#252 – Waltz with Bashir, (Vals Im Bashir), 2008, Ari Folman
Director and Israeli army veteran Ari Folman interviews friends and former soldiers about their memories of the 1982 Lebanon war and especially the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut. The usage on animation enabled Folman to illustrate their personal memories and dreams.
#294 – Let the Right One In, 2008, Tomas Alfredson
Set in 1982 in the suburb of Blackeberg, Stockholm, twelve-year-old Oskar is a lonely outsider, bullied at school by his classmates; at home, Oskar dreams of revenge against a trio of bullies. He befriends his twelve-year-old, next-door neighbor Eli, who only appears at night in the snow-covered playground outside their building.
#346 – 35 Shots of Rum, (35 rhums), 2008, Claire Denis
A widowed metro conductor, approaching retirement, lives with his beautiful grown daughter – the object of a neighbor’s romantic interest. The man’s former girlfriend also lives in their building and plays a role in their closely-knit lives. 35 Shots of Rum considers the mysterious complexities that surround evolving relationships, whether romantic or parental.
#359 – The Wrestler, 2008, Darren Aronofsky
Aging wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin’ to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can’t resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
#367 – WALL-E, 2008, Andrew Stanton
WALL·E is the last robot left on an Earth that has been overrun with garbage and all humans have fled to outer space. For 700 years he has continued to try and clean up the mess, but has developed some rather interesting human-like qualities. When a ship arrives with a sleek new type of robot, WALL·E thinks he’s finally found a friend and stows away on the ship when it leaves.
#425 – Love Exposure, (愛のむきだし), 2008, Sion Sono
The story of a teenage boy named Yu, who falls for Yoko, a girl he runs into while working as an “up-skirt” photographer in an offshoot of the porn industry. His attempts to woo her are complicated by a spot of cross-dressing – which convinces Yoko that she is lesbian – dalliances with kung-fu and crime, and a constant struggle with the guilt that’s a legacy of his Catholic upbringing.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
#436 – Still Walking, (歩いても 歩いても), 2008, Hirokazu Kore-eda
Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger’s life, Kyohei and Toshiko welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion. Younger son Ryota still feels that his parents resent that he isn’t the one who died; his new wife, Yukari, is awkwardly meeting the rest of the family for the first time. Daughter Chinami strains to fill the uncomfortable pauses with forced cheer.
#492 – Slumdog Millionaire, 2008, Danny Boyle
Jamal Malik is an impoverished Indian teen who becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ but, after he wins, he is suspected of cheating.
#512 – Iron Man, 2008, Jon Favreau
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
#590 – Gran Torino, 2008, Clint Eastwood
Widower Walt Kowalski is a grumpy, prejudiced, tough-minded, unhappy, old, Korean War veteran who can’t get along with either his kids or his neighbours. His prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbour, Thao—a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin—tries to steal his Gran Torino, Walt sets out to reform the youth and takes steps to protect Thao and his family from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
Jumbo Cactuar Film Index 