sog's - Rented List

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Inspired by true events, 'Play' is an acute observation based on real cases of bullying.

In a city, a group of boys aged between 12-14 robbed other children on about 40 separate occasions between 2006 and 2008, but instead of physical force used the 'brother trick' involving role play and psychological manipulation. A fascinating and disturbing account of how children can subvert a situation and by sheer authority lead others more vulnerable into dangerous territory.

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Oppressed by her family setting, dead-end school prospects and the boys law in the neighbourhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of three free-spirited girls. She changes her name, her style, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping that this will be a way to freedom.

As she falls further under their gang lifestyle, she begins to make foolish choices that could impact her life forever.

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Stalin Is Dead! And with The Soviet Union's top job now up for grabs, the men in Stalin's council are about to enter an 'interview' process unlike any other.

With the prospect of absolute authority over the nation within grasp, in the days that follow, devious plotting and farcical backs tabbing are fair play, and one man will emerge with supreme power over the USSR. The question is: who?

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Young and effervescent Murielle (Emilie Dequenne) has a promising future ahead of her when she falls in love with Mounir (Tahar Rahim). A wedding soon follows, and the happy couple quickly set about preparing to make a family.

However, with family come ties, and none come as tight as that between Mounir and his adoptive father (Niels Arestrup). As Murielle brings new life into the family, in the form of four children, frictions between Mounir and Doctor Pinget reach boiling point. Helpless to extract her husband and children from the wealthy nest that Doctor Pinget has provided for them, Murielle is drawn into an unhealthy family dynamic. Within this oppressive environment, Murielle becomes trapped and all sense of reasoning begins to abandon her.

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As the AIDS epidemic tears through their community, the members of ACT UP Paris are fighting for survival. One day, as outspoken radical Sean (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) strikes up a conversation with shy newcomer Nathan (Arnaud Valois), they have no idea that their lives are about to change forever.

From the writer of Palme d'Or winner 'The Class', Robin Campillo, and based on his own experiences, this vibrant and deeply emotional drama rushes with youthful energy, balancing powerful themes of social justice with euphoric moments of spine-tingling sensuality. Urgent and effecting, it's a film about life, death, passion, tragedy - and, above all, the will to survive.

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One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, 'Tabu' is a diptych starting off in present day Lisbon where Teresa Madruga gives a luminous performance as Pilar, a woman concerned about her neighbour Aurora's eccentricities. Finally Pilar meets Gian Luca, a figure from Aurora's past.

He starts his story and the film jumps back in time to colonial Africa, where he and Aurora had a passionate love-affair. This second part is made as a quasi-silent film, with no dialogue, just music and voice-over. Former film critic Miguel Gomes both uses and slyly comments on all the techniques of cinema to make a truly virtuoso film. With a soundtrack that ranges from Lisztian piano music to cover versions of Phil Spector. 'Tabu' is just a delight. Not to mention the sad and melancholy crocodile...

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Based on the international bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman and nominated for 2 Oscars (including Best Foreign Language Film), 'A Man Called Ove' is a heartwarming tale of unreliable first impressions and a wonderful reminder that life is sweeter when it's shared.

An ageing retiree with strict principles and a short fuse, Ove (Rolf Lassgard) is the quintessential angry old man next door. Having entirely given up on life, his days are spent in a constant monotony of enforcing housing association rules and visiting his wife Sonja's gravesite. But when a boisterous young family moves into the neighbourhood, immediately incurring his wrath, things take an unexpected turn. Pregnant Parvaneh (Bahar Pars) and her lively children are the complete antithesis of what ill-tempered Ove thinks he needs -and yet, from this inauspicious beginning an unlikely friendship blooms and Ove's past happiness and heartbreaks come to light.

'White God' is a stunning allegory of the oppressed few savagely fighting hack against their privileged abusers. When a new law is passed penalising non-pedigree dogs, legions of abandoned mongrels stage an apocalyptic uprising against their tormentors.

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This gripping and intelligent film by Stephane Brize is in the social realist tradition of the Dardennes and of Laurent Cantet, examining the dehumanizing effects of unemployment and also the workplace itself.

At the age of 51 and after twenty months of unemployment, Thierry (Vincent Lindon) starts a new job in security at a supermarket that soon brings him face to face with a moral dilemma. How much is he willing to accept in order to keep his hard-won job is the central question that Measure of a Man (La Loi du Marche) addresses.

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Nadezhda (Margita Gosheva) is an English teacher who also works as a translator to earn extra cash. Stunned by a theft by one of her students she is determined to find the culprit. But meanwhile her personal life is put under huge pressure.

A bailiff tells her that her house is about to be seized because of unpaid mortgage payments. Determined to keep the house, she will do everything she can to get the money before it is too late. Her personal and professional life converge as she wonders, whilst her options start to run out, whether to question the principles she teaches her students.

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Summer in the GDR, 1980. Barbara, a young doctor, is exiled to a provincial hospital, seemingly punished for attempting to leave East Germany.

Confined to a claustrophobic small town and under a constant veil of suspicion, she befriends no one, waiting patiently for the opportunity to resume her mission. When her new boss appears to confide in Barbara, she is thrown. Hers is a life in which the fear of surveillance is embedded in all personal relationships, and she doesn't know who to trust. Why has he covered for her and one of her patients? Torn between her instinct and her duty, the characteristically hyper-controlled Barbara begins to lose her grip on herself, her obligations and her heart.

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Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) dreams of becoming a professional boxer. When he is suddenly put in charge of his five year old son, he moves in with his sister for support. Whilst working as a nightclub bouncer, he meets the beautiful and confident killer whale trainer, Stephanie (Marion Cotillard).

He gives her his number, not expecting that she will ever call. After being the victim of a tragic accident, Stephanie surprisingly turns to Ali for support. These lost souls discover new meaning in life together when Ali enters the dangerous world of underground boxing.

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Elise (Veerle Baetens) and Didier (Johan Heldenbergh) have been together for seven passionate years but when their little girl Maybelle must face a serious illness, all the turning points in their intense and moving relationship seem to flash by.

They remember their love at first sight, courtship and passion, coming closer through their bluegrass music band, braving marriage, unexpected pregnancy and eventually the joy of parenthood after the birth of beautiful Maybelle. A complete circle of happiness for this very unconventional couple...
But as the stress and sorrow of Maybelle's treatment takes its toll, Didier and Elise begin to respond in different ways. They fight together for their child, as they hope love will not let them down when they need it most, but will love conquer fate?

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From legendary filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, 'Elle' is a gripping psychological noir thriller. Starring iconic actress Isabelle Huppert in a career-defining role, 'Elle' follows Michele LeBlanc (Huppert), founder and CEO of a successful video game company, who is attacked in her own home.

Upending our expectations, Michele begins to track down her assailant, and soon they are both drawn into a curious and thrilling game, one that at any moment may spiral out of control.

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Winner of the 2012 Golden Bear in Berlin, and marking a triumphant come-back for the Taviani brothers, this shows the creation of a performance of Julius Caesar by the inmates of Rome's high security Rebibbia prison that houses Mafia and Camorra members.

The political infighting of the play as interpreted by these tough men of honour who perform the play in their own dialects becomes both a many-layered exploration of the relationship between life and art and a moving and powerful rendition of the classic play.