Our second annual guide to past favorites and future releases
Drum roll? Drum roll? Where’s the drum roll?
Anyway. Happy Fourth of July or, as we like to call it, Independents’ Day–a time when we celebrate the best of independent filmaking with our staff picks for the best films of the past year. Plus, don’t miss our special report on this summer’s upcoming indies.
From our writers and editors:
“For a little movie about everyday people, the raw emotions exposed in
Monster’s Ball levels you. Billy Bob Thornton is a marvel as the
conflicted death row prison guard and Oscar-winning Halle Berry is nothing less than breathtaking as the wife of an executed prisoner who ends up with Thornton. It’s a study in brilliant acting.” –Kit Bowen
“L.I.E.…Why? It’s a disturbing look into the lives of two 15-year-old boys and the bizarre and unsettling relationship they with a pedophile, played brilliantly by Brian Cox. It is hauntingly real and gritty, and the characters so intense that I still think about the film…and I saw it in September 2001!” –Guylaine Cadorette
“Teenage angst was never so poignant nor so heartbreakingly funny as it is in Ghost World—Thora Birch is priceless.” –Stacie Hougland
“With eclectic sensibilities, an unorthodox worldview, out-there soundtrack and a realistic teen heroine that no studio exec could envision on the cover of YM, Ghost World‘s practically the poster flick for anti-mainstream fare. Not only does it effectively bring the rich but obscure alternative comic book source material to life and lets Thora Birch give the kind of nuanced performance no standard teen fare would allow, it also dares to cast Steve Buscemi as the romantic lead. What’s not to love?” –Scott Huver
“Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a Rocky Horror renaissance, only better, complete with transsexual transvestite rock star (John Cameron Mitchell), gothic boy-toy/love interest (Michael Pitt) and a soundtrack that’s better than Cats.” –Leigh Johnson
“No Man’s Land, a relatively bloodless anti-war film, takes aim at the concept of neutrality with all the skill and precision of a veteran sharpshooter. It also manages to depict the horrors of war with an odd but welcome dose of black humor. Its chilling final scene, though, leaves no doubt that war produces few victors.” –Robert Sims
From our producers:
“I liked Hedwig and the Angry Inch very much. Great acting and very funny lyrics. An overall courageous movie, not concerned with happy endings but instead with the true world we humans live in.” –Koki Mourao
From our art department:
“Igby Goes Down is one of the most enjoyable movies of the year! It’s a dark teen comedy with outstanding performances by Kieran Culkin and Susan Sarandon. Culkin truly is one to watch…his performance was captivating and real. Sarandon was outstanding and powerful.” –Christina Pompa
From our video department:
“Y Tu Mama Tambien explores the true essence of social reality and undercurrents in Latin America unknown to most US audiences while making subtle political statements and taking the audience on a thrill ride into the psyche of other cultures.” — Patrick Bergamasco
