90s+ Film
Truly Madly Deeply (1990) IMDb
Directed by: Anthony Minghella
(Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson, Michael Maloney, Bill Paterson)
The Fisher King (1991) IMDb
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
(Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl, Michael Jeter)
Short Cuts (1993) IMDb
Directed by: Robert Altman
(Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Matthew Modine, Julianne Moore, Lyle Lovett, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Waits, Lily Tomlin, Peter Gallagher, Frances McDormand, Tim Robbins, Madeleine Stowe, Jack Lemmon, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Chris Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh)
On reflection, somewhat of a masterpiece of a film. It does have two potential flaws: its 3 hour length and its endless high-calibre-acting cast list. You would think that both or either of these may make it overbearing. But it does not.
Remembering the success of 2004's Crash shows that audiences still like a clever, well-crafted, expertly knitted together tale. That film's wonderfully interwoven, overlapping relationships, helped along with some excellent acting (notably from Matt Dillon!) is what impressed those who saw it.
Over a decade earlier the same feat had already been achieved. Robert Altman is often described as a 'maverick director'. If Altman was a maverick director, then Raymond Carver was certainly and undoubtedly a maverick writer. And it is on his writings that these overlapping snippets, these short stories, these glimpses into others' lives are based.
With such a combination it is clearer how this film is able to grab your attention throughout. The editing is masterful, almost always with something, even some small thing from the end of the last scene cleverly slipped into the beginning of the next.
None of the actors, many of which are Altman regulars, can be faulted, and all of their stories engross the viewer.
Like Crash, this film also focusses on interlinked lives in the city of Los Angeles. Crash had an underlying, yet rather clear theme: racism; this kept the movie's flow, aided the links and contrasts between its characters.
Short Cuts' theme, ultimately, is love, though certainly not romance; love with all the flaws and traumas. Put more simply, it is about people, and Carver and Altman together have painted an unforgettable picture.
Like Crash? Try:
Babel (2006) IMDb
Enjoy Short Cuts? Compulsory viewing:
Amores Perros (2000) IMDb
Chungking Express (1994) IMDb
Directed by: Kar Wai Wong
(Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow, Chen Jinquan, Lee-na Kwan, Liang Zhen)
The most flawless piece of cinema I've seen in a long time. A tale of love in Hong Kong, told in two neatly overlapping stories.
Faye Wong and Tony Leung have intense chemistry. His performance alone is wonderful, telling so much through just his eyes, like the great actors do.
Kolya (1996) IMDb
Directed by: Jan Sverák
(Zdenek Sverák, Andrei Chalimon)
Charming Czech film about the upheaval of the daily routines of a lifelong bachelor by a young child, effectively told in parallel to the social upheaval of Communist rule over Czechoslovakia.
The five year old Russian boy that enters the life and heart of the protagonist has such wonderful, feeling-full eyes that, at such a young inexperienced age, reflect so well and heartily the thoughts and worries of his young mind, that it is no wonder our protagonist, Louka, becomes a changed man.
Thought-provoking, funny and heart-wrenching all in one.
Pleasantville (1998) IMDb
Directed by: Gary Ross
(Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels, William H Macy, JT Walsh, Don Knotts)
Shower (1999) IMDb
Directed by: Yang Zhang
(Wu Jiang, Du Jiayi, Quanxin Pu, He Zeng, Xu Zhu)
Highly absorbing drama charting the dilemmas faced by a grown up son on his long overdue return to his home town.
Spring Forward (1999) IMDb
Directed by: Tom Gilroy
(Liev Schreiber, Ned Beatty, Campbell Scott, Ian Hart, Peri Gilpin, Catherine Kellner, Hallee Hirsh)
A slow-moving, nothing-happens type picture, if I'm to be cynical. Another way of putting it is that it is character-driven, and what characters they are. Or rather, what wonderful acting, most notably Liev Schreiber. Compare his character at the beginning to that at the end and you'll see what a challenge it was to convey that transformation so effectively. A really warm, pleasant, fulfilling film.
El Bola (2000) IMDb
Directed by: Achero Mańas
(Juan José Ballesta, Pablo Galán, Alberto Jiménez, Manuel Morón, Gloria Muńoz)
Other noteworthy films along the same lines:
Les 400 Coups (1959) IMDb
Empire of the Sun (1987)
The Dish (2000) IMDb
Directed by: Rob Sitch
(Sam Neill, Billy Mitchell, Roz Hammond, Roy Billing, Patrick Warburton, Bille Brown, Luke Keltie, Naomi Wright)
Offbeat yet delightful Aussie take on the 1969 moon landing. Wonderful humour throughout.
Happy Accidents (2000) IMDb
Directed by: Brad Anderson
(Marisa Tomei, Vincent D'Onofrio, Holland Taylor, Nadia Dajani)
Wonder Boys (2000) IMDb
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
(Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey Jr, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Rip Torn, Richard Knox, Jane Adams, Michael Cavadias, Philip Bosco, George Grizzard, Kelly Bishop, Alan Tudyk, Bill Velin)
You Can Count On Me (2000) IMDb
Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan
(Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Rory Culkin, Jon Tenney, Gaby Hoffmann)
Ghost World (2001) IMDb
Directed by: Terry Zwigoff
(Scarlett Johansson, Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Stacey Travis, Illeana Douglas)
Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) IMDb
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
(Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Laura Monaghan, David Gulpilil, Kenneth Branagh)
The Way Home (2002) IMDb 
Directed by: Jeong-hyang Lee
(Eul-boon Kim, Seung-ho Yu, Hyo-hee Dong, Kyung-hyun Min, Eun-kyung Yim)
A struggling single mother at the end of her tether takes her young son from his urban all-you-can-have life to stay with his grandmother in the most basic of rural communities while she searches for work.
If I had a pound for every time I muttered 'brat' to myself while watching this film then, as they say, I'd be a rich woman.
I suppose the film's effect does really lie in the fact that the child is so utterly obnoxious and awful, and yet we still witness his mother and his grandmother doing the very best they can for him, in very different ways. The two females, notably the grandmother, are admirably resilient, among many other qualities.
I have seen a number of films documenting changes in behaviour - sentimental schmaltz about how one incredible individual can change uncontrollable dilinquents etc. This film should be commended and admired for showing an honest portrayal, or a realistic struggle even.
Lost In Translation (2003) IMDb
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
(Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi)
My Life Without Me (2003) IMDb
Directed by: Isabel Coixet
(Sarah Polley, Mark Ruffalo, Debbie Harry, Amanda Plummer, Scott Speedman, Maria de Medeiros, Leonor Watling, Julian Richings)
Beyond the Sea (2004) IMDb
Directed by: Kevin Spacey
(Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Brenda Blethyn, Bob Hoskins, John Goodman, Greta Scacchi, Caroline Aaron)
Spacey's wonderful, stylish biopic of Bobby Darin.
Kenny (2006) IMDb
Directed by: Clayton Jacobson
(Shane Jacobson, Eve von Bibra, Travis Golland, Chris Davis, Alf Scerri, Jesse Jacobson, Ronald Jacobson, Clayton Jacobson, Morihiko Hasebe, Ian Dryden)
Shot documentary style, initially not too comfortable, but, with the progression of the story, becoming more and more natural.
Great humour (well it is a film about a portaloo plumber), yet with an incredibly in-depth and touching character study.
Certainly a 'keep it in the family' production if you look at the credits, Ronald Jacobson's cantankerous father and Shane Jacobson as Kenny have created multi-faceted, incredibly real and fascinating characters.
Sure to put a smile on your face and make you not forget to say good morning to the dustman!
Paris, Je'taime (2006) IMDb
Directed by: Oliver Schmitz, Alexander Payne...
(Aďssa Maďga, Seydou Boro, Margo Martindale...)
An original film. 18 snippets, 5 minutes or so in length, each portrayed by different actors and a different director, each telling a tale of love in different Paris arrondisments.
Somewhat obviously, not all of these short stories, if you like, are a success. But could 18 directors of different styles really satisfy the individual viewer? It was a hard feat.
Yet amongst these there are certainly some very effective stories that stay in your mind - our 5 minute glimpse into the life of Miranda Richardson and her husband for example. Other stories perplex: that featuring the Asian hair salon for example. Some jar against the remaining films a little too much to let pass: mime love, and Elijah Wood's vampire encounter. Wes Craven's sentimental graveyard film is simply wet and limp.
However, do not dismay. There are a couple of gems: the love story of the stabbed busker, and finally, the piece de resistance if you like, the final film by Alexander Payne. It is worth working your way through the previous 17 just for these five minutes.
