susan's - Rented List
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After the Storm (2016)Umi yori mo mada fukaku
Author turned private detective, Ryota (Hiroshi Abe), struggles to make ends meet as he flitters away all the money he earns on gambling, barely able to pay child support for his son. After his father passes away his mother (Kiki Kirin) seems to have moved on, but family tensions are high with both Ryota and his sister believing each other is taking advantage of their mother. When a typhoon hits, holed-up in his mother's house with his estranged wife and son, Ryota attempts to rekindle his relationships with his family. A sensitive and powerful story of family ties remade, 'After the Storm' stands with the best of Kore-eda's work. - Director:
- Hirokazu Koreeda
- Cast:
- Hiroshi Abe, Yôko Maki, Satomi Kobayashi
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Mountains May Depart (2015)Shan He Gu Ren
Jia Zhangke's eighth feature is an intimate yet epic drama spanning several decades which charts the impact of China's move towards capitalism on the lives of one family. Divided into three parts (set in 1999, 2014 and Australia in 2025), 'Mountains May Depart' follows the life of Shen Tao (played by Jia's regular collaborator Zhao Tao) and her family through 26 tumultuous years. Perhaps his most ambitious film yet, Jia's film is an astute, humane study of how the emergent culture of capitalist materialism and the forces of globalisation have impacted on Chinese society and family life. - Director:
- Zhangke Jia
- Cast:
- Tao Zhao, Yi Zhang, Jing Dong Liang
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Director Mike Nichols brings Patrick Marber's highly acclaimed theatrical tour de force Closer to the screen. An uncompromisingly honest look at modern relationships, Closer is the story of four strangers (Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen) - their chance meetings, instant attractions and brutal betrayals. - Director:
- Mike Nichols
- Cast:
- Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen
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Claire Foy stars in a new Dragon Tattoo story as Lisbeth Salander, the highly-skilled vigilante from the acclaimed Millennium book series. Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cyber-criminals and corrupt government officials, as they race to rescue a dangerous program capable of global destruction held by shadowy figures linked to Lisbeth's past. - Director:
- Fede Alvarez
- Cast:
- Claire Foy, Beau Gadsdon, Sverrir Gudnason
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Eastwood stars as Earl Stone, a man in his 80's who is broke, alone and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he's just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. And even as his money problems become a thing of the past, Earl's past mistakes start to weigh heavily on him, and it's uncertain if he'll have time to right those wrongs before law enforcement or the cartel's enforcers catch up to him. - Director:
- Clint Eastwood
- Cast:
- Clint Eastwood, Patrick L. Reyes, Cesar De León
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Birds of Passage (2018)Pájaros de verano
"Birds of Passage" is a tale about indigenous traditions and the corrupting forces of wealth and power, set against the backdrop of the Colombian marijuana boom of the 1970's. A film of both gangsters and spirits, corruption and fratricidal war, this is a thrilling depiction of the origins of the drug trade told through the story of an indigenous Wayuu family's downfall when greed, passion and honour collide, putting their lives, culture and ancestral traditions at stake. - Director:
- Cristina Gallego
- Cast:
- Carmiña Martínez, José Acosta, Natalia Reyes
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A Private War (2018)Marie Colvin
In a world where journalism is under attack, Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) is one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time. Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the front-lines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless, while constantly testing the limits between bravery and bravado. After being hit by a grenade in Sri Lanka, she wears a distinctive eye patch and is still as comfortable sipping martinis with London's elite as she is confronting dictators. Colvin sacrifices loving relationships, and over time, her personal life starts to unravel as the trauma she's witnessed takes its toll. Yet, her mission to show the true cost of war leads her - along with renowned war photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Doman) - to embark on the most dangerous assignment of their lives in the besieged Syrian city of Horns. - Director:
- Matthew Heineman
- Cast:
- Rosamund Pike, Greg Wise, Alexandra Moen
- Formats:
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Loro (2019)Loro 1
Master filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (Youth, The Great Beauty) teams up once again with longtime collaborator Toni Servillo (II Divo) to reveal the scandalous and, until now, unseen private life of Italy's most infamous politician, Silvio Berlusconi. Told from the point of view of a corrupt pimp, 'Loro' depicts a world of unbridled hedonism and greed for power with a wickedly satirical sting. Biopics don't come more unauthorised than this! - Director:
- Paolo Sorrentino
- Cast:
- Toni Servillo, Elena Sofia Ricci, Riccardo Scamarcio
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Foxtrot (2017)Fokstrot
A desolate military checkpoint is manned by four young soldiers who all try to burn away the hours of boredom that occur between cars arriving for inspection and, every now and then, a lone camel walking by. Meanwhile, at home, the parents of one of the boys are devastated by the news of his supposed sudden death, though the circumstances surrounding this take several unexpected twists. - Director:
- Samuel Maoz
- Cast:
- Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonaton Shiray
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The Town Is Quiet (2000)La Ville Est Tranquille
Robert Guediguian, director of 'A la Place du Coeur' and 'Marius & Jeanette', returns once again to Marseilles n this compassionate and moving drama. Beautifully observed, uncompromisingly honest and always engrossing, Guediguian skillfully interweaves the stories of several different characters, following their everyday struggles to survive life in the teeming cultural melting pot of the city. Among the director's regular troupe of actors, Ariane Ascaride is outstanding as Michele, a woman who is pushed to extremes trying to cope with her wayward daughter. Acclaimed by critics and audiences, 'La Ville est Tranquille' is a passionate and powerful film from one of French cinema's most distinctive directors. - Director:
- Robert Guédiguian
- Cast:
- Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan
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120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017)120 BPM / BPM (Beats Per Minute) / 120 battements par minute
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. - Director:
- Robin Campillo
- Cast:
- Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel
- Formats:
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Girl (2018)Under My Skin
Determined 15-year-old Lara (an astonishing performance from newcomer Victor Polster) is a young woman who is fiercely committed to becoming a professional ballerina. She throws herself into this quest at a new school, but finds the usual frustrations and challenges of adolescence are heightened as her body does not bend to easily to the strict ballet discipline because she was born a boy. Though supported by her family, Lara's adolescent frustrations and impatience are heightened as she prepares for gender reassignment surgery, pushing her body to its limits. Based on empowering real-life experiences, the award-winning 'Girl' is a powerful and sensitively told story about the nuances of growing up transgender and the struggle that can motivate or define that process. - Director:
- Lukas Dhont
- Cast:
- Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Oliver Bodart
- Formats:
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The Age of Shadows (2016)Secret Agent
During the Japanese occupation, a group of freedom fighters smuggle explosives to destroy facilities controlled by the Japanese forces. A group of resistance fighters led by the leader's second in command try to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul. It's a game of cat-and-mouse as it's up to a Korean-born Japanese police officer to infiltrate the resistance at all costs by befriending an antique dealer who's involved in the plot but never exposed. - Director:
- Jee-woon Kim
- Cast:
- Byung-hun Lee, Yoo Gong, Kang-ho Song
- Formats:
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The New Eve (1999)La Nouvelle Eve
The French "Bridget Jones diaries". Camille (Karin Viard), a neurotic Parisian in weekly therapy, is desperate to find the right man. She tries everything from sex parties to accosting men in the street. Even the unrelentingly romantic truck driver, Ben (Sergi Lopez) is not enough. Her brother (Laurent Lucas) and Lesbian friend both try to help her get a grip. All to no avail until she falls in love with Alexis (Pierre-Loup Rajout), a Socialist Party activist and promptly joins the party becoming an ardent activist. Can Camille make Alexis love her and get him away from his wife? Can she get her life back on the straight and narrow? - Director:
- Catherine Corsini
- Cast:
- Karin Viard, Pierre-Loup Rajot, Catherine Frot
- Formats:
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Summer 1993 (2017)Estiu 1993
The film is directly based on the director, Carla Simon's, own childhood. Following the death of her parents, 6 years old Frida (Laia Artigas) moves from Barcelona to the Catalan countryside to live with her aunt and uncle, her new legal guardians. She now has a new little sister whom she has to take care of, and has to deal with new feelings, such as jealousy. Often, Frida is naively convinced that running away would be the best solution to her problems. Slowly, Frida realizes that she is there to stay. Before the summer is over, she has to cope with her emotions and her new parents have to learn to love her as their own daughter. - Director:
- Carla Simón
- Cast:
- Laia Artigas, Paula Robles, Bruna Cusí
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