acu's - Rented List

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Cited by Ray as one of his best films, this tale of a neglected housewife in Victorian-era Calcutta is adapted from a story by Rabindranath Tagore.

Sailen Mukherjee stars as a newspaper journalist who is driven more by professional ambition than the needs of his cultured and intelligent wife Charaulata (Madhabi Mukherjee). Sensing her loneliness, he enlists the help of his cousin Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee), a sensitive would-be writer, to keep her company. Charu and Amal hit it off and, almost inevitably, their feelings for each other begin to deepen...

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Growing up in the sheltered society of 1920s England, Gudrun (Jackson) and Ursula (Jennie Linden) know little about the ways of love.

So when they pursue thrilling, torrid affairs with a notorious playboy (Alan Bates) and a brooding philanderer (Oliver Reed), what they discover about their lovers, and themselves, may be all consuming - and dangerously volatile - than they ever dared imagine.

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November 2006. Alexander 'Sasha' Litvinenko (David Tennant), a former KGB officer, lies dying in a London hospital - poisoned by a mysterious radioactive substance.

As Detective Inspector Brent Hyatt (Neil Maskell) is summoned to take his statement, Sasha directly accuses the Russian President, Vladimir Putin of orchestrating his murder. When Sasha dies a few days later, a team of Metropolitan Police officers led by Detective Superintendent Clive Timmons (Mark Bonnar), launch an investigation into what has become a chemical attack on the streets of London. As the police travel to Moscow to pursue the suspects, Sasha's devoted wife, Marina (Margarita Levieva), begins a ten-year fight against the British and Russian governments to find justice for his murder.

From director and writer Sam Mendes (1917 and Skyfall), and set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s, 'Empire of Light' is a moving drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times.

When an Iranian immigrant (Ben Kingsley) attempts to reclaim his dream - in the form of a house for his family - he's unaware that the home's former owner (Jennifer Connelly) is determined to recover what she feels is rightly hers.

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A small time crook, Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo), chased by the police after stealing a car, shoots one of them and flees. Back in Paris he finds an American girlfriend (Jean Seberg) and succeeds in seducing her. He convinces her to go to Italy with him.

But the police have discovered the murderer's identity and are on his trail...

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Set against the backdrop of a transforming country, a young women finds herself swept up in a radical plot to assassinate a ruthless and secretive intelligence agent.

As she immerses herself in her role as a cosmopolitan seductress, she becomes entangled in a dangerous game that will ultimately determine her fate.

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With stunning performances from Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen and Marion Bailey this film also gave several of a new generation of British actors their first lead roles on the big screen including: Sally Hawkins, James Corden and Daniel Mays.

Following different tales of melancholy, alcoholism, a violent abusive boyfriend and a frustrated unemployed youth - there seems to be no hope for a brighter future and no chance of escape yet glimmers of joy and humour still prevail. An authentic and deeply enjoyable Mike Leigh classic.

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Camille falls out of love with her husband Paul while he is rewriting the screenplay Odyssey by American producer Jeremiah Prokosch.

Just as the director of Prokosch's film, Fritz Lang, says that The Odyssey is the story of individuals confronting their situations in a real world, Le Mepris itself is an examination of the position of the filmmaker in the commercial cinema industry.

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In the small village of Alcarras in Catalonia, the peach farmers of the Sole family spend every summer together picking fruit from their orchard.

But when new plans arise to install solar panels and cut down trees, the members of this tight-knit group suddenly face eviction - and the loss of far more than their home. Winner of the Golden Bear at Berlinale, the sophomore film from Carla Simon (Summer 1993) is a sun-dappled, deeply moving ensemble portrait of the countryside and a community's unbreakable bonds.

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Opening with a shot of an x-ray, showing the main character's stomach, 'Ikiru' tells the tale of a dedicated, downtrodden civil servant who, diagnosed with a fatal cancer, learns to change his dull, unfulfilled existence, and suddenly discovers a zest for life.

Plunging first into self-pity, then a bout of hedonistic pleasure-seeking on the frenetic streets of post-war Tokyo, Watanable (Takashi Shimura) - the film's hero - finally finds satisfaction through building a children's playground.

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London, 1953. Mr. Williams, played by Bill Nighy, is a veteran civil servant, a cog in the city's stifling bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild following WWII. After a shattering health diagnosis, it dawns on him he has not been living his life to the full.

Amidst the fog of his paperwork, and his loneliness at home, he yearns to find fulfilment before it's too late. He is encouraged in his search by two younger colleagues - the vibrant Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood) and idealistic new recruit Peter (Alex Sharp) - and a hedonistic stranger, Sutherland (Tom Burke), encountered during a desperate trip to the seaside.

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Cult director Wong Kar Wai's first film shot outside of Hong Kong is a spellbinding tribute to blind passion that features two of Asian cinema's biggest stars.

Lai (Tony Leung) and Ho (Leslie Cheung) arrive in Argentina as lovers, but while driving south in search of adventures, something goes wrong and Ho leaves for Buenos Aries. Devastated, Lai finds work in a tango bar but is consumed by thoughts of being happy together once more with Ho. A heady cocktail of sound and vision, Wong and cinematographer Christopher Doyle marry the rythms of Buenos Aries and Frank Zappa's jazz to an astonishing array of images.

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15 million people, 800 cities, all marching as ONE. On February 15th, 2003, over 15 million people marched through the streets of cities on every continent to voice their opposition to the proposed war in Iraq.

Eight years in the making, filmed in seven countries, and including interviews with Damon Albarn, Danny Glover, Mark Rylance, Richard Branson, Hans Blix and Ken Loach amongst others, "We Are Many" charts the birth and rise of the people power movements that are now sweeping the globe. This remarkable and moving true story brings to life the biggest demonstration in human history, and how it forever changed the world.

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From acclaimed filmmaker James Gray and featuring an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong comes 'Armageddon Time'.

Set in 1980s Queens, New York, it is a deeply personal story about the strength of family, the complexity of friendship and the generational pursuit of the American Dream.