Sundance Film Festival — A–Z of films

Mesmerising, heart-wrenching, and a remarkably intimate vision.

On the one hand, Rae's feelings of lust are presented as unhealthy and a product of abuse; on the other, the audience is encouraged to lust over her.

This film will not be to everyone's taste ... but there is a haunting quality to Mocktar's story.

The film is more documentary-drama than exploitation fare.

A touching and honest look at awkward teenage romance under the disapproving eye of mum.

A monument to the days before the multiplexes.

It has been a long time since I’ve heard such an affecting tale of abuse.

As a character study, this feels as real as a knife cut, slicing to the heart of shattered dreams, long-forgotten hopes and aspirations which may go unfulfilled.

A macabre fairy tale in black-and-white without fairies is superficial enough to be frivolous.

A powerful and heart-rending call to attention.

What follows is another trip into the middle of nowhere, which in some respects you can't help but feel you've seen before.

By gaining such intimate access to Joya, Mulvad has ample opportunity to show the person behind the politics.

One of the best short films on show at EIFF 2007.

An inventive and superior entry into the zomcom canon.

Flawed, but with enough interest to suggest Jake Paltrow may be one to keep an eye out for in future.

Finely balanced and well-argued, this is a work, which like its protagonist Ai Qin, has a quiet strength.

Kennedy’s film paints a comprehensive picture of incompetence and negligence, coupled with a staggering amount of ‘looking the other way’ by more senior personnel.

A delightful ensemble piece depicting the funniest dinner party from hell since Bringing Up Baby.

Dotan's style is sharp and swift, intercutting multiple testimonies to build, what feels like a comprehensive picture.

This slice of southern gothic is deep fried in almost every cliche you could mention from the last 50 years - and served up with an unfortunate side order of snakes.

A fascinating film for anyone interested in China or progressive documentary filmmaking.

Feels as if it has been lifted wholesale from an after school special.

One of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a long time.

It would be easy to dismiss the film but for the wraparound that packs an emotional wallop hard to forget and justifies the excess that preceded it.

You can’t failed to be moved by the plight of the child as he picks his way over a mountain of rubbish, and yet the voice-over poem keeps you at arm’s length.

Move over, Damien.

By comprimising his film to bring the characters together, and yet failing to inject the irony or imagery of a director such as Jodowrosky, this falls short.

Legacy is a brave and curious film, taking a popular premise and turning it on its head.

Unnecessary plot layers descend from a great height, crushing any spark of adventure.

Excellent acting alone can’t stop the nagging suspicion that things are being grossly simplified.

It is the natural, often charming, performances that give this 12-minute film its heart.

There is nothing wrong with Baichwal's camerawork, with a fascinating opening eight-minute shot of it roaming across a Chinese factory floor, particularly stunning - but everything lacks depth.

This is a wonderful little film, a delightful portrait of two very different characters, and in some ways a meditation on the nature of faith and desire.

Motodrom has no pretensions other than to demonstrate the skill and daring of the Wall of Death riders.

Like all good art, this raises difficult questions.

After all the care taken in this film, it's sad that the resolution is so cliched.

Like the best works of art, John Carney’s Once is both melancholy and beautiful, a fragile poem that seems almost too delicate for the big screen.

Among the welter of films I am watching in the course of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, it is the images from Phantom Love that continually haunt me.

What makes Rocket Science endearing will doubtless make it infuriating to some, but those that could like it will like it a lot.

The film makes no compromises to its audience.

Reprise is difficult to watch. It demonstrates an originality and energy which requires control to make sense of itself.

A disturbingly accurate portrayal of the New York intelligentsia.

A delight.

Rarely have the faultlines between comedy and horror been exposed with greater precision.

The script sizzles with humour, but more importantly, like Danny Boyle's Millions, it carries an emotional weight.

In scenes filled with wit and intelligence, Langella and Ambrose perform an exquisite dance of power.

In the mindscape of Alice Through The Looking Glass, the surrealism of Steve’s predicament would be a footnote to The Patriot Act: Fear Or Frenzy?, if it wasn’t so tragic.

The substitute of the title is a delirious, rictus-grinning comic creation.

Lichtenstein takes the myth of vagina dentata and gives it a kitsch horror/comedy makeover, to surprisingly smart and sassy effect.

One-liners come thick and fast in this bittersweet, whistle-stop romp, with Shelly almost always managing to undercut her syrup with something more stringent.

One of the rare chick flicks that doesn’t appear to hate women, Year Of The Dog contains its essentially sappy narrative within a membrane of stabbing humor and ingenious reaction shots.

Although there are no real surprises plot-wise, the film feels refreshingly different.

By isolating the footballer from the general run of play, an ordinary league match becomes a study of one man's craft.

Zoo ought to present insurmountable problems to any artist working in a visual medium – but Devor turns every obstacle into a virtue.