Crouching tiger, hidden dragon (Dir. Ang Lee)- Academy Award Winner: Best Picture, Best Director -
A tale set in 19th century China, with beautiful images and delicate music. A feisty aristocratic young woman steals an ancient sword which confers her special powers and is finally rejoined with her lost lover, a bandit living in the deserts of Manchuria, but not for long. By pursuing her independence she loses her place in society. Expect some breathtaking martial arts, with fights on rooftops and trees which defy the laws of gravity.
Chocolat (Dir. Lasse Hallstr�m)- Academy Award Nominated: Best Picture -
A delightful film, with chocolate as an obvious metaphor for sensuality and joie de vivre. A woman of Central American origin and her daughter arrive in a sleepy French village to open a chocolaterie - during Lent, no less! They cause quite a stir as all the locals are strict Catholics and very uptight in their ways. But, slowly, they give in to tasting the delicacies which contain cocoa mixed with certain medicinal spices according to ancient Maya recipes. And a quiet revolution unfolds.
Wonder Boys (Dir. Curtis Hanson)- Academy Award Winner: Best Music - Bob Dylan for the song "Things have changed" -
Bob's voice is getting increasingly clearer in his old age - or maybe it's just digital technology! One of the high notes in an otherwise messy film. Prof. Tripp, Eng Lit lecturer at Pittsburgh University, writer and dope chain-smoker spends his life accumulating: people and their problems, situations, a dead dog and Marilyn Monroe's wedding jacket. His writer's block has reached page 2093 of a useless novel until, quite simply, he decides to turn over a new leaf. Jack Nicholson would have been funnier in the role than Michael Douglas. As an example of mentoring, the film "Good Will Hunting" went further, and so did "American Beauty" as a study of dysfunctionality.
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