Little Films

Throughout January the entertainment sections of big-city newspapers have been filled with full-page ads for 2003's big movies. The race is on to capture Golden Globe awards and Oscar nominations for films like MYSTIC RIVER, LORD OF THE RINGS: THE KING RETURNS, COLD MOUNTAIN, THE LAST SUMARAI and so on-films that for the most part were blockbuster year-end releases.

What I like to do at this time of ballyhooing is to think back on the year's "little pictures" that shouldn't be forgotten and are worthy of home viewing if missed or unavailable at a local theater. (It should be noted that some of the films I've selected had very limited theatrical distribution and some were films that took a couple of years to find their way to American screens).

Herewith follows six personal favorites in the "little film" category:

RABBIT-PROOF FENCE. This film by director Phillip Noyce (THE QUIET AMERICAN) is based on a true story set in 1930s Australia. It tells the tale of two Aboriginal girls who flee a children's "Anglicization" camp hundreds of miles from their home and who follow the path of a cross-country fence which they hope will guide them back to their mothers. The camp director follows in hot pursuit. RABBIT-PROOF FENCE could be thought of as a chase film, but it is one that displays unusual will and youthful courage. The film's epilogue includes documentary footage of the now aged women who inspired the story.

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS. A film revolving around an exiled Nigerian hotel clerk in London who happens upon a black-market underworld that involves the sale of body organs by other British newcomers. On one hand a suspense thriller, on the other yet another Stephen Frears (MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE) look at modern Britain through immigrant characters. Disturbing but provocative and timely.

NOWHERE IN AFRICA. The story of a Jewish family that escapes Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and relocates in an isolated area of Kenya. Based on Stefanie Zweig's autobiographical novel. A lovely period film about family pioneering and struggle within a new, foreign world. The story is enriched by multicultural subplots that are presented through the varied points of view of mother, father and daughter.

WINGED MIGRATION. A cross-national documentary production that follows the migratory habits of various species of birds (most of which fly but some do not). The cinematography eschews special effects manipulation and is in a word breathtaking. WINGED MIGRATION is one of the loveliest documentaries you will ever see (I promise). Although lacking any semblance of a plot, the film's cameras capture birds in such intimate close-up detail that in time the birds' behavior seems to mirror recognizable human traits. Transcendental!

THE STATION AGENT. This character-study explores relationships that develop when a young man inherits and inhabits an abandoned, isolated train station. In his new environment the "station agent" is befriended by a woman and another young man, each of whom-like him-harbors personal and psychological needs that are not at first apparent. Eventually these needs rise to the surface, sometimes quietly and sometimes with dramatic bravura but never melodramatically. THE STATION AGENT is a humorous and touching example of slice-of-life filmmaking.

WHALE RIDER. A picture from New Zealand for filmgoers of every age, based on a legend about a Pai, a Maori girl whose unusual powers and instincts eventually bring her the respect and leadership role to which she has aspired against great odds. Laden with folklore and elements that convey a soft but unobtrusive feminism, WHALE RIDER is cinematic storytelling that truly lifts the human spirit. Keisha Castle-Hughes as 12-year-old Pai delivers one of the best performances of 2003.

Film historian and critic Frank Beaver is professor of film and video studies and professor of communication.