mwdw's - Rented List
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Burnt by the Sun (1994)Utomlennye solntsem
It's 1936 and respected hero of the Bolshevik Revolution Colonel Sergei Kotov (Nikita Mikhalkov) is living an idyllic life in the Russian countryside with his wife Maroussia (Ingeborga Dapkunaite) and daughter Nadia (Nadia Mikhalkova). One glorious summer's day his serenity is interrupted by the arrival of the mysterious Dimitri (Oleg Menshikov), a former lover of Maroussia who had disappeared from her life ten years earlier. With songs and stories their new guest charms everyone but Kotov soon begins to suspect more sinister motives for his re-appearance. Set against the growing threat of Stalin's regime of terror, Nikita Mikhalkov's poignant, Oscar-winning him lingers in the memory long after viewing. - Director:
- Nikita Mikhalkov
- Cast:
- Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Oleg Menshikov
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Army of Shadows (1969)L'armée Des Ombres
Melville's most personal film, rooted in his wartime experiences in the French Resistance, Army Of Shadows is a hard, tense drama, depicting man's capacity for both bravery and evil. In the winter of 1942-1943, as France exist s under German occupation, an underground cell operates in the shadows. In the clandestine world of the Resistance, the freedom fighters work against their enemies under the constant risk of betrayal, ordinary men and women in an extraordinary situation. Suffused throughout with a mood of foreboding, the suspense, heightened with directorial mastery, reaches its peak as the Resistance attempt to free a prisoner from the Gestapo headquarters, in one of Melville's trademark set-pieces of iconic action. - Director:
- Jean-Pierre Melville
- Cast:
- Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel
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The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)Die Ehe der Maria Braun
Maria and Hermann Braun marry in Germany close to the end of World War II but are shortly separated. Just after being sent to the Russian Front, Hermann is reported missing and, although Maria believes he is still alive, her brother in law, just returned from a POW camp in Russia, confirms his death. Alone, Maria uses her beauty and ambition to prosper in Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s. 'The Marriage of Maria Braun' is heartbreaking study of a woman picking herself up from the ruins of her own life, as well as a pointed metaphorical attack on a society determined to forget its past. - Director:
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Cast:
- Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny
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After being released from prison, Berlin street musician Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S.) finds himself lost in a world where he simply doesn't belong. So along with his prostitute girlfriend (Eva Mattes) and an eccentric neighbor (Clemens Scheitz), Stroszek moves to America, where he's told, everyone is rich. It doesn't take long, however, after moving into a mobile home and taking a job as a mechanic, for Stroszek to realize that the streets of Railroad Flats, Wisconsin aren't paved with gold. - Director:
- Werner Herzog
- Cast:
- Bruno S., Eva Mattes, Clemens Scheitz
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Who You Think I Am (2019)Celle que vous croyez
To spy on her younger ex-lover, divorcee Claire (Juliette Binoche) creates a fake profile on social media. Posing as a 24-year-old named Clara, Claire becomes entangled with her ex's friend Alex who is instantly enamored. Riding a wave of self-discovery but confined to her avatar, Claire falls madly in love with Alex. Although everything is played out in the virtual world, the feelings that blossom become very real. As Clara and Alex's virtual lives grow, Claire's reality begins to hang by a thread as her web of lies starts to unravel. - Director:
- Safy Nebbou
- Cast:
- Juliette Binoche, Nicole Garcia, François Civil
- Formats:
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Bacurau (2019)Nighthawk
"Bacurau" is a wild, genre-blending siege thriller from Kleber Mendonga Filho (Aquarius, Neighbouring Sounds) and Juliano Dornelles. Set in the remote back-country of Brazil, it follows a tight-knit village community's bloody and brutal fight for its own survival. With unforgettable turns from Udo Kier and Sonia Braga, this is an audacious, original and spectacularly violent blend of neo-Western, revenge thriller and political allegory. - Director:
- Juliano Dornelles
- Cast:
- Barbara Colen, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira
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Home from Home: Chronicle of a Vision (2014)Die andere Heimat - Chronik einer Sehnsucht
In "Home From Home: Chronicle of a Vision" filmmaker Edgar Reitz continues the journey through German history which began with the celebrated Heimat trilogy, returning to the fictional village of Schabbach to depict the story of the Simon family's ancestors. Jakob, like most young men, has dreams. However, his are a little bigger than many of his companions' living in a small rural village in 19th century Germany. He wishes to join the hundreds of thousands that are emigrating Europe for the distant and mythical realms of South America. But his brother's return from military service throws Jakob's life into disarray and he must choose between his dreams of escape and his love for a gem cutter's daughter. - Director:
- Edgar Reitz
- Cast:
- Jan Dieter Schneider, Antonia Bill, Maximilian Scheidt
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Failed comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) encounters violent thugs while wandering the streets of Gotham City dressed as a clown. Disregarded by society Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as Joker in director Todd Phillips' thrilling origin story. - Director:
- Todd Phillips
- Cast:
- Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
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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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In the Fade (2017)Aus dem Nichts
Katja's (Diane Kruger), life is torn apart when her husband and young son are suddenly killed in a bomb attack. A police investigation point to a pair of young neo-Nazis as the key suspects, but a lack of evidence fails to fully incriminate them, Katja is forced to take matters into her own hands and her hunt for justice begins to take increasingly dangerous and unexpected turns. - Director:
- Fatih Akin
- Cast:
- Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto, Numan Açar
- Formats:
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Kuma (2012)The Second Wife
Ayse, a 19-year-old girl from the Turkish countryside, is chosen to be married to the handsome Hasan, son of formidable and house proud mother Fatma, who resides in Vienna with her husband and children. However, what soon becomes apparent is that Ayse is to be second wife to Fatma's husband. This tight-knit family go to great lengths to preserve traditional values, and although polygamy is illegal in Austria, Ayse is welcomed. Yet, her presence in a country whose language and culture is entirely foreign to her immediately marks her as an outsider.
As Western societal norms and Muslim religious beliefs draw closer together in an ever diversifying family unit, tensions arise, resulting in an explosive stroke of fate.- Director:
- Umut Dag
- Cast:
- Nihal G. Koldas, Begüm Akkaya, Vedat Erincin
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On Body and Soul (2017)Teströl és lélekröl
Two introverted people, both workers in a meat-processing plant - one a world-weary financial director, the other a strict quality controller - find out by chance that they share the same dream every night. They are puzzled, incredulous and frightened. As they begin to accept this strange coincidence, they try to recreate in broad daylight what happens in their shared subconscious. - Director:
- Ildikó Enyedi
- Cast:
- Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki
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"My Rembrandt" is set in the world of the Old Masters and offers a mosaic of gripping stories in which unrestrained passion for Rembrandt's paintings leads to dramatic developments and unexpected plot turns. While art collectors such as Eijk and Rose-Marie de Mol van Otterloo, the American Thomas Kaplan and the Scottish Duke of Buccleuch show us their special connection with 'their' Rembrandt, French baron Eric de Rothschild puts two Rembrandts up for sale, triggering a hard political battle between the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre. The film also follows aristocratic Dutch art dealer Jan Six as he seems to be on the trail of not just one but two 'new' Rembrandt paintings. This nerve-wracking journey of discovery seems to be the realisation of his biggest boyhood dream. - Director:
- Oeke Hoogendijk
- Cast:
- Jan Six, Duke of Buccleuch, Eric de Rothschild
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Beanpole (2019)Dylda
1945, Leningrad. World War II has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Although the siege - one of the worst in history - is finally over, life and death continue their battle in the wreckage that remains. Two young women, lya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) and Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina), search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins. - Director:
- Kantemir Balagov
- Cast:
- Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina, Andrey Bykov
- Formats:
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In Her Hands (2018)Au bout des doigts / In Your Hands
Music is Mathieu's (Jules Benchetrit) secret. It's something he doesn't dare discuss with the gang he hangs out with in the projects, where he's from. But when one of their petty burglaries almost lands him behind bars, the National Music Conservatory's director, Pierre Geithner (Lambert Wilson), gets him out in exchange for community service. But Pierre has something else in mind...Having detected in Mathieu the potential to become a great pianist, he signs him up to the national piano competition. As Mathieu enters a new world, whose codes and etiquette he doesn't know, he is taught by the uncompromising "Countess" (Kristin Scott Thomas) and meets Anna (Karidja Touré), with whom he falls in love. To succeed at this competition, which will determine all their destinies, Mathieu, Pierre and the Countess will have to learn how to transcend their prejudices... - Director:
- Ludovic Bernard
- Cast:
- Lambert Wilson, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Jules Benchetrit
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