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Captive
Bulgaria, 2008, 80 min.
When a convoy of Russian soldiers finds itself trapped in the mountainous Chechen landscape, the commander orders two men to capture a local who knows the mountain trails and can lead them to safety. This intense contemporary war film is as much a psychological drama as it is an action picture.... more
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Cat City
USA, 2009, 95 min.
This film noir crime thriller, set amid the trappings of wealth and the high life in Palm Springs, makes excellent use of its sun-drenched local backdrop to spin its tale of infidelity, deceit, greed and murder in the world of high-rolling developers and low-life financial backers.... more
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Correction
Greece, 2007, 87 min.
One of the best Greek films of the past year features a homeless man, newly released from prison, who wanders the streets of multiethnic Athens on a journey that may or may not have sinister implications.... more
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Dark and Stormy Night
USA, 2009, 92 min.
Hollywood satirist par excellence Larry Blamire returns again with his biggest and funniest film yet, Dark and Stormy Night, a lovingly faithful recreation of those 1930s old-dark-house movies, with every cliché and stereotype hilariously brought to life.... more
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Dog Eat Dog
Colombia, 2008, 106 min.
A gritty Colombian gangster flick — with humor! Dog Eat Dog follows two small-time thugs, Eusebio and Victor, who share a room and a crime boss. When, for completely different reasons, they manage to get on the boss' bad side, they try to escape their fate, with the other's help.... more
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Four Nights with Anna
Poland, 2008, 87 min.
This beautifully acted, gracefully told oddball story marks the welcome return of cinematic master Jerzy Skolimowski, after a self-imposed sabbatical. His exquisite new film centers on sad sack Leon, who becomes romantically obsessed with nurse Anna, whose brutal rape he witnessed.... more
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The Girl from Monaco
France, 2008, 95 min.
The beautiful isle of Monaco serves as the backdrop for director Anne Fontaine's sparkling romantic comedy. A famous Parisian lawyer, unschooled in the ways of l'amour, falls for a flaky, long-legged local beauty after taking on the case of a wealthy woman who has killed her much younger lover.... more
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Gomorrah
Italy, 2008, 137 min.
Based on the incendiary novel by Roberto Saviano and winner of the Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prize, Gomorrah is a stark and unromanticized portrait of the influential Neapolitan crime clans who secretly rule a world where the line between criminals and upstanding citizens is blurred.... more
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Jerusalema
South Africa, 2008, 118 min.
A poor boy in rural South Africa grows up to become the country's self-proclaimed Robin Hood, hijacking groups of buildings from white slumlords and offering to sell them back in exchange for improved living conditions.... more
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Kandisha
Morocco, 2009, 100 min.
Set in atmospheric souks, ancient castles and modern Moroccan courtrooms, Kandisha is a gripping supernatural thriller. A leading criminal defense attorney, reeling from her own personal tragedy, must defend a woman accused of killing her husband.... more
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Last Stop 174
Brazil, 2008, 110 min.
Last Stop 174 follows the intertwined paths of two boys, Sandro and Alessandro, who meet in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, bond in prison, and begin a life of crime together that eventually leads to the famous hijacking of a bus in 2000.... more
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Native Dancer
Kazakhstan, 2008, 87 min.
Endowed with psychic powers, Aidai can find lost souls and heal the ailing. But when local gangsters drive her off her land, she's forced to put her life on the line. Part crime thriller, part spiritual journey, Native Dancer reveals the effects of encroaching capitalism on traditional ways.... more
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The Past Is a Foreign Land
Italy, 2008, 122 min.
Law student Giorgio is dissatisfied with his life and looking for kicks. He goes through a radical change when he meets Francesco, a cool and mysterious guy who introduces him to the dark life of poker and drug dealing, in a crescendo of risks that builds to a point of no return.... more
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A Police Romance
France, 2008, 96 min.
Police Lieutenant Emilie Carange finds herself sexually attracted to Jamil Messaouden, a young rookie officer. When a report comes in about drug dealing in the neighborhood, Jamil draws Emilie into a gangland affair beyond their jurisdiction.... more
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Public Enemy Number One (Part 1)
France, 2008, 113 min.
Jean-Francois Richet's two-part biopic on the life of Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) is a compelling look at the life of France's most wanted man. Thick with the details of Mesrine's sordid scandals and bloody encounters, Public Enemy is an unforgettable narrative.... more
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Public Enemy Number One (Part 2)
France, 2008, 132 min.
Jean-Francois Richet's two-part biopic on the life of Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) is a compelling look at the life of France's most wanted man. Thick with the details of Mesrine's sordid scandals and bloody encounters, Public Enemy is an unforgettable narrative.... more
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Revanche
Austria, 2008, 121 min.
Two couples — one from the city, the other from the countryside — are bound together by fate in this taut thriller. Elegantly spinning primal elements of guilt, revenge, faith, and redemption, Revanche asks the question, "Whose fault is it if life doesn't go your way?"... more
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Summer Heat
Netherlands, 2008, 96 min.
Actress Monique van de Ven's (Keetje Tippel) stunning directorial debut invests a haunting love story with the elements of a taut, moody thriller. Bob, a nature photographer, becomes an unwitting pawn in a labyrinthine plot involving a mysterious beauty.... more
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Three Monkeys
Turkey, 2008, 109 min.
Bad faith, simmering resentment, adultery and murder all figure into Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan's darkly burnished fifth feature, in which his distinct visual style melds with a thriller plot. Best Director, Cannes Film Festival.... more
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