monsieurk's - Rented List

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In the acclaimed new film by Abderrahmane Sissako (Bamako) the people of the Malian city, Timbuktu, struggle against an oppressive regime of terror inflicted upon them by invading Jihadists who prohibit every enjoyable indulgence of life.

Meanwhile, Kidane lives a peaceful life in the nearby dunes, but when he has an altercation with a neighbour the extremists take it upon themselves to deliver their brand of draconian justice.

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The fifth and undeniably most accessible of French auteur Eric Rohmer's Moral Tales, Claire's Knee concerns Jerome (Jean-Claude Brialy), an affianced diplomat who bumps into successful novelist and old flame Aurora (Aurora Cornu) whilst holidaying by the picturesque Lac d'Annecy.

In search of inspiration, Aurora persuades Jerome to indulge in a little flirtation with Laura (Beatrice Romand), the sprightly teenage daughter of an acquaintance. However, events take a more serious turn when the diplomat finds himself falling for Laura's luminous half-sister Claire (Laurence de Managhan). Struggling to suppress his desires, Jerome decides to channel his energies into one simple act, a gentle caress of Claire's knee.

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The film is divided into three sections set in different eras. The opening takes place in 1920's Italy, and recounts a birth that echoes that of the director himself, the product of a beautiful bourgeoise's affair with a military officer.

The mid section depicts a time "outside of history" - it is here that the myth of Oedipus (portrayed by Franco Citti), one of patricide and incest, plays out opposite the young man's mother/lover (Silvana Mangano). An epilogue shot on the streets of present-day Bologna finds Oedipus playing his flute for a bustling citizenry.

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When the glittering Las Vegas revue 'Le Razzle Dazzle' announces it will soon close, glamorous showgirl Shelly (Pamela Anderson) must reconcile the life she has built as she plans her next act.

With an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, and Kiernan Shipka, 'The Last Showgirl' is a joyous tribute to a long-gone Las Vegas - and all the women who made it glitter.

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This lavish autobiography, full of lush fantasy sequences and monumental pageantry, begins with Fellini as a youngster living in the Italian countryside.

In school he studies the eclectic but parochial history of ancient Rome and then is introduced as a young man to the real thing - arriving in this strange new city on the outbreak of World War II. Here, through a series of visually stunning vignettes brimming with satire and sparkling with life, the filmmaker comes to grips with a sprawling, boisterous, bursting-at-the-seams portrait of Rome, reinterpreting with his inimitable style an Italian history full of rich sensual imagery and extravagant perception.

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Leni Riefenstahl is considered one of the most controversial women of the 20th century as an artist and a Nazi propagandist. Her films 'Triumph of the Will' and 'Olympia' stand for perfectly staged body worship and the celebration of the superior and victorious.

At the same time, these images project contempt for the imperfect and weak. Riefenstahl's aesthetics are more present than ever today - but is that also true for their implied message? The film examines this question using documents from Riefenstahl's estate, including private films, photos, recordings and letters. It uncovers fragments of her biography and places them in an extended historical context. How could Riefenstahl become the Reich's preeminent filmmaker and keep denying any closer ties to Hitler and Goebbels? During her long life after the fall of Nazism, she remained unapologetic, managing to control and shape her legacy. In personal documents, she mourns her "murdered ideals". 'Riefenstchl' represents many postwar Germans who, in letters and recorded telephone calls from her estate, dream of an organizing hand that will finally clean up the "shit-hole state". Then, her work would also experience a renaissance, in a generation or two this time could come - what if they are right? -

In this bold and courageous story, Iman works as an investigating judge at the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. As political protests against the authoritarian government intensify, he is surrounded by suspicion and paranoia.

Brazil, 1971. Brazil faces the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), a mother of five children, is forced to reinvent herself after her family suffers a violent and arbitrary act by the government.

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Idealistic Leonora (Barbara Bel Geddes) is looking for the dream life and believes she's found it when introduced to millionaire Smith Ohlrig (Robert Ryan). Quickly married she soon discovers him to be a domineering tyrant.

In trying to escape this loveless existence she finds hope in the arms of a caring doctor but her husband doesn't give up his possessions easily.

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In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so called "green border" between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU. Pawns in this hidden war, the lives of Julia (Maja Ostaszewska), a newly minted activist who has given up her comfortable life, Jan (Tomasz Wlosok), a young border guard, and a Syrian family intertwine. 30 years after 'Europa Europa', three-time Oscar Nominee Agnieszka Holland's poignant new feature 'Green Border' opens our eyes, speaks to the heart, and challenges us to reflect on the moral choices that fall to ordinary people every day.

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Directed by the acclaimed Japanese master Shohei Imamura, this brilliant parable for adults follows an unemployed businessman who travels to a remote fishing village in search of hidden treasure.

Once there, he finds the house in which the riches are hidden, and discovers that it is occupied by a beautiful young woman and her aged grandmother. Taking measures to ingratiate himself with the young woman, he soon ends up receiving a more unique gift than he bargained for.

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What does the Louvre look like without the public? For the first time, the world's greatest art museum lets a film crew, led by acclaimed director Nicolas Philibert (Etre et Avoir), behind the scenes to reveal a spellbinding secret world.

As staff hang paintings and reorganise rooms, we discover a hidden city within a city: miles of underground passages, reserves containing thousands of priceless treasures and chambers that are off-limits to visitors. Filmed over a five month period during the Louvre's 1988 reorganisation, and just prior to the inauguration of the Pyramid, this sublime documentary offers a fascinating new perspective on a world famous institution.

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A mythical tale of love, betrayal and revenge, 'Medea' is a fascinating collision of Freudian and Marxist themes from Italy's most controversial director, Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Adapted from the Euripidean drama, Pasolini's disturbing vision of personal and national conflicts stars opera legend Maria Callas in the title role, offering an extraordinary performance as the high priestess Medea whose love is threatened by corrupt political ambition. 'Medea' is a complex blend of classical mythology and contemporary social criticism.

Once upon a time there was a little girl who had never known her mother. She grew up learning the art of her father, a famous bullfighter, but was despised by her evil stepmother. One day she ran away with a troupe of dwarves, and became a legend.

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Shot in the summer of 1975 as General Franco lay dying, Saura's masterpiece takes its title from a sinister Spanish proverb: 'Raise ravens and they'll pluck out your eyes'.

A subtle yet unmistakable indictment of the family as a repressive force in Spanish society, 'Cria cuervos' centres on an eight-year-old orphan (the spellbinding Ana Torrent) who believes herself to have poisoned her cold, authoritarian father (Hector Alterio), a high-ranking military man whom she blames for the death of her adored mother (Geraldine Chaplin).