Ready to explore the wonderful world of indie films you've heard about but haven't seen? Me too! Though I haven't seen these particular titles, the first two come well recommended by others, starting with Moolaadé, the last film by the esteemed director Ousmane Sembene, who passed away earlier this year. Cinematical's Kim Voynar described it as "a film about courage, survival, and the strength of the human spirit ... perhaps one of the most socially relevant" of the decade. The DVD from New Yorker Video includes a "making of" feature, interviews and additional material, and a deluxe collector's booklet.

Whisky Romeo Zulu is an Argentinean film that dates back to 2004, when it debuted at the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival. My curiosity was piqued at the time by Deborah Young's review in Variety, which described the intriguing premise revolving around an airplane accident: "Former pilot and whistleblower Enrique Pineyro expertly recounts a crash in full behind-the-scenes detail in his double role as director and main actor (playing himself)." Andrew Wright of The Stranger also had a positive reaction when it played at the Seattle film festival. The film was never picked up for US distribution, but Home Vision has now released it on a bare bones DVD, evidently with just a trailer, that sounds worth seeking out.

Both Interview and The Rocket received mixed critical notices. Our own Ryan Stewart said Interview "turns out to be a mediocre 'night to remember' film in which the half-intrigued, half-bored actress [Sienna Miller] and the caustic journalist [Steve Buscemi, who also directed] try to get the best of each other." The Sony Classics DVD includes an audio commentary by Buscemi and a feature on Dutch director Theo Van Gogh, who directed the film that served as the source material.

The Rocket tells the true story of legendary ice hockey star Maurice Richard, played by Roy Dupuis. I heard good things about the film when it played at the AFI Dallas festival earlier this year; it may be a good bet if you're looking for an inspirational sports story -- or if you're Canadian. The DVD from Palm Pictures features deleted scenes and a tribute to the great Richard.

Siblings dealing with their dying father trumped a man who can only move one eyelid in a box office battle between two award-worthy independent films. On the face of it, just because of their subject matter, neither would seem likely to draw big crowds, but excellent critical response and festival buzz appear to have paid off.

The Savages opened last Wednesday in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles and earned a very good $38,250 per screen, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman star as the siblings, with Philip Bosco as their father; Tamara Jenkins directed. Cinematical's Kim Voynar wrote: "There are no easy answers in dealing with aging and dying parents, and Jenkins doesn't try to give us one; she simply takes us into the story of her fascinating characters, and the integrity with which she handles it makes it ring true throughout."

The "one eyelid" movie, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, opened at three locations in New York and Los Angeles; weekend receipts reflect a strong per-screen average of $25,100. When he saw it at Cannes, our own James Rocchi said he found himself "on the edge of tears more than a few times ... [it's] a movie well worth seeing, with images and lessons that strike with power and don't let go."

Four other indies opened in one or two theaters in New York and/or Los Angeles, and Leonard Klady at Movie City News has their estimated per-screen earnings: Jessica Yu's doc Protagonist ($4,920; read Christopher Campbell's review); Miles Brandman's "darkly comic" Sex and Breakfast ($3,850), Robert Stone's doc Oswald's Ghost ($1,830; read my review), and Francesco Lucente's drama Badland ($1,220).

At least four other indies also opened, but financial results have not yet surfaced: ice hockey bio-pic The Rocket, prison escape thriller Chronicle of an Escape, foodie/lesbian romantic comedy Nina's Heavenly Delights and Christian Slater-starrer He Was a Quiet Man.

I heard good things about The Rocket from people who saw it. They described it as 'more than a feel-good movie'; an older gentleman I know felt it was one of the best films he'd seen in years. Ice hockey fans -- and Canadians of a certain age -- will probably recognize "The Rocket" as the nickname of the legendary Maurice Richard. For those of us, like me, who are ignorant of his achievements, Wikipedia says he played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1942 to 1960 and was "the most prolific goal-scorer of his era." I imagine the film has special resonance for folks from Quebec, since it depicts "the struggles of a French Canadian in the National Hockey League [NHL] dominated by Anglophones," as described by IMDB.

Directed by Charles Binamé, The Rocket opened theatrically in Quebec in November 2005. Audiences loved it; at CinemaClock, readers (64 of them) rated it 9.5 out of 10. Eye Weekly's Jason Anderson wrote: "The decision to so strongly emphasize Richard's importance as a political and cultural figure gives greater heft to the many conventional sports-flick tropes and cornier bits of dialogue. ... It's bold, gripping, passionate hokum punctuated by the most exciting hockey scenes ever presented in a feature film."

Finally American audiences will be able to see what all the fuss is about. As reported by indieWIRE, Palm Pictures has acquired US rights to The Rocket and plans a theatrical release later this year, with plans for a DVD to follow in 2008. If you scroll down Palm's "In Theaters" page at their site, you'll see that The Rocket is slated to play in Scottsdale, Arizona on October 5. Perhaps that's a one-off screening; it coincides with the beginning of the NHL regular season for local team Phoenix Coyotes. When we hear more details, we'll be sure to share them.

Well... The Genies for 2007 have come and gone. Unsurprisingly, the French films remained supreme, although I'm sure there will be much discussion on which films were most worthy. The big victor was the Quebec biopic -- The Rocket. Based on Maurice Richard, a hockey legend from the Montreal Canadiens, the film nabbed 9 of the 13 categories it was nominated for -- including Direction, Actress, Actor, Editing and Cinematography -- basically most of the big ones.

But the biopic didn't nab best movie. You might think that it was because a superior, stunning cinematic achievement took the prize, but no. The honor went to, surprisingly, Bon Cop, Bad Cop. Sure, it's the top-grossing Canadian film of all time, which is great and all, but that honor used to be held by Porky's, and would you consider that award-winning fare? The Colm Feore feature beat out the likes of The Rocket, Guide de la Petite Vengeance and those Trailer Park Boys for the top spot. I'm glad to see a Feore film getting recognized, but it's just not award-winning material.

Tideland, Terry Gilliam's quirky tale, suffered a complete shut-out. Granted, it's a quirky, strange and sometimes slammed piece of cinema, but there is some art to it. No Best Actress win for the young and talented Jodelle Ferland, as I had hoped. She lost to honor to Rocket star Julie LeBreton. On the English-speaking side of things, Carrie-Anne Moss won the Supporting Actress Genie for her role in Snow Cake, and Jennifer Baichwal's Manufactured Landscapes won for Best Documentary. I guess every year can't be a C.R.A.Z.Y. year.