Part biopic, part musical, part fantasy, 'Marvellous' tells the funny, moving and surprising true story of Neil Baldwin (Toby Jones), who refused to accept the label of learning difficulties and who carved out an extraordinary life as a circus clown, lay preacher, university welfare officer and kitman for Stoke City Football Club. Neil blazes a trail on a series of adventures - including setting up the Neil Baldwin Football Club with Gary Lineker as President, and meeting Tony Benn at the House of Commons. Even better, he fulfills a lifelong dream to work for his beloved Stoke City FC when he charms manager Lou Macari, who offers him a job as kit man. Director Julian Farino creates a film infused with the real Neil's indomitable spirit; featuring a real community choir, the actors' real life counterparts, and a beguiling blend of photomontage and social realism.
A modern-day Grapes of Wrath, Jesse Moss's award-winning documentary "The Overnighters" engages and dramatises a set of universal societal themes: the promise and limits of re-invention, redemption and compassion, as well as the tension between the moral imperative to "love thy neighbour" and the resistance that one small community feels when confronted by a surge of desperate, job-seeking strangers. In the tiny town of Williston, North Dakota, tens of thousands of unemployed hopefuls show up with dreams of honest work and a big paycheck under the lure of the oil boom. However, busloads of newcomers chasing a broken American Dream step into the stark reality of slim work prospects and nowhere to sleep. The town lacks the infrastructure to house the overflow of migrants, even for those who do find gainful employment. Pastor Jay Reinke of the Concordia Lutheran Church, is driven to deliver the migrants some dignity. Night after night, he converts his church into a makeshift dorm and counselling centre, opening the church s doors to allow the "Overnighters" (as he calls them) to stay for a night, a week or longer. Many who take shelter with Reinke are living on society s fringes and with chequered pasts, and their presence starts affecting the dynamics of the small community. When the City Council threatens to shut the controversial Overnighters program down, Reinke must make a decision which leads to profound consequences that he never imagined.
A taxi driver is driving through the streets of Tehran. Various passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being questioned by the driver who, it transpires, is no one else but the film director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his car transforms the space into a mobile film studio, and captures the spirit and contradictions of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive with a sting in its tail.
'Next Goal Wins' is an inspirational story about the power of hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. In 2001, the tiny Pacific island of American Samoa suffered a world record 31-0 defeat at the hands of Australia, garnering headlines across the world as the worst football team on the planet. A decade after that humiliating night, they remain rooted to the bottom of FIFA's World rankings, having scored only twice in seventeen years. Against this backdrop of serial underachievement, the team face the daunting prospect of a qualification campaign for the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It would take a miracle-maker or a madman to turn the team's fortunes around - and in maverick Dutch coach Thomas Rongen the islanders somehow find both. A film for non football lovers and football fans alike, 'Next Goal Wins' is a classic underdog story set amongst the beauty and tribal magic of the South Pacific.
Paul-Andre is a shy and introverted 40-something. He's rich but alone, fed up with life, and decides that what he needs is a family. Violette is also in her 40s and full of life, but money troubles mean that she could lose her home and even her family. Paul-Andre offers her a crazy deal - he rents her family in return for paying off her debts. He will finally be able to test out the true joy of family life...for better or worse!
The Onion Field tells the tragic true story of happenings in Los Angeles, 1963. Ian and Karl are two police officers. One night, on patrol duty, they are kidnapped by two petty thieves who drive them into the country and leave them in an onion field. Karl escapes, but Ian is shot for which the thieves are eventually arrested, tried and sentenced to death. When a successful appeal grants them a retrial and for seven years Karl is repeatedly called to the witness box, he becomes haunted by the nightmare of events that surrounded the onion field.
Margherita is a film director who quickly finds out that her lead Hollywood actor (John Turturro) is rather difficult to work with. If his demands weren't enough, her mother's health has recently declined and Maigherita struggles to find die balance and harmony between work and family life.
The ruthless director Helene Birk (Marina Hands) reigns over the prestigious haute couture fashion house led by the world-renowned designer Alicia Ricosi (Fanny Ardant). Following her recent breakup, creative block gets the better of Alicia. However, the timing could not be worse, with the deadline of her next collection around the corner; Helene must find a fast solution in order to help Alicia regain her creative mojo!
In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I, a young Bedouin boy, Theeb (Jacir Eid), embarks, uninvited but eager for adventure, on a perilous desert journey with his elder brother Hussein to guide a British officer Edward (Jack Fox) and his guide Marji to their secret destination. Immersed in a way of life that has endured for centuries, the brothers are unaware of the tremendous upheavals taking place at the fringes of their world: the First World War is raging, the Ottoman Empire is coming undone, the Great Arab Revolt is brewing, and the British officer T.E. Lawrence is plotting with Prince Faisal to establish an Arab kingdom. The ensuing journey, filled with danger and hardship, will result in Theeb's rapid growing-up. Shot entirely on location against the ravishing landscape of Wadi Rum in Jordan, (where David Lean shot Lawrence of Arabia) and cast with non-professionals from one of the last of Jordan's nomadic Bedouin tribes, 'Theeb' is a remarkable accomplishment, a genre-crossing blend of a coming-of-age drama and a western.
A colourful, fun and breezy take on sex and religion, Vinko Bresan's The Priest's Children is a comedy charmer. Though sex is at its heart, there is nothing too explicit about the going-on, and the picturesque Dalmatian island backdrop looks postcard perfect. Young Catholic priest Fabian (Kresimir Mikic) is sent to the tiny island to take over from elderly priest Jakov (Zdenko Botic) but the old man is so popular that locals lobby to have him stay on the island and take mass occasionally. Fabian is bemused by the lack of births on the island, until he discovers there is a roaring trade in under-the-counter condoms. Local tobacconist Petar (Niksa Butijer) admits to Fabian in confession that he is supplying the condoms, and Fabian convinces him that it would be God's will to start puncturing each condom packet. They are joined by local pharmacist Marin (Drazen Kuhn), who secretly replaces birth control pills with vitamins. Before long the birthrate - and marriage rate - on the island start increasing, with foreign TV crews even showing an interest in this island of love.
Desecrated graves, dead bodies dug up and left in model homes... Every time, the same ritual: a woman, a man, a teenager, who weren't related but who form a new family. Amid the bodies, a photo: the one of Paul Maisonneuve, a Crime Squad legend in the North of France, now retired but forced to return to duty. Who is digging up the bodies? Who is leaving them in model homes and why? Young female detective Sandra Winckler, in charge of the case, must work with Paul Maisonneuve to find out just who is behind these disturbing human tableaus. During her investigation, she will have to delve into Paul's past, always sensing that he is hiding something. Because that's where the truth must lie: somewhere in Paul's past. For the detective and the ex-cop, life will never be the same... For in the shadows is a man who will stop at nothing to satisfy his thirst for a long and drawn-out revenge...
Heinrich Himmler has gone down in history as one of the most evil minds to have ever lived due to his role as the key architect of the Final Solution. Until now, little has been known about his personal life but using recently discovered letters between Himmler and his wife, this startling documentary peels back a layer of mystery from the infamous figure. Vanessa Lapa reveals the stark contrast between the truth and its intentional shrouding by providing narration of Himmler's correspondence overlaid upon a frame by frame restoration of the footage depicting the grim reality.
May 1945: Stranded with her younger siblings after their Nazi parents are imprisoned during the dying days of World War II, the young Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) leads the remains of her family across war-torn Germany. Among the chaos of a defeated nation, Lore encounters Thomas, a young Jewish refugee who begins to follow and help them. Lore finds her fragile reality shattered by feelings of both hatred and desire for Thomas and, as the consequences of her parents' actions and beliefs slowly become apparent, she must begin to face the darkness within herself...
The last thing expected of Bruno Dumont was a comedy, yet with this absurdist policier set in his usual Northern France, he has achieved just that. Originally conceived as a four-part serial for TV, P'tit Quinquin is simultaneously slapstick, metaphysical and at times genuinely disturbing. Two spectacularly incompetent policemen investigate a series of grisly killings after the victims start to turn up stuffed inside farm animals. Observing their efforts is a band of young scamps, led by P'tit Quinquin, dedicated to causing havoc and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Dumont plays with the conventions of the genre - sensational death, red herrings, weird locals, and of course the two cops with their philosophical musings and catch phrases. The film has been much compared to Twin Peaks, though Dumont says he's never seen it, and to True Detective, but it is notwithstanding very much a work belonging to Dumont's unique universe.
For the Beliers their sixteen-year-old daughter Paula is a vital member of their eccentric clan. As the only non-deaf member of the family she acts as their ears and mouth. Family life is thrown into disarray however when Paula discovers an untapped gift for singing and with the encouragement of her music teacher decides to audition for the prestigious Maitrise de Radio France music college in Paris.
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