Just to throw it into the mix, Sony Vegas is pretty cheap and the features there are good enough for a good video project. If you aren't thinking of making explosions or cyber hectic special effects, and just want to make a minimalists film, or even add a bit of blur and so forth, consider Vegas.
Yeh, Vegas is excellent software for a simple film, its easy to use and allows you to do basic compositing. It'l cost you around $200. The next step up, if you've got a mac is final cut express, it takes away the unnecesary features of final cut pro and will cost you abou $400, if you can get FCE.