m-balsara's - Rented List

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Driving across endless miles of rugged landscape, a family navigates a long road trip alongside a range of conflicting emotions. Dad's (Mohammad Hassan Madjooni)'s got a broken leg and a mood to match whilst Mum (Pantea Panahiha) fusses over her two children and their pet dog.

And when he's not drawing on the car windows, their energetic youngest son (Rayan Sarlak) couldn't be louder as he sings along to the car radio whilst his elder brother (Amin Simiar) tries to concentrate on the road ahead. As the journey twists and turns and their destination draws ever closer, the chaotic claustrophobia in the car grows as does the love and affection they have for each other. Accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack, Panah Panahi's thrilling debut feature is a treasure; tender, quirky, and laugh-out-loud funny. Get ready to take an unmissable journey along the dusty road of life.

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Independent cinema darling and Cannes Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker Lola Cuevas (Penelope Cruz) is approached by ageing business mogul Humberto Suarez (Jose Luis Gomez) to make a film that he hopes will be his legacy for the world.

Intended as an adaptation of a much-loved literary work, Cuevas has more experimental intentions than some turgid piece of heritage cinema. Given carte blanche over the casting she pits acclaimed but stiflingly snobbish 'Actor' Ivan Torres (Oscar Martinez) against handsome but superficial screen icon Felix Rivero (Antonio Banderas), believing that the inevitable tension between the two can only help the film's dynamic. She couldn't be more right, as the three gather lora nine-day rehearsal that sees each pushed to their wits' end and underpins Cuevas' belief that art is suffering.

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"Brian and Charles" follows Brian (David Earl), a lonely inventor in rural Wales, who spends his days building quirky, unconventional contraptions that seldom work. Undeterred by his lack of success, Brian attempts his biggest project yet.

Three days, a washing machine, and various spare parts later, he's invented Charles (Chris Hayward), an artificially intelligent robot who learns English from a dictionary and has an obsession with cabbages. What follows is a humorous and entirely heartwarming story about loneliness, friendship, family, finding love, and letting go.

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The stunning debut from Scottish writer-director Charlotte Wells, 'Aftersun' juxtaposes a hopeful coming-of-age story with a poignant, intimate family portrait that leaves an indelible impression.

At a fading vacation resort in the late 1990's, 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum (Paul Mescal). As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie's tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father, she knew with the man she didn't, in Charlotte Wells' superb and searingly emotional debut film.

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"Saint Omer" follows novelist Rama (Kayije Kagame) who attends the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter.

As the legal proceedings move forward, the words of the accused along with witness testimonies begin to shake Rama's convictions and call into question both her judgement and that of the viewer. Featuring an array of outstanding performances, 'Saint Omer' is a riveting and utterly unmissable courtroom drama from acclaimed filmmaker Alice Diop.

From director-writer-producer Todd Field comes Tar, starring Cate Blanchett as the iconic musician, Lydia Tar. The film examines the changing nature of power, its impact and durability in our modern world.

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Two women, Janis (Penélope Cruz) and Ana (Milena Smit), meet in a hospital where they are about to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, has no regrets and is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared and repentant.

Janis tries to encourage her as they move like sleepwalkers through the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between them, which by chance will develop and complicate, changing their lives in a decisive way.

This epic drama explores the life and music of Elvis Presley as seen through the prism of Presley's complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

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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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A fast drop and a sudden stop awaits Becky (Grace Fulton) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) as they find themselves trapped 2,000 feet up an abandoned radio tower in the desert. Highly trained and resourceful, these climbers were still not ready for every eventuality.

A series of unfortunate events see their gear and supplies taken from them and as temperatures rise and vultures begin to circle, the chance of survival begins to fall rapidly.

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Abby (Frances McDormand) is cheating on her bar owner husband, Marty (Dan Hedaya) with Ray (John Getz) one of the bartenders. Marty uncovers their sordid affair and is so enraged by their deceit that he hires Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), an unscrupulous detective, to kill both of them.

Unbeknown to Marty, Visser has other, more lucrative plans of his own. So begins a calculating round of lies and deceit that build to a chilling, suspense filled climax.

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From writer-director Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) comes a unique film starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

Although Padraic (Farrell) and CoIm (Gleeson) have been lifelong friends, they find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, bringing alarming consequences for both of them.

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What happens when an object of suspicion becomes a case of obsession? When detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) arrives on the murder scene, he begins to suspect the dead man's wife Seo-rae (Tang Wei) may know more than she initially lets on.

But as he digs deeper into the investigation, Hae-joon finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire, proving that the darkest mysteries lurk inside the human heart.

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Emma Thompson plays Nancy Stokes, a retired school teacher yearning for some adventure, and some sex. And she has a plan, which involves hiring a young sex worker named Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack).

As Nancy embarks on a post-marital sexual awakening and Leo draws on his skills and charm, together they find a surprising human connection.

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CoIm Bairead's beautifully understated feature debut finds a young girl coming to terms with loss and the importance of family in rural Ireland. Cait (Catherine Clinch), a quiet, neglected young girl, is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with relatives for the summer.

At first intimidated by her new environment, she quickly blossoms in the care of Eibhlin (Carrie Crowley) and her farmer husband, Sean (Andrew Bennett). As this new home becomes an idyll for her, Cait senses that something is plaguing her new foster parents - an unspoken pain that Eibhlin and Sean never discuss, which Cait's youthful curiosity begins to uncover.