Here are the best Independent and World Films on DVD for the week of January 20, 2003.
1. 24 Hour Party People
Kinky Afro! Get your groove on with Michael Winterbottom's ravishing take on the Manchester music scene circa 1990. Joy Division and the Happy Mondays supply most of the soundtrack while the crowd at the Hacienda raves on.
2. Little Otik
Treehuggers beware! Bizarro Czech animator Jan Svankmajer ("Faust") transforms a European folktale into a modern nightmare.
3. I See a Dark Stranger
Deborah Kerr is hilarious as Bridie Quilty, an Irish lass with an ax to grind, in this 1946 spy farce. A true gem.4. Dinner Rush
Bob Giraldi's tale of mobsters and food tells of a wild night at a TriBeCa restaurant. Starring Danny Aiello, Sandra Bernhard and Summer Phoenix.5. Mysterious Object at Noon
Apichatpong Weerasethakul assembled this film from interviews he conducted in his native Thailand.6. The Red Balloon
Albert Lamorisse's classic 1956 short about a lonely little boy (Pascal Lamorisse) who chases a red balloon through the streets of Paris.7. See the Sea
Before "8 Women" and "Under the Sand," French filmmaker Francis Ozon made this creepy hour-long thriller.8. Tadpole
Aaron Stanford falls for older women Sigourney Weaver and Bebe Neuwirth in this charming indie comedy.9. The Unfaithful Wife
Claude Chabrol's 1969 complicated thriller served as the template for last year's "Unfaithful."10. World Traveler
Billy Crudup and Julianne Moore on the road in this ensemble drama directed by Bart Freundlich.