This movie rates a 10/10 AND a 10/10 - a 20, right? The first rating is for the superior direction, the phenomenal acting jobs by every member of the cast, and a DP that served the narrative in every shot. The second rating is for a STORY that is vital to tell and re-tell. All it takes is a lapse in attention to allow maniacal, authoritarian to commit heinous crimes against humanity. History has shown us this many times, and yet we forget that we must always be on guard. It is often a downhill slide into allowing some kind of Hitler/Pinochet/Putin to topple democracy, truth and decency. Trump came close. It starts innocently enough: Apple, and therefore it's purchasers and stockholders, support repression in China - a country that has it's own list of desaparacidos.)
Ricardo Darín is on very good form here as the wily and determined Argentinian state prosecutor Julio Strassera who is charged with leading the investigation into the activities of many of the most senior members of the military junta that lead post-Perón Argentina. Murder, rape, torture are just the tip of the criminal iceberg as he tries to assemble witnesses that have the courage to stand up and be heard in the face of intimidation and threats. Meantime, Strassner and his deputy Ocampo (Peter Lanzani) and their own families face intimidation as their case starts to gather steam, publicity and begins to illustrate to all watching just how brutal this regime actually was. The courtroom setting for a drama isn't always effective, but here Santiago Mitre uses it really well to help focus the attention on some poignant performances from the victims but to also demonstrate the power and symbolism of a State that had so recently been used as a tool of persecution for so many, yet now was a symbol of hope and progress. Darín and Lanzani work well together, the former offering a mixed performance of earnest and dedicated whilst still offering a degree of curmudgeonly humour to just, occasionally, lighten the mood a little to allow the audience to come up for air. As a Brit, it was also interesting to see so many of the figures prominent during the Falklands War appear in the dock - bedecked in their medalled finery. It gave the whole thing an added degree of authenticity that resonated a little beyond the borders of Argentina too. It's not compete - there are loose ends, but somehow that adds to the reality of reconciling in such a complex scenario where even justice has to be tempered with a degree of political realism. Very much worth a watch if you are interested in a tale of the worm that bravely and stoically turns.
Musashi returns Japan's legendary swordsman and philosopher to the screen once again. In an original period drama based on the historical facts of the life and travels of the famous Miyamoto Musashi we find an apprentice, an instructor and the account of a famous battle in Japan of the Middle Ages where many questions will be answered.
A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
Brilliant mathematician, John Nash, is on the brink of international acclaim when he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy.
A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins - with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Headstrong yet aimless, Will Hunting has a genius-level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he secretly solves highly difficult graduate-level math problems, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he gets court-ordered therapy. Eventually, therapist Dr. Sean Maguire helps Will confront the demons that are holding him back.
Hatun Aynur Sürücü, a German woman of Kurdish origin, was shot dead by her brothers at a bus stop in 2005. The story of a woman who fought for her freedom and independence despite her family's objections, and whose life ended in a horrific murder.
When his son accidentally kills someone, a lawyer must defend the man wrongly charged with the murder.
A courageous teacher leads a group against a real estate developer who is determined to evict hundreds to make way for a construction project.
The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.