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Set in the world's holiest city during the dawn of the new century as fanatical Christians from across the globe arrive in hopes of provoking a confrontation between the many extremist Arabs and Jews, the plot of "The Holy Land" focuses on Menachem Weinbaum ("Mendy"),a young rabbinical student who is restless to learn about the bigger world. On the advice of his slightly demented teacher, Mendy visits a brothel in Tel Aviv so he can be rid of his 'madness' and return tohis studies. There he meets Sasha, a nineteen-year-old Russian prostitute, whose dire situation and immense beauty captivates him. But Mendy's world really opens up when he discovers Mike's Place, a real-life magnet for the lost souls who flock to Jerusalem. A place where Arabs, Christians and Jews drink side by side, Mike's Place introduces Mendy to a gun-toting American-born settler, a shady entrepreneurial Arab and a slew of American expatriates, forever changed by the sixties, who act out biblical roles. As Mendy becomes more immersed in this culture of the millennium he begins to wonder if Mike and his band of misfits are as harmless as they seem? Or are they intent on provoking Armageddon? A story of doomed, passionate love and coming of age in troubled times -- set in a world-famous place not unlike Rick's Cafe American or the Cantina in "Star Wars" -- "The Holy Land" explores the underbelly of real life in Jerusalem after the sun goes down and the tourists and Orthodox families go to sleep.
A man too small, a boy too tall, a girl with her mouth made over all meet by chance. An encounter that seems fated to have no story but, as fate would have it, it becomes the tormented chronicle of denied love. Peppino, the man too small, is a taxidermist. Valerio, the boy too tall, is a waiter. Deborah, the girl with her mouth made over, is one who continually changes jobs… all have different dreams, hidden needs, secret drives. They are three castaways trying to cling to the certainty of a love that can justify the common ills of living and make them normal. They are just as incapable of communicating the ideals of the others as they are incapable of accepting them, they will tragically become lost.
Set on an American Army Base in 1989, as the Berlin Wall is about to fall, "Buffalo Soldiers" takes a satiric look as these men steal, drink, fight, and make, take, and sell drugs. Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) is the brains behind the operation, easily duping his superior (Ed Harris) and sleeping with his wife (Elizabeth McGovern). But with the arrival of the new Sergeant (Scott Glenn), everything changes. The Sergeant cracks down; Elwood retaliates by dating his daughter (Anna Paquin) and attempting a big "weapons for drugs" deal, with the Sergeant in closer pursuit.
This musical set at a summer camp for young singers, dancers, actors and musicians tells the story of Bert Hanley, a former Broadway songwriter who has to work at the camp because his career has burnt out after a series of flops. Inspired by the kids at the camp, however, Bert sees his chance to find success again by recruiting them to put together a new production. The long summer days at Camp Ovation are ripe with life lessons, fast friendships, jealousies and antics, along with the shocking discovery that there is an honest-to-goodness straight boy in the bunch.
From Stephen Frears, the Oscar®-nominated director of "The Grifters" and "Dangerous Liaisons", comes a new film set in London's secret underworld, where everything is for sale. It's the story of a young man, Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and a Turkish chambermaid, Senay (Audrey Tautou), who work at the same West London hotel--a breeding ground for illegal activity. They are put to the test when Okwe makes a shocking discovery late one night.
The film follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain (Romola Garai), and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle. Her father (Bill Nighy) is desperate to repeat the spectacular success of his first novel, but hasn't written a word for 12 years; her exquisite sister Rose (Rose Byrne) can only rail against their fate, and their bohemian step-mother Topaz (Tara FitzGerald) is a nudist and no help at all. Salvation comes in the form of their American landlord Simon Cotton (Henry Thomas) and his brother Neil (Marc Blucas).
Legendary criminal. Proud homosexual. Cabaret star. Passionate lover. Killer. Devoted father of seven adopted children. Saint or devil? Madame Satã. Born to slaves in the arid wasteland of Northern Brazil and sold by his mother at the age of 7, he pursued his freedom on the mean streets of Lapa, Rio de Janeiro. Jet-black, six feet tall, 180 pounds of proud muscle in a silk shirt and tight pants, a cutthroat razor in his back pocket. Karim Aïnouz's extraordinary portrait of the triumphs and tragedy of this explosive and paradoxical personality unfolds against the vibrant, sordid background of Lapa: thronging underworld of pimps and whores, of cut-throats, queers and artists, of dark bars and brothels thick with smoke, drenched in sweat and cheap perfume. A world run through with violence and raw desire, where desperate dreams spring from poverty and squalor.
Set somewhere, sometime, in an unnamed country, torn by civil war with unclear battle lines or ideology, "Masked and Anonymous" tells the story of a "benefit concert." Impressario Uncle Sweetheart (John Goodman) is scheming to find a headliner for this event whose purpose is unclear and whose charity is its promoter's pockets. Nina Veronica (Jessica Lange) is the veteran TV producer whose job it is to make the concert the international spectacle which it can never be. And when Sweetheart manages to get the iconic cult star Jack Fate (Bob Dylan) released from prison, the stage is set for tumult. Jeff Bridges as the cynical investigative reporter, Penélope Cruz as his girlfriend, Luke Wilson as the devoted acolyte, and a sundry cast of supporting characters give this imaginative allegory its energy and spirit.
The story of six friends variously struggling to make ends meet in the wake of a shipyard closure several years earlier in a depressed northern Spanish coastal city. The portrait of their friendship contrasted with their family lives is ultimately poignant and bittersweet.
It's 1955 and industries are booming as America undergoes a postwar metamorphosis. However, in the small town of Northfork, the townspeople are being evacuated because of the construction of a dam that will wash away their homes. A group of trench-coat-wearing government employees, hired to get rid of the proud few who remain, go about the business of destroying lives with efficiency. Meanwhile, a young orphan boy lies sick in bed, being cared for by a devoted priest. The boy's fever dreams include fantastic beings that might be angels... but are they simply in his head?
This is the true story of a former bicycle repairman, Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), who made his fortune introducing the automobile to the American West, and who owned a small, knobbly-kneed horse called Seabiscuit. Howard teamed up with a half-blind ex-boxing prize fighter, Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), who became the horse's jockey and a former "mustang breaker" Wild West performer called "The Lone Plainsman", Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), who became the horse's trainer. As the United States struggled through the Great Depression, people around the country followed with rapt interest of the Seabiscuit story, leading to his win of the Horse of the Year honors in 1938...
September 1944. Several days before Finland, an ally of Nazi Germany, pulls out of World War II, Veiko, (Ville Haapasalo) a lone Finnish sniper, is turned on by his compatriots for a being a pacifist and, in their eyes, a reluctant fighter. As a punishment, the young man is placed in shackles, nailed to a heavy rock and forced to wear a German uniform, knowing full well that Russian soldiers have orders to shoot Germans on sight, without accepting surrender. Veiko is thus left to die in a remote Lapland forest, with nothing but a few supplies and his wits. Days pass, and after several failed attempts, he succeeds in freeing himself and heads for safety, shackles still attached. While trying to escape, Veiko witnesses the following through his rifle's telescope: Ivan, a captain in the Russian army accused of anti-Soviet correspondence, is being held prisoner by the Soviet Military secret police. En route to his court martial, Russian planes accidentally bomb the vehicle carrying the disgraced captain, killing the driver and his guard. Not far away is Anni (Anni-Kristiina Juuso), a Lapp reindeer farmer whose husband was drafted into the war by the Finnish authorities four years earlier, never to return. Hungry and alone, the young and resourceful widow locates the bodies of Ivan and his captors while foraging for food. As she begins to bury the dead, Anni discovers that Ivan is still alive, but seriously hurt. She carries him to her wooden hut and nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, Veiko, in search of tools to remove his shackles, stumbles upon Anni's farm. Thus World War II creates the unlikeliest of bonds (between three different people, from three different cultures, speaking three different languages.) Comic, and sometimes tragic, misunderstandings soon arise, resulting in a passionate, and very human, three-way relationship. Unable to communicate with the others and unaware that the war between the USSR and Finland is over, Ivan is convinced that Veiko is a German soldier gone astray; to Ivan, the German uniform the Finnish soldier was forced to wear is further proof. But Veiko is unaware of Ivan's hatred and just wants to cut off his shackles, return home and put the war behind him. Yet, to avoid falling into enemy hands, Veiko opts to stay on Anni's farm for temporary safety. The earthy and sensuous Anni, who has not been with a man in four years, could not be more delighted with her good fortune, language barrier be damned. For Anni, Veiko and Ivan are not enemies, but just men. An uncommon and touching bond develops, as the three unlikely souls begin a domestic routine of hunting and gathering in preparation for the long Lap winter. The two men do what they can to contribute to Anni's well being: Veiko builds a sauna and Ivan picks mushrooms... but their war is not over.
Nominated for two Cesar awards in 2002, including Best First Feature Film, "The Girl From Paris" tells the story of Sandrine, a young Parisienne who decides to leave the city and pursue her dream of becoming a farmer. Adrien is the older, taciturn farmer who agrees to sell Sandrine his land and herd of goats before retiring to Grenoble. Sandrine allows Adrien stay at the farm for eighteen months, then begins renovations in earnest. Sandrine succeeds where Adrien was sure she would fail; she earns a living in the spring and summer by opening up the farm to tourists and selling goat cheese over the Internet. But the arrival of winter brings a tide change and conflicting emotions: Sandrine faces the harsh isolation of the Rhone-Alps while forming a growing attachment to Adrien. Between their mutual curiosity and misunderstandings, Sandrine and Adrien are forced to live side by side when the only thing they share is their love for mountains and nature.
Based very loosely on the Alan Moore graphic novel epic of the same name, this is the story of a group of characters drawn from famous works of literature, including Captain Nemo, Allan Quatermain, The Invisible Man, Mina Murray and Dr. Jekyll, banding together to combat criminal undertakings of the highest order near the turn of the 19th century. Rather than remain true to the comic roots, the film also incorporates Tom Sawyer and Dorian Gray, in an apparent effort to keep the cast from being entirely without Americans, and it is set in New York.
Set in a small Edo period Japanese brothel near Tokyo, this is the story of a young samurai, Fusanosuke (Hidetaka Yoshioka), who seeks refuge there in the company of a young prostitute, Oshin (Nagiko Tono), after he accidentally wounded a powerful samurai during an argument whose colleagues are now seeking to kill Fusanosuke in return. Soon falling in love with Oshin, Fusanosuke hopes to be able to cleanse her from the sins of her occupation so that she may be his wife, even as danger lurks all around the brothel.
In the Latino neighborhood of New York City's Washington Heights, two sons of immigrants -- one Dominican, one Irish, wrestle with ambition and identity, only to discover that sometimes pursuing one's dreams comes at a heavy cost. Carlos (Manny Perez), 28, lives in the Heights, where his father Eddie (Milían) runs a bodega. He works in the East Village as an inker for comic books, but is developing his own project, something he hopes to sell to a well-known publisher. Mickey (Hoch) is the sweet-natured superintendent of their building, a man whose loopy dreams of becoming a professional bowler are met with only derision by his father, Sean (Jude Ciccolella). Both Carlos and Mickey are burning with desire to get out of the Heights. Unlike their sons, Eddie and Sean are immigrants or children of immigrants who have made their peace with their unfulfilled dreams. Like Carlos and Mickey, the two are best friends and Sean has made the mistake of lending Eddie $25,000 to cover his profligate spending. When Eddie is injured during a robbery, Sean convinces Carlos to take over the store and protect his investment. For Carlos -- who has been challenged by his mentor to rework a superficial comic strip into something of substance -- running the store is the last thing on his mind. Nevertheless, he puts his artistic aspirations on hold to take over the store and care for his father. Together they work through their mutual mistrust and grief over the death of Carlos' mother. Through it all, Carlos comes to understand that if he is to make it as an artist, he must engage with the community he comes from and take that experience back out into the world by putting it in his work.