Arthouse

Originally made for German television, this film chronicles obsessions of a man who will do almost anything to avoid losing a chess game. Thomas Rosenmund (Bruno Ganz) learns how to play chess by watching his father in a friendly game with a neighbor. His competitiveness is keyed to such a high pitch that a series of close calls in matches precipitates a nervous breakdown and he swears off the game. Instead, he turns his skills to computers. When his company calls on him to be part of a team which is pitting a computer’s chess skills against the world champion of chess, he takes it personally when the computer loses. Fired by “his” humiliation, he vows to earn the right to take on the champion himself — and does.Read More »

SYNOPSIS
Sanjay wanted to study art, but his domineering father, an engine driver in retirement after a crippling injury, insisted that a railway job, with its security, was the best thing for him. So Sanjay ended up as a train conductor, unhappy with the career forced upon him, and the mechanical, meaningless life that he lives. In the course of his duty on the train, he runs into a working girl, Shalini and feels attracted to her. His father hears about his interest in Shalini, strongly disapproves of it and intervenes in Sanjay’s life once again. Unable to stand up to his father, Sanjay soon finds himself married to a village girl. Life becomes even more unbearable for Sanjay. He takes to wandering and seeks comfort in drink and brothels. One final chance comes his way to break loose from his shackles and plan a new life with Shalini…Read More »

Quote:
Since the 1980’s German institutions have sent adolescents to Southern Portugal to participate in experimental projects of social re-education, and our main character, Katrin, arrives in the Alentejo region of Portugal unable to establish a relationship with her new environment. The situation worsens because of the sheer emptiness of the region, the social desertification of Alentejo. Katrin plans to create a refuge in the middle of nowhere, with Julia and Pedro: in a physical and mental desert.Read More »

Doctors say that Veronika, a woman in her 20s, is schizophrenic. She is compliant, which makes her an easy target for men. She’s religious, believing she is God’s favorite child; she searches for Jesus. She has sent a letter to a filmmaker suggesting her life as the subject for a movie. We see her raped than take up with a series of men she believes are Jesus, each willing or insistent on sex. A young man with his own crisis of faith invites her to join a cult. We see her involuntarily committed to an asylum from time to time where medication and constraints await. Her wealthy parents are helpless. Will a medical professional ever talk to her? If one did, would it help?Read More »

The collected work known as “One Thousand and One Nights” survived for centuries through generations of Arab storytellers, and is now recognized as an integral part of world literature. In this filmed performance, storyteller/filmmaker Nacer Khemir sits on chair in the middle of a dimly lit stage and deploys the magic of words to take us on a journey of the imagination. This simple set-up may not seem like much, but it offers the listener an extraordinarily colorful experience and brilliantly emphasizes the oral nature of the work. As we listen to the expertly told stories, we are equally charmed by their intricacies and entranced by their interconnectedness. Even though Khemir illustrates some of the stories with beautifully filmed sequences, the audience’s ability to listen is paramount here. Sheherazade used words to avoid impending death, Khemir uses the art of storytelling to breathe a new life into this ancient masterwork.Read More »

A wealthy and bored woman is witness of a murder in affection and meets another witness. She asks him about the history of the victim and falls in love with him.Read More »

Aashad Ka Ek Din is an adaptation of the play that is based on Kalidasa’s life in three acts. Kalidasa is renowned as one of the greatest writers, poets and dramatists in the history of Sanskrit language.Read More »

Synopsis:
For young PhD student Manon, far from being (just) a last-resort need to engage in sordid activities in order to make ends meet, stripping is also a means to explore her relationship with desire. Just as she thinks, upon entering into the lair of sensuality, that she’s exploring her potential to awaken her desire, she ends up encountering another desire of an overwhelming kind. She who thought she’d be meeting toxic women actually encounters fairies and muses, friends and lovers.

“Lucie Borleteau’s film de-dramatises the strip-club world, rendering it as tender as it is inflammatory...” ~CineuropaRead More »

The small-screen penchant for overwrought breast cancer melodramas tends to drown out more psychologically acute portrayals, so it’s refreshing to find a film that addresses the issue in a restrained yet emotionally engaging way. Helmer Martin Koolhoven is known for eliciting topnotch performances from his actors, and “South” is no exception. A simply told story that mostly eschews fireworks in favor of character, pic’s exploration of a woman’s inability to reintegrate her life after a mastectomy could attract an arthouse crowd with its sympathetic handling.Read More »