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4Some
Czech Republic, 2012, 78 min.
Directed by Jan Hrebejk (Divided We Fall, Kawasaki’s Rose), this light-hearted sex comedy takes two middle-aged couples who agree to a foursome, plops them down on a tropical island and chronicles the fallout with a sly wit and a sunny disposition.... more
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Amour
Austria, 2012, 127 min.
Michael Haneke confronts the hardest questions about love and death in this tender, compassionate but devastating film about a husband (Jean-Louis Trintignant) coping with the terminal decline of his beloved wife (Emmanuelle Riva). Winner, Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival.... more
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Any Day Now
USA, 2012, 97 min.
Alan Cumming gives a brilliant performance as Rudy Donatello, a star attraction at an LA drag bar in the 70s who “adopts” an abandoned child with Down Syndrome with the help of his DA lover, Paul (Garret Dillahunt). Multiple Audience Award winner. Audience Awards: Tribeca, Chicago, Seattle Film Fest... more
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Beyond the Walls
Belgium, 2012, 98 min.
David Lambert’s pitch-perfect Brussels-set romance between piano player Paulo (Matila Malliarakis) and bass player Ilir (Guillaume Gouix) follows in the footsteps of Ira Sachs’s Keep the Lights On in pushing the boundaries of contemporary gay cinema.... more
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Blancanieves
Spain, 2012, 96 min.
In this spectacular silent movie-style adaptation of Snow White, the daughter of a famous bullfighter is mistreated by her wicked stepmother. When she runs away and joins a band of dwarfs, her natural bullfighting talent is discovered, but her stepmother plots to bring her down.... more
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Crawl
France, 2012, 95 min.
Martin, a petty crook struggling to make ends meet, falls hopelessly for Gwen, a young woman with a passion for swimming, but circumstances quickly becomes complicated. Life in a windswept seaside town in Brittany is explored with compassion in this impressive, atmospheric debut feature.... more
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Emperor
Japan, 2012, 98 min.
Army General Fellers (Matthew Fox, Lost) investigates Japan’s Emperor Hirohito for war crimes while searching for his love, with a stellar performance from Tommy Lee Jones as General Douglas MacArthur.... more
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Fill the Void
Israel, 2012, 90 min.
An 18-year-old in Tel Aviv’s Hassidic community must choose between her heart’s desire and familial duty in a drama that makes the conventions of the marriage plot feel brand new. Winner, 7 Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Actress.... more
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Great Expectations
United Kingdom, 2012, 128 min.
A beautifully appointed, sensitive and superbly acted adaptation of Dickens’ beloved novel about a humble blacksmith’s son raised up by a mysterious benefactor, and his lifelong crush on the lovely Estella. The impeccable cast includes Jeremy Irvine (War Horse), Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonha... more
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The Last Sentence
Sweden, 2012, 125 min.
From the director of PSIFF audience favorite Everlasting Moments comes a dramatic and poetic tale – exquisitely filmed in black and white - about crusading Swedish journalist Torgny Segerstedt and his courageous stand against Fascism during WWII.... more
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Laurence Anyways
Canada, 2012, 168 min.
Xavier Dolan’s terrifically stylish love story is set in 1990s Montreal and stars Melvil Poupaud as a transgender man whose decade-long relationship with his lover Frédérique (the wonderful Jennifer Clément) makes for a dazzling and entertaining mini-epic.... more
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Liv & Ingmar
Norway, 2012, 83 min.
The radiant Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann reflects on her relationship with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman in this personal documentary that mixes her candid reminiscences, extracts from her book Changing and clips from Bergman’s films. Film buffs will need no further recommendation.... more
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Midnight’s Children
Canada, 2012, 148 min.
Salman Rushdie adapts his own monumental novel – a picaresque that doubles as a history of modern India – into a rich, sprawling, unruly movie, full of romance, satire, magic and anger.... more
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Molly Maxwell
Canada, 2012, 91 min.
Molly Maxwell is a precocious 16-year-old who attends an alternative school where every student is perceived to be a prodigy. Molly develops a close relationship with a young teacher who opens her world but the relationship potentially threatens her future.... more
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Our Children
Belgium, 2012, 111 min.
With a story ripped from the headlines and a gut-wrenching performance from Emile Dequenne (Rosetta), Belgium’s Academy Award submission offers an intimate look at one family’s devastating spiral towards tragedy. Winner: Best Actress, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival.... more
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Putzel
USA, 2012, 88 min.
Walter (Jack Carpenter) — a “putzel” (little putz) — is content to succeed his uncle in the family’s fish business. But his uncle’s new paramour Sally (Melanie Lynskey) sees potential in the lad… Jason Chaet’s engaging debut is a breezy coming-of-age tale.... more
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Renoir
France, 2012, 111 min.
Set on the Côte d’Azur, Gilles Bourdos’s lyrical, visually gorgeous period piece examines the effects teenaged model Andrée (Christa Theret) has on the lives of Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet) and his soon-to-be filmmaker-son Jean (Vincent Rottiers).... more
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A Royal Affair
Denmark, 2012, 137 min.
This compelling, character-driven costume drama shows how a passionate and forbidden romance changed the course of Danish history. Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Berlin Film Festival.... more
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Rust and Bone
France, 2011, 120 min.
Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts star in this overwhelming, intensely physical and surprisingly erotic melodrama from the director of A Prophet – a love story between a bouncer turned bare knuckle fighter and a woman coming to terms with life after a terrible injury.... more
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Shameless
Poland, 2012, 86 min.
A passionate, taboo-testing drama about a lonely youth’s single-minded adoration of his troubled half-sister as well as her desperate need for love and affection, something that ultimately outweighs her better judgment.... more
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The Sleeping Voice
Spain, 2011, 128 min.
In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Pepita, a naïve young woman, comes to Madrid to be near her pregnant sister, a political prisoner facing execution. Pepita gradually gets drawn into the underground struggle while working in a Nationalist household. Winner: Best Actress, San Sebastian FF... more
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The Snitch Cartel
Colombia, 2012, 107 min.
A boy from a humble background rises through the ranks of a ruthless drug cartel in early ‘90s Colombia, determined to win over the girl he loves. But after a violent shake-up within the cartel he undertakes a dangerous new role as a DEA informant.... more
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Still
Canada, 2012, 102 min.
An exquisite love story wrapped in a classic tale of modernity versus tradition. James Cromwell plays a farmer who is determined to provide a comfortable home for his ailing wife and is confronted by the realities of their situation.... more
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Tabu
Portugal, 2012, 120 min.
Miguel Gomes conjures a bittersweet souvenir of an overwhelming physical passion in this inventive and wistful black and white melodrama, a two-parter that jumps 50 years into the past, and further, into the romance of silent cinema. FIPRESCI Prize, Berlin Film Festival... more
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Touch of the Light
Taiwan, 2012, 110 min.
Based on the life of the prodigious blind pianist, Huang Yu-Siang (who plays himself), this is an irresistibly heartwarming and uplifting film produced by Wong Kar-wai. Winner: Audience Award, Pusan Film Festival.... more
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Unfair World
Greece, 2011, 118 min.
An unorthodox, burnt-out Greek cop decides to forgive all those who are treated unfairly in life – a decision that is clearly asking for trouble. Influenced by Aki Kaurismäki, this minimalist comedy, police procedural and character study won best director and acting awards at the San Sebastian Film... more
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Valley of Saints
India, 2012, 82 min.
Recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Award at Sundance for its “brave, poetic and visually arresting evocation of a beautiful but troubled region,” Musa Sayeed’s first feature is a vibrant, lyrical love story set in the spectacular Dal Lake, considered Kashmir’s crown jewel.... more
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What is this Film Called Love?
United Kingdom, 2012, 77 min.
The Story of Film director Mark Cousins free associates brilliantly in this passionate, poetic and deeply personal essay about Sergei Eisenstein, Mexico, travel and spirituality - an “ad-lib”, filmed on a flip camera in three days, for a budget of $20.... more
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