skc's - Favourites List

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A fascinating fusion of narrative and documentary from Clio Barnard, The Arbor tells the powerful true story of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar (The Arbor, Rita, Sue and Bob Too) and her daughter Lorraine.

Dunbar wrote honestly and unflinchingly about her upbringing on the Buttershaw Estate, in Bradford. When she died, tragically at the age of 29 in 1990, Lorraine was just ten years old. The Arbor catches up with Lorraine in the present day, also at 29: ostracised from Buttershaw and her family. Through compelling interviews we learn that Lorraine sees her mother as a destructive force, whom Lorraine blames for all that is wrong in her life. Through interviews with other members of the Dunbar family, we see a contrasting view of Andrea, in particular from Lorraine's younger sister Lisa. Using actors to seamlessly lip-sync the words of real-life subjects, the film presents a contrasting and not always flattering view of Dunbar. The Arbor is a compelling and essential work, offering evidence that Barnard is clearly an important new voice in British Cinema.

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Career-soldier Wilhelm, his pacifist younger brother Friedhelm, and their friends Charlotte, Viktor and Greta say farewell in the summer of 1941 in Berlin, with the promise to meet again after the war.

Wilhelm and his brother have been ordered to the eastern front, Charlotte will join them as a nurse in a field hospital there. In Berlin, Greta makes a name for herself as a singer, with the help of a high-ranking party official. Her Jewish boyfriend, Viktor is despatched to a concentration camp in the east. Little do they know how much the unfathomable experiences, deprivations and terrors of the war will change them. It is the experiences of friendship and betrayal, belief and disappointment, illusion and insight, guilt and responsibility that will change their lives forever.

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Doctor Gemma Foster's life is about to be torn apart. She's a talented family doctor at the heart of her community, a loving wife and mother, a woman people can trust. But her world is fractured the moment she suspects her husband, Simon, of having an affair. Determined to discover the truth.

Gemma (Suranne Jones) unearths dark secrets that threaten everything she loves. As her life and the lives of her patients and family are thrown into chaos, only one thing is certain - Gemma will find herself behaving in ways she could never have imagined...

When 15 year-old Steve is thrown out of a juvenile centre, his single mother Diane takes on the daunting task of home schooling her troubled son. Struggling to make ends meet and rocked by Steve's livewire temperament, a shy, reclusive neighbour may prove to be the duo's unlikely saviour.

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Hubert Minel doesn't love his mother. The seventeen-year-old regards her with haughty contempt, and sees only her tacky sweaters, kitsch decorations and the breadcrumbs that get stuck on the corners of her lips when she munches.

In addition to these irritating surface details, there are also the cherished family mechanisms of manipulation and guilt. Confused by a love/hate relationship which obsesses him more and more each day, and desperate to escape the suffocating atmosphere of his mother's working-class, suburban home, Hubert drifts through the mysteries of an adolescence both marginal and typical: artistic discoveries, illicit experiences, the opening-up to friendship, sex, and ostracism.

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"Tramontane", literally one who lives on the other side of the mountain, tells the story of Rabih (Barakat Jabbour), a blind musician searching for his true identity after discovering his identification card is a forgery.

His search leads him to the far fringes of rural Lebanon, where he is confronted with varying recollections of the past from significant figures in his life. Rabih represents a generation blinded by the civil war period, who are struggling to repair the divisions that still exist in post-conflict Lebanon. An understated and lyrical debut from Vatche Boulghourjian brought alive by an outstanding natural performance from real-life blind musician Barakat Jabbour, making for a truly immersive and affecting experience.

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The story unfolds on land, sea and air, as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk with enemy troops closing in. RAF Spitfires engage the enemy in the skies above the Channel, trying to protect the defenseless men below.

Meanwhile, hundreds of small boats manned by both military and civilians are mounting a desperate rescue effort, risking their lives in a race against time to save even a fraction of their army.

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A Monster Calls is a spectacular story of one boy's journey for hope and courage.

With his mother (Felicity Jones) fighting a life-threatening illness and his strict grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) imposing new rules on his life, 12-year-old Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is faced with a future beyond his control. Confused, angry, and alone, he immerses himself in a fantastical world of his own creation where he meets an ancient and giant creature known as 'The Monster' (Liam Neeson) who helps Conor to confront his nightmares.

A murdered girl's defiant mother (Frances McDormand) boldly paints three local billboards, each with a controversial message, igniting a furious battle with a volatile cop (Sam Rockwell) and the town's revered chief of police (Woody Harrelson).

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It's the summer of 1983 in Italy, and Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17-year-old, spends his days in his family's villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel).

One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio's father, an eminent professor. Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.

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Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) and Boris (Aleksey Rozin) are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations.

Already embarking on new lives, each with a new partner, they are impatient to start again, to turn the page - even if it means threatening to abandon their 12-year-old son Alyosha (Matvey Novikov). Until, after witnessing one of their fights, Alyosha disappears.

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The life of two brothers is shattered by the sudden appearance of their father, whom they know only from a 10 year old photograph.

Is he really their father? Why has he come back after so many years? The boys find some answers on a remote and desolate island travelling with this man who turned their lives upside down.

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The new film from Andrey Zvyagintsev, the visionary director of "The Return" and "The Banishment", tells the tragic tale of Kolya, who employs a lawyer friend to help fight his case for ownership of the land on which he and his family live when the nefarious town mayor attempts to seize it.

But standing up against such men begins a whirlwind of dire consequences, infusing every area of Kolyas life and all he holds dear. A visually arresting epic which takes an unflinchingly direct look at modern day Russia and the corruption that seethes in even its quietest corners, "Leviathan" will not only open your eyes but also stay in your mind for years to come.

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After tragedy forces young Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) to assume Wakanda's throne, he is faced with the ultimate test, putting the fate of his country and the entire world at risk.

Pitted against his own family, the new king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and embrace his future as an Avenger.

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"Boys on Film" comes of age with ten uplifting and powerful tales recounting the lives of everyday heroes with no special powers except striving for their own identities and fighting for the right for us all to be ourselves.

Daniel (UK, 2015)

Daniel is studying in London while working part-time as an escort. He is invited to a lunch by his best friend Nori. She surprises everyone by introducing her new lover Tom, with unforeseen consequences.
Buddy (The Netherlands, 2015)
When a young man is asked by his ex lover to support him during an HIV test, he sees an opportunity to find out if there is still a chance for reconciliation.
Half a Life (Egypt, Indonesia, USA, Netherlands, 2017)
Pairing the intimate narration of a young, Egyptian gay activist with a highly stylized animation, 'Half a Life' brings the streets of Cairo to life through this firsthand account of the increasingly oppressive social climate of Egypt.
Undress Me (Sweden, 2013)
When Micke meets Mikaela on a night out, he is immediately attracted to her, as he can sense that there's something different about her. When Mikaela explains that she is trans he gets confused, aggressive and also curious. 'Undress Me' examines and challenges our perceptions of gender.
The Colour of His Hair (UK, 2017)
Based on an unrealised film script written in 1964, when homosexuality is still illegal, 'The Colour of His Hair' merges drama and documentary into an impressionistic meditation on queer life before and after the partial legalisation of homosexuality in 1967.
Silly Girl (UK, 2016)
'Silly Girl' is all about the first time you are noticed, that first time someone sees you for who you are and the transformative nature of that moment. From the Director of 'The Levelling' and co-written by Game of Thrones' Ellie Kendrick.
An Evning (Denmark, 2016)
Frederik has had sex for the first time with Mathias, his friend from school. Whilst Mathias embraces what they have done and is keen to move forward, Frederik struggles to understand his own feelings and his newfound desire for Mathias.
Aids: Doctors and Nurses Tell Their Stories (UK, 2017)
For the first time, doctors and nurses who cared for Britain's first AIDS patients in the 1980's tell of the extraordinary situation they found themselves in and the rules they had to break to help patients forgotten by the state.
It's Consuming Me (Germany, 2012)
From the director of B. A young man obsesses over his ex-lover as he takes us through a collage of memories, the highs and lows of their relationship and images of his ex-boyfriend's new life with his new lover.
Mother Knows Best (Sweden, 2016)
Starring Alexander Gustavsson from Girls Lost. A mother gives her teenage son some friendly advice on their way home from having met his boyfriend for the first time, but this innocent conversation leads to revelations that threaten to completely change their relationship. Winner of Iris Prize 2017.