[May 21, 2005] — Our calendars have been marked for a year, as soon as the date was announced: Thursday May 19th! Opening Night! Star Wars: Episode III, you ask? Hell, no! The first day of the 2005 Seattle International Film Festival!

With the usual proclamation of "more movies than ever!", this year's festival lost two main venues (the beloved Cinerama, and the convenient downtown Pacific Place), but gained seating volume by adopting some more neighborhoody theaters (like the University District's Neptune, and Queen Anne's lovely Uptown Theater). Because of this extra capacity, the first two full days broke all-time one-day ticket records, and we don't see any reason for that not to continue as the fest rolls on for its three-and-a-half-week run.

A true audience festival, SIFF is the highest-attended festival in North America. It may not be a breeding ground for studio acquisition and Hollywood-star-spotting, but heck, we here in Seattle love it.

Recommended! A red arrow means that we rated the movie six (out of eight) slices or better.

The numbers following the title show our rating of the film; i.e. (5/8), means five out of a possible eight slices.

[Be sure to keep checking back! As the festival rolls along, we'll post our ratings, and eventually reviews, for as many films as we can stand!]

[Read the list of 2005 Golden Space Needle Award winners.]

Last updated July 9th.

4 (2004) (Russia) (6/8)    9 Songs (UK) (4/8)    2046 (Hong Kong) (5/8)    Based on a True Story (Netherlands) (5/8) Brothers (Brødre) (Denmark) (7/8) Clean (France) (6/8)    Deep Blue (UK / Germany) (5/8) Dreamship Surprise - Period 1 (Traumschiff Surprise - Periode 1) (Germany) (6/8) The Dying Gaul (USA) (6/8)    Fallen Angel: Gram Parsons (Germany / UK) (5/8)    Fourteen Sucks (Fjorten suger) (Sweden) (5/8)    The Holy Girl (La Niña Santa) (Argentina / Italy / Netherlands / Spain) (4/8) In My Father's Den (New Zealand) (6/8) King's Game (Kongekabale) (Denmark) (6/8)    L'Amant (2004) (Japan) (2/8) Ladies in Lavender (UK) (6/8)

Land of Plenty (USA) (4/8)    Long Twilight (Hosszú alkony) (Hungary) (5/8)    Marebito (Japan) (3/8) Me and You and Everyone We Know (USA) (7/8) Mongolian Ping Pong (Lü cao di) (China) (7/8)    My Summer of Love (UK) (4/8) Mysterious Skin (USA) (6/8) Omagh (Ireland) (6/8)    Red Colored Grey Truck (Sivi Kamion Crvene Boje) (Slovenia / Germany) (5/8)    Revolution of Pigs (Sigade revolutsioon) (Estonia) (5/8) Rock School (USA) (6/8) Strings (Denmark) (7/8) Three of Hearts (USA) (6/8)

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