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A meticulously crafted film that takes us on a journey into the heart of nihilistic darkness. In an unknown country and unspecified time, two men are led by the Stalker into the forbidden Zone, where a room exists that grants your deepest desires (known or unknown). In plot terms, very little happens. Yet Tarkovsky skillfully builds tension throughout, using some quite startling imagery. The pace is definitely slow, but I found it quite gripping.

Recommended.

Kar-Wai is a master of cinematic style, and this film illustrates the point: the bravura use of the camera, the elliptical narrative structure, the quirky characters, and the driving soundtrack. What marks him out from other directors who are just flashy, is his ability to bring to this style something that has real depth, and a power to move.

This film is populated with the usual city dwellers who are essentially lonely and looking for connection with someone or something real and meaningful. And yet, amongst all the quirky behaviour, and choreographed violence, Kar-Wai takes the time to illicit out sympathy for these people in some surprisingly tender moments.

Well worth seeing.

A rather tender and poignant love story, about Jeannette who is an outspoken woman, and looses her job as a cashier because she is apt to speak her mind once too often. She meets up with the taciturn Marius. They both have painful pasts to deal with. Guediguian creates a finely judged low-key film from this story, weaving in some nice touches about the small community of friends from the industrial area where Jeannette lives. Guediguian's strong left-of-centre politics intrude into the narrative rather crudely at times, but not enough to spoil the film.

Recommended.