Click each image to play the film in full at SBS On Demand. Please note that the films on this list expire at various times throughout the month (If there is no 'play' button in the image, the film is no longer available).
Persepolis
France, 2007
Genre: Animated, drama
Language: French, Persian
Director: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Simon Abkarian, Danielle Darrieux, Chiara Mastroianni
What's it about?
Based on Marjane Satrapi's acclaimed graphic novel, the black and white animation Persepolis recounts her experience growing up as a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl during the Islamic Revolution. The story follows Marjane (voiced by Chiara Mastroianni) as she outsmarts the 'social guardians' and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden, while living with the terror of government persecution and the Iran/Iraq war. A powerful, eye-opening and thoroughly entertaining gem.
[link title="'Persepolis' depicts a world in which the personal is always political" url="node/127294"]
The Reluctant Infidel
MA15+
United Kingdom, 2010
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Director: Josh Appignanesi
Starring: Amit Shah, Yigal Naor, Matt Lucas, Richard Schiff, Archie Panjabi, Omid Djalili
What's it about?
Mahmud Nasir, a successful business owner and East End Muslim, discovers that he's adopted and Jewish. In order to see his estranged father, Mahmud must adopt his Jewish heritage and set aside old prejudices. Directed by Josh Appignanesi and stars Omid Djalili and Richard Schiff.
[link title="The Reluctant Infidel Review" url="node/5180"]
Poltergeist
M
United States, 1982
Genre: Horror
Language: English
Director: Tobe Hooper
Starring: JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, Dominique Dunne, Craig T. Nelson, Richard Lawson, Beatrice Straight, Robert Broyles, James Karen, Oliver Robins, Zelda Rubinstein, Martin Casella, Sonny Landham, Michael McManus, Virginia Kiser, Lou Perryman, Noel Conlon
What's it about?
The original and the best. Late one night, 10-year-old Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) hears a voice coming from inside the television set. At first, the spirits that invade the Freeling's home seem like playful children. But then they turn angry. And when Carol Anne is pulled from this world into another, Steve and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams--In the Land of Women) turn to an exorcist (Zelda Rubinstein) in this horror classic from director Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre films) and producer and screenwriter Steven Spielberg.
Anne of Green Gables
G
Canada, 2016
Genre: Drama, Family, TV Movie
Language: English
Director: John Kent Harrison
Starring: Ella Ballentine, Sara Botsford, Martin Sheen, Julia Lalonde, Zoe Fraser, Kyle Gatehouse, Jaime Feggi, Stefani Kimber, Natalia Payne, Alanis Peart, Isabella Ricker, Linda Kash, Drew Haytaoglu, Kate Hennig
What's it about?
A retelling of L.M. Montgomery's story. Anne (Ella Ballentine) is an 11 year-old girl in need of attention and affection – having lived much of her young life in orphanages and strangers’ homes. But when she is offered the chance to join a family on Prince Edward Island, she takes up the opportunity with a big heart and all the optimism she can muster. Received into the home of brother and sister Marilla (Sara Botsford, The Fog) and Matthew Cuthbert (Golden Globe winner Martin Sheen, The West Wing), Anne begins life anew - tackling her responsibilities with enthusiasm and vigour. As time goes on, Anne attends country school, getting a taste for all things literary, establishing a lifelong friendship with Diana Barry (Julia Lalonde) and even getting into arguments with boys like classmate Gilbert Blythe (Drew Haytaoglu), who incessantly teases Anne her about her red hair. With noble aspirations to become a teacher, Anne sets out to truly show the world what she is made of.
Gloria
MA15+
Chile, 2012
Genre: Drama
Language: Spanish
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Starring: Paulina Garcia, Sergio Hernández, Hugo Moraga
What's it about?
Free spirited and looking for love, 58-year-old Gloria hits the dance floors of Santiago. Romance reveals itself in Rodolfo, and so begins their odd and unpredictable courtship.
[link title="Gloria: Sebastián Lelio interview" url="node/1602"]
[link title="Why You Should Watch: Gloria" url="node/57474"]
[link title="Gloria Review" url="node/6249"]
Largo Winch
M
France, Belgium, 2008
Genre: Adventure, Thriller
Language: French, Serbian, Portuguese
Director: Jérôme Salle
Starring: Steven Waddington, Tomer Sisley, Mélanie Thierry, Anne Consigny, Gilbert Melki, Karel Roden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Miki Manojlovic
What's it about?
After a powerful billionaire is murdered, his secret adoptive son must race to prove his legitimacy, find his father's killers and stop them from taking over his financial empire.
Plein Soleil
M
France, Italy, 1960
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Language: English, French, Italian
Director: René Clément
Starring: Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Marie Laforêt
What's it about?
Tom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
Patrick (1978)
M
Australia, 1978
Genre: Horror
Language: [language]
Director: Richard Franklin
Starring: Robert Thompson, Rod Mullinar, Susan Penhaligon
What's it about?
In room 15 of the mysterious Roget clinic lies a young comatose murderer named Patrick. His doctor thinks he\'s nothing more than 170 pounds of limp meat hanging off a comatose brain, but a young nurse, Kathy, knows very differently. Patrick has burgeoning psychic powers and a crush on Kathy - and his affection is about to turn into a deadly and bloody obsession.
Troll Hunter
M
Norway, 2010
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Language: Norwegian
Director: Andre Ovredal
Starring: Tomas Alf Larsen, Erland Tosterud, Otto Jespersen
What's it about?
A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but they learn there are much more dangerous things going on when they discover a troll hunter.
[link title="Troll Hunter: André Á˜vredal interview" url="node/633"]
Marshland
Spain, 2014
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Language: Spanish, Turkish
Director: Alberto Rodríguez
Starring: Raul Arevalo, Javier Gutierrez, Antonio de la Torre
What's it about?
Two homicide detectives who appear to be poles apart must settle their differences and bring a serial killer to justice before more young women lose their lives.
Nathalie
MA15+
France, 2003
Genre: Drama
Language: French
Director: Anne Fontaine
Starring: Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Beart, Gérard Depardieu
What's it about?
Bernard (Gérard Depardieu) and Catherine (Fanny Ardant) have been married for many years when Catherine discovers that Bernard has been cheating on her. As a form of revenge, or perhaps for more complex reasons of her own, she hires a prostitute (Emmanuelle Béart) to seduce her husband under the name Nathalie – posing as a 'regular girl' – and report back to her on what takes place.
[link title="Nathalie review: Fanny Ardant will draw you in" url="node/2967"]
Dating the Enemy
M
Australia, 1996
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Director: Megan Simpson Huberman
Starring: Guy Pearce, Claudia Karvan, Matt Day, Lisa Hensley, John Howard, T.J. Ramini
What's it about?
Claudia Karvan and Guy Pearce headline this local take on the body swap genre. They play two halves of a doomed relationship, who get a unique opportunity to walk in someone else's shoes. Karvan and Pearce have a lot of fun grabbing and gawking at their 'new' appendages, in Megan Simpson Huberman's battle-of-the-sexes Aussie comedy.
Winter's Bone
MA15+
United States, 2010
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Debra Granik
Starring: John Hawkes, Garret Dillahunt, Jennifer Lawrence
What's it about?
Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), an unflinching Ozark teenager, hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact and save their home from being repossessed. Nominated for four Oscars at the 2011 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
[link title="Winter's Bone Review" url="node/5115"]
Compliance
M, 2012
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Language: [language]
Director: Craig Zobel
Starring: Philip Ettinger, Bill Camp, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Ann Dowd
What's it about?
When a prank caller convinces a fast food restaurant manager to interrogate an innocent young employee, no-one is left unharmed. Based on true events.
[link title="Why You Should Watch: Compliance" url="node/107804"]
[link title="Compliance review: A delectably unnerving cinematic experience" url="node/6052"]
The Hunger
MA 15+
United Kingdom, 1983
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Romance
Language: English
Director: Tony Scott
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff DeYoung, Beth Ehlers, Dan Hedaya, Rufus Collins, Suzanne Bertish, James Aubrey, Ann Magnuson, John Stephen Hill, Shane Rimmer, Douglas Lambert, Bessie Love, John Pankow, Willem Dafoe, Sophie Ward, George Camiller
What's it about?
Catherine Deneuve, Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon and rocker David Bowie star in this stylishly gothic tale of undying beauty, unending passion and their terrible cost.
A Love Song for Bobby Long
MA15+
United States, 2004
Genre: Drama
Language: English, Portuguese, International
Director: Shainee Gabel
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, John Travolta, Gabriel Macht
What's it about?
Scarlett Johansson stars as a headstrong young woman who returns to New Orleans after the death of her estranged mother only to find her house inhabited by two men, one an ageing alcoholic, Bobby Long (John Travolta).
Orgazmo
MA15+
United States, 1997
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Director: Trey Parker
Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, David Dunn
What's it about?
South Park writer Trey Parker lends his acerbic wit to this outrageous comedy about a naive young Mormon who becomes unwittingly a porn star. Although Trey Parker wrote, directed and starred in Orgazmo, his South Park cohort Matt Stone is never too far, producing the movie and playing a set photographer in love with our hero. Mormon Joe Young is about to get married, but he needs to find money quickly to be able to give his fiancé the wedding of her dreams. By chance, he knocks on the door of a porn movie producer and is recruited as a sex superhero. However, his "talents" are noticed and when the movie becomes a success, he finds a kind of fame that wouldn't sit well with his unknowing fiancé.
Turkey Shoot
MA15+
Australia, 1982
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
Language: English
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Starring: Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, Michael Craig
What's it about?
In the near future, after an unspecified holocaust, survivors are herded into prison camps. There, they are hunted for sport by the leaders of the camp. Paul, one of the newest prisoners, is determined not to go down as quietly as the others.
[link title="Turkey Shoot review" url="node/27131"]
Our Little Sister
Japan, 2000
Genre: Comedy
Language: Japanese
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose, Shinobu Ōtake, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Ryô Kase, Ryôhei Suzuki, Jun Fubuki, Kirin Kiki, Lily Franky, Oshiro Maeda
What's it about?Three sisters Sachi, Yoshino and Chika live together in a large house in the city of Kamakura. When their father absent from the family home for the last 15 years dies, they travel to the countryside for his funeral and meet their shy teenage half-sister. Bonding quickly with the orphaned Suzu, they invite her to live with them. Suzu eagerly agrees, and a new life of joyful discovery begins for the four siblings.
[link title="Our Little Sister review: Shades of Ozu in classic family drama" url="node/44193"]
