mwdw's - Rented List
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Young and Beautiful (2013)Jeune and Jolie
Whilst on holiday with her family, seventeen year old Isabelle (Marine Vacth) experiences her first sexual relationship with an attractive young man. A few days later, and for no apparent reason, Isabelle casts him aside and behaves as if their encounter never happened. When she returns home to Paris, Isabelle begins a dangerous new career; she sets up a profile on an escort website and lies about her age in order to make appointments with older, wealthy clients in chic, expensive hotel rooms. On one hand she is a cool professional, catering to the sexual whims of the various men she encounters; on the other she is maintaining the illusion of being a regular school student for her parents and friends. However her double life spirals out of control, and she is forced to deal with the consequences of what she has been doing. - Director:
- François Ozon
- Cast:
- Marine Vacth, Géraldine Pailhas, Frédéric Pierrot
- Formats:
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The Music Lovers (1971)Opus 74 / The Lonely Heart
Composer Peter Tchaikovsky (Richard Chamberlain) abandons his intimate friend, Count Chiluvsky (Christopher Gable), when Madame Von Meck (Izabella Telezynska) sponsors him after she hears him perform his First Piano Concerto. A tortured man, unhappy except in his music, Tchaikovsky marries Nina Milukova (Glenda Jackson), a passionate, neurotic girl. When he is unable to fulfill the demands of matrimony, his tensions become so great that he attempts suicide and has a nervous breakdown. Nina's world also falls apart, and she deteriorates into madness and ends in an asylum. Tchaikovsky recuperates at a country estate of Madame Von Meck. The two correspond, but never meet. At a great party, which she gives in his honor Count Chiluvsky appears, and when Tchaikovsky rebuffs him, he tells Madame Von Meck the truth about her protege. Madame Von Meck immediately servers all connections with the composer. Tchaikovsky is hurt, but continues to compose and conduct throughout the world. World fame does not ameliorate his unhappy state. At the age of 53, after composing his "requiem," his Pathetique Symphony, he deliberately drinks water contaminated with cholera germs. A few days later he is dead. Decades later, his music still lives. - Director:
- Ken Russell
- Cast:
- Richard Chamberlain, Glenda Jackson, Max Adrian
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Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) has spent forty years sacrificing her own talent, dreams and ambitions to support her charismatic husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) and his stellar literary career. Ignoring infidelities and excuses made in the cause of his art, she has put up with his behaviour with undiminished grace and humour. The foundations of their marriage have, however, been built upon a set of uneven compromises and Joan has reached a turning point. On the eve of Joe's Nobel Prize for Literature, the crown jewel rewarding a spectacular body of work, Joan will confront the biggest sacrifice of her life and some long-buried secrets. 'The Wife' is a poignant, funny and emotional journey, a celebration of womanhood, self-discovery and liberation... - Director:
- Björn Runge
- Cast:
- Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Max Irons
- Formats:
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In a small German town in 1919, Anna (Paula Beer) repeatedly visits the grave of her fiance, Frantz (Anton von Lucke), who was killed in battle during World War I. One day she spies a mysterious young Frenchman Adrien (Pierre Niney), also laying flowers at the grave. She enquires about his business there and he explains he was a friend of Frantz. The pair become increasingly close and Anna becomes more and more intrigued by Adrien's history with her fiance. Long buried secrets are revealed that will illuminate unknown areas of their past lives and impact their future ones in a wearied and battle-scarred Europe. At once graceful and gripping, 'Frantz' is an intimate and timely exploration of healing and forgiveness across European borders. - Director:
- François Ozon
- Cast:
- Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Ernst Stötzner
- Formats:
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Farewell (2009)L'affaire Farewell
In 1981, disenchanted with what the communist ideal has become, KGB Colonel Grigoriev decides to change the world by passing on secret documents to Pierre, a French engineer working in Moscow. With Pierre acting as a go-between, the valuable documents find their way into the hands of France's President Mitterrand and the French Secret Service, who give the Moscow source the codename 'Farewell'. Based on a true story, Farewell reveals one of the most astounding espionage cases to come out of the Cold War. - Director:
- Christian Carion
- Cast:
- Guillaume Canet, Emir Kusturica, Alexandra Maria Lara
- Formats:
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Everybody Knows (2018)Todos lo saben
Laura (Penelope Cruz) and her children travel from Buenos Aires to the small Spanish village where she was born to attend her sister's wedding. Unexpected events soon lead to a crisis that exposes the family's hidden past. Suspicions mount, loved ones begin to turn on one another, and dark secrets long hidden threaten to come to light, revealing shocking truths. - Director:
- Asghar Farhadi
- Cast:
- Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darín
- Formats:
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In the late 19th century in rural Vietnam, fourteen-year-old May (Nguyen Phuong Tra My) is given away in an arranged marriage and becomes the third wife to her older husband. May learns that she can gain status and security if she gives birth to a male child. This becomes a real possibility when she gets pregnant. However, her path is fraught with danger when May starts to develop an attraction for Xuan (Mai Thu Huong Maya), the second wife. As May observes the unfolding tragedy of forbidden love and its devastating consequences, she must make a choice, to either carry on in silence and safety, or forge a way towards personal freedom. - Director:
- Ash Mayfair
- Cast:
- Long Le Vu, Mai Thu Huong Maya, Nguyen Phuong Tra My
- Formats:
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Under the direction of new editor Marty Baron the team of tenacious investigative journalists at 'The Boston Globe' known as 'Spotlight' begin to delve into allegations of abuse within the Catholic Church and the wilful ignorance of those in power who have done nothing to stop it. Facing political opposition and resistance from the far-reaching influences of the Church and government, the reporters put together an explosive expose revealing that the truth is much darker than they could have ever imagined. - Director:
- Tom Mccarthy
- Cast:
- Mark Ruffalo, Edward Brickley, Richard Jenkins
- Formats:
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Capernaum (2018)Capharnaüm / Chaos
Forced to live by his wits in order to survive, Zain's life in Beirut reaches a turning point when his parents make an unforgiveable deal that will see his younger sister (Haita 'Cedra' Izzam) married off. Left distraught by this terrible turn of event he takes to the road and whilst looking for work at a fairground, befriends a young woman who is working as a cleaner and helps to look after her adorable baby Jonas (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole). Zain (Zain Al Rafeea) and Jonas form a touching bond but things are about to get much more complicated when a set of circumstances force Zain to make choices that will have huge ramifications. 'Capernaum' is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit - a battle cry for the forgotten, the unwanted and the lost that offers hope in the most unexpected of places. - Director:
- Nadine Labaki
- Cast:
- Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole
- Formats:
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Vienna, winter. Johann, a guard at the grand Kunsthistorisches Art Museum encounters Anne, a foreign visitor called to Austria because of the poor health of a friend. Never having been to Austria and with little money, she wanders the city in limbo, taking the museum as her refuge. Johann, initially wary, offers help, and they're drawn into each other's worlds. Their meetings spark an unexpected series of explorations - of their own lives and the life of the city, and of the way artworks can reflect and shape daily experience. - Director:
- Jem Cohen
- Cast:
- Steve Crilley, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Bobby Sommer
- Formats:
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Happy as Lazzaro (2018)Lazzaro Felice
Lazzaro (talented newcomer Adriano Tardiolo) is a beautiful peasant whose sweet nature makes people mistake him for simple-minded. He happily does the bidding of anyone in his local village, which is ruled over by the evil Marchesa (Nicoletta Braschi). He finds an unlikely friend in the Marchesa's petulant son Tancredi (Tommaso Ragno / Luca Chikovani), who convinces his hapless ally to help him stage a dramatic incident to secure a ransom. 'Happy as Lazzaro' follows the adventures of this young man living on the margins of his society, who can seemingly travel through time, arriving in the big city and appearing as a fragment of the past lost in the modern world. - Director:
- Alice Rohrwacher
- Cast:
- Adriano Tardiolo, Agnese Graziani, Alba Rohrwacher
- Formats:
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When Pigs Have Wings (2011)Das Schwein Von Gaza / Le Cochon De Gaza
Jafaar, a Palestinian fisherman, seems to be the unluckiest man in Gaza. Swallowed up by debt and watching his neighbours reel in huge catches of fish whilst his net always turns up empty, he is desperate for a change of fortune. One day his prayers are finally answered, but Jafaar ends up with more than he bargained for when he looks into his net to find not fish, but a giant pot-bellied pig! With possession of the animal banned by both government and religion, Jafaar embarks on a hilarious quest to try and rid himself of the animal whilst keeping its existence hidden from the authorities, but not without trying to make some money first... - Director:
- Sylvain Estibal
- Cast:
- Sasson Gabai, Baya Belal, Myriam Tekaïa
- Formats:
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Shoplifters (2018)Manbiki Kazoku
After a successful shoplifting spree, Osamu (Lily Franky) and his son rescue a little girl in the freezing cold and invite her home with them. Osamu's wife Nobuyo (Sakura Ando) reluctantly agrees to shelter her. Although the family is poor, they live happily together until an unforeseen incident upsets the delicate balance they have created, revealing long-buried secrets... - Director:
- Hirokazu Koreeda
- Cast:
- Rirî Furankî, Sakura Andô, Mayu Matsuoka
- Formats:
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Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as Lisa Spinelli, a kindergarten teacher and poet fed up with her career, her oblivious husband and teenage kids who largely ignore her. When she discovers that a five-year-old in her class may be a poetic prodigy, Lisa becomes fascinated and tries to protect him from neglectful parents. She soon finds herself risking her career and family to nurture his talent. - Director:
- Sara Colangelo
- Cast:
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gael García Bernal, Ato Blankson-Wood
- Formats:
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Burning (2018)Beoning
Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, this critically acclaimed South Korean film tells the story of Jongsu (Ah-in Yoo), a part-time worker who bumps into old neighbour Haemi (Jong-seo Jun). She asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Kenya, but when she returns, Haemi introduces Ben (Steven Yeun) to Jongsu. One day, Ben visits Jongsu with Haemi and confesses his own secret hobby. - Director:
- Chang-dong Lee
- Cast:
- Ah In Yoo, Steven Yeun, Jong-seo Jeon
- Formats:
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