• Alejandro Amenábar – Abre los ojos AKA Open Your Eyes (1997)

    1991-2000Alejandro AmenábarSci-FiSpainThriller

    What is waking? What is dream? What is reality? What is fantasy? What is sanity? What is madness?

    Such questions pervade “Open Your Eyes,” a psychological thriller directed by Alejandro Amenabar. “Open Your Eyes,” which darts among such relative novelties as virtual reality and cryogenics, is at bottom a retelling of the story of Job for a vain, materialistic, selfish age.

    Handsomely filmed in Madrid with an attractive cast, this Spanish feature is unlikely to satisfy those who insist on linear storytelling and pat endings. But in its deliberately vexing way, “Open Your Eyes” is a film with enough intellectual meat on its stylish bones to give more adventurous moviegoers something to chew on afterward.Read More »

  • Nicolae Margineanu – Padureanca AKA The Forest Woman (1987)

    1981-1990DramaNicolae MargineanuRomania

    In Transylvania, in the 19th century, the village birthplace of a rich farmer’s son is undergoing a cholera epidemic when he returns from studying at a university, and bodies are being removed from houses. Once at home, he spies the beautiful daughter of a local forester. However, one of his father’s servants has also seen her, and they become rivals in love. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie GuideRead More »

  • Michel Audiard – Elle Boit Pas, Elle Fume Pas, Elle Drague Pas, Mais… Elle Cause! aka She Does Not Drink, Smoke or Flirt But… She Talks (1970)

    France1961-1970ComedyCrimeMichel Audiard

    the AMG wrote :
    “This offbeat satirical comedy finds a beautiful and talkative housekeeper (Annie Girardot) working for several colorful employers. One is a former prostitute living with a prominent politician. Also included is a ribald bank teller and a strange man who helps out at a church for wayward boys and sings at a homosexual nightclub. The housekeeper’s verbose nature leads to blackmail for her clients…”
    (edited to avoid spoilers)Read More »

  • Celina Murga – Una semana solos aka A Week Alone (2007)

    2001-2010ArgentinaCelina MurgaDrama

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    Quote:
    A handful of children are left to their own devices in this subtle drama from Argentine filmmaker Celina Murga. Maria (Magdalena Capobianco) is a girl in her early teens whose family lives in an upscale gated suburb. Maria’s parents are going out of town for a week, and rather than leave her with relatives or hire a babysitter, Maria is put in charge of looking after her little sister Sofia (Eleonora Capobianco), with housekeeper Esther (Natalia Gomez Alarcon) serving as a nominal adult authority figure, though for the most part she lets Maria and the others do what they please. With only their parents bedroom off-limits, Maria and Sofia have the run of the house, and soon they and their friends Facundo (Lucas Del Bo), Quique (Federico Pena), Rodrigo (Ramiro Saludas) and Timmy (Mateo Braun) are spending their days exploring the place. As the kids begin creating their own rules to run counter to the ones their absent parents set down, Esther brings a young relative, Fernando (Gaston Luparo), to play with them, and the privileged kids begin to get a notion of the ways of the outside world. Una Semana Solos (aka A Week Alone) was an official selection at the 2008 Buenos Aires Film Festival.Read More »

  • Michael Radford – Il Postino [+Extras] (1994)

    1991-2000DramaItalyMichael RadfordRomance


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    Synopsis:
    Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean poet, is exiled to a small island for political reasons. On the island, the unemployed son of a poor fisherman is hired as an extra postman due to the huge increase in mail that this causes. Il Postino is to hand-deliver the celebrity’s mail to him. Though poorly educated, the postman learns to love poetry and eventually befriends Neruda. Struggling to grow and express himself more fully, he suddenly falls in love and needs Neruda’s help and guidance more than ever.Read More »

  • Philippe Garrel – Le Coeur fantome AKA The Phantom Heart (1996)

    1991-2000DramaFrancePhilippe Garrel

    A hangdog, middle-aged painter falls in love with a tender young college student after he leaves his philandering wife and his children in this romantic French drama. To console himself, the fundamentally bohemian Phillippe finds comfort in the arms of various prostitutes, especially Valeria. It is while searching for her that he meets lovely Justine, the student. Sparks fly and they move into together. Things go well until Phillippe begins pining for his children. This makes insecure Justine terribly jealous and tumult erupts until the aging artist is able to discover the true source of his anxieties.Read More »

  • Saman Moghadam – Cafe Setareh AKA Star Cafe (2006)

    2001-2010DramaIranSaman Moghadam


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    The overlapping tales of three Iranian women who live in a poor Tehran neighborhood unfold by revisiting certain plot points from different perspectives. Each revisit reveals new insights into the characters’ motivations and struggles. The story centers around the people who frequent Cafe Setareh and who play important roles in the lives of each of the main three female characters.Read More »

  • Luis Buñuel – L’Age d’Or aka The Golden Age [+Extras] (1930)

    1921-1930ArthouseDramaFranceLuis Buñuel


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    Plot Outline :
    Modot and Lys, simply called the Man and the Woman, are the lovers who allow nothing to prevent them from demonstrating their feelings for each other. They want to make love, but must first overcome a number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles: the church, bourgeois social etiquette, and their own psychological handicaps.
    Read More »

  • Anne Émond – Nuit #1 (2011)

    2011-2020Anne ÉmondArthouseCanada

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    From Toronto International Film Festival website :

    Anne Émond’s dazzling debut feature is a bold and intimate study of a one-night stand. Clara and Nikolai meet at a sweat-soaked rave and end their night at his apartment. The first part of the film is an erotic and candid portrait of their lovemaking, When Clara tries to sneak out without saying goodbye, this typical hookup takes an unexpected turn.Read More »

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