monsieurk's - Rented List
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Day for Night (1973)La nuit américaine
At the Victorine Studios in Nice, a French movie-maker, Ferrand (Francois Truffaut) starts shooting his latest film: "Meet Pamela". As ever, this proves eventful from the outset: ups and downs on the shoot, actors whims, complicated love-lives and the producer putting on the pressure... Ferrand wonders whether his film will ever get made. In 'Day for Night', Truffaut provides the answer to the question asked by all film lovers "what goes on behind the cameras?". He films the shoot as it really is, straightforwardly, without artefacts, with honesty and accuracy, making it seem like a documentary. Often funny, sometimes tragic, 'Day for Night' is one of Truffaut's most autobiographical films and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1973. - Director:
- François Truffaut
- Cast:
- Jacqueline Bisset, Georges Delerue, Jean-Pierre Léaud
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Larks on a String (1969)Skrivánci Na Niti
Filmed in 1968 whilst Czechoslovakia enjoyed a brief moment of political liberalization, 'Larks on a String' is a searing political comedy from director Jin Menzel and writer Bohumil Hrabal. Like their earlier Oscar-winning triumph Closely Observed Trains, it audaciously combines black humour with grim reality. Set in a scrap metal yard where political dissidents are interned to be re-educated, the film is both a powerful critique of totalitarianism and a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. - Director:
- Jirí Menzel
- Cast:
- Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlastimil Brodský, Václav Neckár
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Tampopo (1985)Dandelion
The tale of an eccentric band of culinary ronin who guide the widow of a noodle-shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe, this rapturous "ramen western" by Japanese director Juzo Itami is an entertaining, genre bending adventure underpinned by a deft satire of the way social conventions distort the most natural of human urges - our appetites. Interspersing the efforts of Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) and friends to make her cafe a success with the erotic exploits of a gastronome gangster and glimpses of food culture both high and low, the sweet, sexy, and surreal 'Tampopo' is a lavishly inclusive paean to the sensual joys of nourishment, and one of the most mouthwatering examples of food on film ever made. - Director:
- Jûzô Itami
- Cast:
- Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto
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In Taipei City, a cavernous old picture palace is about to close its doors forever. A meagre audience, the remaining few staff, and perhaps even a ghost or two, watch King Hu's wuxia classic Dragon Inn - each haunted by memories and desires evoked by cinema itself. An exquisite, wryly funny and tender tribute to the experience of movie-going, Tsai Ming-Liang's poignant love letter to cinema is one of the most beguiling and beloved dramas of modern times and is now widely regarded as a classic. - Director:
- Ming-liang Tsai
- Cast:
- Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, Kiyonobu Mitamura
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Miracle in Milan (1951)Miracolo a Milano
The story follows Toto, a newborn discovered in a cabbage patch by an elderly woman. Made homeless as an adult he ends up in a shantytown, inspiring the other homeless to build new homes from scraps of wood and metal. When a rich reserve of oil is discovered beneath their town, a greedy landowner, Mobbi, tries to force Toto and his friends off the land. But when all looks lost he receives some magical help from the heavens above... - Director:
- Vittorio De Sica
- Cast:
- Emma Gramatica, Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa
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A Brighter Summer Day (1991)Gu ling jie shao nian sha ren shi jian
Among the most highly praised titles in all contemporary film, this singular masterpiece of Taiwanese cinema, directed by Edward Yang, was unavailable for years and much sought after. Set in the early 1960s, 'A Brighter Summer Day' is based on the true story of a crime that rocked Taiwan. A film of both sprawling scope and tender intimacy, this novelistic, patiently observed epic centers on the gradual but inexorable fall of a young teenager (Chang Chen, in his first role) from innocence to delinquency, and is set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil. - Director:
- Edward Yang
- Cast:
- Chen Chang, Lisa Yang, Kuo-Chu Chang
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Closely Observed Trains (1966)Ostre sledované vlaky
Milos Hrma, a bumbling dispatcher's apprentice at a village railway station in occupied Czechoslovakia, longs to liberate himself from his virginity. Oblivious to the war and the resistance that surrounds him, he embarks on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery, encountering a universe of frustration, eroticism, and adventure within his sleepy backwater depot. Milos becomes involved in a plot to blow up a German ammunition train, but when the plan backfires, he is forced to commit the ultimate act of courage. - Director:
- Jirí Menzel
- Cast:
- Václav Neckár, Josef Somr, Vlastimil Brodský
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Spirit of the Beehive (1973)El Espiritu De La Colmena
Made under the Franco regime, Victor Erice's astonishing 1973 feature debut is quite simply one of the most remarkable, influential and purely poignant films to emerge from the 1970's. A bona-fide classic of European cinema, the film brought Erice instant and widespread acclaim. An audacious critique of the disastrous legacy of the Spanish Civil War, The Spirit of the Beehive is set in a rural 1940's Spanish village haunted by betrayal and regret. Following a travelling cinema's screening of James Whale's Frankenstein, seven year-old Ana (the mesmerising Ana Torrent, later to grow into an international star of some standing) becomes fascinated with Boris Karloff's monster. Obsessed with meeting the initially gentle creation, she transfers her entrancement to tending a wounded army deserter. Atmospherically rendered by legendary Director of Photography Luis Cuadrado, it's impeccably performed by both Torrent and veteran actor Fernando Fernan Gomez in the role of her emotionally scarred, bee-keeping father. Existing in a highly evocative dreamlike state, it's a powerfully symbolic, richly allegorical tale that is as unique as it is beautiful. - Director:
- Víctor Erice
- Cast:
- Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent
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Paisà (1946)Paisan
Made in the aftermath of the Second World War, 'Paisa' is constructed as a series of six encounters which take place during the liberation of Italy as Allied troops advance through the country from Sicily to the northern Po Valley, via Rome and Florence. Shot on location using a non-professional cast alongside actors, the semi-documentary aesthetic and epic sweep of Paisa is both charming and devastating in its portrayal of the final days of war and the confusion that follows in its wake. - Director:
- Roberto Rossellini
- Cast:
- Carmela Sazio, Giulio Panicali, Gar Moore
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Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)Bad Day at Hondo
Folks in Black Rock have their own way of welcoming mysterious, one-armed stranger John J. Macreedy. He's welcome to leave. Or they'll make sure he leaves in a pine box. Two-time Academy Award winner Spencer Tracy plays World War II veteran Macreedy, who keeps his own counsel about why he's come to Black Rock and who keeps his wits about him when confronted with threats and violence. Director John Sturges ramps up the tension while revealing Macreedy's mission and the town's grim secret. Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin are among the town's thugs and lap dogs. - Director:
- John Sturges
- Cast:
- Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis
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In a future world that has been seemingly ravaged by war and poverty there exists a myth of hope among the people - a forbidden place known only as the Zone, the heart of which, if reached, grants one's innermost desires. Two men, a writer and professor, hire someone known as a Stalker; a guide who can navigate the treacherous and confounding path that leads to the centre of the Zone. 'Stalker' was instantly considered one of the most definitive artistic contemplations of human aspiration and the ambition we employ to achieve it. - Director:
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Cast:
- Alisa Freyndlikh, Sergey Yakovlev, Vladimir Zamanskiy
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Live-in nurse Maud (Morfydd Clark) arrives to help Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), a famous dancer now frail from illness in her grand, isolated house. Amanda is intrigued by the religious young woman, distracting her from her failing health, and Maud is bewitched by her patient, but she is not what she seems...Tormented by a violent secret from her past and ecstatic messages she believes are from God, Maud becomes convinced she was sent to Amanda not as a nurse, but as a divine saviour. As her grip on reality weakens, Maud is determined to save Amanda's soul, by any means necessary. - Director:
- Rose Glass
- Cast:
- Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Knight
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In this sparkling directorial debut from acclaimed screenwriter Gianni Di Gregorio he cast himself as a middle-aged son of an aging widow and encounters 24 hours of chaos in the company of her and a small group of senior citizens. Gregorio's part-autobiographical tale delves into the richness, vitality and strengths of the elderly and presents us with a fascinating and comical look of the ever too familiar relationship between a mother and her son. - Director:
- Gianni Di Gregorio
- Cast:
- Valeria De Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Calì
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Belleville Rendez-Vous (2003)The Triplets of Belleville / Les triplettes de Belleville
Noticing that here grandson, Champion, is a lonely little boy, Madame Souza buys him his first bicycle. Years go by, and with Madame Souza putting him through his paces, Champion becomes worthy of his name. Now, he is ready to enter the world's most famous cycling competition, the Tour de France. But, no sooner that the race has begun, two mysterious men in black kidnap him and it is up to Madame Souza and her faithful dog, Bruno, to rescue him, Soon, their quest takes them to a giant metropolis, called Belleville, where they encounter three eccentric female music hall stars of the 1930s and do battle with the evil French mafia. But can they rescue Champion? A visual treat for young and old alike, this stunning film has captured the imagination of audients the world over with its unique blend of classic animation and razor-sharp wit. - Director:
- Sylvain Chomet
- Cast:
- Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin
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About Elly (2009)Darbareye Elly
A gripping tale of secrets and lies amongst a tight-knit group of friends holidaying on the Caspian Sea. With an expertly paced narrative and an impressive ensemble cast, including Golshifteh Farahani, "About Elly" is a cinematic masterclass that works as both a thriller and a convicting character study. Intelligent, shrewd and meticulously crafted, "About Elly" confirms Asghar Farhadi's status as one of World Cinema's finest talents. - Director:
- Asghar Farhadi
- Cast:
- Golshifteh Farahani, Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti
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