Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008)

UK, 120

oops, i’ve already watched too many gritty urban-street-urchin flicks for this stylized stuff to resonate much. still; cute.

the Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)

el Espinazo del diablo
SP/MX, 106 min

A new student at a school for orphans attempts to uncover the killer of the ghost who haunts the orphanage during the final days of the Spanish Civil War.

i’ll give it a “really rather good”. not really sure i understand who the target audience is supposed to be, considering the adult themes present, but it’s certainly more satisfying and less derivative than its “spiritural sequel”, which, in spite of del toro’s clear skill with imagery…

Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999)

UK, 94 min

http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=131876

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratcatcher_(film)

Dogs in Space (Richard Lowenstein, 1987)

http://www.dogsinspacemovie.com/

http://www.innersense.com.au/mif/lowenstein.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_in_space
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092904/
NFSA profile

Ali Zaoua (Nabil Ayouch, 2000)

i’ve seen better films
about urchins… sorry to
oversimplify

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0260688/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/03/15/ali_zaoua_2002_review.shtml