Cinema Paradiso - Director's Cut ****
(Top 100) (1st Time)
1989, Tornatore, It/Fr
A film director returns to his Sicilian home after the death of the local film projectionist.
The fifty minutes cut for the 1989 release are here restored; Toto's adult return to the village and his search for his teenage love make for a far more complex and emotional finale.

Dead Man's Shoes **** (Top 100) (1st Time)
2004, Meadows, GB
An ex-soldier returns to his rural home town in order to avenge the bullying of his younger, retarded brother.
Brilliantly realised drama which plays like a serial-killer horror (at one point, there is a point-of-view shot behind a gas mask, breathing included). Phenomenal performances and a well-judged tone throughout mark this an endurable tale of revenge and justice.

Garden State *** (1st Time)
2004, Braff, US
An actor on medication all his life returns to his home town to attend his mother's funeral.
Solid, offbeat directorial debut springing memories of Allen, with the protagonist striving to overcome his own neuroses in life after meeting a girl who is an habitual liar.

An excellent day of filmwatching. I haven't had one of those in what seems like forever. You can tell exams are over now; back to my two-to-three a day average.

Mick