dmb's - Rented List
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A small but perfectly-formed comedy-drama about Broadway legend Danny Rose (Woody Allen) - not a star but perhaps the most hapless agent ever to work in the profession, whose no-hope clients include piano-playing parrots, blind jugglers, one-legged tap dancers and stuttering ventriloquists. Things change dramatically when an unexpected lounge-music craze threatens to make cheesy crooner Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte) both famous and successful, a situation that natural loser Danny is helplessly ill-equipped to deal with. Fie proves similarly hapless when Lou turns out to have a mistress (an unrecognisable Mia Farrow) whose mobster ex-boyfriend is none too impressed with the company that she's currently keeping and decides to advertise this fact at the worst possible moment. Both laugh-out-loud funny and warmly nostalgic, 'Broadway Danny Rose' is Allen's heartfelt tribute to the days of New York vaudeville that he himself experienced first-hand when starting out as a comedian two decades earlier - underscored by the fact that the Greek chorus of Broadway veterans chuckling over Danny's various mishaps and misfortunes are the real thing. - Director:
- Woody Allen
- Cast:
- Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte
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Considered by many to be one of the world's finest musicians and once described by Kurt Cobain as "the greatest songwriter on earth", Daniel Johnston is a man whose life has been defined not only by his musical talent but by his struggle with mental illness. Exploring the sometimes chaotic mix of genius and madness, this insightful and sensitive documentary looks at the music and the man behind it in an attempt to understand how mental illness has shaped Daniel's life and the lives of those around him. With appearances by cult bands such as Sonic Youth, Jad Fair and Half Japanese, this is a must-see documentary for anyone interested in extraordinary music and extraordinary people. - Director:
- Jeff Feuerzeig
- Cast:
- Daniel Johnston, Mabel Johnston, Bill Johnston
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Cameraman illuminates a unique figure in British and international cinema; Jack Cardiff, a man whose life and career are inextricably interwoven with the history of cinema. Jack's life and work helped elevate cinematography to an art form and made history with his ground breaking vision and technical wizardry on A Matter Of Life And Death, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The African Queen and many others. Amongst many fascinating revelations and anecdotes, Jack relates what it was like to work with Hollywood's greatest icons, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas and Sophia Loren. Packed with stunning clips from newly restored classic movies and over twenty original interviews with the world's greatest actors, directors and technicians, Cameraman explores Jack's life and work in compelling detail - a unique and invaluable testimony to an exceptional life. - Director:
- Craig McCall
- Cast:
- Michael Powell, Jack Cardiff, Martin Scorsese
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Gang of Four (1988)La Bande des Quatre
"Gang of Four" is a Pirandellian story of female camaraderie about four women studying and interpreting Marivaux's play "Double Infidelities" under a demanding acting teacher (Bulle Ogier). The four are swept up in a plot of terrorism which overlaps the plot lines of the play while the piece also begins to influence their off stage lives more and more. Each of the character's humanity is disturbingly revealed, layer by layer as the film evolves recalling Rivette's brilliant debut film, "Paris Nous Appartient". The climax of the film is utterly breathtaking. - Director:
- Jacques Rivette
- Cast:
- Bulle Ogier, Benoît Régent, Fejria Deliba
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Who Knows (2001)Va Savoir
Jacques Rivette's delightfully bittersweet and highly entertaining comedy follows the romantic escapades of Camille (Jeanne Balibar), an actress who returns to Paris for the first time in three years to star in a play directed by her Italian lover, Ugo (Castellitto). But then she meets up with an old flame, Pierre (Bonnaffe), and sparks of attraction begin to fly between them once again. Meanwhile, Ugo flirts with a romantic dalliance of his own as he attempts to seek out a lost manuscript with the aid of bewitching young student Dominique (de Fougerolles). Rivette's deft interweaving of the characters' exploits is set against beautiful Parisian locations, which, together with sparkling performances, make for an engaging tale of enormous wit and charm. - Director:
- Jacques Rivette
- Cast:
- Jeanne Balibar, Sergio Castellitto, Marianne Basler
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Four Days in France (2016)Jours de France
Disillusioned with his life in Paris, Pierre Tomas (Pascal Cervo) drops everything to travel through France. Via phone numbers written in bathroom stalls, coincidental rendezvous, and Grindr, a smartphone app, Pierre never ceases to find a parking spot for the car he so dearly maneuvers. As he wanders the country for four days and four nights, his lover, Paul (Arthur Igual), will try to find him, using the same app that compasses Pierre. In a game of absurdist cat and mouse, these two lovers try, in their own ways, to find their way back to one another. - Director:
- Jérôme Reybaud
- Cast:
- Pascal Cervo, Arthur Igual, Fabienne Babe
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Clara (Sonia Braga), a 65 year old widow and retired music critic, was born into a wealthy and traditional family in Recife, Brazil. She is the last resident of the Aquarius, an original two-story building, constructed in the 1940s, in the upper-class, seaside Avenida Boa Viagem, Recife. All the neighbouring apartments have already been acquired by a company which has other plans for that plot. Clara has pledged to only leave her place upon her death, and will engage in a cold war of sorts, a confrontation which is both mysterious, frightening and nerve-wracking. This tension both disturbs Clara and gives her that edge on her daily routine. It also gets her thinking about her loved ones, her past and her future. - Director:
- Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Cast:
- Sonia Braga, Maeve Jinkings, Irandhir Santos
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Face/Off (1997)Face Off
To avenge the senseless murder of his son, FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) undergoes a radical new surgery allowing him to switch faces with the comatose terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) and assumes Sean's identity, the real Sean is thrust into an unimaginable nightmare, fighting not only for his life but also those of his wife and daughter! - Director:
- John Woo
- Cast:
- John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen
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The Wailing (2016)Goksung
In this critically acclaimed and incredibly tense supernatural thriller, a foreigner's mysterious appearance in a quiet village causes suspicion among the locals - suspicion which quickly turns to hysteria, as the residents begin killing each other in brutal outbursts, seemingly without motive. As the hopelessly out-of-depth investigating officer watches his daughter fall under the same savage spell, he agrees to consult a shaman for answers - unknowingly escalating the situation. - Director:
- Hong-jin Na
- Cast:
- Jun Kunimura, Jung-min Hwang, Do Won Kwak
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In a small German town in 1919, Anna (Paula Beer) repeatedly visits the grave of her fiance, Frantz (Anton von Lucke), who was killed in battle during World War I. One day she spies a mysterious young Frenchman Adrien (Pierre Niney), also laying flowers at the grave. She enquires about his business there and he explains he was a friend of Frantz. The pair become increasingly close and Anna becomes more and more intrigued by Adrien's history with her fiance. Long buried secrets are revealed that will illuminate unknown areas of their past lives and impact their future ones in a wearied and battle-scarred Europe. At once graceful and gripping, 'Frantz' is an intimate and timely exploration of healing and forgiveness across European borders. - Director:
- François Ozon
- Cast:
- Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Ernst Stötzner
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The Age of Shadows (2016)Secret Agent
During the Japanese occupation, a group of freedom fighters smuggle explosives to destroy facilities controlled by the Japanese forces. A group of resistance fighters led by the leader's second in command try to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul. It's a game of cat-and-mouse as it's up to a Korean-born Japanese police officer to infiltrate the resistance at all costs by befriending an antique dealer who's involved in the plot but never exposed. - Director:
- Jee-woon Kim
- Cast:
- Byung-hun Lee, Yoo Gong, Kang-ho Song
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A mysterious nanny, who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that were hidden in storage lockers and discovered decades later, is now considered among the twentieth century's greatest photographers. Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her. - Director:
- John Maloof
- Cast:
- Vivian Maier, John Maloof, Daniel Arnaud
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It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee (newcomer Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend (James Ransone) hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra (newcomer Mya Taylor), embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity. - Director:
- Sean Baker
- Cast:
- Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian
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Vengeance Is Mine (1979)Fukushû suru wa ware ni ari
Unfolding through multiple flashbacks, Ogata delivers a career-defining performance as a day-labourer and smalltime con-artist who, after killing two of his co-workers, embarks on a psychopathic spree of rape and murder. Eluding the police and public, Japan's infamous "King of Criminals" passes himself off as a Kyoto University professor, only to become entangled with an innkeeper and her perverted mother....Five years in the making, Vengeance Is Mine transcends the limitations of run-of-the-mill criminal studies by presenting a portrait of a killer imbued with a poignant, tragic banality. - Director:
- Shôhei Imamura
- Cast:
- Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako
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The Salesman (2016)Forushande
The future looks promising for amateur actors Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) as they prepare for opening night on their production of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman'. However, when dangerous work on a neighbouring building forces the couple to leave their home and move into a new apartment, a case of mistaken identity sees a shocking and violent incident throw their lives into turmoil. What follows is a series of wrong turns that threaten to destroy their relationship irreparably. Academy-Award winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) returns with 'The Salesman', a characteristically taut drama exploring how unexpected cracks can form in the foundations of a seemingly happy marriage. - Director:
- Asghar Farhadi
- Cast:
- Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi
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