sog's - Rented List
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After her debut feature Wadjda (2012) broke new ground as the first-ever film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia - and the first made by a Saudi woman - director Haifaa Al Mansour returns to the kingdom with The Perfect Candidate. A determined young Saudi doctor's surprise run for office in the local city elections sweeps up her family and community as they struggle to accept their town's first female candidate. - Director:
- Haifaa Al-Mansour
- Cast:
- Mila Al Zahrani, Reema Mohammed, Dae Al Hilali
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"Jojo Rabbit" follows a lonely German boy Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided by his wildly idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism. - Director:
- Taika Waititi
- Cast:
- Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie-Harcourt, Scarlett Johansson
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Arriving in a small town after a tragic accident, a lawyer visits each member of the community to offer hope and promise financial compensation. But as he delves deeper into their grief he discovers layer upon layer of mystery and tragedy and soon finds himself face to face with his own inner demons... - Director:
- Atom Egoyan
- Cast:
- Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Caerthan Banks
- Formats:
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The County (2020)Héraðið
Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) runs a dairy farm with her husband in a remote valley of Iceland where they work long hours for a tight income due to their buyers, a money-grubbing monopoly known as the co-op. However, when Inga's husband tragically dies she learns her debts are even greater than she thought and takes it upon herself not to repay them but to expose the co-op's greed and corruption by any means necessary. - Director:
- Grímur Hákonarson
- Cast:
- Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann
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Never Look Away (2018)Werk ohne Autor / Work Without Author
"Never Look Away" tells the story of a young art student, Kurt (Tom Schilling) who falls in love with fellow classmate, Ellie (Paula Beer). Ellie's father, Professor Seeband (Sebastian Koch), a famous doctor, is dismayed at his daughter's choice of boyfriend, and vows to destroy the relationship. What neither of them knows is that their lives are already connected through a terrible crime Seeband committed decades before... - Director:
- Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Cast:
- Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer
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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)You Are My Friend / I'm Proud of You
Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood', a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer (Emmy winner Matthew Rhys) is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about kindness, love and forgiveness from America's most beloved neighbour. - Director:
- Marielle Heller
- Cast:
- Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper
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The Truth (2019)La Vérité
Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve), an ageing movie star, is about to publish her long-awaited memoirs. Sparks immediately fly when her daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche) returns to Paris from New York to confront this rose-tinted version of their family history. However, as the past is gradually addressed, their strained relationship takes a journey toward possible reconciliation. Also starring Ethan Hawke, 'The Truth' paints a moving portrait of family dynamics and human relationships. - Director:
- Hirokazu Koreeda
- Cast:
- Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke
- Formats:
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Multi-award-winning and hailed as one of the finest films of recent years, Pedro Costa's exquisite 'Vitalina Varela' follows the titular Vitalina, a woman left behind in Cape Verde when her husband leaves to find work in Portugal. Years later, she finally makes the journey to Lisbon herself but arrives three days after his funeral. Alone and isolated in her late husband's home, Vitalina is determined to persevere and confront the ghosts of the past. Haunting, strikingly visualised and marked by a towering central performance, 'Vitalina Varela' is an unforgettable modern masterwork. - Director:
- Pedro Costa
- Cast:
- Vitalina Varela, Ventura, Manuel Tavares Almeida
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Eleven-year-old tomboy Toni (a showstopping Royalty Hightower) is bewitched by the tight-knit dance team she sees practicing in the same Cincinnati gymnasium where she boxes. Enamored by the power and confidence of the strong community of girls, Toni spends less and less time boxing with her older brother, and instead eagerly absorbs the dance routines and masters drills from a distance, and even pierces her own ears in an effort to fit in. But when a mysterious outbreak of fainting spells plagues the team, Toni's desire for acceptance becomes more complicated. Gorgeously shot and with a mesmerizing score, "The Fits" is a transformative experience and a marvelous portrait of adolescence. - Director:
- Anna Rose Holmer
- Cast:
- Royalty Hightower, Alexis Neblett, Antonio A.B. Grant Jr.
- Formats:
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An astonishing portrait of youth on the American fringe, 'American Honey' is told through the eyes of a vivacious teenage rebel who joins a group of fellow misfits hustling and partying their way across the country. Bursting with electric, primal energy, 'American Honey' is an immersive, exhilarating odyssey of heartbreaking beauty - a generation-defining film that celebrates the defiant resilience of youth in pursuit of the American Dream. - Director:
- Andrea Arnold
- Cast:
- Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough
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Set in 1970's Santa Barbara, '20th Century Women' is the story of Dorothea (Annette Bening), a single mother, and her son Jamie, as he comes of age at a time brimming with cultural change and rebellion. As life challenges both of them in new ways, Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women in Jamie's upbringing; Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a free-spirited punk artist living as a lodger in their home, and Julie (Elle Fanning), a savvy and provocative teenage neighbour. - Director:
- Mike Mills
- Cast:
- Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig
- Formats:
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In this funny, uplifting tale based on an actual lie. Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that, although the whole family knows their beloved matriarch, Nai-Nai. has been given mere weeks to live, everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself. To assure her happiness, they gather under the joyful guise of an expedited wedding, uniting family members scattered among new homes abroad. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, she finds there's a lot to celebrate: a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother's wondrous spirit, and the ties that keep on binding even when so much goes unspoken. With 'The Farewell', writer/director Lulu Wang has created a heartfelt celebration of both the way we perform family and the way we live it, masterfully interweaving a gently humorous depiction of the good lie in action with a richly moving story of how family can unite and strengthen us. often in spite of ourselves. - Director:
- Lulu Wang
- Cast:
- Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo
- Formats:
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In Rebecca Miller's witty romantic comedy, Maggie (Greta Gerwig) is a vibrant New Yorker, who without success in finding love, decides to have a child on her own. But when she meets John Harding (Ethan Hawke), an anthropology professor and struggling novelist, she falls in love for the first time. Complicating matters, John is in an unhappy marriage with Georgette (Julianne Moore), an ambitious academic who is driven by her work. With some help from Maggie's eccentric best friends, married couple Tony (Bill Hader) and Felicia (Maya Rudolph), Maggie sets in motion a new plan that intertwines their lives and connects them in surprising and humorous ways. - Director:
- Rebecca Miller
- Cast:
- Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore
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In the sublime new film from Jim Jarmusch, Adam Driver gives a career-best performance as Paterson, a bus driver in the New Jersey city of the same name. He's also a poet, recording his daily observations and thoughts into a notebook. Paterson thrives on routine: he drives his bus route, he goes home for dinner with his wife Laura (Golshifteh Farahani), he walks his dog, he visits his local bar for one beer. By contrast Laura's world is ever-changing, with new projects and ideas striking her daily. The film quietly observes the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details. - Director:
- Jim Jarmusch
- Cast:
- Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Nellie
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So Long, My Son (2019)Di jiu tian chang
Wang Xiaoshuai's deeply moving and intimate drama traces the lives of two interconnected families over three decades of social and political upheaval in China. The film charts the fortunes of factory workers Liyun (Yong Mei) and Yaojun (Wang Jingchun), a couple reeling from a devastating family tragedy during the tumultuous years between the 1980's and the 21st century. Constricted by the one-child national policy, their lives are gradually transformed under the impact of the country's changing identity, building to a heartbreaking revelation that exposes how political reality affects the fates of the family and the people around them. A cleverly poetic depiction of communist China, 'So Long, My Son' is a sprawling yet personal portrait of human resilience, featuring incredibly tender and award-winning performances from Mei and Jingchun. - Director:
- Xiaoshuai Wang
- Cast:
- Liya Ai, Jiang Du, Zhao-Yan Guo-Zhang
- Formats:
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