dmb's - Rented List
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The Intruder (2004)L'Intrus
Sidney Trebor (Gregoire Colin) cuts an enigmatic figure; an emotionally distant man who prefers the company of his dogs. His contact with other people is limited to an affair with a local pharmacist (Bambou) and a wordless attraction to a beautiful and equally aloof dog breeder (Beatrice Dalle). An ailing heart forces Trebor have a black-market transplant. He recovers and travels to the bustling shipyards of Pusan in Korea, buys a boat and voyages south to his former home on a remote island near Tahiti. Here, he searches for the lost son he fathered years before. However he is uncertain of the welcome he will receive after all these years. - Director:
- Claire Denis
- Cast:
- Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Yekaterina Golubeva
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Jacobo is a man of dull routine who arrives each day at his run-down sock factory at the same early hour as his faithful assistant, Marta. When his socially adept brother, Herman, pays an unexpected visit, the introverted Jacobo prefers to lie rather than admit his bachelor status, asking the dour but obliging Marta to pose as his wife. The ruse works well enough until Herman invites them on a seaside trip where the strain of the pretence and old sibling rivalries lead to a comically uncomfortable series of events. - Director:
- Juan Pablo Rebella
- Cast:
- Andrés Pazos, Mirella Pascual, Jorge Bolani
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An Autumn Tale (1998)Conte d'automne
Rohmer's light-hearted comedy, set amongst the vineyards of the Rhone Valley, concludes his film cycle 'The Tales Of The Four Seasons'. Best friends Magali, a widow, and Isabelle, a happily married bookshop owner, have known each other since childhood. Although Magali enjoys her life as a winegrower, she admits she would relish some male companionship: a confession that prompts Isabelle to secretly find her a man. After placing a lonely hearts ad, Isabelle chooses a suitor, but finds that things don't quite go according to plan... - Director:
- Eric Rohmer
- Cast:
- Marie Rivière, Béatrice Romand, Alain Libolt
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Look at Me (2004)Comme Une Image
'Look At Me' is a witty story of friendship, ambition and betrayal in the Parisian literary world. The central figure is Lolita Cassard, a self-concious 20-year-old, who worries about her figure. She would love to be considered 'beautiful' in the eyes of her father, renowned author Etienne Cassard. Another writer, Pierre Miller, is becoming disillusioned with his work as he doesn't believe he'll ever become successful. His wife, Sylvia, believes in Pierre's talent, but doubts her own teaching abilities, until she discovers that her pupil is the daughter of her favourite author, Etienne Cassard... - Director:
- Agnès Jaoui
- Cast:
- Marilou Berry, Alexandra Rübner, Jean-Pierre Bacri
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Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring (2003)Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
On a lake set in a valley in the depths of the mountains sits an isolated dwelling. Here, a Buddhist monk and his young apprentice live in harmony with nature. As the seasons change and the years pass, the carefree child apprentice becomes a young man filled with desire. Despite the continuing wisdom that his master imparts, the young man finds he is emotionally unprepared for the arrival of a young woman. Dealing with feelings of guilt and jealousy, he is forced to confront a darker side of his nature and, resolving to cleanse himself, he serves a penance in the form of a religious mantra. Later, as winter comes and death makes way for new life, the man prepares to take on the role of teacher... - Director:
- Ki-duk Kim
- Cast:
- Ki-duk Kim, Yeong-su Oh, Jong-ho Kim
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Days of Being Wild (1990)A Fei jingjyuhn
Hong Kong 1960: York is a vain, amoral sexual predator abandoned in his childhood. In his youth he drifts through a series of casual friendships and affairs with one purpose, to discover the identity of his natural mother. She has long since moved to the Philippines and his foster mother refuses refuses to tell him. As one of York's lovers courts a policeman and they instigate a passing romance, York travels to the Philippines in search of the truth. - Director:
- Kar-Wai Wong
- Cast:
- Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau
- Formats:
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A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)Janghwa, Hongryeon
Following the death of their mother, sisters Su-mi and Su-yeon are sent to convalesce in a mental hospital. When they are released, they are greeted by their father and taken home. Once there, it becomes obvious that this isn't the wholesome family unit that the girls' new step mother wishes it was. On their first night home disturbing and seemingly unexplainable events - footsteps on the stairs, doors opening of their own accord - begin to occur, and strange hallucinations plague the family. It soon becomes impossible to tell whether it is the sisters' unstable mental health, the cruel mind games played by the step mother, or the dark presence of a supernatural force which is at work within the house. - Director:
- Jee-woon Kim
- Cast:
- Kap-su Kim, Jung-ah Yum, Su-jeong Lim
- Formats:
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Uzak (2002)Distant
Nuri Bilge Ceylan's critically acclaimed film tells the story of middle-aged photographer Mahmut, who is obliged to put up in his Istanbul apartment his unemployed young cousin Yusuf, who has left his home village in search of work. Haunted by the feeling that the gap between his life and his ideals is growing. Mahmut grows increasingly irritated by his provincial young relative's encroachment into his closed and colourless world. With great wit and subtlety, 'Uzak' explores the isolation of city life and features outstanding performances from Muzaffer Ozdemir as Mahmut and Mehmet Emin Toprak as Yusuf. Tragically, Toprak was killed in a car accident shortly after completion of filming; he posthumously won, jointly with Ozdemir, the Best Actor prize at Cannes in 2003. - Director:
- Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Cast:
- Muzaffer Özdemir, Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer
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The Return (2003)Vozvrashcheniye
The life of two brothers is shattered by the sudden appearance of their father, whom they know only from a 10 year old photograph. Is he really their father? Why has he come back after so many years? The boys find some answers on a remote and desolate island travelling with this man who turned their lives upside down. - Director:
- Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Cast:
- Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko
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Festen (1998)Celebration
To celebrate his 60th birthday, family patriarch Helge Klingelfeldt throws a lavish dinner party for all his friends and family. After years of tense estrangement Helge is particularly anxious that his three children, Christian, Michael and Helene support the party's festive mood by parading an impression of a happy and loving family. However, th eldest son's speech serves only to expose a secret that descends the celebration into a tragic and heartbreaking night that will never be forgotten. - Director:
- Thomas Vinterberg
- Cast:
- Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen
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fter serving a five year sentence for a crime he didn't commit, a bitter, violence-prone Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo) is released from prison. Billy is hell-bent on convincing his dysfunctional parents that he is leading a respectable life and has spent the last five years doing top-secret CIA work. To back up his story, he impulsively kidnaps Layla (Christina Ricci) and forces her to pose as his girlfriend. Bizarrely, Layla takes to the role with a great enthusiasm, and remains alongside Billy as he tries to impress his parents and take revenge on those he blames for his prison term. Layla's understanding of the comical grimness of Billy's life leads him to explore new levels of redemption, acceptance and ultimately... love. - Director:
- Vincent Gallo
- Cast:
- Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara
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Time Out (2001)L'emploi du temps
Vincent (Aurelien Recoing) seems to contentedly spend weeks on the road, busy with business trips and meetings. He shares vague details with his loving wife, Muriel (Viard) and their three children. But Vincent's professional life is fiction. Unable to bear telling family and friends that he lost his consulting position weeks ago, he invents, in meticulous detail, a prestigious new job for himself in Geneva. But telling lies becomes a full-time occupation and, to maintain his lost income, he betrays even his friends in shady investment deals. All Vincent wanted was a release from a suffocating professional life, yet somehow allow his family's life to continue as before. Now, the ever-growing tension of Vincent's world is quickly closing in... - Director:
- Laurent Cantet
- Cast:
- Aurélien Recoing, Karin Viard, Serge Livrozet
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"2046" continues the story of Chow Mo Wan from Wong Kar-Wai's previous film, 'In the Mood for Love', a few years after his ephemeral affair with Maggie Cheung's Su Li-zhen. Set in late-1960's Hong Kong, Chow is now an out of work journalist and pulp fiction writer living in a cheap hotel. Bruised and battered by love, he pursues a playboy lifestyle of zero commitment and one-night stands. He develops a passion for a beautiful call girl (Zhang ZiYi), enjoys a breezy summer with the hotel manager's eldest daughter (Faye Wong), and happens across the path of a professional gambler (Gong Li) who he met in Singapore some years before. In the meantime, Chow works on a science fiction novel about a mysterious hi-tech train that transports people to the year 2046 to reclaim their lost memories. - Director:
- Kar-Wai Wong
- Cast:
- Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ziyi Zhang, Faye Wong
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Last Life in the Universe (2003)Ruang rak noi nid mahasan
Hiding from an unknown past, suicidal Japanese loner Kenji (Tadanobu Asano) seems destined for a premature rendezvous with oblivion when he meets Noi, a beautiful Thai party girl. Despite speaking different languages and barely able to communicate, Noi begins to seduce Kenji back into the chaos of life. - Director:
- Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
- Cast:
- Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Takashi Miike
- Formats:
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Red Lights (2003)Feux Rouges
On the hottest day of the year Antoine and Helene hit the road, destined for the south of France. The oppressive heat and traffic gridlock take their toll on Antoine's frazzled nerves and, as he attempts to cool off with one cold beer after another, tensions between the bickering couple are pushed to boiling point. As night draws in Antoine stops off at yet another bar but returns to the car to find Helene missing. Panic-stricken, he embarks on a desperate search, only to find events spiralling far beyond his control with horrifying consequences... - Director:
- Cédric Kahn
- Cast:
- Carole Bouquet, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Vincent Deniard
- Formats:
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