Familia Rodante [Pablo Trapero, 2004]

Absolutely fantastic.

84 year old Emilia and her extended familty go on the road to attend
her niece's wedding. Most of the film is spent on the road, and much
of it confined to the family's old ramshackle camper van. This
doesn't, perhaps, sound like one of the most promising story lines,
but Trapero uses it as a means of observing the interactions of the
family members, so that we get a richly textured, witty and deeply
felt portrait of this motley assembly of characters. The handling of
the network of stories is brilliant, with the switching between
characters feeling completely natural, while clarity is maintained
throughout.

A mention must be made for the wonderful music. I wanted to buy the
soundtrack immediately I left the screening (if only it were
available!).

Warm, funny and just superb!

Info: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0359254/combined

A Cock and Bull Story [Michael Winterbottom, 2005] – Surprise Film

What a treat. Winterbottom on top form with this hilarious film
about a film about Tristram Shandy. With a huge array of comic
talent, the cast is brilliantly lead by Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden.

Warm and playful, this is a delightful film.

Info: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0423409/combined

Crash [Paul Haggis, 2004] – UK Premiere

This film is full of characters who confound expectations. Just as
you make a judgement about someone, another facet is revealed which
undercuts those assumptions. In this way, the audience becomes
complicit in the errors of judgement made by the characters within
the film, errors which cause so much pain in the racial melting pot
that is its subject matter.

Haggis handles the multiple storylines with great skill. However, I
found that ending over compensates for the preceding darkness by
being too neat and upbeat – as if the film's financiers had insisted
that the audience must leave the audience smiling.

On the whole, though, this is an affecting and intelligent drama.

Info: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/combined