Society for Sale

Breaking the Waves

July 1996 •Danish

In a small and conservative Scottish village, a woman's paralytic husband convinces her to have extramarital intercourse so she can tell him about it and give him a reason for living.

The Satin Woman

July 1927 •English

Dorothy Reid -- who before her marriage to ill-fated screen idol Wallace Reid was better known as Dorothy Davenport -- was both producer and star of Satin Woman. After the death of her husband from drug abuse in 1923, Davenport dedicated herself to helping others avoid the pitfalls of modern life by turning out a series of cautionary film fables. In Satin Woman, she endeavored to warn society women not to neglect their families for the sake of fads, foibles, and handsome younger men.

It's Winter

February 2006 •Persian

Unemotional, restrained cinematographic poem, situated in a wintry and poor suburb of Tehran. A man is dismissed and his lack of prospects for the future make him decide to seek his happiness abroad. He leaves his wife and child behind and for a long time nothing is heard of him. Then a stranger turns up, a car mechanic looking for a job. The attractive single mother can’t resist his attentions. Very subtly, a struggle ensues that reflects that of a whole generation of young doubting Iranians who may want to leave the country, but hardly know how to start.

My Beautiful Laundrette

November 1985 •English

A Pakistani Briton renovates a rundown laundrette with his male lover while dealing with drama within his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.

Eher fliegen hier UFOs

October 2023 •German

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse

July 1938 •English

A wealthy society doctor decides to research the medical aspects of criminal behaviour by becoming one himself. He joins a gang of thieves and proceeds to wrest leadership of the gang away from its extremely resentful leader.

Farewell My Concubine

January 1993 •Chinese

Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.

Blindness

May 2008 •English

When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine.

The Best of Youth

June 2003 •Italian

After a fateful encounter in the summer of 1966, the lifepaths of two brothers from a middle-class Roman family diverge, intersecting with some of the most significant events of postwar Italian history in the following decades.

Brother's War

May 2009 •English

The story is set in the latter days of World War 2, against the backdrop of fierce combat on the eastern front. Brother's War is based on real events.

Moon Child

April 2003 •Japanese

Moon Child follows a group of childhood friends as they advance in a futuristic criminal underworld. Sho feels he is doomed to walk in his idol Kei's footsteps as a vampire with the gift of eternal life and the curse of blood thirst. Over time, their tight friendship becomes corrupted because of their rivalry and love for the same woman.

Her Husband’s Trademark

February 1922 •English

James Berkeley (who wants to get rich) and Allan Franklin (determined to be a great engineer) are rivals for the hand of Lois Miller. Berkeley marries her, and 15 years later, though he has not realized his ambition, he keeps his wife luxuriously attired as a "trademark" of his prosperity. Allan, who has obtained a large tract of oil land from the Mexican Government, visits the Berkeleys; and James, hoping to profit from his wealth, goes to Mexico with him, accompanied by Lois, who unwillingly agrees to help her husband. When Allan and Lois realize their love for each other, James, refusing to become angry, is denounced by his wife. A band of Mexican bandits attempt to capture Lois, and in the attack James is slain. Allan rescues Lois, and they escape across the border.

Blackboards

September 2000 •Persian

Itinerant Kurdish teachers, carrying blackboards on their backs, look for students in the hills and villages of Iran, near the Iraqi border during the Iran-Iraq war. Said falls in with a group of old men looking for their bombed-out village; he offers to guide them, and takes as his wife Halaleh, the clan's lone woman, a widow with a young son. Reeboir attaches himself to a dozen pre-teen boys weighed down by contraband they carry across the border; they're mules, always on the move. Said and Reeboir try to teach as their potential students keep walking. Danger is close; armed soldiers patrol the skies, the roads, and the border. Is there a role for a teacher? Is there hope?

Joker

October 2019 •English

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

The Lesson

October 2014 •Latvian

The Lesson tells the story of Zane, a devoted teacher mentoring the senior class in a Latvian high school. She tries to live her life in the most meaningful way possible. She takes her mission as a teacher seriously, and works hard to help her students develop their talents. Even so, as a younger teacher it’s hard for Zane to keep her distance from the class – the students soon become a sort of family to her. When she realizes she’s falling in love with one of them, the others start to feel left out. She faces a stark choice between personal happiness and the pressures of society.

American Gangster

November 2007 •English

Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.

Takva: A Man's Fear of God

December 2006 •Turkish

Humble and introvert Muharrem lives in a solitary and meager existence of a prayer and sexual abstinence adhering strictly to the most severe Islamic doctrines.His extraordinary devotion attracts the attention of the leader of a rich and powerful Istanbul religious group and he offers him an administrative post as a rent collector for their numerous properties. Muharrem's new job throws him into the modern outside world he has successfully avoided for so long. He soon witnesses conflict attitude toward alcohol consumption and goodwill.He notices that he himself has become proud, domineering and even dishonest.To make matters worse, Muharrem's inner peace is unnerved by the tormenting image of seductive woman who tempts him in his dreams,both night and day.With the balance of his devotion now upset,his fear of God begins to eat away at his senses.

Bicycle Thieves

July 1948 •Italian

Unemployed Antonio is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. However on his first day, his bicycle—essential to his work—gets stolen. His job is doomed unless he can find the thief. With the help of his son, Antonio combs the city, becoming desperate for justice.

Madonnas

February 2007 •German

A portrait of Rita, who claims that her mother was never a mother for her. Rita gives birth to her own five children and forces her mother to take the role of a mother.

Dark Horse

May 2005 •Danish

A young man spurs romance and helps his friend and himself go through the struggles of their ordinary life in Denmark.