Opium

Italian for Beginners

December 2000 •Danish

Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.

Bad Education

March 2004 •Spanish

An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.

Breaking the Waves

July 1996 •Danish

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

The Name of the Rose

September 1986 •English

14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence; which is considerable.

The Godfather

March 1972 •English

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

The Tong Man

December 1919 •English

An opium smuggler is marked for murder in this story of the Chinese Mafia.

Ben-Hur

November 1959 •English

In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.

Contact

July 1997 •English

A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.

The Last Emperor

October 1987 •English

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

Once Upon a Time in America

May 1984 •English

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Kulkurin masurkka

January 1958 •Finnish

A story about vagabond named Paul and his journeys in the countryside. He is a real charmer and many women will fall in his lap.

The Baby of Mâcon

September 1993 •English

Set halfway through the 17th century, a church play is performed for the benefit of the young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.

The Night of the Hunter

July 1955 •English

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

A Man in Your Room

May 1984 •English

A priest wakes repeatedly from a dream in which he sees attractive, partially-disrobed man in his room. The hypnotic repetition and anxiety of his vision gains tension from the minimalist score.

Jesus

December 1999 •English

Jesus, a carpenter living a simple life, discovers his destiny as the biblical Messiah.

Prêtres interdits

November 1973 •French

The Greatest Story Ever Told

April 1965 •English

From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.

The Nativity Story

November 2006 •English

Mary and Joseph make the hard journey to Bethlehem for a blessed event in this retelling of the Nativity story. This meticulously researched and visually lush adaptation of the biblical tale follows the pair on their arduous path to their arrival in a small village, where they find shelter in a quiet manger and Jesus is born.

Fátima

October 1997 •Portuguese

1917, a beautiful apparition of Our Lady forever alters the lives of three children: Lucinda, Jacita and Francisco who lived in Villa Fatima in Portugal.

Inertia

March 2015 •English

During a walk in the woods a man stumbles upon a gate blocked by a guard who refuses to let him through. Gaining entry quickly becomes his obsession and only goal, to the detriment of all else, including his own physical and mental health.