Sparta

Some of my favorite films are fight films, but as a result, I tend to expect a lot from the genre. "Sparta" delivers that early and often. This is a beautifully shot, high action film, with tremendous editing and a richness of color that presents a very intentionally crafted style and does so at a high level and with 100% consistency throughout. It must be said that the male and female actors here were stellar -- as a foreign language film, it was wonderful to match the subtitles to the expressiveness (and the physical beauty and uniqueness) of the actors. So many indie films fail to deliver the visual gorgeousness we come to associate with Hollywood and the mega-millions blockbuster, but the look and feel of "Sparta" represents zero drop-off from those high budget films. The filmmakers here clearly had a vision, and they've executed it at the highest of levels.