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The Cove
In a small bay on the Japanese coast near the fishing port of Tajii there is an annual mass slaughter of wild dolphins. Some eco-activists set out to capture the event on film to bring it to the world’s attention. This is the subject matter of The Cove, an eco-documentary. Not high on your agenda…
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Charulata
It’s late nineteenth century India and Charulata’s (Madhabi Mukherjee) husband, Bhupati (Shailen Mukherjee), recognises that she is bored. Charulata leads a life of wealthy indolence, she has little option. Bhupati encourages his brother Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee), a student of literature, to develop Charulata’s interest in writing. Bhupati himself is too engrossed in running his newspaper…
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The Age of Innocence
Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, this extraordinarily sumptuous piece of filmmaking portrays the clash between passion and 19th century stiff manners and emotional starchiness. Ellen (Pfeiffer) is a beautiful American recently returned from Europe after leaving her aristocratic husband. Although related to a distinguished family, Ellen is a considered a little wild for…
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Sus
It is election night 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is about to come into power. A young black man is held on suspicion of murdering his pregnant wife. Officers Karn and Wilby, racist to the core and high on the prospect of a Conservative Party victory, try to lure the suspect into a quick confession. But…
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Les Diaboliques
Michel Delasalle (Meurisse) is the headmaster of a boys boarding school near Paris. He is verbally and physically abusive of both his wife Christina (Vera Clouzot) and his mistress, Nicole Horner (Signoret). The two women join forces to murder him, drowning him in his bath and subsequently attempting to make it look like suicide. When…
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Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Great artists tend to experience intense, emotional, visual recollections of earlier times in their lives, which they feed through their heightened imaginations and their heightened senses of awareness in order to forge their most powerful art. Such artists are, by definition, rare, and it is to our great collective benefit that one was recently discovered…
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Chico and Rita
This is an utterly seductive animated tale of historical accuracy, set in 1940s Cuba, Las Vegas and New York. The story unfolds through flashbacks as Chico remembers a distant past when, as a young aspiring jazz pianist, he met the beautiful and exceptional singer Rita. Music and romance pull them together but, in true star-crossed…
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Submarine
Coming of age comedy drama adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. Submarine is Ayoade’s directorial debut. Oliver Tate (Roberts) is a 15 year-old Swansea boy in 1986 who is convinced that he is an unrivalled genius who is widely loved by his classmates, when in fact he is pretentious…