NYFF wrote:
The Dardenne Brothers won this year’s Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival for this brave new work, another intimate portrayal-in-furious-motion of a protagonist in crisis. The filmmakers’ radical empathy alights on a Muslim teenager (extraordinary first-time actor Idir Ben Addi) in a small Belgian town who is being gradually radicalized into extremism despite the desperate protestations of his single mother (Claire Bodson), and who winds up hatching a murderous plot targeting his beloved teacher (Myriem Akheddiou). Taking a serious view of a difficult issue—the effect of fanaticism on the body and soul—the Dardennes here remind viewers why they continue to be at the center of 21st-century cinema.Read More »
Drama
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Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne – Le jeune Ahmed AKA Young Ahmed (2019)
2011-2020ArthouseDramaFranceJean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne -
Mia Hansen-Løve – Tout est pardonné AKA All Is Forgiven (2007)
2001-2010DramaFranceMia Hansen-LøveDebut director Mia Hansen-Love turns seemingly random slices from the life of a disintegrating family unit into a remarkably graceful, natural film about what it is to be human. Perhaps the most persuasive aspect of this hopeful parable of failure is the way casting, acting, script, and camerawork conspire to usher us into an immediately believable world which is observed with a painterly eye yet never seems staged.Read More »
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Joseph B. Vasquez – Hangin’ with the Homeboys (1991)
1991-2000ComedyDramaJoseph B. VasquezUSAFour friends (two African-American, two Puerto Rican-American) learn a lot about themselves and one another while negotiating a memorable roller coaster of a Friday night out on the town.Read More »
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Jonathan Demme – Handle with Care AKA Citizen’s Band (1977)
1971-1980ComedyDramaJonathan DemmeUSAQuote:
The interlaced stories of several characters in a small town united by their use of CB (citizen’s band) radio.Read More » -
John Frankenheimer – Grand Prix (1966)
Drama1961-1970John FrankenheimerUSASynopsis:
The most daring drivers in the world have gathered to compete for the 1966 Formula One championship. After a spectacular wreck in the first of a series of races, American wheelman Pete Aron (James Garner) is dropped by his sponsor. Refusing to quit, he joins a Japanese racing team. While juggling his career with a torrid love affair involving an ex-teammate’s wife, Pete must also contend with Jean-Pierre Sarti (Yves Montand), a French contestant who has previously won two world titles.Read More » -
Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger – Gone to Earth (1950)
1941-1950DramaEmeric PressburgerMichael PowellRomanceScreen legend Jennifer Jones (Portrait of Jennie) stars as the young, beguiling Hazel Woodus in 1897 Shropshire, England. More than the people around her, she loves and understands the wild animals of the countryside, especially her pet fox. Whenever she has problems, she turns to the book of spells and charms left to her by her gypsy mother. When dashing local squire Jack Reddin (David Farrar, Hour of Glory) begins to pursue Hazel—despite her marriage to Baptist minister Edward Marston (Cyril Cusack, Fahrenheit 451)—a struggle for her body and soul ensues.Read More »
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Shin’ya Tsukamoto – Zan (2018)
2011-2020DramaJapanShinya TsukamotoQuote:
Set during the tumultuous mid-19th century Edo period of Japan, Killing is the story of a masterless samurai or ronin named Ikematsu Sosuke. As the prevalent peace and tranquility are sure to be replaced by war and conflict across the land the swordsman feels restlessness creep upon him.Read More » -
Marie-Claude Treilhou – Simone Barbès ou la vertu AKA Simone Barbes or Virtue (1980)
1971-1980ArthouseDramaFranceMarie-Claude TreilhouIMDB wrote:
Simone and Martine are usherettes in a porno cinema in Montparnasse. Installed in the hall, they greet regulars, put men in their place, chat and pass the time. At midnight Simone departs to a lesbian nightclub.Read More » -
Kenji Mizoguchi – Saikaku ichidai onna AKA The Life of Oharu (1952)
Drama1951-1960JapanKenji MizoguchiQuote:
Based on Saikaku Ihara’s novel, The Life Of Oharu charts the tragic demise of Oharu (Kinuyo Tanaka) in 17th century Japan. An attendant at the imperial court in Kyoto, she is exiled to the countryside with her parents for the crime of falling in love with Katsunosuke (Toshirô Mifune), who suggests she should marry out of romantic feelings, not duty. Forced by her father into being a concubine for Lord Matsudaira (Toshiaki Konoe), she bears him a son, is then sold to brothel, before finally ending up as a street prostitute.Read More »