All Recommendations
Jellyfish
Meduzot (the Hebrew word for Jellyfish) tells the story of three very different Israeli women living in Tel Aviv whose intersecting stories weave an unlikely portrait of modern Israeli life. Batya, a catering waitress, takes in a young child apparently abandoned at a local beach. Batya is one of the servers at the wedding reception of Keren, a young bride who breaks her leg in trying to escape from a locked toilet stall, which ruins her chance at a romantic honeymoon in the Caribbean. One of the guests is Joy, a Philippine chore woman attending the event with her employer, and who doesn't speak any Hebrew (she communicates mainly in English), and who is guilt-ridden after having left her young son behind in the Philippines.
Crazy Murder
A homeless man begins a killing spree on the streets of New York City. Completely deranged and barely aware of his own identity, he makes little attempt at concealing his actions. But in a city with 50,000 homeless citizens, our killer finds himself effortlessly camouflaged.
The Ballad of Narayama
In Kabuki style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food leads to a voluntary but socially-enforced policy in which relatives carry 70-year-old family members up Narayama mountain to die. Granny Orin is approaching 70, content to embrace her fate. Her widowed son Tatsuhei cannot bear losing his mother, even as she arranges his marriage to a widow his age. Her grandson Kesa, who's girlfriend is pregnant, is selfishly happy to see Orin die. Around them, a family of thieves are dealt with severely, and an old man, past 70, whose son has cast him out, scrounges for food. Will Orin's loving and accepting spirit teach and ennoble her family?
I Am Keiko
Keiko Suzuki is a lonely waitress in Tokyo. Her father passes away of cancer and she becomes obsessed with the passage of time. And so, three weeks before her 22nd birthday, she decides to record this period of time in the most accurate way possible, regardless of how lonely or banal this record ends up being.
Marutirtha Hinglaj
While on their way to Hinglaj, Maharaj and his companions meet Kunti, who was raped by dacoits, and Thirumal, whom she left her family for. Together, they set out to seek the blessings of God.
Damnation
Karrer plods his way through life in quiet desperation. His environment is drab and rainy and muddy. Eaten up with solitude, his hopelessness would be incurable but for the existence of the Titanik Bar and its beautiful, haunting singer. But the lady is married and Karrer is determined to keep her husband away...
24 Frames
A collection of 24 short four-and-a-half minutes films inspired by still images, including paintings and photographs. An experimental project made by filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami in the last three years of his life.
Death of a Cyclist
A couple having an affair strike a bicyclist with their car and do not offer aid out of fear of their relationship being exposed.
Werckmeister Harmonies
A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.
Flowers
Ane is in her mid-forties and delighted when a stunning bouquet of flowers is delivered to her home. But the site manager has no idea who to thank – one thing is for sure; her jealous husband, Ander, is not the unknown cavalier. As these gallantries increase, always on a Thursday and always with an anonymous sender, Ane’s life takes on a new direction. The life of Lourdes is also sent into turmoil by beautiful bouquets of flowers: Since the death of her husband in a traffic accident, flowers have been deposited regularly at the scene. Lourdes’ mother-in-law, Tere, is determined to get to the bottom of the anonymous flowers. Jon Garaño and José Mari Goenaga’s feature film debut pays charming homage to three headstrong women and the power of flowers.
Ulysses' Gaze
An exiled filmmaker finally returns to his home country where former mysteries and afflictions of his early life come back to haunt him once more.
The Man from London
A switchman at a seaside railway witnesses a murder but does not report it after he finds a suitcase full of money at the scene of the crime.
Margins
Summer 2008. Three friends have the chance of a lifetime: opening for their favourite punk hardcore band. At the very last moment, the concert falls through but Edo, Iac and Miche don’t give up. To them punk is more than music, it’s a lifestyle. In a blink, they decide to bring the gig to Grosseto, the silent and conservative city where they live. Nevertheless, all the difficulties and problems they face on their way risk to blow up their lives and their friendship.
Tristana
As a young woman, Tristana is orphaned and taken under the guardianship of Don Lope, a respected member of the community, who takes advantage of his innocent charge. When Tristana falls in love with artist Horacio, she must learn to be more assertive in order to achieve independence from her nefarious guardian, or her blossoming relationship with Horatio is doomed.
The Bakery Girl of Monceau
Early new wave effort from Rohmer, which was the first of his six moral tales. It concerns a young man who approaches a girl in the street, but after several days without seeing her again, he becomes involved with the girl in the local bakery. Eventually, he has to choose between them when he arranges dates with them on the same day.
Corpo Celeste
After growing up in Switzerland, 13-year-old Marta returns to a city in southern Italy with her mother and older sister. Independent and inquisitive, she joins a catechism class at a local church. However, the games and religious pop songs she encounters there do not nearly satisfy her interest in faith. Struggling to find her place, Marta pushes the boundaries of the class, the priest, and the church.
Scribe
Two years after a burn-out, Duval is still unemployed. Contacted by an enigmatic businessman, he is offered a simple and well-paid job: transcribing telephone tapping. Duval accepts financially without questioning the purpose of the organization that employs him. Precipitated at the heart of a political plot, he must face the brutal mechanics of the underground world of the secret services.
Rome, Open City
In WWII-era Rome, underground resistance leader Manfredi attempts to evade the Gestapo by enlisting the help of Pina, the fiancée of a fellow member of the resistance, and Don Pietro, the priest due to oversee her marriage. But it’s not long before the Nazis and the local police find him.
Take This Waltz
Twenty-eight-year-old Margot is happily married to Lou, a good-natured cookbook author. But when Margot meets Daniel, a handsome artist who lives across the street, their mutual attraction is undeniable.
A Thousand and One
Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so they can build their life together. As the years go by, their family grows and Terry becomes a smart yet quiet teenager, but the secret that has defined their lives threatens to destroy the home they have so improbably built.