Sydney Film Festival 2013
by Burdrew | created - 03 Nov 2016 | updated - 03 Nov 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Mystery Road (2013)
Not Rated | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An indigenous detective returns to the Outback to investigate the murder of a young girl.
Director: Ivan Sen | Stars: Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson
Votes: 8,537
SFF 2013 Opening Night Film.
2. A Hijacking (2012)
R | 103 min | Drama, Thriller
The crew of a Danish cargo ship is hijacked by Somali pirates who proceed to engage in escalating negotiations with authorities in Copenhagen.
Director: Tobias Lindholm | Stars: Pilou Asbæk, Søren Malling, Dar Salim, Roland Møller
Votes: 17,442 | Gross: $0.41M
SFF#02: Danish hostage drama, A HIJACKING.
3. The Human Scale (2012)
83 min | Documentary, News
Half of the human population lives in urban areas. By 2050, this will increase to 80%. Life in a megacity is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, ... See full summary »
Director: Andreas Dalsgaard | Stars: Jan Gehl, Rob Adams, Robert Doyle, Lars Gemzøe
Votes: 795
SFF#03: Danish documentary on city planning. Wonderful opportunity to catch up on missed sleep.
4. Everyday (I) (2012)
Unrated | 106 min | Drama
This film charts the relationship between a man imprisoned for drug smuggling and his wife and is being shot over the course of five years, a few weeks at a time.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Shirley Henderson, John Simm, Shaun Kirk, Robert Kirk
Votes: 842
SFF#04: Latest from Michael Winterbottom, British drama, EVERYDAY, shot over a period of five years.
5. The East (2013)
PG-13 | 116 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities changing dramatically after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations.
Director: Zal Batmanglij | Stars: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Elliot Page, Toby Kebbell
Votes: 52,395 | Gross: $2.27M
SFF#05: Ellen Page thriller concerning a group of eco-terrorists. Some interesting things to say but did it really need to have a scene where the lock on some handcuffs is effortlessly picked by a paperclip? C'mon!
6. The Iceman (2012)
R | 106 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man. When he was finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor his daughters had any clue about his real profession.
Director: Ariel Vromen | Stars: Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, James Franco, Winona Ryder
Votes: 79,410 | Gross: $1.94M
SFF#06: THE ICEMAN.
7. Before Midnight (2013)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Ariane Labed
Votes: 172,151 | Gross: $8.11M
SFF#07: BEFORE MIDNIGHT. Such a charming film, my favourite at the festival so far. Witty one-liners, fantastic long takes and authentic emotional crisis. Loved it!
8. Ginger & Rosa (2012)
PG-13 | 90 min | Drama
A look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event that comes to redefine their relationship.
Director: Sally Potter | Stars: Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Annette Bening, Oliver Platt
Votes: 11,774 | Gross: $1.01M
SFF#08: GINGER AND ROSA. Latest from Sally Potter. A fine British drama!
9. The Rocket (2013)
96 min | Drama
Laos. In a land ravaged by war and exploitation, a boy whose family believe he is cursed must redeem himself by taking part in a dangerous rocket competition.
Director: Kim Mordaunt | Stars: Sitthiphon Disamoe, Loungnam Kaosainam, Suthep Po-ngam, Boonsri Yindee
Votes: 3,201
SFF#09: THE ROCKET. Delightful story of a boy in Laos who is believed to be cursed.
10. Computer Chess (2013)
Not Rated | 92 min | Comedy
A 1980s-set story centered around a man vs. machine chess tournament.
Director: Andrew Bujalski | Stars: Kriss Schludermann, Tom Fletcher, Wiley Wiggins, Patrick Riester
Votes: 4,852 | Gross: $0.10M
SFF#10: COMPUTER CHESS, from Mumblecore director Andrew Bujalski. Computer programmers and chess players. These guys make Napoleon Dynamite look cool.
11. Midnight's Children (2012)
Not Rated | 146 min | Drama
A pair of children born within moments of India gaining independence from Britain grow up in the country that is nothing like their parents' generation.
Director: Deepa Mehta | Stars: Rajat Kapoor, Vansh Bhardwaj, Anupam Kher, Neha Mahajan
Votes: 3,395 | Gross: $0.14M
SFF#11: MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN, Deepa Mehta's adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel.
12. What Maisie Knew (2012)
R | 99 min | Drama
In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.
Directors: Scott McGehee, David Siegel | Stars: Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Steve Coogan, Joanna Vanderham
Votes: 28,613 | Gross: $1.07M
SFF#12: WHAT MAISIE KNEW. Great film but I spent the whole time thinking Alexander Skarsgard was Aaron Eckhart. And I call myself a film lecturer ...
13. Stoker (2013)
R | 99 min | Drama, Thriller
After India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney
Votes: 114,532 | Gross: $1.70M
SFF#13: STOKER.
14. Michael H. Profession: Director (2013)
PG-13 | 92 min | Documentary, Biography
Michael Haneke, theorists of the image that knows better than any other the dregs of our society with their existential fears and emotional derail ment to bring to light - a portrait.
Director: Yves Montmayeur | Stars: Michael Haneke, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Yves Montmayeur, Susanne Lothar
Votes: 422
SFF#14: MICHAEL H. PROFESSION: DIRECTOR. Don't miss this documentary, Reece O'Connell and Ryan O'Connell! I loved his line 'Trust is good. Control is better.'
15. Camille Claudel 1915 (2013)
Not Rated | 95 min | Biography, Drama
Winter, 1915. Confined by her family to an asylum in the South of France - where she will never sculpt again - the chronicle of Camille Claudel's reclusive life, as she waits for a visit from her brother, Paul Claudel.
Director: Bruno Dumont | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Jessica Errero, Robert Leroy, Jean-Luc Vincent
Votes: 3,936 | Gross: $0.02M
SFF#15: Bruno Dumont's CAMILLE CLAUDEL, 1915. The film is set in an asylum for the insane, which is exactly where this director belongs.
16. The Way Way Back (2013)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.
Directors: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash | Stars: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb
Votes: 156,864 | Gross: $21.50M
SFF#16: U.S. Indie dramedy, THE WAY, WAY BACK. Steve Carell plays an evil stepdad. Reminds me of your writing, Gordon Napier, very funny!
17. Lovelace (2013)
R | 93 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband before taking control of her life.
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Juno Temple
Votes: 42,749 | Gross: $0.36M
SFF#17: Amanda Seyfried turns to porn in LOVELACE.
18. The Unlikely Pilgrims (2013)
90 min | Documentary, Adventure
Ronan knows that taking three recovering addicts to walk an 800km pilgrimage in a foreign country is a big ask, what he can't foresee is the tempestuous result of his counselling philosophy in action.
Directors: John Cherry, Kirsten Mallyon
Votes: 30
SFF#18: THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMS (via media screener). Recovering addicts walk the Camino. I've wanted to walk it after seeing Emilio Estevez's THE WAY.
19. Behind the Candelabra (2013)
TV-MA | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of the tempestuous six-year romance between megastar singer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorson.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Eric Zuckerman
Votes: 45,398
SFF#19: BEHIND THE CANDELABRA. Me: 'You can't retire, Steven, it's not in your blood.' SS: 'But my blood's 60% alcohol, B.'
20. For Those in Peril (2013)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama
Aaron, a young misfit living in a remote Scottish fishing community, is the lone survivor of a strange fishing accident that claimed the lives of five men including his older brother. ... See full summary »
Director: Paul Wright | Stars: George MacKay, Kate Dickie, Nichola Burley, Michael Smiley
Votes: 1,254
SFF#20: Bleak British drama, FOR THOSE IN PERIL.
21. A Coffee in Berlin (2012)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Drama
An aimless university dropout attempts to make sense of life as he spends one fateful day wandering the streets of Berlin.
Director: Jan-Ole Gerster | Stars: Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Justus von Dohnányi, Andreas Schröders
Votes: 17,527 | Gross: $0.15M
SFF#21: I haven't seen anyone light a cigarette with a toaster before. German comedy, OH BOY.
22. The Spirit of '45 (2013)
94 min | Documentary, History
A documentary on how the spirit of unity, which buoyed Britain during the war years, carried through to create a vision of a fairer, united society.
Director: Ken Loach | Stars: Eileen Thompson, Julian Tudor Hart, Dai Walters, Sam Watts
Votes: 1,304
SFF#22: Ken Loach's THE SPIRIT OF '45.
23. Prince Avalanche (2013)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch, Lance LeGault, Joyce Payne
Votes: 20,896 | Gross: $0.20M
SFF#23: Ever wonder whose job it is to paint the lines on the road? PRINCE AVALANCHE.
24. The Look of Love (2013)
Not Rated | 101 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The life of Paul Raymond, the controversial entrepreneur who became Britain's richest man.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Steve Coogan, Matt Lucas, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots
Votes: 7,323 | Gross: $0.02M
SFF#24: 'Look at this magazine! This is literally horseplay!' Steve Coogan and Michael Winterbottom in fine form. The biopic of pornographer Paul Raymond, THE LOOK OF LOVE.
25. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,810 | Gross: $0.49M
SFF#25: THE ACT OF KILLING. Important but overlong documentary on genocide in Indonesia.
26. Stories We Tell (2012)
PG-13 | 108 min | Documentary
A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley
Votes: 14,115 | Gross: $1.60M
SFF#26: STORIES WE TELL. Profoundly personal documentary from Sarah Polley.
27. Frances Ha (2012)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A New York woman apprentices for a dance company and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as the possibility of realizing them dwindles.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen
Votes: 94,296 | Gross: $4.06M
SFF#27: Neurotic, black-and-white, N.Y. comedy from Noah Baumbach, FRANCES HA.
28. Upstream Color (2013)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.
Director: Shane Carruth | Stars: Amy Seimetz, Frank Mosley, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig
Votes: 34,966 | Gross: $0.44M
SFF#28: Pretentious arthouse trash that left me exhausted, UPSTREAM COLOR.
29. Breathe In (2013)
R | 98 min | Drama, Romance
When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.
Director: Drake Doremus | Stars: Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Mackenzie Davis, Amy Ryan
Votes: 15,634 | Gross: $0.02M
SFF#29: Now that's more like it, SFF! From the director of the Sundance-winning LIKE CRAZY. Guy Pearce drama, BREATHE IN.
30. Only God Forgives (2013)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, Gordon Brown
Votes: 118,109 | Gross: $0.78M
SFF#30: Booed at Cannes and rightly so! Ryan Gosling revenge film, ONLY GOD FORGIVES.
31. The Past (2013)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Mystery
An Iranian man deserts his French wife and her two children to return to his homeland. Meanwhile, his wife starts up a new relationship, a reality her husband confronts upon his wife's request for a divorce.
Director: Asghar Farhadi | Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Pauline Burlet
Votes: 50,893 | Gross: $1.33M
SFF#31: THE PAST, from the director of A SEPARATION.
32. Fuck for Forest (2012)
Unrated | 86 min | Documentary, Drama
Berlin's Fuck for Forest is one of the world's most bizarre charities: based on the idea that sex can change the world, the NGO raises money for their environmental cause by selling home-made erotic films on the Internet.
Director: Michal Marczak | Stars: Tommy Hol Ellingsen, Leona Johansson, Dany DeVero, Kaajal
Votes: 613
SFF#32: Let's finish this festival with a bang! Documentary about a NGO raising money for environmental causes by selling home-made erotic films on the Internet.
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