Roughly Speaking

Letters

April 2021 •English

LETTERS, a dramatic historical fiction written by Mrs. Evelyn Merritt in 2010, tells the story of U.S. soldiers and their loved ones through their correspondence beginning with the Civil War and ending with the War in Iraq. Sahuarita High School students adapted the Readers’ Theatre play into a movie, reasoning the student actors would be kept safe from Covid-19 by filming them individually, and afterward the footage could be reassembled into a screenplay following the original dialogue.

Vychovatel

May 1972 •Czech

Wings

August 1927 •English

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.

The Great War

December 2019 •English

In November of 1918 as World War I was ending, a unit of American soldiers goes behind enemy lines to find a lost platoon of African American soldiers.

Could I But Live

August 1964 •Japanese

Could I But Live

Satan's Slaves

September 2017 •Indonesian

After dying from a strange illness that she suffered for three years, a mother returns home to pick up her children.

Have You Seen Me

October 2022 •English

When Benny's younger brother, Loren, suddenly reappears after being missing for months, the two are forced to reckon with the drastically different ways they have chosen to live their lives.

The Concert

May 1954 •

Celebrating the end of World War II and liberation of their city, a group of students is set on holding a cultural evening. They invite Ema, a reclusive piano teacher from the same building, to play for them. Ema declines, but starts reminscing back on her own life and the historical events that have seemingly overshadowed it.

The Good Soldier Schweik

January 1932 •Czech

Joint montage of the first three silent films about Švejk: Good Soldier Švejk (1926, director: Karel Lamač), Švejk on the Front (1926, director Karel Lamač) and Švejk in Russian Captivity (1926, director: Svatopluk Innemann, model Karel Vaněk). The lead role was played by Karel Noll, who was very popular at the time. The last silent sequel Švejk v civilu (1927) exists independently, but the copy of the film is badly damaged.

Testament of Youth

January 2015 •English

Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.

Losing Isaiah

March 1995 •English

Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.

Mother

May 2009 •Korean

A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it's his mother's mission to prove him innocent.

The Man Without a Name

June 1932 •German

Fish Tank

September 2009 •English

Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.

My Boy Jack

November 2007 •English

Author Rudyard Kipling and his wife search for their 17-year-old son after he goes missing during WWI.

Star for a Night

August 1936 •English

Blind Mrs. Lind comes to American to visit her three children whom she thinks are successful.

In Love and War

December 1996 •English

After teenage ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway takes shrapnel in the leg during World War I, he falls in love with Agnes von Kurowsky, a beautiful older nurse at the hospital where he's sent to recover. Their affair slowly blossoms, until Hemingway boldly asks Agnes to be his wife and journey to America with him.

Little Lips

February 1978 •Italian

A writer returns home to his estate after service in World War I. He has developed a very bad case of depression due to a war wound concerning his genitalia. He contemplates suicide, but recovers after becoming interested in his caretaker's 12 year-old war orphan niece, who now lives in the manor.

The 12 Dogs of Christmas

October 2005 •English

This holiday tale has all the elements of a classic heartwarmer--cuddly dogs, small town spirit, and even a full-fledged Christmas pageant. Set during the meager years of the Great Depression, 12 DOGS OF CHRISTMAS follows the story of Emma, a 12-year-old who is sent to live in Doverville, a rural town, with her aunt. The town has, like the rest of the nation, fallen on lean times and seem to have lost all interest in celebrating. However, Emma manages to enlist the town's dogs into a colorful holiday pageant that reminds the inhabitants that even the Great Depression cannot ruin the spirit of Christmas.

Splendor in the Grass

October 1961 •English

A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.