Film Movement + Announces May Highlights
STREAMING PREMIERES & HIGHLIGHTS
MAY 2019
FRIDAY, MAY 3
PREMIERE
THE TEACHER (FOR NATIONAL TEACHER DAY)
From Jan Hřebejk, the Oscar®-nominated director of Divided We Fall, and loosely inspired by true events, THE TEACHER is a dark comedy about a delightfully nasty middle school teacher you’ll not soon forget. Zuzana Mauréry received universal acclaim as Comrade Drazdechova, who uses her students to manipulate their parents for her own gain. Called “needle sharp… [featuring] one of the most intense PTA meeting of all time” by Indiewire, THE TEACHER makes its streaming premiere just in time to commemorate National Teacher Day on May 7.
Czechoslovakia, 1983. Middle school teacher Maria Drazdechova (Mauréry) greets her new students by asking each to announce what his or her parents do for a living. Soon, it becomes apparent that her pupils’ grades are tied to how helpful their families can be with favors, both big and small. While this does not sit well with many parents, others are willing to play along because Ms. Drazdechova is also a high-ranking official of the Communist Party. Now, with the futures of their children at stake, each family must decide whether they are willing to maintain the status quo or stand up against the corrupt system.
“Exceptional… wonderfully entertaining.”
–Los Angeles Times
“(An) intelligent and universally resonant crowd-pleaser.”
–Variety
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| THE TEACHER – OFFICIAL US Trailer |
FRIDAY, MAY 10
PREMIERE
NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER + MOTHER’S DAY SPOTLIGHT
Leading up to this year’s Mother’s Day celebration, Film Movement Plus invites film lovers to a compelling, audacious and intimate self-portrait of an enigmatic and celebrated performance artist with the streaming premiere of NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER.
Directed by the enigmatic artist herself, the film, an acclaimed hybrid documentary-performance film, deconstructs Narcissister’s celebrated stage shows – which combine dance, elaborate costumes, pop music hits, unabashed eroticism and heavy doses of humor -while revealing the influence of her origins, growing up in blonde-haired, blue-eyed Southern California as the child of a Sephardic Jewish mother and an African-American father. A former dancer, Narcissister’s live shows amuse, shock, confound, and enchant in equal measure, exploring the intimacies of her relationship with a mother whose influence and support were critical in shaping the artist she is today.
“What a THRILLING, PROFOUND EXPERIENCE…
Trust me: You’ve NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.”
-The Daily Beast
“Hypnotic…far from conventional.”
-The New York Times
“Subversive, funny and beautiful.”
-Vulture
SUPPLEMENTAL BONUS CONTENT INCLUDES: Deleted/Extended Scenes
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| Narcissister Organ Player – Official Trailer |
Striking a similar chord as NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER, don’t miss these other charming Mother’s Day spotlights, all award-winners and festival favorites from around the world paying tribute to “mom”:
- AMNESIA (France/Switzerland, 2015, Directed by Barbet Schroeder)
- ANTONIA’S LINE (Netherlands, 1995, Oscar, Best Foreign Language Film)
- THE BEST INTENTIONS (Sweden, 1995, Directed by Bille August)
- CAROL’S JOURNEY (Spain, 2002, Winner of Berlin Crystal Bear)
- LITTLE SPARROWS (Australia, 2010, Directed by Yu-Hsiu Camille Chen)
- MOTHER OF MINE (Finland/Sweden, 2005, Directed by Klaus Härö)
- TROUBLING LOVE (Italy, 1995, Based on the novel by Elena Ferrante)
FRIDAY, MAY 17
PREMIERES
TIME TO DIE & A TIME FOR DYING
PLUS WESTERNS FROM AROUND THE WORLD SPOTLIGHT
The ’60s were arguably one of the greatest decades for westerns. While John Wayne shot up bad guys in True Grit and How the West Was Won, Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone put the spaghetti western movement on the global map with shoot ’em ups like A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
On May 17, Film Movement Plus brings two Wild West classics to their streaming platform: TIME TO DIE, Arturo Ripstein’s landmark directorial debut, with a story from Gabriel García Márquez, hailing from Mexico; and A TIME FOR DYING (A Corinth Films release), both the final film for Director Budd Boetticher and legendary WWII veteran Audie Murphy.
In TIME TO DIE (1966), Juan Sayago (Jorge Martinez de Hoyos, The Magnificent Seven), fresh from serving eighteen years in jail for shooting a man in self-defense, comes back to his hometown to start life anew and reunite with old flame Mariana (Marga López, Buñuel’s Nazarin). But the two sons of the man he killed, consumed by an overwhelming thirst for revenge, have been anxiously awaiting his return. From an original story by García Márquez (“One Hundred Years of Solitude”), and featuring dialogue by Mexican novelist/essayist Carlos Fuentes (“The Death of Artemio Cruz”, “The Old Gringo”), this stunning directorial debut by a then-21-year-old Ripstein provides insight into the genius who would go on to create Deep Crimson and Hell Without Limits.
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| TIME TO DIE – OFFICIAL US Trailer |
In 1982, Roger Ebert called Boetticher’s last feature, A TIME FOR DYING (1969), “a lost underground legend,” as well as “the damndest, confoundingest Western you can imagine.”
Aspiring to be a famous bounty hunter, Cass Bunning (Richard Lapp) instead finds himself in Silver City coming to the rescue of Ms. Nellie Winters (Anne Randall), a naive young woman who just arrived in town after unwittingly answering an ad to work in a brothel. After being caught in a hotel together in Vinegaroon, the pair are forcibly married by the drunken and cantankerous Judge Roy Bean (Victor Jory) as punishment for violating the town’s “indecent conduct” law. On the way back to the family ranch, Nellie and Cass have a run-in with notorious outlaw Jesse James, who warns them about trouble brewing back in Silver City. Recognizing an opportunity to fulfill his bounty hunter dreams, Cass heads back to Silver City to contend with the James Bandits – including Jesse James, played by Audie Murphy – and Billy Pimple (Robert Random) in a final showdown.
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A TIME FOR DYING Trailer
While saddling up and heading out to the frontier, you’re sure to enjoy a selection of other acclaimed westerns from around the world, including Sergio Corbucci’s stark and brutal THE GREAT SILENCE (1968) and THEEB (2014), hailing from Jordan, which was an Oscar® nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.
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- THE GREAT SILENCE (Italy, 1968, Directed by Sergio Corbucci)
- THE DARK VALLEY (Austria/Germany, 2014, Starring Sam Riley, Directed by Andreas Prochaska)
- SOUL ON A STRING (China, 2016, Directed by Yang Zhang)
- THEEB (Jordan, 2014, Directed by Naji Abu Nowar)
FRIDAY, MAY 24
PREMIERE
1944 (FOR MEMORIAL DAY)
A little known chapter in World War II history pitted Estonian brother against brother in one of the bloodiest conflicts of the war. From director Elmo Nüganen comes 1944, Estonia’s biggest domestic box office success and the country’s Official Entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 Academy Awards®. The year is 1944. As the Battle of Tannenberg Line rages, Estonia finds itself helplessly trapped in the crossfire of two opposing forces. With the Red Army on the offensive, the severely outnumbered SS dig in to repel the Soviet advance on the Third Reich. Half of their infantry are back to their homeland wearing enemy uniforms. Forced to fight against their own brothers, these desperate young men now must find a way to survive one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II.
“A gritty war epic.”
— Variety
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FRIDAY, MAY 31
PREMIERE
COBY (FOR GAY PRIDE MONTH)
Celebrate Gay Pride month in June with COBY, an acclaimed doc that Queer Guru.com says “makes an important contribution to the continuing dialogue on transitioning, and is also a thoroughly entertaining documentary.”
In a small town deep in the American Midwest, Suzanna begins a gender transition and becomes a boy: Coby. Coby’s transformation deeply impacts the lives the lives of all who love him – and each member of this tight-knit family must confront their own preconceived notions of gender and sexuality. Combining excerpts from Coby’s video dairy with candid, heartfelt interviews from his closet friends and family – Christian Sonderegger’s debut feature is an intimate and sensitive look at timely subject. Ultimately, Coby’s journey morphs into the transformation of a whole family compelled by love to modify their own perspectives.
“This story of a gender revolution takes place in the living room of an ordinary American family. It is difficult to find such a personal subject yet capable of touching and speaking to the whole society.”
— Stefan Dobroiu, Cineuropa
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| Coby – U.S. Official Trailer |
About FILM MOVEMENT PLUS
FILM MOVEMENT PLUS opens up a world of provocative, compelling and award-winning films from Film Movement’s singular library. Priced at $5.99 per month with a free 14-day trial, the SVOD subscription service, currently available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, mobile (iOS and Android), and Chromecast, offers consumers immediate access to 250 festival favorite feature films and 100 short films, including: THEEB, the 2016 Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Film; AFTER THE STORM, a powerful family drama from 2018 Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda; HUMAN CAPITAL, a political thriller from Paolo Virzi (The Leisure Seeker) that was Italy’s Best Foreign Film submission for the 87th Academy Awards® and MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER, an unforgettable documentary about true love that transcends generations and cultures and is South Korea’s most successful film of all time. Classics from the Film Movement catalog include Bille August’s PELLE THE CONQUEROR, an Academy Award® winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 1996 and much more.
About Film Movement
Founded in 2002 as one of the first-ever subscription film services with its DVD-of-the-Month club, Film Movement is now a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. It has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide. Film Movement’s theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign art house titles. Its catalog includes titles by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner, Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrzej Wajda, Diane Kurys, Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, Sergio Corbucci and Ettore Scola. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com.
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| Film Movement Plus Trailer |
