For a complete list of feature films, documentaries, TV episodes and more leaving SBS On Demand throughout February, click here.
Fishing Without Nets
MA15+
Kenya, Somalia, USA, 2014
Genre: Thriller
Language: Somali, English, French
Director: Cutter Hodierne
Starring: Abdikani Muktar, Abdi Siad, Abduwhali Faarah, Reda Kateb, Idil Ibrahim, Eric Godon
What's it about?
In Somalia, principled, young husband and father Abdi (Muktar) turns to piracy to support his family. While his wife and child wait for him in Yemen, an outdated and fragile satellite phone is his only connection to all he truly values. Abdi and his fellow pirates hit the high seas and capture a French oil tanker, demanding a hefty ransom. During the long wait for the cash to arrive, Abdi forges a tentative friendship with one of the hostages. When some of the pirates resort to violence, Abdi must make dramatic choices to determine his course.
A Fantastic Woman
M
Chile, 2017
Genre: Drama
Language: Spanish
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Starring: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim
What's it about?
Marina's (Vega) life is thrown into turmoil following the death of her partner (Reyes). Mourning the loss of the man she loved, she finds herself under intense scrutiny from those with no regard for her privacy. Winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Certain Women
M
USA, 2016
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Lily Gladstone
What's it about?
A handful of intersecting lives across Montana. A lawyer (Dern) tries to diffuse a hostage situation and calm her disgruntled client (Chernobyl's Jared Harris). A married couple (Williams, James Le Gros) breaks ground on a new home but exposes marital fissures when they try to persuade an elderly man to sell his stockpile of sandstone. A ranch hand (Gladstone) forms an attachment to a young lawyer (Stewart). From acclaimed director Kelly Reichardt (Wendy & Lucy, First Cow).
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
M
Belgium, UK, France, Portugal, Spain, 2018
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
Language: English, Spanish
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård, Olga Kurylenko, Sergi López
What's it about?
Toby (Driver), a cynical advertising director finds himself trapped in the outrageous delusions of an old Spanish shoe-maker who believes himself to be Don Quixote (Pryce). In the course of their comic and increasingly surreal adventures, Toby is forced to confront the tragic repercussions of a film he made in his idealistic youth. A long-in-the-making passion project from Terry Gilliam (The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Brazil), whose first troubled shoot was the subject of the 2002 documentary Lost In La Mancha.
L.A. Story
M
USA, 1991
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Language: English
Director: Mick Jackson
Starring: Steve Martin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant
What's it about?
With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a "wacky weatherman" (Martin) tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early-90s Los Angeles.
Spotlight
M
USA, 2015
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Tom McCarthy
Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci
What's it about?
Follows a team of reporters at The Boston Globe who, in 2001, launched a dogged investigation into the misdeeds covered up by the Catholic Church. They were eventually able to out nearly 90 Boston-area priests as molesters and exposed a pattern of corruption at the church where the higher-ups privy to the scandal would effectively silence any accusers who came forward. Winner of Best Picture at 2016 Academy Awards, and directed by Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, The Visitor).
The Untamed
MA15+
Mexico, 2016
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Horror
Language: Spanish
Director: Amat Escalante
Starring: Kenny Johnston, Simone Bucio, Jesús Meza, Ruth Ramos, Eden Villavicencio
What's it about?
A couple in a troubled marriage locate a meteorite, initiating an encounter with a mysterious creature. Their lives are turned upside down by the discovery of the creature, which is a source of both pleasure and destruction. Winner of the Silver Lion (second prize) at the 2016 Venice Film Festival.
Bedevil
M
Australia, 1993
Genre: Horror
Language: English
Director: Tracey Moffatt
Starring: Lex Marinos, Tracey Moffatt, Riccardo Natoli
What's it about?
BeDevil is a trilogy of ghost stories that follows characters pestered by visions - real, remembered and imagined. These contemporary tales travel from the sparseness of the outback, through the murky, rotting swamps of the islands, to the Brisbane docks in a stylish vision from writer/director and celebrated visual artist Tracey Moffatt.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
MA15+
USA, 2014
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: English
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Starring: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts
What's it about?
A fading actor (Keaton) best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected. Winner of Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards.
Bugsy
M
USA, 1991
Genre: Drama, Crime, Biography
Language: English
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Warren Beatty, Harvey Keitel, Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna
What's it about?
New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel (Beatty) takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womaniser with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill (Bening) detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea. Nominated for ten 1992 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The Proposition
MA15+
Australia, 2005
Genre: Drama, Crime, Western
Language: English
Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Tom Budge, Danny Huston, Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, Noah Taylor
What's it about?
In the harsh outback of 1880s Australia, the brutal Burns brothers are wanted for a vicious crime. When Charlie Burns (Pearce) is captured, the officer arresting makes a startling proposition in order to end the cycle of violence: Charlie must hunt down and murder his violent older brother Arthur (Huston), in order to save his youngest brother from the noose.
Waru
M
New Zealand, 2017
Genre: Drama
Language: Maori, English
Director: Briar Grace Smith, Casey Kaa, Ainsley Gardiner, Katie Wolfe, Chelsea Cohen, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Paula Whetu Jones
Starring: Tanea Heke, Roimata Fox, Ngapaki Moetara, Awhina-Rose Ashby, Maria Walker, Kararaina Rangihau, Merehaka Maaka, Acacia Hapi, Antonio Te Maioha, Miriama McDowell, Amber Curreen
What's it about?
From eight female Maori directors come eight connected stories (in Maori, waru means 8), each taking place at the same moment in time during the tangi (funeral) of a small boy, Waru, who has died at the hands of a caregiver. The eight stories are all subtly linked and follow different female characters as they come to terms with Waru’s death and try to find a way forward in their community.
Catfish
M
USA, 2010
Genre: Documentary
Language: English
Director: Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
What's it about?
In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. At once a documentary that plays like a thriller and a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.
Dallas Buyers Club
MA15+
USA, 2013
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Starring: Steve Zahn, Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto
What's it about?
1986, Texas. Homophobic womaniser Ron Woodruff (McConaughey, in an Oscar-winning performance) is completely oblivious of AIDS, even as it spreads through the world, terrifying the public. So when Ron contracts HIV, he is blindsided. Given just 30 days to live, he tries in vain to be included in the AZT drug trial. Ron seeks out other untested, alternative medications in Mexico, and establishes an underground network of drug supply for the growing increasing numbers of HIV and AIDS. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y., Wild, Big Little Lies).
Desperately Seeking Susan
M
USA, 1985
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Director: Susan Seidelman
Starring: Madonna, Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, Laurie Metcalf, John Turturro
What's it about?
Roberta is a bored suburban housewife who is fascinated with a woman, Susan, she only knows about by reading messages to and from her in the personals section of the newspaper. This fascination reaches a peak when an ad with the headline "Desperately Seeking Susan" proposes a rendezvous. Roberta goes too, and in a series of events involving amnesia and mistaken identity, steps into Susan's life.
Tehran Taboo
MA15+
Germany, Austria, 2017
Genre: Drama, Animation
Language: Persian
Director: Ali Soozandeh
Starring: Arash Marandi, Alireza Bayram, Siir Eloglu, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi
What's it about?
The lives of three strong-willed women and a young musician cross paths in Tehran’s schizophrenic society where sex, adultery, corruption, prostitution and drugs coexist with strict religious law. In this bustling modern metropolis, avoiding prohibition has become an everyday sport and breaking taboos can be a means of personal emancipation.
A Matter of Life and Death
PG
UK, 1946
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Language: English
Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough
What's it about?
When a young airman (Niven) miraculously survives bailing out of his aeroplane without a parachute, he falls in love with an American radio operator. But the officials in the other world realise their mistake, and despatch an angel to collect him. From legendary directing team Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes).
The Mermaid
M
China, 2016
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Language: Chinese
Director: Stephen Chow
Starring: Chao Deng, Show Lo, Yuqi Zhang, Yun Lin, Tsui Hark
What's it about?
A playboy business tycoon, Liu Xuan (Chao Deng), purchases the Green Gulf, a wildlife reserve, for a sea reclamation project, and uses sonar technology to get rid of the sea life in the area. Unknown to him, the Green Gulf is the home of merpeople, and the sonar has caused many of them to succumb to illness or die. Xuan's business ventures in the area are threatened when he crosses paths with the mermaid, Shan (Yun Lin), who is sent to avenge her people. From Stephen Chow, writer-director of Kung Fu Hustle.
White Boy Rick
M
USA, 2018
Genre: Crime, Drama
Language: English
Director: Yann Demange
Starring: Richie Merritt, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie
What's it about?
Based on the moving, true story of a blue-collar father (McConaughey) and his teenage son, Rick Wershe Jr. (Merritt), who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison. Directed by Yann Demage ('71).
I Am Not a Witch
M
UK, France, Germany, Zambia, 2017
Genre: Drama
Language: English, Tonga
Director: Rungano Nyoni
Starring: Maggie Mulubwa, Henry B.J. Phiri, Gloria Huwiler, Nellie Munamonga
What's it about?
After a minor incident in her village in Zambia, eight-year-old Shula (Mulubwa) is exiled to a travelling witch camp where she is told that if she tries to escape she will be transformed into a goat. As she navigates through her new life with her fellow witches and a government official who espouses her, exploiting her innocence for his own gain, she must decide whether to accept her fate or risk the consequences of seeking freedom. Winner of the BAFTA award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
Panic Room
M
USA, 2002
Genre: Thriller
Language: English
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Jared Leto, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam
What's it about?
Newly divorced Meg Altman (Foster) and her young diabetic daughter Sarah (Stewart) are forced to flee to the panic room of their newly rented New York home when three men (Leto, Whitaker & Yoakam) force their way into the house on a mission to recover millions of dollars in a safe hidden – where else – in the same high security, purpose built safe haven called the panic room. Directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, The Social Network).
The Fisher King
M
France, 1991
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
Language: English
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer
What's it about?
A former radio shock-jock (Bridges) sinks into a boozy depression when his flip comment on the air is blamed for a shooting spree in an upscale cafe. Living off the kindness of long-suffering girlfriend Anne (Ruehl, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), Jack has an epiphany when he is rescued from street punks by Parry (Williams), a homeless former professor who has created a world of his own invention to insulate himself from the pain of witnessing his wife's death in the cafe shooting spree. Directed by Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys).
Wild Tales
MA15+
Spain, 2014
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Language: Spanish
Director: Damián Szifron
Starring: Rita Cortese, Ricardo Darín, Liliana Ackerman, Luis Manuel Altamirano García, Alejandro Angelini
What's it about?
Six separate stories tales, whose characters find themselves facing a reality that shifts and suddenly turns unpredictable, and crossing the divide between civilisation and barbarism. A lover's betrayal, a return to the repressed past and the violence woven into everyday encounters drive the characters to madness as they lose control. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Zero Dark Thirty
M
USA, 2013
Genre: Thriller
Language: English
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Ehle, Jason Clarke, Chris Pratt, James Gandolfini
What's it about?
For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret locations across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal to track down and eliminate wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden. From Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Point Break), and nominated for five 2013 Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Anonymous
M
UK, Germany, 2011
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis, Rhys Ifans, Derek Jacobi, Joely Richardson, Xavier Samuel
What's it about?
Who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare? Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.
Capharnaüm
M
Lebanon, 2018
Genre: Drama
Language: Arabic
Director: Nadine Labaki
Starring: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Nadine Labaki
What's it about?
Zain (Al Rafeea), a 12-year-old boy scrambling to survive on the streets of Beirut, sues his parents for having brought him into such an unjust world, where being a refugee with no documents means that your rights can easily be denied. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Joan of Arc
MA15+
France, 1999
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway
What's it about?
Luc Besson's (Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element) epic medieval war saga about the iconic French heroin and religious martyr of the 15th century. In 1429, a teenage girl (Jovovich) from a remote French village stood before her King with a message she claimed came from God; that she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country from its political and religious turmoil.
A Street Cat Named Bob
PG
UK, 2016
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: English
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Luke Treadaway, Ruta Gedmintas, Joanne Froggatt, Anthony Stewart Head
What's it about?
Based on the international best selling book. The true feel good story of how James Bowen (Treadaway), a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life transformed when he met a stray ginger cat.
Esteros
MA15+
Argentina, 2016
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: Portuguese, International, Spanish
Director: Papu Curotto
Starring: Ignacio Rogers, Esteban Masturini, Joaquín Parada, Blas Finardi Niz, Renata Calmon
What's it about?
Matías and Jerónimo's childhood friendship transforms the summer before starting high school, when they both experience their sexual awakening. But Matías' father breaks up their relationship when he takes up a job in Brazil. More than ten years later, Matías returns to his old town and runs into Jerónimo, who now works as a biologist for a big company. Seeing his friend again reawakens his feelings and gives Matías the chance at real love.
Midnight in Paris
PG
Spain, 2011
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
Language: English
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Léa Seydoux
What's it about?
Vacationing in contemporary Paris with his fiancee (McAdams), an insecure writer (Wilson) is whisked back in time and meets Jazz Age giants of art and literature. The most commercially successful film to date from Woody Allen, who won the Best Original Screenplay at the 2012 Academy Awards.
The Importance of Being Earnest
G
UK, 1952
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Director: Anthony Asquith
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood
What's it about?
Algernon Moncrieff (Denison) is surprised to discover that his affluent friend (Redgrave) -- whom he knows as "Ernest" -- is actually named Jack Worthing. Jack fabricated his alter ego in order to escape his country estate where he takes care of his charge, Cecily Cardew. Cecily believes that Ernest is Jack's wayward brother and is keen on his raffish lifestyle. Algernon, seeing an opportunity, assumes Ernest's identity and sneaks off to woo Cecily.
A Separation
PG
Iran, 2011
Genre: Drama
Language: Persian-Farsi
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sarina Farhadi, Sareh Bayat
What's it about?
A married couple (Moaadi and Hatami) is faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease. Winner of both the Golden Bear (top prize) at the 2011 Berlin Festival and the 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this remains one of the most celebrated and acclaimed Iranian films of all time.
Brick Lane
PG
UK, India, 2007
Genre: Drama
Language: English, Bengali
Director: Sarah Gavron
Starring: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Christopher Simpson, Satish Kaushik, Zafreen
What's it about?
Nazneem (Chatterjee), a young Bangladeshi woman, arrives in 1980s London for an arranged marriage with middle-aged Chanu (Kaushik). As their marriage proves loveless, she fears her soul is quietly dying. That is until the day hot-headed Karim (Simpson) comes knocking at her door. Winner of the CICAE Award at the 2007 San Sebastián International Film Festival.
The Death of Stalin
MA15+
UK, 2017
Genre: Comedy, History
Language: English
Director: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough, Jeffrey Tambor, Adrian McLoughlin
What's it about?
When tyrannical dictator Josef Stalin (McLoughlin) dies in 1953, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweeby Georgy Malenkov (Tambor), the wily Nikita Khrushchev (Buscemi) and Lavrenti Beria (Beale), the sadistic secret police chief. From Armando Iannucci, creator of The Thick of It, In the Loop and Veep.
Blue Jasmine
M
USA, 2013
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Bobby Cannavale, Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay
What's it about?
After her marriage to a wealthy businessman collapses, New York socialite Jasmine (Blanchett, in an Oscar-winning performance) flees to San Francisco and the modest apartment of her sister, Ginger (Hawkins). Although she's in a fragile emotional state and lacks job skills, Jasmine still manages to voice her disapproval of Ginger's boyfriend, Chili. Jasmine begrudgingly takes a job in a dentist's office, while Ginger begins dating a man who's a step up from Chili.
Wings of Desire
PG
Germany, 1987
Genre: Drama, Romance, Fantasy
Language: German
Director: Wim Wenders
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin
What's it about?
Daniel (Ganz), a lonely, trenchcoated angel, watches over Berlin, silently comforting its citizens in their hour of need. But when he is captivated by a beautiful French trapeze artist (Dommartin), Damiel decides to trade his gentle, angelic life for the torturous emotions of the secular world. With his divine position in jeopardy, he must choose to either give up love, or lose his eternal wings forever. A classic film from renowned German director Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, The Buena Vista Social Club).
Jedda
PG
Australia, 1955
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Action
Language: English
Director: Charles Chauvel
Starring: Ngarla Kunoth, Robert Tudawali, Betty Suttor, Paul Reynall, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks
What's it about?
Jedda is an orphaned Arrernte baby who is adopted by a white family. She grows up, confused over her heritage and place in the world. As a young woman, she is mysteriously drawn to go "Walkabout" as people of her tribe have for hundreds of years. The first Australian feature film to be filmed in colour, and nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.
Charlie's Country
M
Australia, 2013
Genre: Biography
Language: English
Director: Rolf de Heer
Starring: David Gulpilil, Peter Djigirr, Luke Ford
What's it about?
Living in a remote Aboriginal community in the northern part of Australia, Charlie (Gulpilil) is a warrior past his prime. As the government increases its stronghold over the community’s traditional way of life, Charlie becomes lost between two cultures. Directed by Rolf De Heer, who collaborated with Gulpilil previously on The Tracker and Ten Canoes.
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday
G
France, 1953
Genre: Comedy
Language: English, French
Director: Jacques Tati
Starring: Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla
What's it about?
Monsieur Hulot, Tati’s endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort, where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati’s masterpiece of gentle slapstick is a series of effortlessly well-choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats, and firecrackers; it was the first entry in the Hulot series and the film that launched its maker to international stardom.
Kirikou and the Men and Women
PG
France, 2012
Genre: Family, Adventure, Animation
Language: French
Director: Michel Ocelot
Starring: Romann Berrux, Awa Sene Sarr, Sabine Pakora
What's it about?
Old grandfather shares wonderful tales about Kirikou's childhood, when he helped the men and women from his own village and from other villages, too. Kirikou's courage and intelligence helped the Strong Woman whose roof had been destroyed by Karaba the witch; he used his cunning to find the Old Grouch, lost on the savannah; the secret of the Blue Monster; and the magical powers of music. The follow-up to 1998's Kirikou and the Sorceress and 2005's Kirikou and the Wild Beasts.
Pop Aye
Singapore, Thailand, 2017
Genre: Drama
Language: Thai
Director: Kirsten Tan
Starring: Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Penpak Sirikul, Bong
What's it about?
On a chance encounter, a disenchanted architect (Warakulnukroh) bumps into his long-lost elephant on the streets of Bangkok. Excited, he takes his elephant on a journey across Thailand in search of the farm where they grew up together with his family. Winner of the Screenwriting Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival (in the World Cinema - Dramatic competition).
The Tracker
M
Australia, 2002
Genre: Drama, History, Western
Language: English
Director: Rolf de Heer
Starring: David Gulpilil, Gary Sweet, Grant Page, Damon Gameau
What's it about?
Fanatic (Sweet) a government trooper who is heading an expedition to find an Aboriginal man accused of murdering a white woman. Others in the expedition are the Follower (Gameau) a greenhorn trooper, the Veteran (Page), and the Tracker (Gulpilil, who won the AFI award for Best Actor in a Leading Role). Directed by Rolf de Heer, who would collaborate again with Gulpilil on Ten Canoes and Charlie's Country.
52 Tuesdays
M
Australia, 2014
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Sophie Hyde
Starring: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Del Herbert-Jane, Imogen Archer, Mario Späte
What's it about?
Sixteen-year-old Billie’s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender transition, and their time together becomes limited to Tuesdays. This emotionally charged story of desire, responsibility, and transformation was filmed over the course of a year—once a week, every week, only on Tuesdays.
Amour
M
France, Germany, 2012
Genre: Drama
Language: French
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva
What's it about?
Georges (Trintignant) and Anne (Riva) are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack and the couple's bond of love is severely tested. Winner of both the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Barbara
M
Germany, 2012
Genre: Drama
Language: German
Director: Christian Petzold
Starring: Nina Hoss. Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock
What's it about?
Directed by Christian Petzold (Phoenix, Transit), Barbara stars Nina Hoss as a talented young doctor in 1980s Germany, who has applied for an exit visa from the GDR and, as punishment, has been transferred from her prestigious post in Berlin to a small paediatric hospital in the country. Despite being constantly aware of the shadowy presence of Stasi officers chronicling her every move, she arrives at her new post having already planned a series of secret meetings with her lover (Waschke), with whom she plans to escape to Denmark.
Bloody Sunday
MA15+
Ireland, UK, 2002
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History
Language: English, Irish
Director: Paul Greengrass
Starring: James Nesbitt, Allan Gildea, Gerard Crossan, Mary Moulds, Carmel McCallion
What's it about?
A civil rights leader and a teenage Catholic boy are caught up in Bloody Sunday of January 1972, when 13 civilians were killed by the British Army in Northern Ireland. Inspired by Don Mullan's novel 'Eyewitness Bloody Sunday' and directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93, Captain Phillips).
Buoyancy
M
Australia, Cambodia, Thailand, 2019
Genre: Drama, Crime
Language: Cambodian, Thai
Director: Rodd Rathjen
Starring: Sarm Heng, Thanawut Kasro, Mony Ros, Saichia Wongwirot, Yothin Udomsanti
What's it about?
A 14-year-old Cambodian boy (Heng) is taken captive and enslaved aboard a fishing trawler, finding that his only hope of escape may be to become as aggressive as his captors. Official submission of Australia for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020.
Frantz
M
France, Germany, 2016
Genre: Drama
Language: German, French
Director: François Ozon
Starring: Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Ernst Stötzner
What's it about?
Just after the Great War, in a small German town, Anna returns each day to the cemetery to the grave of her fiancé, Frantz, who died on the frontlines in France. But this particular day, Adrien, a young Frenchman, has come to lay flowers on the grave of his German friend. The presence of a Frenchman after the German defeat gives rise to passionate reactions in the town.
Girls of the Sun
MA15+
France, Switzerland, Belgium, Georgia, 2018
Genre: Drama, War
Language: French
Director: Eva Husson
Starring: Golshifteh Farahani, Emmanuelle Bercot, Zübeyde Bulut, Behi Djanati Atai
What's it about?
Bahar, the commanding officer of the Daughters of the Sun, a battalion made up entirely of Kurdish female soldiers, is on the cusp of liberating their town, which has been overrun by ISIS extremists. Directed by Eva Husson (Bang Gang).
Her Smell
M
USA, 2018
Genre: Drama, Music
Language: English
Director: Alex Ross Perry
Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Amber Heard, Agyness Deyn
What's it about?
A self-destructive punk rocker (Moss) struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success. From writer-director Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Phillip, Queen of Earth).
Ida
PG
Poland, 2014
Genre: Drama
Language: Polish
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Starring: Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Joanna Kulig
What's it about?
In 1960s Poland, a novitiate (Trzebuchowska) brought up by nuns in a convent, is set to take her vows, but discovers that she is actually Jewish. She discovers an aunt she never knew existed (Kulesza) and together they discover a dark family secret dating back to the Nazi occupation. Winner of the 2015 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and directed by Pawel Pawlikowski (2018's Cold War).
Let the Sunshine In
M
France, 2017
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Language: French
Director: Claire Denis
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Gerard Depardieu, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Alex Descas
What's it about?
Isabelle (Binoche), a Parisian artist and divorced mother, goes from one bad romance to another in her quixotic pursuit of true love. From acclaimed director Claire Denis (Beau Travail, White Material), and loosely based on Roland Barthes' book "A Lover's Discourse."
My Left Foot
M
Ireland, 1989
Language: English
Director: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Fiona Shaw, Brenda Fricker
What’s it about?
The true-life story of Christy Brown (Day-Lewis, who won the Oscar for Best Actor), who was born paralysed with a severe form of cerebral palsy; his left foot the only appendage over which he had complete control. While doctors write him off as also being mentally disabled, his mother (Fricker) knows better, and teaches him to read and write. He eventually trains himself to use his foot to not only paint, but write, among his works, his autobiography (from which the film takes its title). Directed by Jim Sheridan (In The Name Of The Father, In America).
Sophie's Choice
MA15+
USA, 1982
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: English
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol
What's it about?
Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her acclaimed performance as Sophie, a survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who lives in Brooklyn with her lover Nathan (Kevin Kline), a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stingo (Peter MacNicol), the movie's narrator, a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions. Directed by Alan J. Pakula (All The President's Men, Klute).
Their Finest
M
UK, 2017
Genre: Romance, War, Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Director: Lone Scherfig
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Richard E. Grant, Jack Huston
What's it about?
During the Blitz of World War II, a female screenwriter (Arterton) works on a film celebrating England's resilience as a way to buoy a weary populace's spirits. Her efforts to dramatise the true story of two sisters (Lily Knight and Francesca Knight) who undertook their own maritime mission to rescue wounded soldiers are met with mixed feelings by a dismissive all-male staff.
