Set in medieval Kyoto, this is an engrossing tale of rape and murder in which contradictory accounts of events are later related from the perspectives of four of those involved. A film which awakened the West to the richness of Japanese cinema.
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ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD (1990)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Tom Stoppard made his debut as a director with his most famous stage play. The story is a clever re-working of Hamlet based around two minor characters from the play stumbling through a land where reality and illusion overlap, unaware of their scripted lives and unable to deviate from them. This is an award winning and inspired transition from stage to screen.
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SHORT CUTS (1993)
Certification18 Our Rating
Altman's highly acclaimed and superbly directed mish-mash of Raymond Carver's short stories. We flit between numerous characters and their strange, confusing, moving and emotive daily lives. The range of emotions, and the incredibly cynical humorous touches brilliantly deconstruct American life.
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STILL LIFE (2006)
Certification12 Our Rating
In the first and third acts of "Still Life" we follow labourer Han, who is searching for his runaway wife and daughter, and in the middle section we follow middle-class Hong as she looks for her lost husband.
Set in the old village of Fengjie, a small town on the Yangtze River slowly being destroyed to make way for the Three Gorges Dam project, the film portrays the lot of ordinary people, predominantly migrant labourers, lost in an ever changing world. Superb use of photography helps make dir
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THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966)
Certification15 Our Rating
A highly acclaimed and influential account of Algeria's turbulent past made in psuedo-documentary style. The tense plot surrounds the rise of nationalist organisations in '54 and the French government's attempts to quell them. This film was the prototype for most political thrillers of the 1970s.
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THE CIRCLE (2000)
CertificationPG Our Rating
The scene is contemporary Iran and the lives of a small circle of Iranian women living within the oppressive constraints of their strictly Islamic nation where the Koran has been subverted to the will of a male dominated society. It is through their anguish, anger and despair that we witness their strength and resilience in the face of a world that denies them respect as individuals and equality as women. 'The Circle' is a powerful and moving film, beautifully shot and emotionally gripping.
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THE GREEN RAY (1986)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Delphine is suddenly at a loss regarding her holiday, a friend has just backed out of a trip to Greece, her other companions have boyfriends and she can't bear spending August in Paris. She also hopes to find a dream lover, but receives only the unwelcome attentions of pushy predators, until... The film is flawlessly constructed with France's greatest living director effortlessly evoking the morose moods of holidaying alone among crowds, and revelling in the particulars of place, weather and ti
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THE RETURN (2003)
Certification12 Our Rating
Andrey and Vanya are two young boys growing up alone with their mother. There is a solidarity to the family, a closeness born out of hardship and emotional dependence, but it is the re-appearance of their father after over a decade's absence that will prove the lads greatest test of brotherhood. Reluctantly allowed on a fishing trip with their new found father, what should have been an exercise in family bonding becomes a tortuous and punishing journey of discovery. "The Return" is a thriller th
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THREE COLOURS BLUE (1993)
Certification15 Our Rating
The first part of Kieslowski's acclaimed allegorical delve into the French psyche. Binoche plays a woman with a tortured soul, her husband and daughter having died in a tragic car accident. Beautifully directed, with an incredibly lyrical and melancholy feel, Binoche's performance is outstanding.
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URGA CLOSE TO EDEN (1991)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Gombo, a young shepherd, lives peacefully in the wilderness with only his wife and family for company. Their tranquil existence is disturbed by the arrival of Sergei, a Russian worker whose truck has broken down, and the two men strike up an unlikely friendship. Enchanting and visually stunning.
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