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Sundance Film Festival · 2006

Sundance Film Festival 2006

Premieres

This section is dedicated to celebrating independent filmmakers out of competition. This year it features 17 films, with Little Miss Sunshine, The Illusionist and Thank You For Smoking going on to be the biggest of the mainstream hits.

Programme

17 films · 15 reviews

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Alpha Dog

Review preview for Alpha Dog

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.

Jeff Robson · 3 out of 5
The party-hearty lifestyle of bored Californian rich kids is rocked to the core when a botched drug deal has tragic consequences.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Nick Cassavetes; Writer: Nick Cassavetes; Stars: Emile Hirsch, Fernando Vargas, Vincent Kartheiser, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Hatosy, Bruce Willis, Matthew Barry, Heather Wahlquist, Alex Solowitz, Alec Vigil, Harry Dean Stanton)

Full review

World Premiere

Art School Confidential

An artist learns to adapt his vision to the world around him.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Terry Zwigoff; Writer: Daniel Clowes; Stars: Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Matt Keeslar, Ethan Suplee, Joel Moore, Nick Swardson, Anjelica Huston, Adam Scott, Jack Ong)

Full review

World Premiere

Cargo

Review preview for Cargo

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

Amber Wilkinson · 2 out of 5
Madness and murder on a dilapidated cargo ship.

(Country: Spain, UK, Sweden; Year: 2006; Director: Clive Gordon; Writer: Paul Laverty; Stars: Peter Mullan, Daniel Bruhl, Luis Tosar, Samuli Edelmann, Gary Lewis, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ricky Grover, Koen Balcaen, Christopher Fairbank, Carlos Blanco, Lois Soaxe, Jan Willem)

Full review See: Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 6 , Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 5

World Premiere

The Darwin Awards

Based on stories from the website that gives plaudits to those who "accidentally kill themselves in really stupid ways"

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Finn Taylor; Writer: Finn Taylor; Stars: David Arquette, Ty Burrell, Josh Charles, Kevin Dunn, Nora Dunn, Joseph Fiennes, Judah Friedlander, Lukas Haas, Tom Hollander, Brad Hunt, Juliette Lewis)

World Premiere

Don't Come Knocking

Nostalgia for the old times as age resurrects emotions and lost lovers for a legendary film star.

(Country: France/Germany/US; Year: 2005; Director: Wim Wenders; Writer: Sam Shepard, based on a story by Sam Shepard and Wim Wenders; Stars: Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, Gabriel Mann, Sarah Polley, Fairuza Balk, Eva Marie Saint, Rachel Amondson, Mike Butters, Emy Coligado, Majandra Delfino)

Full review

North American Premiere

Friends With Money

Review preview for Friends With Money

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

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The effect money has on the friendship of four women.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Nicole Holofcener; Writer: Nicole Holofcener; Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack, Simon McBurney, Jason Isaacs, Scott Caan, Ty Burrell, Bob Stephenson, Greg Germann, Romy Rosemont, Tim Sharp, Hailey Noelle Johnson, Jenn Fee, Jake Cherry, Marin Hinkle)

Full review

Opening night gala. World Premiere

The Illusionist

Review preview for The Illusionist

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

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
A dangerous love story infused by the magic of assumed reality.

(Country: Czech Republic/US; Year: 2006; Director: Neil Burger; Writer: Neil Burger, based on a short story by Steven Millhauser; Stars: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, Edward Marsan, Jake Wood, Tom Fisher, Aaron Johnson, Eleanor Tomlinson, Karl Johnson)

Full review

World Premiere

Kinky Boots

Review preview for Kinky Boots

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

George Williamson · 2.5 out of 5
Shoemaker opts for drastic footwear design in a bid save family business.

(Country: UK; Year: 2005; Director: Julian Jarrold; Writer: Geoff Deane, Tim Firth; Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Joel Edgerton, Nick Frost, Sarah Jane Potts, Jemima Rooper, Linda Bassett)

Full review

North American Premiere

A Little Trip To Heaven

Review preview for A Little Trip To Heaven

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.

Leanne McGrath · 3.5 out of 5
An insurance investigator probes the suspicious death of a conman whose sister and dodgy hubby inherit $1million after his demise.

(Country: US, Iceland; Year: 2005; Director: Baltasar Kormakur; Writer: Baltasar Kormakur; Stars: Forest Whitaker, Julia Stiles, Jeremy Renner, Peter Coyote, Alfred Harmsworth)

Full review See: Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 10

US Premiere

Little Miss Sunshine

Review preview for Little Miss Sunshine

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

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A dysfunctional family's road trip to a beauty pageant.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris; Writer: Michael Arndt; Stars: Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Marc Turtletaub, Beth Grant, Jill Talley, Brenda Canela)

Full review See: 2006 Readers' poll

World Premiere

Lucky Number Slevin

Review preview for Lucky Number Slevin

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

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A case of mistaken identity in a fast-paced gangster milieu.

(Country: Germany, US; Year: 2006; Director: Paul McGuigan; Writer: Jason Smilovic; Stars: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Michael Rubenfeld, Peter Outerbridge, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Chamberlin, Dorian Missick, Mykelti Williamson)

Full review See: Paul McGuigan on Lucky Number Slevin , Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 4 , Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 2

World Premiere

Neil Young: Heart of Gold

Film shot over a two-night performance by Young in Nashville.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Jonathan Demme; Stars: Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham, Rick Rosas, Karl T. Himmel, Chad Cromwell, Wayne Jackson, Pegi Young, Grant Boatwright, Diana DeWitt)

World Premiere

The Night Listener

Review preview for The Night Listener

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

Chris · 3 out of 5
A radio show host is drawn into a mystery surrounding a dying boy.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Patrick Stettner; Writer: Armistead Maupin, Terry Anderson, Patrick Stettner; Stars: Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Joe Morton, Bobby Cannavale, Rory Culkin, Sandra Oh)

Full review See: Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 7

World Premiere

The Secret Life Of Words (La Vida Secreta De Las Palabras)

Review preview for The Secret Life Of Words

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

Chris · 4 out of 5
A friendship evolves between a volunteer nurse on an oil rig and a burn victim.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2005; Director: Isabel Coixet; Writer: Isabel Coixet; Stars: Sarah Polley, Tim Robbins, Julie Christie, Javier Cámara, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Steven Mackintosh, Eddie Marsan)

Full review

North American Premiere

The Science Of Sleep (La Science Des Rêves)

Review preview for The Science Of Sleep

A visual treat.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A man's mind goes into over-drive as he tries to woo the woman of his dreams.

(Country: France/Italy; Year: 2006; Director: Michel Gondry; Writer: Michel Gondry; Stars: Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou-Miou, Pierre Vaneck, Emma de Caunes, Aurélia Petit, Sacha Bourdo, Stéphane Metzger, Alain de Moyencourt, Inigo Lezzi)

Full review See: Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 9

World Premiere

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Review preview for This Film Is Not Yet Rated

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

Keith Hennessey Brown · 4 out of 5
An exposé about the US film ratings board.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Kirby Dick; Writer: Kirby Dick, Eddie Schmidt)

Full review

World Premiere

Thank You For Smoking

Review preview for Thank You For Smoking

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

Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
Satire on smoking and spin.

(Country: US; Year: 2005; Director: Jason Reitman; Writer: Jason Reitman, based on the novel by Christopher Buckley; Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H Macy, JK Simmons, Robert Duvall, Kim Dickens)

Full review See: Interview with Jason Reitman about Thank You For Smoking and Juno

US Premiere