Before and After
Before and After 1996, PG-13, 108 min. Directed by Barbet Schroeder, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong, Julia Weldon, Alfred Molina, John Heard, Ann Magnuson. Before and After is ostensibly about that precise moment when a person’s life changes forever, that immutable point of no return. What the…
The City of Lost Children
This follow-up from the same Frenchmen who made Delicatessen fancies itself a fairy tale – albeit a dark and scary one that’s jam-packed with enough strange characters and wild mythologies for at least three movies.
Mary Reilly
Mary Reilly 1996, R, 108 min. Directed by Stephen Frears, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Michael Gambon, Kathy Staff, Glenn Close. A gothic little slip of a film, beautiful to behold but with less substance than the shadowy tendrils of fog that blanket nearly every scene. Frears…
Shanghai Triad
Shanghai Triad 1995, R, 109 min. Directed by Zhang Yimou, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Gong Li, Wang Xiao Xiao, Li Baotian, Li Xuejian, Shun Chun. Blessed with a cinematic sensibility that appears only every so often — Coppola, Scorsese, Almodovar, and Tarantino come to mind, to name just some of the relatively…
The Convent
The Convent 1995, NR, 90 min. Directed by Manoel de Oliveira, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich, Luis Miguel Cintra, Leonor Silveira, Duarte D’Almeida, Heloisa Miranda. The Convent is the first international venture by the 87-year-old Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira (Valley of Abraham), whose film career stretches back to…
Up Close and Personal
Up Close and Personal 1996, PG-13, 124 min. Directed by Jon Avnet, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stockard Channing, Joe Mantegna, Kate Nelligan, Glenn Plummer, James Rebhorn. Why was it that every time I saw the trailer for Up Close and Personal, I felt that I ought to be…
