Sundance Film Festival — A–Z of films

An impressively noirish moral fable.

A thought-provoking glimpse into a much bigger neverending story.

Cassavetes could easily have made all this into a dead serious finger-wagging morality tale of wasted youth. Fortunately, he realises the potential for jet-black comedy.

If [Al Gore] was a school-teacher, no-one would have ever skipped class.

Truly defies classification.

A brave attempt to rehabilitate a reputation in tatters after its owner’s involvement in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

Tense and twisty, this is what thrillers should be about.

Black Gold presents a richly detailed portrait of the coffee industry, all the way from Ethiopia to the barista competitions and fashionable coffee houses of the West.

A tender, temperately dramatic look at a young person exploring his burgeoning feelings and adolescent sexuality.

Cargo gets scuppered by its serpentine story, which is more confusing than compelling.

Effective and brilliantly crafted...

Like most portmanteau films, Destricted is a fitfully rewarding and frequently frustrating affair.

As compulsive as a 40-a-day fag habit.

As with all comedies about ineptitude, there must come solemn moments of triumph; but, for once, this time they don't come soaked in schmaltz or get undermined by a instant gag.

The script is full of witty gems, while still remaining rooted in reality.

A modest yet impressively assured psycho-mystery.

What rescues A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints from bland conventionality is Montiel's bravura approach to direction.

Half Nelson is a believeable film, depressing at times but smart and moving.

The strength of the film is its ability to suspend disbelief and engage the audience with its mastery of mystery.

Despite his restrictions, Gröning finds light and shade, contrasting the natural – more chaotic world – with the regimented life within the cloister.

By showing ordinary life at an extraordinary time, Longley opens our eyes to humanity’s ability to normalize abnormality.

It's the same old sentimental tripe that gets rolled out again and again.

KZ is well balanced, and thought provoking, if at times a bit dry.

Emphasises knickers, bare bums, baby penises, nakedness and bodily functions to a disturbing degree.

Director Baltasar Kormakur’s gripping thriller is inspired by classic noir - the cinematography is as bleak as the story and there is no neat happy ending.

Emotionally electric and so deeply felt, Lian Lunson's infuriatingly artsy documentary style fails to dilute the privilege of the experience.

Writer Michael Arndt has cleverly captured the bribery and corruption which lie at the heart of most families.

It's the pace of the film that wins the day.

A coming of age drama with a novel twist.

Since this film is unremittingly grim it keeps you at arm’s length.

While the ending is not too difficult to guess, the subtleties reverberate beyond the simplistic plot.

Kurt does all the talking, which can be annoying, because he’s a boring guy. Mark is boring, too, but in a passive way.

One Last Dance tries to be too clever for its own good, attempting to explore a mixture of themes that don’t blend together well.

The plot elements also have a habit of fizzling out, as the film zips off on a different tack, which is both confusing and annoying in equal measure.

Cave's screenplay is full of rich incidents, impossible moral choices and, most of all, complex characters, brought to grimy life by the excellent ensemble cast.

If this is how the war on terror is lost, you might die of exasperation trying to stay alive.

Unashamedly low budget, it focuses on good acting in claustrophobically tight sets.

Realistic fly-on-the-wall performances prevent Sherrybaby from descending into a sentimental hard luck story.

The real power lies in his singularly creative script.

The main problem is that the end result feels just a bit too glossy, aimed at the MTV generation who can't cope with watching something serious unless they're treated to a pop video every 10 minutes.

The cool, detached, yet paranoid tone is impressively held, both through visual design and music, until around halfway through.

A visual treat.

A complex of narrative symmetry and existential ennui pointing to something far more resonant than the sum of its parts.

Part mystery, part psychological drama, and, towards the end, a harrowing thriller of unexpected intensity.

A film that needs to be seen and, more importantly, acted upon.

Any doubts that this film might just be a devotee’s wilful championing of a mediocre talent that found its natural niche are immediately banished when he sings.

The debuting Reitman handles the film with inventive style and confident assurance.

Guzzanti’s arguments are coherent, although, they will doubtless play best to those with at least some knowledge of Italian politics.

The self-obsession he finds so enthralling is simply irritating, his delivery rarely varies from a monotone drawl, and he lacks any shred of what might be called charisma.

Rather too rarefied to begin with, Archer’s profound story soon shapes up into a reasonably gripping potboiler, beautifully shot and acutely tense.

Wristcutters isn’t a story of despair but of hope, moving on, and, yes, love.

A wake up call for anyone in any industry with a culture of long hours.