The Good Ground

National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue

March 2024 •English

In 1964, Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under Sir John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel.

Stealing Beauty

March 1996 •English

Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted.

Sagan

June 2008 •French

France, 1950s. From the Quartier Latin to Saint-Tropez via New York, a young Parisienne becomes the icon of a whole generation. In 1954, 19-year-old Francoise Sagan shot to fame with her first novel, Bonjour Tristesse. Flamboyant, scandalous and underrated, Sagan lived her life at the furthest edge of excess. She won and lost fortunes at the roulette table, bought and crashed superb sports cars, drank, danced and partied, leaving a trail of lovers in her wake.

Lean On Me

March 1989 •English

When principal Joe Clark takes over decaying Eastside High School, he's faced with students wearing gang colors and graffiti-covered walls. Determined to do anything he must to turn the school around, he expels suspected drug dealers, padlocks doors and demands effort and results from students, staff and parents. Autocratic to a fault, this real-life educator put it all on the line.

Blood on the Mountain

January 1974 •English

A story about friendship and forgiveness. Fury explodes high above the Royal Gorge in the spectacular Colorado mountains. Two fugitives run for their lives. A bitter cop seeks revenge for his wife’s death.

Heaven's Heroes

January 1980 •English

The story of the life and witness of a Christian Police Officer called Dennis Hill asks the question, why did he have to die that night? How could such a tragedy be part of God’s plan? Denny Hill, himself asks, “Where will you spend eternity?”

Songs of Paradise

August 2025 •Hindi

A young musician, Rumi, seeks the truth behind Noor Begum, a reclusive icon of Kashmiri music. Once Zeba, the valley’s first female radio singer, Noor’s journey from silence to song broke social barriers. As Rumi unearths her past, Songs of Paradise reveals a legacy of defiance, resilience, and the power of a voice that refused to be forgotten.

The Greatest Game Ever Played

September 2005 •English

A biopic of 20-year-old Francis Ouimet who defeated his golfing idol and 1900 US Open Champion, Harry Vardon.

Godforsaken!

April 2003 •Dutch

Two small town Dutch boys whose socially unnatural friendship is so close, they care nothing for human or divine rules and lose all grip on reality, sliding into violent crime.

A Brighter Summer Day

July 1991 •Chinese

A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

Dreams I Never Had

April 2018 •English

A teenage girl is held captive in the home of a wealthy family. She is befriended by the family's young gardener, himself an illegal from Mexico. Their friendship carries both of them through their hopeless, sequestered lives and ultimately inspires them to break free.

One Less God

October 2017 •English

In 2008, a band of young Islamic militants from Pakistan lands in Mumbai, their primary target, the iconic Taj Mahal hotel. With Indian forces unable to regain control, for 4 days the guests must battle to survive as the terrorists seek to drive them from hiding. The harrowing events that follow will come to be known as India's 9/11 and one of the most audacious terrorist attacks in history. Yet more than a tale of monsters and men, this is a story of our shared humanity at the dark crossroads to which we have now stumbled. Inspired by true events.

Fear of Water

May 2015 •English

Two teenage girls with parallel lives but coming from different socio-economic backgrounds meet one summer to discover friendship and a sexual awakening.

Tempting the Devil

June 1989 •

Two themes arise from the story, themes that are interlocked: the theme of love and of man's eternal submission to traditional symbols. The director Živko Nikolić continues his movie saga of human nature. Both themes develop the mythical idea of temptation. It is basic human relation: from the intimate to the families' vying with each other.

Auto Focus

October 2002 •English

A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter. This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.

The Foster Family

October 2022 •Swedish

Julia always said that her upbringing as a biological child in a foster family was a happy time. But something is wrong. In The Foster Family, we follow director Julia's journey back in time, where she, together with her parents Ewa and Lennart and the foster child Patrik, recollect the shocking events that changed their lives over thirty years ago. The children are at the center of this strong, touching and warm documentary about a system where you can love, but not too much.

Boy Erased

September 2018 •English

Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.

Když chlapi dají slovo

January 1975 •Czech

La notte più lunga dell'anno

January 2022 •Italian

What We Do Is Secret

June 2007 •English

The true-life story of Darby Crash, who became an L.A. punk icon with his band The Germs. Along with Lorna Doom, Pat Smear, and Don Bolles, Darby Crash completely transformed the L.A. punk scene, while sacrificing everyone he loved, his career, and ultimately his life.