The Saratov Approach

Sins of the Mind

June 1997 •English

A young woman returning from a renaissance fair survives a car accident, but much to her family's horror, the accident damages her brain and she develops blatantly promiscuous and childlike behavior.

Riphagen the Untouchable

September 2016 •Dutch

Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1944, during World War II. Andries Riphagen, a powerful underworld boss, has made his fortune by putting his many criminal talents at the service of the Nazi occupiers. But the long battle is about to end and the freedom fighters, who have been persecuted and murdered for years, are abandoning their hideouts to mercilessly hunt down those who have collaborated with the killers.

The Shanghai Drama

September 1938 •French

A Russian emigrant sings in a Shanghai nightclub under the assumed name of Kay Murphy. All she dreams of is a peaceful life with her daughter Vera. But this is only a pipe dream as she has been forced by her former lover Ivan to work for a secret criminal organization, "The Black Dragon". Vera, who studies in a Hong Kong boarding-school, knows nothing about her mother's past. When Ivan, who is also Vera's father, resurfaces and blackmails Kay, the young woman is determined to fight back...

Dummy

May 1979 •English

The real-life account of an illiterate, deaf-and-mute, black youth who was accused of murdering a prostitute, and the relationship that developed between him and his court-appointed attorney, who also was deaf, and the events leading up to his precedent-setting trial.

Ordinary People

November 2018 •Korean

A gym teacher and his female student look for her missing friend. But as they investigate, they find that her disappearance is a part of a larger conspiracy.

The Defection of Simas Kudirka

January 1978 •English

Based on the true story of the attempted defection in 1970 by a Lithuanian seaman seeking political asylum in the United States. Kudirka was denied asylum and returned to the Soviets, charged with treason, and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. It was later discovered and verified that his mother had been born in Brooklyn and gone to Lithuania at a young age, which meant she was a U. S. citizen. As a result, Kudirka was declared a U. S. citizen and in 1974 released by the Soviets.

The Journey of Arián

May 2001 •Spanish

Arián, a young Basque girl, idealistic but naive, joins a ruthless terrorist gang and, hoping to prove her commitment, volunteers to participate in the kidnapping of the daughter of an important businessman.

Perfect Sisters

April 2014 •English

Tired of their mother's alcoholism and a string of her abusive boyfriends, two sisters plot to kill her.

Post-it

September 2024 •French

Road Trip Hostage

April 2023 •English

When pursuing her dreams leads to a fractured relationship with her mother, a young student angrily leaves home, but soon finds herself the hostage of a deranged criminal who forces her to drive him across the country.

Brave the Dark

January 2025 •English

When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate apart. What began as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Deen must decide how far he’s willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself.

Twelve Monkeys

December 1995 •English

In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.

8 Mile

November 2002 •English

For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.

For The Honor of the Russian Banner

January 1913 •Russian

Laura

September 2024 •Indonesian

After being paralyzed in a car crash caused by her boyfriend, influencer Laura Edèlenyi seeks to embrace life and find justice. Based on real events.

Me & You

July 2014 •English

Jackie Miller adopted her son, Scott, in the early 1970s. In 2008, Scott brought his mom to StoryCorps to ask her about that decision.

The Silent Twins

September 2022 •English

June and Jennifer Gibbons are twins from the only Black family in a small town in Wales in the 1970s and '80s. Feeling isolated from the community, the pair turn inward and reject communication with everyone but each other, retreating into their own fantasy world of inspiration and adolescent desires. After a spree of vandalism, the girls are sentenced to Broadmoor, an infamous psychiatric hospital, where they face the choice to separate and survive or die together.

Gridiron Gang

September 2006 •English

Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem by playing football together. Based on a true story.

Lords of Dogtown

June 2005 •English

The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports forever. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship.

Turistas

December 2006 •English

A group of young backpackers' vacation turns sour when a bus accident leaves them marooned in a remote Brazilian rural area that holds an ominous secret.