alec-guimness-films's - Rented List
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The Tenant (1976)Le Locataire
An apartment with an unhappy past, in a building filled with faintly sinister residents, sets the stage for filmmaker Roman Polanski's riveting thriller 'The Tenant'. Polanski plays Trelkovsky, a quiet, timid file clerk whose unremarkable life becomes Increasingly overshadowed with dread and fear after he moves into his new home. Adding to his paranoia are the building's other occupants, who do nothing to alleviate his growing obsession with the untimely, tragic fate of the apartment's previous tenant. Is Trelkovsky's dread truly justified - or is it simply the result of his seemingly disintegrating mental state? - Director:
- Roman Polanski
- Cast:
- Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas
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Wings of Desire (1987)Der Himmel über Berlin / The Sky Above Berlin / The Sky Over Berlin
The sky over Wenders' war-scarred Berlin is full of gentle, trenchcoated angels who listen to the tortured thoughts of mortals and try to comfort them. One, Damiel, (Bruno Ganz) wishes to become mortal after falling in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, Marion (Solveig Dommartin). Peter Falk, as himself, assists in the transformation by explaining the simple joys of a human experience. - Director:
- Wim Wenders
- Cast:
- Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander
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The Son (2002)Le Fils
In their first film since the Palme d'Or winning 'Rosetta', brothers Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne present a subtle and disquieting study of a man whose life has been devastated by tragedy. Olivier Gourmet won the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his masterfully understated portrayal of a carpenter who teaches teenagers at a rehabilitation school. He is disturbed by the arrival of a new student, Francis (Morgan Marinne), and he struggles to maintain a professional distance in the boy's presence. An ambiguous relationship develops between the two until the eventual revelation of a terrible secret from the past that binds them together. Utilising their trademark pared-down visual aesthetic to great effect, the Dardennes have crafted a riveting, strikingly powerful film of profound emotional and moral complexity. - Director:
- Jean-Pierre Dardenne
- Cast:
- Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Isabella Soupart
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Code Unknown (2000)Code inconnu
On a busy Paris boulevard a youth scornfully tosses a crumpled paper bag into the outstretched hands of a beggar woman. This is the bond which, for an instant, links several very different characters Anne (Binoche), an actress, her war photographer boyfriend George, his farmer father and younger brother Jean who country to his father's wishes has no interest in inheriting the farm. Amadou a music teacher for deaf mute children and his family who originate from Africa and Maria a Romanian immigrant. - Director:
- Michael Haneke
- Cast:
- Juliette Binoche, Féodor Atkine, Thierry Neuvic
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The Wages of Fear (1953)Le Salaire de la peur
Part road movie, part suspense thriller, the plot is high-tension simplicity itself. In the South American jungle, supplies of nitro-glycerine are urgently needed at a remote oil field. The unscrupulous American oil company pays four out-of-work men (Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli and Peter Van Eyck) to deliver the supplies in two sets of drivers: a tension magnified thousand fold by the unforgiving heat, the lure of filthy lucre and the rough and rocky roads where the slightest jolt can result in agonising death. Which of the disparate, desperate desperadoes will survive the white-knuckle journey and claim the loot and the glory? - Director:
- Henri-Georges Clouzot
- Cast:
- Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter Van Eyck
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All About My Mother (1999)Todo sobre mi madre
From acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, a stunning valentine to femininity in all its disguises, motherhood in all its glory and to classic Hollywood melodramas and their diva actresses. A birthday treat turns into heart-rending tragedy for single mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth) when her teenage son is killed in a car accident after a performance of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' starring his favourite actress Huma Roja (Marisa Paredes). Determined to exorcise her overwhelming guilt, Manuela goes to Barcelona to finally tell his father about the son he never knew he had. There, the reason why she has kept the identity of her forbidden lover a secret for so long is revealed. He is a transvestite named Lola who is dying from an AIDS related illness. However in confronting her own past, Manuela forges a new future with Lola's transsexual best friend Agrado (Antonia San Juan), church social worker Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz) and Huma, when her play comes to town But even as the women from different fringes of society form a bond, further heartbreak, misfortune and ultimate joy lies in store for each. Considered by critics world wide to be the finest movie Almodovar has directed in his entire glittering career, and featuring glorious acting from the cream of Spanish cinema, All About My Mother combines warmth, love, tears and humour as it builds to an unforgettable emotional crescendo. - Director:
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast:
- Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña
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Written and directed by Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter, this charming, bittersweet tale is set amidst the coastal marshlands of Maldon, Essex where a group of friends, lovers and relatives assemble for the funeral of a much-loved member of their clan. Told using an ingenious, flashback structure inspired by Eric Roomer’s Les Rendezvous de Paris, Lawless Heart perceptively and humorously reveals the aftermath of fractured relationships and complex romantic entanglements. - Director:
- Tom Hunsinger
- Cast:
- Douglas Henshall, Tom Hollander, Bill Nighy
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Iquitos, Peru, is a town Isolated in the middle of the jungle at the turn of the century. On the outskirts, a few shacks are rotting in the mud. In the centre are the splendid houses of the nouveaux-riches rubber barons. It is in this setting, rich in grotesque contrast, that Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald - Fltzcarraldo (Klaus Kinski), as the natives call him - has his dream of bringing together Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt for one great celebration of Grand Opera. To finance his fantastic dream, Fitzcarraldo decides to exploit a vast area of rubber trees growing beyond the impassable Ucayala Falls. In order to circumvent this barrier, he literally has his huge steamboat lifted over a mountain from one branch of the river to the other. With the aid of a tribe of Indians bewitched by records featuring the voice of the greatest singer of all time, Fitzcarraldo fights fever, mosquitoes and suffocating heat to achieve the impossible. - Director:
- Werner Herzog
- Cast:
- Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy
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Emily Bronte's timeless tale of love and passion comes alive in this stirring new film version starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes. Shot on location in Yorkshire, this is the first screen adaptation to present Bronte's complete story of two generations of the Earnshaw and Linton families, as their lives and fortunes intertwine in a complex web dominated by the passionate relationship between doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy. - Director:
- Peter Kosminsky
- Cast:
- Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, Janet McTeer
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A fascinating fusion of narrative and documentary from Clio Barnard, The Arbor tells the powerful true story of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar (The Arbor, Rita, Sue and Bob Too) and her daughter Lorraine. Dunbar wrote honestly and unflinchingly about her upbringing on the Buttershaw Estate, in Bradford. When she died, tragically at the age of 29 in 1990, Lorraine was just ten years old. The Arbor catches up with Lorraine in the present day, also at 29: ostracised from Buttershaw and her family. Through compelling interviews we learn that Lorraine sees her mother as a destructive force, whom Lorraine blames for all that is wrong in her life. Through interviews with other members of the Dunbar family, we see a contrasting view of Andrea, in particular from Lorraine's younger sister Lisa. Using actors to seamlessly lip-sync the words of real-life subjects, the film presents a contrasting and not always flattering view of Dunbar. The Arbor is a compelling and essential work, offering evidence that Barnard is clearly an important new voice in British Cinema. - Director:
- Clio Barnard
- Cast:
- Manjinder Virk, Andrew Dunbar, David Dunbar
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Carlos the Jackal (2010)"Carlos"
For two decades, Carlos was the most wanted terrorist on earth. In various disguises and under numerous pseudonyms he headed a worldwide organisation responsible for ruthless killings, hijackings and bombings. Professional revolutionary, playboy, dandy and assassin, he left a trail of destruction and broken hearts in his wake as he went about his lethal travels across the world. This is the story of Carlos the Jackal. - Director:
- Olivier Assayas
- Cast:
- Édgar Ramírez, Alexander Scheer, Fadi Abi Samra
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Leaving (2009)Partir
Suzanne (Kristin Scott Thomas) and her husband Samuel (Yvan Attal) enjoy a pleasant, middle-class life with their two children. When she decides to go back to work as a physiotherapist, Suzanne is brought into contact with a builder called Ivan (Sergi Lopez), a tough yet down-to-earth odd-job man who has recently been released from prison. Their mutual attraction is sudden and violent, sending them on a whirlwind affair of the senses. As Suzanne's life spirals out of control, she must decide between her family and living this all-engulfing passion to the full. - Director:
- Catherine Corsini
- Cast:
- Kristin Scott-Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal
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Welcome to the world of Davis & Bennett, a mismatched pair of travelling salesmen in the business of cleaning skeletons out of closets. Together they travel across Britain, wandering in and out of other people's lives, performing 'the Procedure' whereby hidden secrets and lies are exposed. When assigned by their boss, The Colonel (Jason Isaacs), to a remote family home, the duo find that they can't seem to get the job done, and that sometimes there's just no getting away from your own skeletons. - Director:
- Nick Whitfield
- Cast:
- Ed Gaughan, Andrew Buckley, Tuppence Middleton
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As the US prepares for war in Iraq, CIA agent Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) gets into political crossfire due to her husband Joe (Sean Penn) and his public stand against the invasion. While involved in undercover operations in the field, Plame's secret status gets leaked by the White House as deterrent and punishment. With everyone out to get her, a gruelling race against time and government begins to save her exposed contacts, her family and herself. - Director:
- Doug Liman
- Cast:
- Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Sonya Davison
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Revenge rides into the town of Red Hill when convicted murderer Jimmy Conway (Tommy Lewis) escapes from jail and returns to the outpost town hunting down the cops who sent him away for life. Enter police office Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten), whose first day on the job quickly turns into a nightmare as he is caught in the middle of what will become a terrifying and bloody confrontation. Cooper will be forced to take the law info his own hands if he is to survive. - Director:
- Patrick Hughes
- Cast:
- Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tommy Lewis
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