maggs's - Rented List
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Benedetta (2021)Blessed Virgin
From renowned provocateur Paul Verhoeven, 'Benedetta' is a subversive erotic drama based on the true story of a 17th century nun entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair. Virginie Efira stars as the titular Benedetta, a nun whose religious fervor begins to manifest in increasingly sensual and violent visions of Jesus. These hallucinations arouse the suspicions of Charlotte Rampling's shrewd abbess, Sister Felicita, whose distrust grows when a farm girl called Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia) enters the convent seeking refuge, and quickly develops an attraction to Benedetta. Verhoeven's intoxicating latest is a transgressive and alluring look at faith, power and religion, and is every bit as scandalous as you would expect from the controversial filmmaker. - Director:
- Paul Verhoeven
- Cast:
- Virginie Efira, Charlotte Rampling, Daphne Patakia
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Set in the glamour of 1950's post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the centre of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock's life until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by the scariest curse of all...love. And so begins a Gothic Romance of twists, turns and power struggles of "pure, delicious pleasure" that is "devilishly funny and luxuriantly sensuous". - Director:
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast:
- Vicky Krieps, Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville
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In 1961, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), a 60 year old taxi driver, stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery's history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly - he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge - Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage - how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale. - Director:
- Roger Michell
- Cast:
- Jim Broadbent, Heather Craney, Stephen Rashbrook
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"Benediction" explores the turbulent life of First World War poet Siegfried Sassoon (Peter Capaldi / Jack Lowden). Having survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War, he was decorated for his bravery and became a vocal critic of the government's continuation of the war when he returned from service. His poetry was inspired by his experiences on the Western Front and he became one of the leading war poets of the era. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London's literary and stage world, Sassoon embarked on affairs with several notable men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality. At the same time, broken by the horror of war, his life became a quest for salvation, trying to find it within the conformity of marriage and religion. His is the story of a troubled man in a fractured world, searching for peace and self acceptance, something which speaks as meaningfully to us in the modern world as it did then. - Director:
- Terence Davies
- Cast:
- Kate Phillips, Tom Blyth, Jack Lowden
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Drive My Car (2021)Doraibu mai kâ
Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'Drive My Car' is a masterful, moving and multi-award winning film based on a short story by Haruki Murakami. When the wife of Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a stage actor and director, suddenly passes away, she leaves behind a secret. Two years later, Kafuku meets Misaki (Toko Miura), a reserved young woman assigned to be his chauffeur on a work trip to Hiroshima. As they spend time together, Kafuku confronts the mystery of his wife that quietly haunts him. - Director:
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
- Cast:
- Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima
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Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons star as two separate pairs of lovers in this engaging and beautiful visualized film. As Mike and Anna, two film actors involved in a tumultuous affair, and Charles and Sarah, the star-crossed Victorian lovers whom the actors portray, Streep and Irons are at their compelling best. Just as his character Charlie's reputation is ruined by the enigmatic Sarah, Mike finds he cannot accept the intangible affections of the wily Anna. The skilful interweaving of these two love stories - one period, one contemporary - yields a fascinating insight into the passion and mystery that can pull two people together...and just as easily tear them apart. - Director:
- Karel Reisz
- Cast:
- Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae
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Happening (2021)L'événement
France, 1963. Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) is a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her. But when she falls pregnant, she sees the opportunity to finish her studies and escape the constraints of her social background disappearing. With her final exams fast approaching and her pregnancy progressing, Anne resolves to act, even if she has to confront shame and pain, even if she must risk prison to do so. - Director:
- Audrey Diwan
- Cast:
- Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet Klein, Luàna Bajrami
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The Audition (2019)Das Vorspiel
Alexander (Ilja Monti) auditions at a prestigious Berlin music school. The vote is split, but Anna Bronsky (Nina Hoss) insists she can train him. Her obsessive quest begins to draw out of him the unique sound she believes he possessed in his audition. However, Alexander does not respond well to her increasingly strict and regimented approach. She is also invited to join a quintet, but is reluctant to perform in concert and her eventual participation leads to an exceptionally embarrassing experience. Anna is pushed over the edge and doubles down on Alexander. Come the day of his exam, events take a tragic turn. - Director:
- Ina Weisse
- Cast:
- Nina Hoss, Sophie Rois, Thorsten Merten
- Formats:
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The Worst Person in the World (2021)Verdens verste menneske
Acclaimed filmmaker Joachim Trier returns with 'The Worst Person in the World', a wistful and subversive romantic drama about the quest for love and meaning. Set in contemporary Oslo, it features a star-making lead performance from Renate Reinsve as a young woman who, on the verge of turning thirty, navigates multiple love affairs, existential uncertainty and career dissatisfaction as she slowly starts deciding what she wants to do, who she wants to be, and ultimately who she wants to become. As much a formally playful character study as it is a poignant and perceptive observation of quarter-life angst, this life-affirming coming of age story... - Director:
- Joachim Trier
- Cast:
- Renate Reinsve, Mia McGovern Zaini, Anders Danielsen Lie
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Austrian filmmaker, architect and experimental artist Gustav Deutsch reproduces 13 of American painter Edward Hopper's oil paintings on film in 'Shirley: Visions of Reality', connecting them through the fictitious story of a red-haired New York actress through the years 1931-63. Shirley's reflective and contemplative inner monologues cover her involvement in three decades of political, social and cultural upheaval that changed a country and its people forever. Pearl Harbour and WWII, the atomic bomb and the "conquest of space", McCarthyism and the Cold War, the assassination of JFK and the start of the Vietnam War, Billie Holiday and the Southern blues, Elvis Presley and rock n' roll, and finally Martin Luther King and the March on Washington. Presented as a series of nearly static tableaux's, with stunning cinematography from Jerzy Palacz, 'Shirley: Visions of Reality' is an experimental tour-de-force. - Director:
- Gustav Deutsch
- Cast:
- Jeff Burrell, Stephanie Cumming, Christoph Bach
- Formats:
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Battle of Leningrad (2019)Saving Leningrad / Spasti Leningrad
Dunkirk meets titanic in this gripping true story about the barge 752' tragedy during WWII. September 1941. A barge evacuating people from sieged Leningrad, gets caught in a dramatic and violent storm. Terrified and fighting for life, the boat's 1,000 evacuees descend even further in to hell , when, instead of rescuers, the boat is targeted and attacked by Nazi war planes. 'Battle of Leningrad' is a charged look at the true violence and tragedy of World War II. - Director:
- Aleksey Kozlov
- Cast:
- Andrey Mironov-Udalov, Maria Melnikova, Anastasiya Melnikova
- Formats:
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The Portuguese Nun (2009)A Religiosa Portuguesa
One of the most critically acclaimed films of 2011 tells the story of Julie, a young French actress shooting a film in Lisbon about a 17th Century nun who is seduced by a soldier. Among the city's enigmatic and transient inhabitants, she encounters a young Nun and the exchange between the two women changes Julie's destiny forever. This absorbing drama is the fourth film by the acclaimed New York-born filmmaker Eugene Green and his first to be released in the UK. - Director:
- Eugène Green
- Cast:
- Leonor Baldaque, Beatriz Batarda, Camané
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Inseparable sisters raised in a small town on the Irish border, Lauren (Nora-Jane Noone) and Kelly's (Nika McGuigan) lives were shattered with the mysterious death of their mother. Left to pick up the pieces after her sister abruptly disappeared, Lauren is suddenly confronted with the family's dark and traumatic past when Kelly returns home after being reported missing for a whole year. With the intense sisterhood reignited, Kelly's desire to unearth their history is not welcomed by all in the small town, as rumours and malice spread like wildfire, threatening to push them over the edge. - Director:
- Cathy Brady
- Cast:
- Nora-Jane Noone, Nika McGuigan, Kate Dickie
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Paris, 13th District (2022)Les Olympiades, Paris 13e
Set in the French capital's 13th arrondissement, where a predominantly East Asian community resides, Audiard's passionate romance charts the interwoven relationships between four twenty-somethings, played by Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Jehnny Beth and Noemie Merlant. 'Paris, 13th District' is a modern story of love and life, reflecting the shifting attitudes towards identity and fidelity. - Director:
- Jacques Audiard
- Cast:
- Sacha Petronijevic, Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba
- Formats:
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Parallel Mothers (2021)Madres Paralelas
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. - Director:
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast:
- Pedro Casablanc, Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit
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