[phileysmiley]

<font color="maroon">by Larry Richman </font>
<font color="gray" size="1">February 3, 2007 3:38 PM</font>

First, some notes. This festival was very light on World or North American or U.S. Premieres, unlike the others I've attended. I saw 8 foreign films (with English subtitles), including a film from Scotland (<em>Red Road</em>), which was in "English" but still had subtitles for those of us who have a wee bit of trouble with a Scottish brogue. I saw 2 documentaries. They generally aren't my cup of tea but can occasionally be moving, like <em>The U.S. vs. John Lennon</em>, which I saw at Toronto. I also saw one "Special Presentation" (<em>Little Children</em>) which I'm not including in my list since it's played theaters and doesn't fit my definition of a "festival film." One film I saw twice (<em>Man in the Chair</em>).

So here are my top picks from the 22nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival:

<em><b>Man in the Chair
Trade
The King and the Clown</em></b> (Korea)
<em><b>Red Road</em></b> (Scotland)
<em><b>2:37</b></em> (Australia)
<em><b>My Scary Girl</em></b> (Korea)
<em><b>Children</em></b> (Iceland)
<em><b>Waiter</em></b> (Belgium)
<em><b>Le Dernier des Fous</em></b> (France)
<em><b>Ping Pong</b></em> (Germany)