2001-2010

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A man chop down trees, organizes the trunks, clean them, stops to defecate, lunch, nap and continues to sell its timber.

Ed Gonzalez for Slant Magazine wrote:
Lisandro Alonso’s La Libertad is a penetrating peek into the daily life of a woodcutter from Argentina’s Pampa. Misael Saavedra’s stoic figure marks trees, cuts them down, shaves them, and loads them onto trucks. In between, he finds time to sleep, eat, and defecate. The film brings to mind the humility and minimalism of Iranian cinema, and though Alonso doesn’t seem to use the woodcutter as a political pawn, the film’s long takes and the cyclical, labored nature of the man’s daily grind force the spectator to question the nature of freedom.Read More »

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Haru’s Journey provides an insider’s look at Japanese culture through its themes of acceptance, endurance and familial commitment. It tells the story of elderly fisherman Tadao and his granddaughter Haru, who live in a small fishing village in Hokkaido. When Haru’s job disappears, she wants to take her stubborn grandfather to live in Tokyo where she will find more opportunities. But Tadao refuses to go to the capital, sparking a search for another family member who will share his life. Thus begins a road movie driven by family dynamics, as the two set out for Japan’s main island, Honshu, to see if one of Tadao’s siblings will look after him. First stop is his even more cantankerous older brother, Shiego, and their testy exchange reveals there’s more to Tadao’s selfishness than just old age. By contrast, selfless Haru takes on responsibility for the pair’s dwindling finances so their pilgrimage can continue…Read More »

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Los rubios focuses on the directors search for her dissappeared parents. Is it possible to get to the truth or they are only fictions, imaginary characters from everyone who rememebers them?Read More »

One New Year’s holiday, Rodrigo (30) and Mariana (20) drive to the remote south Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Arriving late at night, they find Karina (7), who tells them she ran away from home because her uncle touches her. They decide to stay the night and try to find help in the morning. But by dawn, the girl is gone.
The couple check into a hotel, and Mariana can’t stop wondering what happened to the girl. Rodrigo is away most of the day. She can’t do anything but wait, and in her loneliness, she becomes more and more restless and distressed. Karina goes back to her parents’ campsite on the beach, one amongst the dozens of families on holiday that have invaded the otherwise completely wild national park. Her mother grounds her for running away, and for the first time in her life, her father fails to defend her.Read More »

This 2003 documentary by Francis Girod revisits the town of Sardent, the location for LE BEAU SERGE as well as the site of director Claude Chabrol’s introduction to cinema as a young man. It features interviews with Chabrol and actors Jean-Claude Brialy and Bernadette Lafont.Read More »

SYNOPSIS
Jessica (Cécile de France) has moved from the provinces to Paris to start a new life, inspired by her grandmother, Madame Roux (Suzanne Flon), who “always loved luxury”. In Paris, she gets a job waitressing in a small café, the Bar des Théâtres, in spite of the fact that the café has never hired female waitstaff. The owner hires Jessica only because he is expecting large crowds soon and needs staff. The café is in an area of Paris close by several artistic venues, including the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and a concert hall, on Avenue Montaigne. One of the backstage staff at the theatre, Claudie (Dani), helps to welcome Jessica to Paris. Read More »

A chilling new single drama, Whistle and I’ll Come to You is the thoroughly modern re-working of the evocative Edwardian ghost story Oh, Whistle and I’ll come to You, My Lad by MR James, adapted for BBC Two by Neil Cross. Cross’s adaptation delves into themes of ageing, hubris and the supernatural, with a horrifying psychological twist in the tale.Read More »

“When things are really crap, they will generally get much worse…”

Mokhtar, unable to find work, leaves his wife and child to find employment in more distant lands. After seeing him onto a train we pick up with another man, Marhab, at the end of his journey. The dislocation is such that it takes a while to realise that Marhab has arrived in the same area that Mokhtar has just left. Marhab is also struggling to find and keep work, but still manages to get married in a short space of time – to Mokhtar’s wife (whose former husband is believed dead).Read More »

A fraud investigator falls in love with his suspect, though they may be closer than they think.Read More »