Precious (2009)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAFeature FilmOriginal Title: Precious (Base on Nol by Saf) (Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire)Director: Lee DanielsWriters: Geoffrey Fletcher, SapphireCinematographer: Andrew DunnComposer: Mario GrigorovCast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, Stephanie Andujar, Chyna Layne, Amina Robinson, Xosha Roquemore, Angelic ZambranaWhen Precious, a morbidly obese 16-year-old girl...

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Worried About the Boy (2010)

Cautiously RecommendedUKTelevision FilmDirector: Julian JarroldWriter: Tony BasgallopCinematographer: Tony Slater-LingCast: Douglas Booth, Mathew Horne, Mark Gatiss, Marc Warren, Freddie Fox, Francis Magee, Richard MaddenThis lovingly crafted and generally entertaining if, perhaps, a little overly ambitious BBC drama presents an examination of the life of George O’Dowd, soon to be Boy George, from his leaving school, through his many fashion experiments...

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Adrift (2009)

Highly RecommendedBrazilFeature FilmOriginal Title: À DerivaWriter/Director: Heitor DhaliaCinematographer: Ricardo Della RosaComposer: Antonio PintoCast: Vincent Cassel, Laura Neiva, Débora Bloch, Camilla Belle, Gregório Duvivier, Cauã ReymondDhalia’s alluringly photographed, gorgeously scored, and spellbindingly acted third feature presents a bitter-sweet and ever so sensual portrait of a young family, which is slowly but surely falling apart as...

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Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

RecommendedUSAFeature DocumentaryWriter/Director/Narrator: Michael MooreCinematographers: Daniel Marracino, Jayme RoyComposer: Jeff GibbsMoore’s sardonic, sobering film – a filmed essay setting-out the dangers of unchecked capitalism, taking well-aimed pot-shots at America’s banks, with an eye on its human cost – is one of the shabby film-maker’s more reverent affairs, with fewer stunts and less disingenuous enquiry than usual. Iain.St...

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Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

RecommendedUSA/GermanyFeature FilmDirector: Spike JonzeWriters: Dave Eggers, Spike Jonze, Maurice SendakCinematographer: Lance AcordComposers: Carter Burwell, Karen O.Cast: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Michael Berry Jr., Chris Cooper, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine KeenerAfter an argument with his mother, Max, a lonely young boy with an unhappy home life and a rich imagination, runs away to a village filled...

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Amazing Grace (2006)

Cautiously RecommendedUK/USAFeature FilmDirector: Michael AptedWriter: Steven KnightCinematographer: Remi AdefarasinComposer: David ArnoldCast: Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Youssou N'Dour, Ciarán Hinds, Toby JonesMichael Apted’s beautifully photographed and consummately acted depiction of the MP William Wilberforce’s two decades long battle to abolish Britain’s involvement in the...

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Money (2010)

Cautiously RecommendedUKTelevision FilmDirector: Jeremy LoveringWriters: Tom Butterworth, Chris Hurford, Martin AmisCinematographer: Ben SmithardComposer: Daniel PembertonCast: Nick Frost, Vincent Kartheiser, Emma Pierson, Amanda Abbington, Tim Pigott-Smith, Peter Wight, Oliver Cotton, Tamsin Egerton, Joshua Dallas, Jerry Hall, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Tony WayAt the request of a suave young producer, an indulgent, perma-drunk ads director goes to...

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Alice in Wonderland (2010)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Tim BurtonWriters: Linda Woolverton, Lewis CarrollCinematographer: Dariusz WolskiComposer: Danny ElfmanCast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Alan RickmanFor its first three quarters or so, Burton’s oft magical film – a visually inventive action-adventure re-imagining of Lewis Carroll’s popular children’s books – is quite delightful,...

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Baghead (2008)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAFeature FilmWriter/Directors: Jay Duplass, Mark DuplassCinematographer: Jay DuplassComposer: J. Scott HowardCast: Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller, Jett GarnerIn the Duplass brothers' unpredictable Mumblecore (sort of) horror-comedy, four struggling actors spend a boozy weekend in a remote cabin, ostensibly with the intention of writing a movie with parts for each of them, though unrequited sexual...

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A Prophet (2009)

RecommendedFrance/ItalyFeature FilmOriginal Title: Un prophèteDirector: Jacques AudiardWriters: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas PeufaillitCinematographer: Stéphane FontaineComposer: Alexandre DesplatCast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Hichem Yacoubi, Reda Kateb, Jean-Philippe Ricci, Slimane Dazi, Leïla BekhtiA naïve, rootless 19-year-old enters a tough prison and proceeds, in a kill or be killed spirit,...

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Appaloosa (2008)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Ed HarrisWriters: Robert Knott, Ed Harris, Robert ParkerCinematographer: Dean SemlerComposer: Jeff BealCast: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, Lance Henriksen, Adam Nelson, Timothy Spall, Ariadna GilA vicious, uncompromising lawman – hired by a small town, whose previous marshal was gunned down by a local rancher who continues to terrorise the general populace – finds his task...

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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

Cautiously RecommendedUK/Cayman IslandsFeature FilmDirector: Robert B. WeideWriters: Peter Straughan, Toby YoungCinematographer: Oliver StapletonComposer: David ArnoldCast: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson, Megan Fox, Bill Paterson, Max Minghella, Miriam MargolyesA scruffy, vaguely principled English journalist takes up the offer of a glamorous new job at a swanky New York magazine and proceeds, fighting it...

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Heartless (2009)

RecommendedUK/USAFeature FilmWriter/Director: Philip RidleyCinematographer: Matt GrayComposer: David JulyanCast: Jim Sturgess, Joseph Mawle, Nikita Mistry, Clémence Poésy, Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Eddie Marsan, Timothy Spall, Ruth Sheen, Justin SalingerIn film-maker Ridley’s first film for 14 years – an inventive, thrilling, and generally fresh if vaguely familiar horror film – fantastic demonic and naturalistic urban horrors collide, as a troubled,...

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Stray Dog (1949)

Highly RecommendedJapanFeature FilmOriginal Title: 野良犬Director: Kurosawa AkiraWriters: Kikushima Ryūzō, Kurosawa AkiraCinematographer: Nakai AsakazuComposer: Hayasaka FumioCast: Mifune Toshirō, Shimura Takashi, Awaji Keiko, Miyoshi Eiko, Honma Fumiko, Kimura Isao, Chiaki Minoru, Sugai Ichirō, Shimizu GenA young homicide detective’s search for his stolen pistol becomes ever more frantic when it emerges that it has been used in a series of armed robberies,...

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A Serious Man (2009)

Essential ViewingUSA/UK/FranceFeature FilmWriter/Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel CoenCinematographer: Roger DeakinsComposer: Carter BurwellCast: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Fred Melamed, Aaron Wolff, Jessica McManus, Alan Mandell, Adam Arkin, George Wyner, Amy Landecker, Katherine Borowitz, Allen Lewis Rickman, Yelena Shmuelenson, Fyvush Finkel, Simon HelbergThe Coen brothers’ most accomplished film in several years – a ’60s set existential...

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24 City (2008)

Highly RecommendedChina/Hong Kong/JapanFeature Film/DocumentaryOriginal Title: 二十四城记Director: Jia ZhangkeWriters: Jia Zhangke, Zhai YongmingCinematographers: Yu Lik-wai, Wang YuComposers: Hanno Yoshihiro, Lim GiongCast: Joan Chen, Lü Liping, Zhao TaoJia’s gentle, elegiacally moving documentary – a mixture of five genuine interviews with four scripted ones – explores the lives of the workers (and their families) of a condemned aeronautics factory,...

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The Wire: Season 4 (2006)

USATelevision SeriesCreator: David SimonCast: Aidan Gillen, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Andre Royo, Jim True-Frost, Robert Wisdom, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, Reg E. Cathey, Chad L. Coleman, Jamie Hector, Glynn Turman, J.D. Williams, Michael K. Williams, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Robert F. Chew, Jermaine Crawford, Dan DeLuca, Method Man, Sandi McCree, Julito McCullum, S. Robert Morgan, Felicia Pearson, Tristan Wilds, Delaney WilliamsThe focus...

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CFB's Top 25 Obscure Films of 1983 (2010)

El Sur (1983) Careful, He Might Hear You (1983) Sugar Cane Alley (1983) In The White City (1983) Life Is a Bed of Roses (1983) Betrayal (1983) Entre Nous (1983) My Brother's Wedding (1983) Reuben, Reuben (1983) Streamers (1983) Heart Like a Wheel (1983) Lianna (1983) Duvar (1983) Three Crowns of the Sailor (1983) Deadly Circuit (1983) Man of Flowers (1983) Daniel (1983) Without a Trace (1983) The Wounded Man (1983) The Scarecrow...

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CFB's Top 30 Films of 1983 (2010)

The Right Stuff (1983) Zelig (1983) Local Hero (1983) Silkwood (1983) Videodrome (1983) Tender Mercies (1983) Return of the Jedi (1983) The Fourth Man (1983) Terms of Endearment (1983) The Dresser (1983) L'Argent (1983) The Dead Zone (1983) Never Cry Wolf (1983) Pauline at the Beach (1983) The Big Chill (1983) Scarface (1983) WarGames (1983) Nostalgia (1983) Sans Soleil (1983) Trading Places (1983) A Christmas Story (1983)...

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Outlaw (2007)

Best AvoidedUKFeature FilmWriter/Director: Nick LoveCinematographer: Sam McCurdyComposer: David JulyanCast: Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Rupert Friend, Sean Harris, Lennie James, Bob Hoskins, Sally BrettonPerhaps the only thing uglier than its pretentious camerawork is the Daily Mail/Sun “we’re all doomed” right wing politics that pervades every frame of this nauseating revenge thriller, in which a group of wronged men, let down by the authorities, decide...

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Jericho: Season 2 (2008)

USATelevision SeriesCreators: Stephen Chbosky, Josh Schaer, Jonathan E. SteinbergCinematographer: Rick MaguireComposer: David LawrenceCast: Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Ashley Scott, Kenneth Mitchell, Brad Beyer, Alicia Coppola, Clare Carey, April D. Parker, Emily Rose, Esai Morales, Esai Morales, Sprague Grayden, D.B. SweeneyOne or two oh-captain-my-captain moments aside, this second instalment of the generally thrilling post-apocalyptic series –...

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Royal Wedding (2010)

RecommendedUKTelevision FilmDirector: James GriffithsWriter: Abi MorganCinematographer: G. Magni AgustssonCast: Jodie Whittaker, Darren Boyd, Gwyneth Keyworth, Alun Raglan, Sarah Hadland, Jacob Anderson, Kevin Bishop, Claire Cage, Wendy Phillips, Aled Pugh, Charlotte Rogers, Rebekah Staton, Kerry Joy StewartBy turns funny, moving, transporting, and depressing if never entirely convincing or plausible (not that it really matters), this bitter-sweet...

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Scarface (1932)

Highly RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirectors: Howard HawksWriters: Ben Hecht, Armitage TrailCinematographers: Lee Garmes, L.W. O'ConnellCast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, Osgood Perkins, C. Henry Gordon, George Raft, Vince Barnett, Boris KarloffA small-time hood murders his way up from bodyguard to crime boss, ruthlessly and carelessly killing anyone that gets in his way, bringing himself to the unwanted attentions of the local authorities,...

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Alexander the Last (2009)

Highly RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector/Cinematographer: Joe SwanbergWriters: Joe Swanberg, Barlow Jacobs, David Lowery, Justin Rice, Amy Seimetz, Jess WeixlerComposers: Justin Rice, Jo SchornikowCast: Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, Barlow Jacobs, Amy Seimetz, Jane Adams, Josh Hamilton, Jo SchornikowSwanberg’s playful, spellbinding, and generally quite delightful slice-of-life Mumblecore pic – a near enough plotless examination of the socio-sexual...

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Tony Manero (2008)

Essential ViewingChile/BrazilFeature FilmDirector: Pablo LarraínWriters: Alfredo Castro, Mateo Iribarren, Pablo LarraínCinematographer: Sergio ArmstrongCast: Alfredo Castro, Paola Lattus, Héctor Morales, Amparo Noguera, Elsa PobleteAgainst a backdrop of fear, repression, and persecution under the nefarious rule of military dictator Pinochet in 1979, Larraín brilliantly and painfully paints a portrait of a social outcast who, at the age of 52, has...

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Bodysong (2003)

Highly RecommendedUKFeature DocumentaryWriter/Director: Simon PummellComposer: Jonny GreenwoodMade-up entirely of archive footage edited together to the intoxicating sounds of an exquisite Jonny Greenwood score, Pummell’s devastatingly moving cine-poem provides a portrait of human life from conception to death and beyond, graphically and unflinchingly examining the exploits of Man – good, bad, and downright ugly. Iain.St...

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Carriers (2009)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmWriter/Directors: Àlex Pastor, David PastorCinematographer: Benoît DebieComposer: Peter NashelCast: Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Emily VanCamp, Christopher Meloni, Kiernan ShipkaAfter a viral pandemic has wiped out most of the world’s population, leaving the few remaining survivors with a desperate struggle for survival, two young brothers and their female companions decide, for purely sentimental rather than...

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The Road (2009)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: John HillcoatWriters: Joe Penhall, Cormac McCarthyCinematographer: Javier AguirresarobeComposers: Nick Cave, Warren EllisCast: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, Michael Kenneth Williams, Garret DillahuntAdapted from Cormac McCarthy’s excellent 2006 novel, Hillcoat’s post-apocalyptic drama – in which a man and his young son, who was born after the barely...

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Kes (1969)

Essential ViewingUKFeature FilmDirector: Ken LoachWriters: Tony Garnett, Barry Hines, Ken LoachCinematographer: Chris MengesComposer: John CameronCast: David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie, Colin Welland, Brian Glover, Bob Bowes, Bernard AthaBased on Hines’s novel A Kestrel for a Knave (1968), Loach’s gently humorous, deeply human, and generally outstanding film paints a portrait of a young Barnsley boy – who has been failed by family, friends,...

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A Man from the Sun (1956)

Cautiously RecommendedUKShort Television FilmWriter/Director: John ElliotCast: Errol John, Cy Grant, Colin Douglas, Sarah Morgan, Keefe West, Nadia Catouse, Ralph Ball, Maxwell Foster, Earl Cameron, Gloria Ann Simpson, Beatrice Varley, André Dakar, Sonny McKenzieThough more than a tad didactic and perhaps a little sanitised, this groundbreaking BBC drama – depicting the fears and problems of both a group of recent West Indian immigrants to London...

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The Five Obstructions (2003)

RecommendedDenmark/Belgium/France/SwitzerlandFeature DocumentaryOriginal Title: De fem benspændDirectors: Jørgen Leth, Lars von TrierWriters: Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier, Asger Leth, Sophie DestinCinematographers: Kim Hattesen, Dan HolmbergFeaturing: Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier, Daniel Hernandez Rodriguez, Jacqueline Arenal, Vivian Rosa, Alexandra Vandernoot, Patrick Bauchau, Marie Dejaer, Pascal Perez, Meschell Perez, Bob SabistonLars von Trier...

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The Perfect Human (1967)

RecommendedDenmarkShort FilmDirector: Jørgen LethWriters: Ole John, Jørgen LethCinematographers: Henning Camre, Ole JohnComposer: Henning ChristiansenNarrator: Jørgen LethCast: Claus Nissen, Maiken AlgrenWith the most beautiful of scores, against a stark white background, under the gaze of an unseen narrator, a man and a woman go about the business of being human beings, in Leth’s gently funny but decidedly melancholy anthropological study, which...

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If Only (1998)

Not RecommendedSpain/France/UK/CanadaFeature FilmOriginal Title: Lluvia en los zapatosDirector: María RipollWriter: Rafa RussoCinematographer: Javier SalmonesComposers: Bernardo Fuster, Ángel Illarramendi, Luis MendoCast: Lena Headey, Douglas Henshall, Penélope Cruz, Gustavo Salmerón, Mark Strong, Eusebio Lázaro, Charlotte Coleman, Neil Stuke, Elizabeth McGovern, Dave FishleyOn the eve of his ex-girlfriend’s wedding to another man, an out-of-work...

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CFB's Greatest Movies by Country, Chapter 23: Netherlands

The Vanishing (1988) The 4th Man (1983) Soldier of Orange (1977) Black Book (2006) Karakter (1997) Antonia's Line (1995) Turkish Delight (1973) The Assault (1986) For a Lost Soldier (1992) Simon (2004) Twin Sisters (2002) Fanfare (1958) The Northerners (1992) The Lift (1983) Spetters (1980) A Question of Silence (1982) Max Havelaar (1976) Abel (1986) On Top of the Whale (1982) Like Two Drops of Water (19...

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Jericho: Season 1 (2006-2007)

USATelevision SeriesCreators: Stephen Chbosky, Josh Schaer, Jonathan E. SteinbergCinematographer: Rick BotaComposer: David LawrenceSkeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Gerald McRaney, Ashley Scott, Kenneth Mitchell, Brad Beyer, Alicia Coppola, April D. Parker, Pamela Reed, Bob Stephenson, Clare Carey, Richard Speight Jr., Michael Gaston, Erik Knudsen, Candace Bailey, Shoshannah Stern, Sprague GraydenDespite one or two sentimental moments and a rather unsophisticated...

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The Obscure, the Forgotten, and the Unloved (2010)

My latest (05/2010) film poll is now complete and accessible here. A preview of the results can be seen below.The Obscure, the Forgotten, and the Unloved is a 2010 poll of committed cinephiles who hope to find, highlight, and promote films that have received a considerable amount of critical acclaim but have yet to find the audience that their evident quality deserves. It follows on from The One-Line Review Presents “The 50 Greatest Films” and Beyond...

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Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

RecommendedUSAAnimated Feature FilmDirector: Wes AndersonWriters: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Roald DahlCinematographer: Tristan OliverComposer: Alexandre DesplatCast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem DafoeAdapted from Roald Dahl’s subversive children’s book, Wes Anderson’s stop motion gem, in which the eponymous wild animal, married with a child, attempts to rediscover...

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MASH (1970)

Essential ViewingUSAFeature FilmDirector: Robert AltmanWriters: Ring Lardner Jr., Richard HookerCinematographer: Harold E. StineComposer: Johnny MandelCast: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen, Rene Auberjonois, David Arkin, Jo Ann Pflug, Gary Burghoff, Fred Williamson, Michael Murphy, John Schuck, Bud CortThree Martini soaked, girl crazy, golf loving surgeons bring some much needed irreverence...

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The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (2008)

Not RecommendedFranceFeature FilmOriginal Title: Le premier jour du reste de ta vieWriter/Director: Rémi BezançonCinematographer: Antoine MonodComposer: SinclairCast: Jacques Gamblin, Zabou Breitman, Déborah François, Marc-André Grondin, Pio Marmaï, Roger Dumas, Cécile Cassel, Stanley Weber, Sarah Cohen-Hadria, Camille De Pazzis, Aymeric CormeraisDepicting five momentous days (between 1990 and 2000) in the life of an average lower middle class family...

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At Five in the Afternoon (2003)

RecommendedIran/FranceFeature FilmOriginal Title: پنجِ عصرDirector: Samira MakhmalbafWriters: Samira Makhmalbaf, Mohsen MakhmalbafCinematographers: Ebrahim Ghafori, Samira MakhmalbafComposer: Mohammad Reza DarvishiCast: Agheleh Rezaie, Abdolgani Yousefrazi, Razi Mohebi, Marzieh AmiriDespite some awkward performances from some of the supporting cast and some rather didactic, expository dialogue, Samira Makhmalbaf’s decidedly even-handed examination...

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