mervyn-verstellung's - Rented List
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Set in the starkly beautiful winter landscape of rural Quebec, 'Curling' portrays the strange lives of taciturn loner Jean-Francois (Emmanuel Bilodeau) and his daughter Julyvonne (Philomène Bilodeau), who he insists should never leave their home. Their isolation, and the fragile balance of their relationship, is jeopardised by Julyvonne's encroaching adolescence and the troubling secrets they both carry. Haunting, enigmatic and at times menacing, the film is a meditation on the universal need for human connection. - Director:
- Denis Côté
- Cast:
- Emmanuel Bilodeau, Philomène Bilodeau, Roc LaFortune
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Failed comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) encounters violent thugs while wandering the streets of Gotham City dressed as a clown. Disregarded by society Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as Joker in director Todd Phillips' thrilling origin story. - Director:
- Todd Phillips
- Cast:
- Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
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From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind the modern horror masterpiece 'The Witch', comes this hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson) on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890's. As an approaching storm threatens to sweep them from the rock and strange apparitions emerge from the fog, each man begins to suspect that the other has become dangerously unmoored. - Director:
- Robert Eggers
- Cast:
- Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman
- Formats:
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In this final collaboration between legendary producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, three times Oscar nominees for Best Picture and Best Director (A Room With A View, 1986; Howards End, 1993; The Remains Of The Day, 1994), China provides the backdrop for this exceptional drama of exile, longing and love's triumph over adversity, written by the prize winning author Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains Of The Day). The White Countess takes place in the glamorous, corrupt and boomtown atmosphere of 1930s Shanghai. Two-time Oscar-nominee Ralph Fiennes (1997, Best Actor, The English Patient; 1994, Best Supporting Actor, Schindler's List) stars as Todd Jackson, a diplomat blinded in a bombing. An encounter with Sophia (Natasha Richardson, Maid In Manhattan), an exiled Countess employed as a bar girl, inspires him to open his own club, but only if she will work for him. Sophia's in-laws, played by the Redgrave sisters, greedily pocket her income, but denounce her as a bad influence on her daughter. When Japanese troops invade the city, a mass exodus ensues. Alone and afraid, Sophia clings to the only hope left to her - finding her missing daughter! - Director:
- James Ivory
- Cast:
- Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave
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Terence Davis' lyrical hymn to childhood revisits the same territory at his prize winning debut feature distant voices, still lives, this time focusing on his own memories of growing up in a working-class, catholic family in Liverpool. Eleven-year-old bud (a heartbreaking performance from Leigh McCormack) finds escape from the greyness of 50's Britain through trips to the cinema and in the warmth of family life. But as he gets older, the agonies of the adult world-the casual cruelty of bullying, the tyranny of school and the dread of religion-begin to invade his life. - Director:
- Terence Davies
- Cast:
- Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates, Anthony Watson
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Drawn from his own family memories, 'Distant Voices, Still Lives' is a strikingly intimate portrait of working class life in 1940's and 1950's Liverpool. Focusing on the real-life experiences of his mother, sisters and brother whose lives are thwarted by their brutal, sadistic father (a chilling performance by Pete Postlethwaite), the film shows us beauty and terror in equal measure. Davies uses the traditional family gatherings of births, marriages and deaths to paint a lyrical portrait of family life - of love, grief, and the highs and lows of being human, a 'poetry of the everyday' that is at once deeply autobiographical and universally resonant. - Director:
- Terence Davies
- Cast:
- Kenneth Horne, Freda Dowie, Kenneth Williams
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Leviathan (2014)Leviafan
The new film from Andrey Zvyagintsev, the visionary director of "The Return" and "The Banishment", tells the tragic tale of Kolya, who employs a lawyer friend to help fight his case for ownership of the land on which he and his family live when the nefarious town mayor attempts to seize it. But standing up against such men begins a whirlwind of dire consequences, infusing every area of Kolyas life and all he holds dear. A visually arresting epic which takes an unflinchingly direct look at modern day Russia and the corruption that seethes in even its quietest corners, "Leviathan" will not only open your eyes but also stay in your mind for years to come. - Director:
- Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Cast:
- Aleksey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Roman Madyanov
- Formats:
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Before distant voices, still lives and the long day closes confirmed his status as one of the cinematic masters of our day, these three short early films by Terrance Davies reveal a filmmaker of great early promise. In stark black and white, Davis excavates the life of his fictional alter ego, Robert Tucker, in a narrative that slips like a shuffled pack of cards between childhood, middle age and death, shaping the raw materials of his own life into a rich tapestry of experiences and impressions.
Featuring:
- Children
- Madonna and Child
- Death and Transfiguraton- Director:
- Terence Davies
- Cast:
- Phillip Mawdsley, Nick Stringer, Valerie Lilley
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Frances Austen (Sandy Dennis), a young, wealthy spinster, invites a mute teenager into her apartment after finding him freezing in the park next to where she lives. Despite her best efforts, their lack of communication only increases her sense of loneliness, as her possessiveness spirals into frightening new realms. - Director:
- Robert Altman
- Cast:
- Sandy Dennis, Michael Burns, Susanne Benton
- Formats:
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Black Moon (1975)Luna negra
There is a war in the world between the men and the women. A young girl tries to escape this reality and comes to a hidden place where a strange unicorn lives with a family: Sister, Brother, many children and an old woman that never leaves her bed but stays in contact with the world through her radio. Since the content of this picture is not as important as the pictures and allegories, the simple plot can not be described further. - Director:
- Louis Malle
- Cast:
- Cathryn Harrison, Therese Giehse, Alexandra Stewart
- Formats:
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Written by and co-starring Academy Award Winner Emma Thompson, "Effie Gray" explores the scandalous love triangle between Victorian art critic John Ruskin, his teenage bride Effie Gray, and Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais. After marrying at the tender age of 19, Effie quickly realises her marriage is a lie when Ruskin refuses to consummate it, Yearning for affection, she soon falls for the charms of the artist, Millais. Desperate to be freed from Ruskin, Effie embarks on a life-changing journey to become Mm one of the first women in history to seek a divorce from her husband, making her an everlasting figure in feminist history. - Director:
- Richard Laxton
- Cast:
- Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise, Tom Sturridge
- Formats:
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The Wings of the Dove (1997)Tình Tiền Phân Minh
When Kate (Helena Bonham-Carter) falls in love with a penniless journalist named Merton (Linus Roache), she faces an impossible choice: marry him and live in poverty or give him up to receive her inheritance. Of course, there is one unthinkable option. Kate could have Merton seduce the beautiful American heiress Millie Theale (Alison Elliott), who's dying and has no one to leave her fortune to. But in doing so, Kate risks losing what she values most...Merton's own heart. See for yourself how far these lovers will go to have it all – money, love and passion...and the ultimate price they must pay. - Director:
- Iain Softley
- Cast:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alex Jennings
- Formats:
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At the end of the First World War, beloved children's author A. A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) creates the magical world of Winnie-the-Pooh - which brings him immediate acclaim. But the books' international success comes at a cost to the author, his young son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston) and his wife Daphne (Margot Robbie), in this beautifully filmed, poignant story about fame and family that also stars Kelly Macdonald. - Director:
- Simon Curtis
- Cast:
- Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Kelly MacDonald
- Formats:
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Recently widowed and desperate to escape her oppressive, upper-class English in-laws, free-spirited Lilia Herriton (Helen Mirren) finds refuge in the ancient landscapes of rural Italy. There she impulsively marries the handsome Gino Carella (Giovanni Guidelli). But when a child is born, tragedy strikes, and Lilia's scandalized relatives embark on a plot to bring her young son to England for a "proper" upbringing. - Director:
- Charles Sturridge
- Cast:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, Rupert Graves
- Formats:
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Stranger in the House (1967)Cop-Out
Once an eminent barrister, cynical drunkard John Sawyer (James Mason) leads a reclusive life, out of touch with the burgeoning youth movement of the mid-1960's. But when his daughter Angela's (Geraldine Chaplin) boyfriend is wrongfully accused of murder, Sawyer decides to confront his demons and the changing world around him in order to defend him. - Director:
- Pierre Rouve
- Cast:
- James Mason, Geraldine Chaplin, Bobby Darin
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