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$9.99
Israel, 2008, 78 min.
A stop-motion animated film with a decided undertone of irony and wit, Tatia Rosenthal's surprising film uses puppets to bring to life a quirky set of characters inhabiting a Tel Aviv building.... more
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Arabian Nights
Luxembourg, 2007, 110 min.
A Luxembourg man's obsession with an Algerian woman leads to tragedy in this tightly structured story treating Westerners' misconceptions about the Arab world. Handsome young train conductor Georges becomes fascinated with passenger Yamina, and when she disappears, he is determined to find her.... more
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The Burning Plain
USA, 2008, 111 min.
Starring Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger and excellent newcomer Jennifer Lawrence, Babel screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga's first feature relates how the sins of an earlier generation are visited upon the young and how we are all, essentially, connected.... more
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Ciao Bella
Sweden, 2007, 89 min.
When Iranian-born Swede Mustafa is transformed into Latin lover Massimo, his suave manners and sense of style attract working-class beauty Linnea. This sassily humorous love story manages to address serious issues, including national stereotyping, racism, and an increasingly sexualized youth.... more
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Cloud 9
Germany, 2008, 98 min.
Inge is in her mid-60s. She has been married for 30 years and loves her husband. But Inge is drawn to this older man Karl, already 76. It's passion. It's sex. And she suddenly feels like a young girl again.... more
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Delta
Hungary, 2008, 92 min.
This primal and poetic tragedy follows the unwelcome return of a prodigal son, his incestuous relationship with his half-sister, and their attempt to build themselves a house in the middle of a river, far away from everybody else, to celebrate their love.... more
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Dunya & Desie
Netherlands, 2008, 97 min.
A heartwarming comedy/road movie centering on the 18-year-old best friends of the title, Dunya & Desie touches on issues of family and fitting in, negotiating parental expectations, and what it means to straddle two worlds with grace and élan.... more
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Em
USA, 2008, 93 min.
Josh and Amanda share a strong mutual attraction. Their instant chemistry blooms into a deeper attachment, but Josh soon realizes that his perfect mate may be more of an emotional handful than he bargained for.... more
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The Friend
Switzerland, 2007, 89 min.
When talented young singer Larissa asks gawky Zurich student Emil to pretend to be her "friend" in front of her family, he readily agrees. But before Emil has the opportunity to play make-believe, Larissa's sister, Nora, informs him that his "girlfriend" has died. Best Film, Swiss Film Days.... more
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Grown Ups
France, 2008, 84 min.
A single French father and his shy teen daughter discover romance — and deal with a shift in their own relationship — during a Swedish summer holiday. Debuting director Anna Novion proves an astute observer of human interactions in this wistfully charming comic drama.... more
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Marcello Marcello
Switzerland, 2008, 97 min.
Denis Rabaglia's heartwarming romantic comedy, set on the Italian island of Amatrello in 1956, follows the fortunes of young Marcello, who, in order to win the heart of the lovely Elena (the mayor's daughter, no less) must follow a gift-giving tradition.... more
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Mermaid
Russia, 2007, 114 min.
Five-year-old Alisa has taken a rebellious vow of silence. When she's shipped off to a special-needs school, she channels her emotional turmoil into magical telekinetic powers. Years later, she'll meet a man who inspires her to speak again.... more
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Moscow, Belgium
Belgium, 2008, 102 min.
The story of an unlikely romance that develops between Matty, a mother of three, and Johnny, a younger truck driver. In a variation of "meeting cute," Matty's car hits Johnny's truck in a suburban supermarket parking lot and the cops have to break up their ensuing fight.... more
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My Marlon and Brando
Turkey, 2008, 92 min.
The true-life border-crossing romance between a Turkish actress and her Kurdish lover gets a semi-fictional work-up with the real actress earning kudos for taking on her own role. A moving statement on war, human rights and the confining artificiality of borders.... more
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Painted Skin
Hong Kong, 2008, 118 min.
A lushly produced supernatural/martial arts action/historical romance that delves into intricate emotions and relationships between man and demon, love and passion, loyalty and temptation, treachery and integrity, ending in a finale with surprising twist.... more
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Passchendaele
Canada, 2008, 114 min.
The World War I victory at Passchendaele, in Belgium, has been seen by Canadians as their country's "coming of age." Half a million Allied soldiers died in the battle. Canadian Paul Gross uses an ultra-realistic palette, akin to Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.... more
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Salt of This Sea
Palestine, 2008, 109 min.
Brooklyn-born Soraya decides to move to Palestine and reclaim her heritage on both spiritual and financial levels. She meets Emad, a young Palestinian whose ambition, contrary to hers, is to leave forever.... more
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The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider
Albania, 2008, 108 min.
The life and loves of an Albanian student in 1960s Czechoslovakia, and how the struggle between socialism "with a human face" and that of "an iron fist" leaves him with a personal dilemma.... more
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Tear This Heart Out
Mexico, 2008, 110 min.
Mexico, 1932. Andrés — a dashing, ruthlessly domineering general with designs on Mexico's presidency — takes beautiful, naive 15-year-old Catalina, as his bride. This sensual, sweeping epic traces Catalina's growth as a woman through 15 tumultuous years.... more
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Tengri: Blue Heavens
Kyrgyzstan, 2008, 110 min.
Starting in a traditional Kyrgyz mountain jailoo, a yurt village where men rule and women work, Tengri offers classic lovers-on-the-run melodrama set amid spectacular widescreen backdrops.... more
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Tricks
Poland, 2007, 96 min.
A fatherless boy tries to tempt fate in this pitch-perfect portrait of working-class life in a provincial town — and of growing up as the much younger brother of an adored older sister. Winner, Best Film, Miami Film Festival; Best Cinematography and Critics' Award, Gdynia.... more
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Under the Bombs
Lebanon, 2007, 98 min.
Shot during the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, which devastated Lebanon's infrastructure and civilian population, this docu-fiction road movie combines real footage of the massive destruction with a fictional narrative about a Shiite woman searching for her missing son.... more
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White Night Wedding
Iceland, 2008, 96 min.
An irreverent uprooting and updating of Anton Chekhov's play, Ivanov. A middle-aged professor about to get married for the second time to a woman half his age — despite the opposition of his future parents-in-law — starts to get cold feet.... more
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Worlds Apart
Denmark, 2008, 108 min.
A teen raised as a Jehovah's Witness falls in love with a nonbeliever and faces expulsion from her church. This nuanced, sophisticated drama asks provocative questions about faith and fundamentalism in an increasingly secular world.... more
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