np1's - Favourites List
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"Toni Erdmann" is a touching and remarkably funny portrait of an offbeat father-daughter relationship. Sandra Huller plays Ines, a highly-strung career woman whose life in corporate Bucharest takes a turn for the bizarre with the arrival of her estranged father Winfried (Peter Simonischek). An incessant practical joker, Winfried attempts to reconnect with Ines by introducing the titular eccentric alter ego to catch her off guard, unaware of how capable she is of rising to the challenge... This breakout German comedy, which has been met with universal critical acclaim, is as humanist as it is absurdist - a film about the importance of celebrating the humour of the everyday. - Director:
- Maren Ade
- Cast:
- Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn
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City of God (2002)Cidade de Deus
Welcome to the world's most notorious slum: Rio de Janeiro's 'City of God'. A place where combat photographers fear to tread, where police rarely go, and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. This is the true story of a young man who grew up on these streets and whose ambition as a photographer is our window in and ultimately may be his only way out. - Director:
- Fernando Meirelles
- Cast:
- Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele
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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
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Faces Places (2017)Visages, Villages
Iconic film maker Agnes Varda and photographer JR share a passion for images and how they're created, displayed and shared; Varda through cinema. JR through his emotionally arrested outdoor installations. Inspired by this connection, they set out in JR's photo booth-enhanced truck, exploring the villages and small towns of rural France and meeting its humble residents - all the while creating large-scale portraits plastered across unconventional locations. What follows is a heart-warming insight into unnamed communities, documented here in Varda's typically playful and tender manner. A Cannes Film Festival award-winner and Oscar nominee, 'Faces Places' is a deeply charming and life-affirming look at not only the subtle power of community, but the inspiration that comes from the most cross-generational of friendships. - Director:
- Jr.
- Cast:
- Agnès Varda, Jr., Jeannine Carpentier
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Downfall (2004)Der Untergang
Set in Berlin, 1945, this powerful and provocative war drama retells the final days of the Second World War as recorded in the diaries of Adolf Hitler's private secretary, Traudl Junge, while barricaded with Hitler and his closest confidants in the Fuhrer's secret bunker. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel with an astonishing performance by Bruno Ganz as history's most notorious figure, this unprecedented and controversial insider's perspective is a gripping insight into the madness and desperation of Hitler in the final hours of the war as the Russian Army closes a ring around Berlin. - Director:
- Oliver Hirschbiegel
- Cast:
- Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes
- Formats:
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BlacKkKlansman (2018)Black Klansman
From visionary filmmaker Spike Lee comes the incredible true story of an American hero. In the early 1970's, Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) becomes the first African-American detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a difference, he bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. He recruits a seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation. Together, they team up to take down the extremist organisation aiming to garner mainstream appeal. 'BlacKkKlansman' offers an unflinching, true-life examination of race relations in 1970's America that is just as relevant in today's tumultuous world. - Director:
- Spike Lee
- Cast:
- John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier
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Michael Palin's latest voyage of discovery sees him venture into territory once forbidden - the new Europe previously shrouded behind the Iron Curtain. Now the Iron Curtain has lifted and the Cold War is over; Michael can enjoy a new freedom to roam unhindered across an unexplored swathe of his own continent. - Director:
- Roger Mills
- Cast:
- Michael Palin, Dan Badarau, Clara Jacobs
- Formats:
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Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) and her sister Sole (Lola Duenas) are visited by the apparition of their Mother (Carmen Maura), who has returned to reconcile with her daughters and resolve an issue that has haunted the family since her death. In Pedro Almodovar's latest critically-acclaimed film, the living and deceased co-exist without discord, creating a filmic experience which is at once hilarious and yet filled with a deep, genuine emotion. VOLVER is a film about life in Almodovar's native La Mancha; a film about the way the presence of the dead continues to add richness and humanity to the lives of those they leave behind. - Director:
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast:
- Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas
- Formats:
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Parasite (2019)Gisaengchung
Kim Ki Taek's (Song Kang Ho) family are all unemployed and living in a squalid basement. When his son, Ki Woo, gets a tutoring job at the lavish home of the Park family, the Kim family's luck changes. One by one they gradually infiltrate the wealthy Park's home, attempting to take over their affluent lifestyle, but as their deception unravels events begin to get increasingly out of hand in ways you simply cannot imagine. - Director:
- Joon-Ho Bong
- Cast:
- Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo
- Formats:
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At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers - Blake's own brother among them. - Director:
- Sam Mendes
- Cast:
- Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
- 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
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Untouchable (2011)Intouchables
An irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility. Based on a true story of friendship between handicapped millionaire (Francois Cluzet) and his street smart ex-con caretaker (Omar Sy), "Untouchable" depicts an unlikely camaraderie rooted in honesty and humour between two individuals who, on the surface, would seem to have nothing in common. - Director:
- Olivier Nakache
- Cast:
- François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny
- Formats:
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The Lives of Others (2006)Das Leben Der Anderen
In this outstanding psychological and political thriller, we get a fascinating insight into the lengths and depths that the East European government went to in order to keep tabs on the lives of its population in 80's. When cold and brutal official Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is given the task of spying on acclaimed playwright Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his actress girlfriend, he relishes the task, knowing that if he uncovers subversive behaviour he will gain favor with his boss. But the longer he listens in on the couple, their friendships, passions and ideas, the more he realises that his own life and the harsh political regime are lacking in color and joy in many respects. Slowly he begins to doubt morality of is job and politics. As the lines between orders and compassion become blurred, Wiesler becomes more involved with his subject, walking a dangerous path between his duty and his new found reality. - Director:
- Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Cast:
- Ulrich Mühe, Klaus Münster, Martina Gedeck
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