Movies

Foreign Films

This vibrant mash-up of genres from French director Jean-Jacques Beineix is regarded by many as the vanguard of the stylish Cinema De Look movement. After a young postal worker illegally tapes a performance by a reclusive opera singer, it isn't long before Taiwanese bootleggers, a prostitute, a video- incriminated police chief, and the cop's henchman are hot on his tail. DIVA won Cesar Awards for Best Music, Best Directorial Debut, and for its widely acclaimed cinematography.

This volume offers unfettered political intrigue, unrequited love, mercy killings, concubines, and more! THE KING AND I is South Korea's acclaimed historical drama that follows the life of Kim Cheoseon, a eunuch who lived during the Joseon Dynasty, the people he swore to protect, and the incredible twists and turns their lives take.

As a small child, the crippled and orphaned Aman (Sanjay Dutt) was adopted by the wealthy family of his friend Akash (Salman Khan). Now a poet publishing under the pen name Sagar, Aman discovers that one of his biggest fans is the sweet and lovely Pooja (Madhuri Dixit, luminous as always). She loves him without ever having seen him, and he falls for her instantly--but when he discovers that Akash has also fallen for her, he hides his feelings and allows his adopted brother to pretend to be the poet behind Sagar. Romance, action, comedy, and drama all mix together in this lively film from director Lawrence D'Souza, which won several Filmfare awards for its excellent musical numbers.

Christ's life is presented with respect for the traditional religious doctrine of the Church, but Pasolini's trademark naturalism "humanizes" his subject and makes him his own. The documentary- style camera captures Christ's meetings with the men who were to become his disciples, the Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas, and the Crucifixion. The impassioned music of Bach, Mozart, and Prokofiev lends a further aura of spiritual intensity to the proceedings.

With THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS, notoriously mischievous director Lars von Trier performs yet another cinematic experiment. This time around, the Danish prankster tries to outwit his mentor, director Jorgen Leth, forcing him to remake his classic 1967 short, "The Perfect Human," five different times, with a series of increasingly outlandish guidelines. His goal is to break down the abnormally stable Leth, teaching him a valuable life lesson in the process. In the first film, von Trier sends Leth to Cuba and sets his first seemingly insurmountable rule: make a film that consists of shots that are no longer than twelve frames at a time. Miraculously, Leth uses his forced limitations to create a beautiful work, which obviously irks von Trier. Next up, von Trier challenges Leth to return to... Less

Set in autumn of 1973, amidst the backdrop of chaotic political upheaval, the Chilean film MACHUCA grounds a heartwrenching coming-of-age tale in a traumatic socio-historical moment. Directed by Andres Wood, a Chilean-born, NYU-schooled filmmaker of astonishing talent, the film unfolds through the eyes of Gonzalo, a quiet 12-year-old boy from an upscale Santiago suburb. With his freckled cheeks and bowl haircut, Gonzalo resembles Bud Cort in HAROLD AND MAUDE, awkward and wise beyond his years. When the idealistic headmaster of his private boys school, Father McEnroe, accepts a few poor children on scholarship, Gonzalo finds himself drawn to Machuca, an intense yet warm boy from the slums of the city. After accompanying Machuca and his uncle to sell paraphernalia at two political... Less

After taking a welding job in Sicily, a young man realizes he misses his fiancee who remains in Milan. In his loneliness, the young man stumbles across ways to rejuvinate their passion. Known for his humanism and his political content, director Ermanno Olmi (TREE OF THE WOODEN CLOGS) reached the heights of his over thirty years in the cinema during the early sixties. This 1962 film conveys the simplicity and emotional power that has made many of his works timeless.

Director Frederic Mitterand's acclaimed cinematic adaptation of Puccini's popular opera is the first filmed version to use both Western and Eastern actors. Presented by Martin Scorcese, this tragic tale of a love affair between a naive geisha and the American naval officer who deserts her and their young child is lushly photographed, with beautiful vocal performances from soprano Ying Huang and tenor Richard Troxell. Nominated for two French Cesar awards.

As a small child, the crippled and orphaned Aman (Sanjay Dutt) was adopted by the wealthy family of his friend Akash (Salman Khan). Now a poet publishing under the pen name Sagar, Aman discovers that one of his biggest fans is the sweet and lovely Pooja (Madhuri Dixit, luminous as always). She loves him without ever having seen him, and he falls for her instantly--but when he discovers that Akash has also fallen for her, he hides his feelings and allows his adopted brother to pretend to be the poet behind Sagar. Romance, action, comedy, and drama all mix together in this lively film from director Lawrence D'Souza, which won several Filmfare awards for its excellent musical numbers.

One of the most brilliant of all German silent films, F.W. Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH uses a constantly moving and subjective camera to capture the emotional anguish of a man whose life is suddenly devoid of meaning. Because of his age, an elderly doorman at a hotel finds himself ignominiously demoted to washroom attendant. Particularly galling to the poor man is the loss of his uniform, which gives him pride and prestige. Crestfallen, he spends the day wandering the city, getting drunk and dreaming of suicide, mourning the loss of his dignity, and trying desperately to hang on to a shred of hope.

One of the most brilliant of all German silent films, F.W. Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH uses a constantly moving and subjective camera to capture the emotional anguish of a man whose life is suddenly devoid of meaning. Because of his age, an elderly doorman at a hotel finds himself ignominiously demoted to washroom attendant. Particularly galling to the poor man is the loss of his uniform, which gives him pride and prestige. Crestfallen, he spends the day wandering the city, getting drunk and dreaming of suicide, mourning the loss of his dignity, and trying desperately to hang on to a shred of hope.

In an oeuvre permeated with ambivalence toward bourgeois life, director Jean Renoir speculates on the result of the abandonment of those values in BOUDU SAVED FROM DROWNING. Producer Michel Simon stars as Boudu, a vagabond who attempts suicide by throwing himself into the Seine, grieving over the loss of his dog. But Eduaord Lestingois (Charles Granval), a humane bookseller, rescues him and takes him into his home, hoping to reform the shaggy bum. Shortly thereafter, anarchy reigns as the household is turned upside down by the antics of this large three-year-old. Spitting in first editions, using silken sheets to polish his shoes, sleeping in the hallway, and similar breaches of etiquette do little to endear Boudu to Lestingois. However, once Boudu has had a bath and shave in order to... Less

HAPPY TOGETHER chronicles the stormy affair of a gay couple (Hong Kong superstars Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung) living as expatriates in Buenos Aires. The two possess very divergent ways of dealing with the world; Lai is more responsible, holding down a job at a tango club, while Ho turns tricks for a living. Inevitably, they grow apart painfully, but when Lai finds Ho beaten severely by a bad trick, the pair set about making another try. Stunning camera work by cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

HAPPY TOGETHER chronicles the stormy affair of a gay couple (Hong Kong superstars Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung) living as expatriates in Buenos Aires. The two possess very divergent ways of dealing with the world; Lai is more responsible, holding down a job at a tango club, while Ho turns tricks for a living. Inevitably, they grow apart painfully, but when Lai finds Ho beaten severely by a bad trick, the pair set about making another try. Stunning camera work by cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

The murder of a young girl strikes a chord of fear in a neighborhood, with the local voyeur, Monsieur Hire, pegged as the prime suspect. His solitary ways and peculiar behaviors elicit the suspicion of the local residents, but the lovely woman across the way--upon whom Hire spies--may have a different answer to the mystery. A taut and intricate character-based suspenser.

The crumbling squalor of former USSR city Tibilisi, Georgia, is the setting for a tale of three generations of Soviet women. Elder matriarch Eka (Esther Gorintin) lives for the letters from her beloved son Otar, who fled to Paris years ago as an illegal immigrant. Her daughter Marina (Nino Khomassourioze) strains under the pressures of their miserable existence in the now "free" country where the electricity and water work only sporadically and the buildings seem as depressed as the people. She loves her mother, though, and when news arrives of Otar's sudden death she asks her own daughter (Dinara Drukarova) to keep writing the letters so as not to break Eka's heart. The plot thickens when Eka decides to spend their life savings on three tickets to Paris so they can track down her beloved... Less

After taking a welding job in Sicily, a young man realizes he misses his fiancee who remains in Milan. In his loneliness, the young man stumbles across ways to rejuvinate their passion. Known for his humanism and his political content, director Ermanno Olmi (TREE OF THE WOODEN CLOGS) reached the heights of his over thirty years in the cinema during the early sixties. This 1962 film conveys the simplicity and emotional power that has made many of his works timeless.

An idealistic novice nun, hoping to practice good works in the world, opens the doors of her ancestral estate to a ragtag collection of the poor, tired, and hungry. But her charity backfires when the recipients of her benevolence don't warm to her ministrations, choosing to go on living just as they were--in the gutter. A scathing indictment of perceived Catholic self- righteousness from surrealist master Bunuel.

A stunning drama of epic proportions, Ondrej Trojan's ZELARY is set in the chaos and upheaval of Eastern Europe during WWII, and garnered an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Eliska (Anna Geislerová) is a young woman who is involved with the Prague resistance, along with her lover Richard (Ivan Trojan), a surgeon. She works in a city hospital as a nurse, where one night a badly injured man named Joza arrives, desperately in need of a blood transfusion. Eliska is the only person who has the same blood type, and she saves his life, cementing their bond through shared blood. When her underground activities are discovered and she is forced to hide from the Gestapo, she is sent to her former patient's remote village to pose as his rural farm wife. Her new husband is a simple, childlike man,... Less

This is a jaw-droppingly bizarre movie from Korea that mixes scenes of gruesome torture and violence with comedy and heartbreaking profundity. Perhaps as a result of too many amphetamines and violent incidents in his past, beekeeper Lee Byeong Gu (Sin Ha-Gyun) has become convinced that an unscrupulous business tycoon (Kan Man-Shik) is actually an alien from the planet Andromeda. Lee's frumpy acrobat girlfriend (Hwang Jung-Min) helps him abduct the "alien" and torture him into confessing. Meanwhile, a hangdog detective is following a trail leading to Lee's hideout high in the mountains.Let the timid be warned: this is not the antipollution comedy that the title might indicate. Man's inhumanity to man is certainly depicted--as in events like Korea's 1980 Kwangju riots--but there's more... Less

Some controversial material surfaces in THE CONSEQUENCE, with a jailed pedophile falling in love with the 15-year-old son of a prison worker. When the man is released and attempts to continue his relationship with the boy they discover that society is not even close to accepting them. Shot in 1977, THE CONSEQUENCE features a moving central performance from Jurgen Prochnow (THE ENGLISH PATIENT).

Agnes Varda's signature strategy of mixing documentary and fiction comes to fruition in this intimate and fluid portrait of two hours in the life of pop singer Cleo Victoire (Corrine Marchand) as she restlessly awaits the results of a cancer test. With a distinctly feminist take on the French New Wave films of the early 1960s, Varda's film examines Cleo's banal yet extraordinary afternoon as she traverses Paris, bouncing back and forth between various men, intercepting and avoiding friends, enemies, superstitions, chance, and eventually love. The camera follows at breakneck speed as Cleo's existential ennui pulls her through the city (beautifully captured by Jean Rabier's sweeping cinematography). Lively characters populate Cleo's journey, ranging from a tough female cabdriver, Cleo's... Less

Set in the middle of poverty-stricken Ecuador, RATAS, RATONES, RATEROS is the story of Salvador, a young thief who gets involved deeper in crime thanks to his cousin Angel, an ex-convict. Salvador looks for an easier life with Angel, but all he finds is destruction and pain. This feature film is the debut of Sebastian Cordero, a fresh new talent from Latin America.

SLEEP DEALER is a Spanish-language science fiction film whose visions of the future are informed by current technological and social trends. Memo (Luis Fernando Peña) is desperate to escape his tiny Mexican hometown, and his radio intercept allows him a glimpse at the outside world. But soon he overhears a top-secret conversation he never should have had access to, and now he and his family are targets. When he finally does leave his home for Tijuana, he is on the run. When he meets pretty Luz (Leonor Varela) in the new city, she offers him friendship and the technology he needs to get a job, but she may also put his life in danger.

Three generations of a Japanese family are moved by awakening memories of a family event involving an American relative.

UMBERTO D., from director Vittorio De Sica, is a simple, heartbreaking tale about the life of an elderly pensioner. Penniless and alone, with only the maid (Lina Genneri) from his rooming house and a devoted dog for companionship, the old man (Carlo Battisti) contemplates suicide. But then one day, a ray of hope pierces his bleak existence, and everything changes. This careful observation of one man's attempt to keep his dignity in the face of a hostile society is one of the pearls of Italian post-war cinema.

Banned in Russia for over a decade for its blasphemous portrayal of Nicholas II, Elem Klimov's (COME AND SEE) intense drama brings to life the controversial figure of the "mad monk" who wielded a legendary power over the royal family. Klimov's portrayal is indeed an indictment of the ruling class, depicting the Czar (Anatoli Romashin) as an ineffectual ruler blindly led by the charismatic, power-hungry Grigory Rasputin (Aleksei Petrenko), while the politically decrepit aristocracy degenerated into decadence and hedonism. Arriving at court with a strange healing power that many attributed to hypnotism, Rasputin was the only person capable of treating the Tsar's young heir, stopping his uncontrollable bleeding later recognized as hemophilia. Once his place in the palace was secure, however,... Less

Christ's life is presented with respect for the traditional religious doctrine of the Church but Pasolini's trademark naturalism "humanizes" his subject and makes him his own. The documentary- style camera captures Christ's meetings with the men who were to become his disciples the Last Supper the betrayal by Judas and the Crucifixion. The impassioned music of Bach Mozart and Prokofiev lends a further aura of spiritual intensity to the proceedings.

JEAN DE FLORETTE is the first of two parts of the classic Marcel Pagnol story set in southeast France in the mid 1920s. In a small Provenal village where water is scarce and the earth dry only one piece of property possesses an underground spring to irrigate the soil--and the wily greedy Csar Yves Montand will do anything to get hold of it. His dreams seem on the verge of coming true when the owner with a little help from Csar dies unexpectedly. But then Jean Cadoret Gerard Depardieu an outsider who inherits the farm arrives with the intention of settling down and cultivating the land with his good-hearted wife Aimee played by Depardieu's real wife Elisabeth Depardieu and his young daughter Manon Ernestine Mazurowna. Jean a hunchback and sensitive dreamer glories in his new life while... Less

Director Frederic Mitterand's acclaimed cinematic adaptation of Puccini's popular opera is the first filmed version to use both Western and Eastern actors. Presented by Martin Scorcese this tragic tale of a love affair between a naive geisha and the American naval officer who deserts her and their young child is lushly photographed with beautiful vocal performances from soprano Ying Huang and tenor Richard Troxell. Nominated for two French Cesar awards.