Chéreau / France

Somersault - Cate Shortland / Australia

This Charming Girl (Yeoja, Jeong-hye) - Lee Yoon-ki / S. Korea

Three Times (Zui hao de shi guang) - Hou Hsiao-hsien / Taiwan

20 Fingers (Beest Angosht) - Mania Akbari / Iran

Vers Mathilde - Claire Denis / France

The Wayward Cloud (Tian bian yi duo yun) - Tsai Ming-liang / Taiwan


OTHER KEY FILMS
[in alphabetical order]

The Bridesmaid (La Demoiselle d'honneur) - Claude Chabrol / France

Le Chignon d'Olga - Jérôme Bonnell / France

L'Équipier - Philippe Lioret / France

Exils - Tony Gatlif / France

A Good Lawyer's Wife (Baramnan Gajok) - Im Sang-soo / S. Korea

Hawaii, Oslo - Erik Poppe / Norway

Manderlay - Lars von Trier / Denmark

Mary - Abel Ferrara / France-Ita

Playing 'In the Company of Men' (En jouant 'Dans la compagnie des hommes') - Arnaud Desplechin / France

Shanghai Dreams (Qing Hong) - Wang Xiaoshuai / China

Thank You for Smoking - Jason Reitman / U.S.
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*A film was eligible for consideration only if it was seen during 2005, and had its World Premiere within the last 5 years.
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2004 List.

I came across this because I saw y our name.... As usual you've seen a lot of films I haven't, and ones I would like to see. I have seen Clean, Gabrielle, Three Times, and Mandarlay -- none of the others. Are any of the others on US dvd's? I remember reading about Le chignon d'Olga and maybe that one is?

You're right, Le Chignon d'Olga is finally being released in the U.S. (on DVD) next week. I think you'll like it. Incidentally, the latest from Eric Rohmer, whose work Chignon was influenced by, called Triple Agent (which was on my list last year) is also being released on DVD next week.

Thanks. I will look for them, maybe just rent them on Netflix. I have put up my 2005 lists on the Ten Best thread, including unreleased ones. Most of them I saw at the NYFF, and one at the SFIFF. Funny, nothing I saw in Paris made the list. Not like last year when I got Adieu and Head-on in Paris. I should have listed Three Times this year but I forgot. There were so many good things, and we (I) get bogged down in all the American stuff we see.

I found Olga worth-watching but Triple Agent is my least favorite Rhomer. It's overly talky and claustrophobic. I wrote brief reviews of both. Maybe I should provide links? Anyway, I'll post my undistributed list when I get a chance. It's got a lot of movies in Spanish from Argentina, Chile and Spain. I know Chris has seen Los Muertos, which should top my list. I'll probably leave Clean out because it's already scheduled for release in April thus no longer "undistributed".

Quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Thanks. I will look for them, maybe just rent them on Netflix.

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Absolutely. Netflix is the way to go.

As the thread title suggests, it is for films that remained "undistributed" in 2005.

I listed unreleased and undistributed together, just six though, on the Top Ten thread where I just posted my 2005 Best Lists . I think we have to account for the fact that seeing a film before anybody else in this country sees it in theaters is a different experience somehow... Kill me but I feel special because I've seen L'Enfant and Sokurov's The Sun.

P.s. There's a possiblity that bad dvd's from Netflix have wrecked my fancy expensive Pioneer DVL-90 CD/DVD/laserdisc player, it's at the official Pioneer repair station in San Francisco and they're trying to figure out what has been happening. It shut down twice.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I think we have to account for the fact that seeing a film before anybody else in this country sees it in theaters is a different experience somehow... Kill me but I feel special because I've seen L'Enfant and Sokurov's The Sun.

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I'm looking forward to watching Sokurov's film next month at the Toronto Cinematheque. I wish I felt "special" having watched L'Enfant but, well, you know.... (I will promote it, though.)

I felt special last year with the likes of The Holy Girl, The Story of Marie and Julien, Good Morning, Night, etc. This year I'll go with Three Times and Clean.

There's a possiblity that bad dvd's from Netflix have wrecked my fancy expensive Pioneer DVL-90 CD/DVD/laserdisc player, it's at the official Pioneer repair station in San Francisco and they're trying to figure out what has been happening. It shut down twice.

Sorry to hear that. I've never had a problem with Netflix DVDs. Maybe your player is a little too fancy for them, I don't know. My Sony HD-upgradable is no slouch, but I keep it for special occasions. I bought a cheap one for regular use. Perhaps you should consider doing that also.

I can't promise you'll react as strongly to The Sun, but I have seen that some others do.

You may be right about the DVL-90 being too fancy, also possibly too old (1994?)--it may be that some of the newer dvds have a coding it can't read or something. I have used my computer as a substitute, pretty new desktop with 15" screen, good for switching subtitles on and off quickly when practicing my aural comprehension of foreign languages. People have suggested I get an everyday dvd player; I may but am holding off to see if I can get the good one to work. I may test Netflix dvds on the computer before playing them on the DVL-90, from now on.

1. LOS MUERTOS (Alonso/Argentina)
2. FUSE (Zalica/Bosnia-Herz)
---PLAY (Scherson/Chile)
4. A WAY OF LIFE (Assante/UK)
---DAY AND NIGHT (Staho/Denmark)
---SALVADOR ALLENDE (Guzman/Chile)
7. CHEKHOVIAN MOTIFS (Muratova/Russian)
---EL PERRO (Sorin/Argentina)
---MARIA QUERIDA (Garcia Sanchez/Spain)
---STRAY DOGS (Meshkini/Iran)

Runners Up

Buffalo Boy (Minh/Vietnam)
Moon of Avellaneda (Campanella/Argentina)
Hector (Querejeta/Spain)
The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming Liang/Taiwan)
Red Dust (Hooper/UK and So. Africa)

As y ou may recall I saw Stray Dogs in Italy in 2004, and I saw Los Muertos and was deeply impressed at the SFIFF last year....the others I don't know but i hope to see Tsing Ming-liang, I liked the one of his that I've seen. Who's Assante?

I was so glad when you posted the list of films you were planning to watch at the SFIFF and more so when you liked Los Muertos as much as I did. I'm afraid it's highly unlikely any other member will get this opportunity. That also the case for most titles I listed. There are exceptions.

A Way Of Life was released in the UK in late 2004 and still has no US distributor despite winning a BAFTA, festival awards, and having Brenda Blethyn in the cast.

Three films listed could possibly come out on dvd here. First Run Features has the rights to release Fuse and Buffalo Boy. HBO Home Video has the rights to Red Dust.

Films in Spanish are very poorly distributed in the USA. The main critics' association in Spain gave Hector all the major awards, over The Sea Inside and Almodovar's film, but I'm afraid it won't get distributed here. The socialist Patricio Guzman from Chile is one of the world's great documentarians , but his Salvador Allende won't be seen outside festivals even though the film has a lot to say about the Nixon administration's intervention in South American politics. Same goes for Maria Querida's novel mix of fiction and documentary. I still have hope for limited theatrical releases for two from Argentina: Moon of Avellaneda from the director of The Son of the Bride, and El Perro, from the director of Minimal Stories (a lesser film than Carlos Sorin's latest).

Thanks, I'll see what it says about A Way of Life. I hope you'll keep us posted whenever one of your selections does come out on DVD here, or even if a particularly important one is available on a non-NTSC DVD, if with subtitles, because I can't follow Spanish without them.

Oscar you have no idea how unique you are having seen "A Way of Life", as you know it's set in Wales but it absolutely bombed here, you are the first person I know who has seen it.

As for me, I didn't bother despite it being the opening film at the Cardiff Film Festival 2004 simply because from all I'd seen and heard, I'd only have to take a walk down my street and I'd see it for real.

Chris re your dvd player, it is almost certainly an age thing, companies are using compression methods and formats that players even just 5/6 years old can't handle.

Cheers Trev.