Cinema of 1997
Cinema of 1997 offered one of the most iconic global sensations of the decade: James Cameron’s Titanic. A sweeping romantic epic fused with blockbuster spectacle, it broke box-office records and went on to dominate the Academy Awards. Alongside it, Hollywood also produced sharp genre work such as Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential and Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting, both balancing mainstream appeal with critical acclaim.
International cinema thrived with groundbreaking works that pushed narrative and aesthetic boundaries. Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, while Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together explored queer love and loneliness with lyrical style, earning him Best Director at the festival. Elsewhere, Michael Haneke’s Funny Games shocked audiences with its chilling meta-commentary on violence, cementing his reputation as one of Europe’s most uncompromising auteurs.
At the same time, smaller films left lasting cultural imprints. Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights captured the rise and fall of the porn industry with infectious energy, while Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter offered a haunting meditation on grief and community. Together, these works show how 1997 balanced the grandeur of mass spectacle with the depth and daring of independent and international cinema.