Film Movement + March Streaming Highlights

STREAMING HIGHLIGHTS & PREMIERES
MARCH 2019
Friday, March 1
 
PREMIERE
PARADISE
Olga (Julia Vysotskaya) is a beautiful Russian countess and member of the French Resistance; Jules (Philippe Duquesne) is a French-Nazi collaborator who is assigned to investigate her case; and Helmut (Christian Clauss) is a handsome, high-ranking, yet naive German SS officer who once fell madly in love with Olga and meets her again when she is shipped to a concentration camp. While they recount their stories, the film drifts between the bloody end of World War II and the gilded, halcyon days when their destinies first crossed. Victim, bystander, or monster – director Andrei Konchalovsky collapses these identities, offering a new perspective on the Holocaust. Shot in stunning black and white, the film depicts the morally complex choices that one must make during dark times in search of PARADISE – a look at the past and its lessons for the present.
The latest film by the renowned Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky (SHY PEOPLE, RUNAWAY TRAIN, TANGO & CASH, THE POSTMAN’S WHITE NIGHTS), PARADISE premiered at the 2016 Venice International Film Festival, where he won the Silver Lion for Best Director and where the film was nominated for a Golden Lion for Best Film. From there, it won awards at the Chicago, Gijon and San Francisco Jewish Film Festivals, in addition to being Russia’s official submission to the 89th Academy Awards® for Best Foreign Language Film; it was shortlisted.
“Luminous… an unflinching look at the Holocaust.”
— Loren King, Boston Globe
Engrossing… Konchalovsky infuses the film with a sense of 
fate and spirituality. It’s haunting.”
— David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle
 
PARADISE - OFFICIAL U.S. Trailer
PARADISE – OFFICIAL U.S. Trailer

 


Friday, March 8
PREMIERE
BENT
Set amidst the decadence and terror of pre-war Germany, BENT is a harrowing yet inspirational tale of struggle against oppression, based on the landmark play by Martin Sherman. A chance encounter at a Berlin nightclub exposes Max (Clive Owen) and his partner Rudy (Brian Webber) as homosexuals during the “Night of the Long Knives” purge. After two years on the run, they are captured and put on a train to Dachau, where Rudy is savagely beaten to death. Inside the camp, Max finds the will to survive through the help of a fellow prisoner, Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), and the two men develop an unbreakable bond.
Winner of the Prix de la jeunesse (Award of the Youth) at Cannes Critics’ Week in 1997, BENT, which has been digitally restored for optimal viewing, was also nominated “Outstanding Film” at the GLAAD Media Awards, and captured the Best Feature Award at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Oscar® nominee Clive Owen (Closer, Children of Men, Sin City, “The Knick”), Oscar®-nominee Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Gods and Monsters), Lothaire Bluteau (“Vikings,” “The Tudors,” Black Robe), Mick Jagger (The Man from Elysian Fields, Freejack) and Brian Webber star, with cameos from Emmy®-nominee Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”), Paul Bettany (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: Civil War), Jude Law and Rachel Weisz.
“Uplifting and life-affirming… a film of rare power, passion 
and cinematic brilliance.”
— Rex Reed
“Triumphant… the acting is superb.”
— Film Threat
“A viscerally affecting film.”
— The Austin Chronicle
Bent - Official U.S. trailer
BENT – Official U.S. trailer

 
Friday, March 8
PREMIERE
THEORY OF OBSCURITY + SXSW HIGHLIGHTS
South by Southwest® (SXSW), the long-running fest held in Austin each year celebrating the convergence of interactive, film and music industries, runs from March 8-17. To celebrate some of wonderful cinematic discoveries that have been Official Selections at SXSW, Film Movement opens the vaults and starts with the U.S. streaming premiere of THEORY OF OBSCURITY, the acclaimed documentary about the iconic renegade cult band, The Renegades, which played SXSW in 2015.
From the group’s formation in Shreveport to their success in the burgeoning San Francisco avant-garde music scene of the 60s and 70s, The Residents redefined what a rock band could be. With the advent of music videos in the 1980s, these masked musicians gained global fame as MTV darlings and serious art world figures. The doc from director Don Hardy Jr. features interviews with such pop culture and music luminaries including The Residents Hardy Fox and Homer Flynn, Les Claypool, Josh Freese, Matt Groening and Penn Gillette.
“There’s plenty of eye and ear-catching stimulation in this survey of the Residents’ 40-year career.”
— Dennis Harvey, Variety
“Fans will appreciate this loving probe into the determinedly 
anonymous history of S.F.’s superstar art weirdos, now closing 
in on 50 years of seemingly bottomless inspiration.”
— Adrian Mack, Straight.com
In addition, beginning March 8 and running through the month, Film Movement Plus will highlight past acclaimed SXSW films, including:
–      ARRANGED — 2007 World Premiere
–       AUGUST THE FIRST — 2007 World Premiere
–       BAD LUCKY GOAT — 2017 World Premiere
–       BOMBER — 2009 Best Narrative Feature Nominee
–       FALLING ANGELS — 2004 Official Selection
–       HELENA FROM THE WEDDING — 2010 World Premiere
–       SMALL, BEAUTIFULLY MOVING PARTS — 2011 World Premiere
–       THE AUTOMATIC HATE — 2015 World Premiere
–       THEEB — 2014 Official Selection
THEORY OF OBSCURITY - OFFICIAL U.S. Trailer
THEORY OF OBSCURITY – OFFICIAL U.S. Trailer


 
Friday, March 15
 
HIGHLIGHT
ERIC ROHMER’S BIRTHDAY: FULL MOON IN PARIS & THE MARQUISE OF O
Celebrate the March 21st birthday of iconic French director Erich Rohmer (born 1920) with two of his most renowned films: FULL MOON IN PARIS and THE MARQUISE OF O.
Originally released in 1984 to universal acclaim, FULL MOON IN PARIS was heralded as “a small masterpiece” and “the very best of Rohmer” by The New York Times. The story of Louise (Pascale Ogier), a young interior designer bored with her life in the sleepy suburbs with her live-in boyfriend Remi, and aager to lead the life of an independent socialite in the city, Louise arranges to move back into her Paris apartment during the week. Balancing a steady boyfriend in the suburbs with a best friend, Octave (Fabrice Luchini), who makes plain his interest in her, and a bad boy musician who catches her eye at a party, eventually even the sophisticated and aloof Louise cannot untangle herself from the emotional realities of her various romantic encounters. Decades after first impressing critics and audiences alike, FULL MOON IN PARIS remains a modern, wry observation of youth and love.
FULL MOON IN PARIS - Digitally Remastered, Film Movement Classics Trailer
FULL MOON IN PARIS – Digitally Remastered, Film Movement Classics Trailer
Already an established filmmaker by the 1976 release of THE MARQUISE OF O, an adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist’s classic short story, the film stands as Rohmer’s “dazzling testament to the civilizing effects of several different arts, witty, joyous and so beautiful to look at” (The New York Times). Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival that year, Rohmer’s film is set in 1799 during the Russian invasion of Italy. A young widow, The Marquise (Edith Clever) lives with her parents; her father is the commander of a citadel embroiled in battle. With the fort overrun by Russians, the Marquise is abducted by a group of rowdy soldiers and nearly taken advantage of when the Russian commander Count F (Bruno Ganz) appears as if from nowhere to rescue her. Later, the Marquise realizes she is pregnant, though she cannot decipher how the circumstance came to be. The Marquise’s scandalized parents banish her to their country estate, where she pens a letter to the newspaper announcing that she will marry the father, whomever he may be, should he only present himself. Rohmer masterfully adapts von Kleist’s multi-layered story, creating “the aura of a neoclassical dream, a fading vision of the virtue of gentility” (The Chicago Reader).
THE MARQUISE OF O... - Digitally Remastered, Film Movement Classics Trailer
THE MARQUISE OF O — Digitally Remastered, Film Movement Classics Trailer
Friday, March 22
 
PREMIERE
THE CHARMER
From director Milad Alami, THE CHARMER is an absorbing, slow-burning thriller, exploring class, race and immigrant identity; a 2018 theatrical premiere, it was a New York Times Critic’s Pick.
Esmail (Ardalan Esmaili) is a darkly handsome Iranian immigrant to Denmark, on the verge of being thrown out of the country if he can’t find a Danish woman to marry. He dresses well and frequents posh bars, easily ingratiating himself with attractive Danes who are seduced by his good looks, gentle manners, and apparent decency. But he’s a man caught between his self-interest and self-respect. Things get a lot more complicated when he meets a beautiful fellow countryman (Iranian singer Soho Rezanejad) who immediately grasps his game plan, but finds herself attracted to him nonetheless. THE CHARMER is a debut movie by a director who understands that a psychological thriller need not focus on violent crime. Rather, it wraps its head around the notion that small, seemingly insignificant acts may cause pain and trauma to those who become players in our lives.
“A carefully assembled, perceptive slow-burner.”
— Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter
“A sharply crafted drama that has elements of noirish suspense, the 
Danish-Swedish coproduction, which is distinguished by exceptionally
fine performances by its three leading actors, offers an incisive, 
penetrating look at the psychological disorientation and 
dilemmas of people caught between cultures.”
— Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com

 

THE CHARMER Official U.S. trailer
THE CHARMER Official U.S. trailer

 


 
Friday, March 29
 
PREMIERE
APPRENTICE
When ambitious young correctional officer Aiman is transferred to the country’s highest-security prison, he catches the attention of the seasoned chief executioner Rahim. Aiman’s desire to become the hangman’s apprentice is not only professional but born of an unspeakable urge to reconnect with a past that haunts him. Far from being a conventional prison movie, this slow-burning psychological thriller is a “stunning” (Film School Rejects) and “tightly focused and ambitious” (Screen Daily) look at all the lives affected by capital punishment.
“[T]here’s no question that this Un Certain Regard premiere’s directorial flair and thematic complexity…should help further consolidate Boo’s own reputation as one of the region’s names to watch.”
— Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter
“Tightly focused and ambitious in its multiple themes…”
— Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily
APPRENTICE - OFFICIAL US Trailer
APPRENTICE – OFFICIAL US 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
Film Movement Plus Trailer

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