Whilst Lana Turner is great in this family drama, the plaudits really ought to go to the sparing appearances of the hugely charismatic Juanita Moore. The latter woman is very much down on her luck, with her daughter "Sarah Jane", when she rescues the young "Susie", separated at the beach from her mother "Lora" (Turner). Not that she has much better prospects, but "Lora" takes in the destitute couple and that seems to act as her good luck charm. A budding actress, she finds herself slowly but surely - with the aide of the less than scrupulous "Loomis" (Robert Alda) - climbing up the greasy pole - without, it has to be said, compromising her integrity. The four march on as her star rises, but of course there is no pain, no gain. "Sarah Jane" (by now Susan Kohner) is of mixed-race, and as she struggles to fit in socially, she goes off the rails. Meantime, "Lora" has an on/off relationship with "Steve" (John Gavin) to whom, also, her daughter takes a bit of a shine too! It's not a melodrama, this film - it's a well crafted characterful drama that mixes comedy, aspiration, racial tension and love - in many different guises; and it delivers a thought provoking but still very entertaining look at 1950s America. Success always comes at a price, and much of Turner's excellence here comes from the fact that she plays a woman who almost glides through life without really appreciating how or why it impacts on her. It's only when the tragedies - yes there are a few - start to hit her square on, that she has to adjust to real life. Gavin was never really any better than eye candy, but here he does have an extra gear and there are strong contributions from both Kohner and Sandra Dee as the sixteen year old "Susie". Henri Mancini had a hand in the score of this lavish and complex story that really does allow the talent on screen to deliver some solid writing well and engagingly. Two hours just flies by.
Imitation of Life is a masterpiece that explores race, class, and privilege in 1950s America. Douglas Sirk's final Hollywood film masterfully contrasts the lives of Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) and Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore), using their intertwining stories to expose the stark divides of the era. The emotional depth of Annie's relationship with her daughter, who chooses to pass as white, is super-emotional and heart-wrenching. Sirk's use of heightened drama not only serves as a critique of 1950s society's blind spots but also enlightens today's audience about the issues of the time. In the final act, with Mahalia Jackson's moving performance, the film delivers an emotionally shattering experience that cements its status as a timeless work of art. Flawless.
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
Hard-to-crack ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes and his wife Dina head for the warmer climes of Florida to meet the parents of their son-in-law-to-be, Greg Focker. Unlike their happily matched offspring, the future in-laws find themselves in a situation of opposites that definitely do not attract.
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings return to their childhood home and are requested - with an admonition - to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother and a collection of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. As the brothers and sisters re-examine their shared history and the status of each tattered relationship among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterically funny and emotionally significant ways.
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded OSS. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.
A 19-year-old searches for her twin brother after he runs away from home, following a fight with their father.
A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.
Two very different brothers: Gregor (32) and Pietschi (30). Whereas one is reliable and committed, the other is spontaneous and aimless. Gregor is married and is a good doctor; Pietschi in contrast is something of a ladies’ man and a hedonist. According to tradition, the two see each other at least once a year for a weekend of sailing. But this year Pietschi drops out without leaving a message, and simply disappears. Gregor’s life goes on, but he is confused and searches everywhere for a sign of his brother’s whereabouts. The more Gregor realises how little he knows about his brother, the more he becomes fascinated by these things he doesn't know. And the longer Pietschi remains missing, the more obsessed Gregor becomes with his brother’s fading echo, even going so far as to try and slip into his brother’s life. But what happens when one of them suddenly disappears from the mirror image? Can the other continue to be the person they are. Or rather, were?
A kindhearted street urchin named Aladdin embarks on a magical adventure after finding a lamp that releases a wisecracking genie while a power-hungry Grand Vizier vies for the same lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.