Delicately poised, the New Zealand International Film Festivals launched officially tonight with Sima Urale’s Apron Strings, a hometown occasion for the Auckland filmmaker, whose drama opened the city’s 40th hosting of the festival in good taste. Last year, the unveiling of Taika Waititi’s Eagle vs Shark was saved for the parochial support of Wellington, which opens its 37th edition in a week’s time with documentary Man on Wire. Like that film, the 2008 programme walks something of fine line, perhaps not taking the absolutely risks that it could, but nevertheless demonstrating some daring to elicit gasps. The jawbreakers to date, Hou Hsiao-hsien’s exquisite Flight of the Red Balloon (of the two Juliette Binoche pictures scheduled, it’s the one you want to see), and Silent Light, courtesy of the talented but errant Carlos Reygadas (a filmmaker who has finally found his feet), will leave mouths agape in their pure expressions of cinema. Less conspicuous, but also must-see is Masayuki Suo’s I Just Didn’t Do It, a furious state indictment and stellar court drama in one; Night and Day, Hong Sang-soo’s funniest, and paradoxically most accessible (at two-and-a-half hours long!) man-flick yet; and Lake Tahoe, a heartfelt (and for a time, oddly Kafkaesque) sophomore feature from Fernando Embicke, whose Duck Season established a knack for youthful deadpan through time-lapsed adolescence. Lumière will continue to trawl the festival for its best bits over the coming weeks, beginning with daily reviews and reports out of Auckland from tomorrow onwards. Refer to our A-Z Guide for a cross-reference of all existing NZIFF features, columns and reviews. A selection of film lists to further pique your interest continue below.—Tim Wong

     Tim’s Top Five:
     » Flight of the Red Balloon
     » Silent Light
     » My Winnipeg
     » Night and Day
     » Lake Tahoe

     ...and Most Anticipated:
     » Brighter Summer Day
     » A Gentle Breeze in the Wind
     » Waltz with Bashir
     » Ashes of Time Redux
     » Three Monkeys

     Essential Documentaries:
     » Up the Yangtze
     » Mechanical Love
     » Useless
     » Standard Operating Procedure
     » The King of Kong

     Left-of-Field:
     » Jesus Christ Saviour
     » La France
     » Funny Games (for first-timers!)
     » Obscene
     » I Think We’re Alone Now

     Indelible Images:
     » In the City of Slyvia
     » The Red Balloon
     » The Banishment
     » Eat, for this is My Body
     » The Man From London

     Fail-Safe:
     » Somers Town
     » CJ7
     » Be Kind Rewind
     » Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
     » The Orphanage

     Alexander Bisley’s Awaited Eight:
     » Flight of the Red Balloon
     » The Banishment
     » It’s a Free World...
     » The Man from London
     » Rain of the Children/The Hollow Men
     » Secret Sunshine
     » Three Monkeys
     » No End in Sight

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