8 Femmes, a mixture of 1950s-style drama, musical and murder, is probably one of the most anticipated French film of this year. Its cast includes Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmnuelle Beart, Fanny Ardant and Virginie Ledoyen. Only the talented Francois Ozon could have had the ability to put together such a cast and the film itself is an intriguing detective drama with a French twist.
The closing film Read My Lips is a love-story-turned-murder thriller about a partially deaf woman and a crime centered on lip-reading.
The selected films are dominated by award winners from either Cannes, Berlin Venice or Rotterdam. According to Liu Wei-jan, programmer for this year's festival, the selection of a larger number of European films was a conscious choice. The reason for the limited number of screenings at the festival is because more and more distributors were seeking commercial release for the films.
"We were interested in many American independent films but their companies usually declined to join film festivals unless their films had already been picked up by local distributors, she said.
For those who have more interest in world cinema rather than celebrities, Golden Horse offers many more choices, to which local movie fans have not paid much attention.
Shunji Iwai's All About Lili Chou-Chou was a Berlin Film Festival award-winner. In the film teenagers lost in the beautiful illusion of Internet chat and pop idol worship find themselves involved in murder.
Y Tu Mama Tambien, is the first Spanish-language film by Mexico-born Alfonso Cuaron, director of Great Expectations and the upcoming Harry Potter II.
The film, about friendship, love and adventure among two 17 year-old boys and a beautiful "older girl," has an explicit sex scene involving the three that caused the film to be blacklisted by the GIO. It is a must-see for Spanish speakers.
City of God talks about the most dangerous slum in Rio de Janeiro's Cidade de Deus, where every kid has a gun and drugs and violence have been so rampant that even the police keep their hands off. The film which offers concern about violence among slum children, has surprisingly stunning visual style and cinematography, making the film look like Scorsese plus Samba music.
And last but not least, the Korean New Films section showcases five top-rated films, including the Zen-like 19th century drama Stroke of Fire, the sickening beauty of distorted human desires in Bad Guy, and the touching drama Take Care of My Cat.
What: 2002 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (
When:Oct 31 to Nov 14
Where:UCG Lion Theater, 4F and 5F, 36 Hsining S. Rd., Taipei (
Tickets: NT$200
Ticketing: Era ticketing outlets
On the net:
http://www.goldenhorse.org.tw
Tel: (02) 2388-3880
Note: At each ticketing point, free screening schedules are available with language and subtitle information
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