Drama
Charlotte Gray
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Charlotte Gray

2001
A Scottish woman (Cate Blanchett) searching for her missing pilot boyfriend during World War II must choose between finding her lost love and taking a stand when she meets a local farmer (Michael Gambon) and his son (Billy Crudup), a leader in the resistance who's harboring two Jewish children. Australian director Gillian Armstrong helms this period drama based on Sebastian Faulks's novel of the same name.

Directed by:

  • Gillian Armstrong
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Beyond Silence
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    Beyond Silence

    1996
    Laura (Tatjana Trieb) is a dutiful daughter to her hearing-impaired parents, Martin (Howie Seago) and Kai (Emmanuelle Laborit) -- sometimes to the detriment of her own needs. When an aunt (Sibylle Canonica) gives the young girl a clarinet, Laura discovers a hidden talent. As a teen (Sylvie Testud), she attends a Berlin music school on scholarship against Martin's wishes and falls in love. But tragedy calls her back home.

    Directed by:

  • Caroline Link
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Pariah
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    Pariah

    2011
    Brooklyn teen Alike (Adepero Oduye) is a model child around her devoutly religious family, but she sheds the good-girl image to reveal a harder side during a nightclub excursion with butch pal Laura (Pernell Walker) in this coming-of-age tale of urban identity and sexual expression. With curfew looming and her parents none the wiser, Alike must catch the bus back home, where she faces the complex negotiation of her contradictory worlds.

    Directed by:

  • Dee Rees
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Little Dorrit
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    Little Dorrit

    1988
    In this two-part adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel, Derek Jacobi stars as Arthur, a well-meaning middle-aged man who, through an unexpected relationship with seamstress Little Dorrit (Sarah Pickering), is drawn into the plight of a group of debtor prisoners. Christine Edzard directs and writes this expansive, award-winning drama for the screen; Alec Guinness co-stars as the imprisoned William Dorritt.

    Directed by:

  • Christine Edzard
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    The Devil's Arithmetic
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    The Devil's Arithmetic

    1999
    Jewish-American teen Hannah Stern (Kirsten Dunst) isn't much interested in her family's religious tradition. But her blasé attitude changes radically when she's suddenly transported back to a 1941 Nazi concentration camp. There, Hannah learns firsthand the horrors of the holocaust and the price her family and other Jews paid because of their heritage. Brittany Murphy, Louise Fletcher and Mimi Rogers co-star in director Donna Deitch's film.

    Directed by:

  • Donna Deitch
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Little Man Tate
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    Little Man Tate

    1991
    Jodie Foster's directorial debut centers on Fred Tate (Adam Hann-Byrd), a gifted 7-year-old whose prodigious talents land him in the middle of a battle between his working-class mom (Foster) and a school director (Dianne Wiest) who wants to cultivate his genius. Fred, meanwhile, yearns to fit in with the other children at his school, who treat him as an outcast. Harry Connick Jr. and David Hyde Pierce co-star in this moving drama.

    Directed by:

  • Jodie Foster
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Coco Before Chanel
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    Coco Before Chanel

    2009
    Audrey Tautou stars as legendary French designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in this lively biopic that explores the fashion icon's storied ascension from orphan to seamstress and cabaret singer and ultimately, the queen of Parisian haute couture. Alessandro Nivola plays Arthur "Boy" Capel, Chanel's lover and influential business investor who makes a lifelong impact on the young woman. Anne Fontaine directs this Oscar nominee for Best Costume Design.

    Directed by:

  • Anne Fontaine
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    The Piano
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    The Piano

    1993
    Holly Hunter stars as Ada McGrath, a mute but strong-willed 19th-century Scottish expatriate who arrives in New Zealand with her daughter (Anna Paquin) and her beloved piano in tow. Although betrothed to a landowner (Sam Neill), she's pulled into an affair with a laborer (Harvey Keitel). Hunter and Paquin both won Oscars for their performances in this haunting drama from writer-director Jane Campion.

    Directed by:

  • Jane Campion
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Maman Est Chez le Coiffeur
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    Maman Est Chez le Coiffeur

    2008
    Frustrated after yet another fight with her daughter, Élise (Marianne Fortier), Simone (Céline Bonnier) leaves her family to pursue a full-time career. Now, Élise must try to keep her physician father and her brothers in line as she fills in for her mother. But as she struggles to take care of everything her mother handled, she learns that sudden adulthood is not nearly as liberating as she'd expected. Léa Pool directs this drama set in the 1960s.

    Directed by:

  • Lea Pool
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Their Eyes Were Watching God
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    Their Eyes Were Watching God

    2005
    Halle Berry stars in this version of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, adapted for television and produced by Oprah Winfrey. The story centers on Janie Crawford (Berry), a free-spirited woman who lives her life on her own terms. Refusing to accept her place as a black woman in the 1920s, Crawford lives life to its fullest and experiences a journey filled with great joy and unbearable heartache. Ruby Dee and Ruben Santiago-Hudson also star.

    Directed by:

  • Darnell Martin
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    The Cave of the Yellow Dog
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    The Cave of the Yellow Dog

    2005
    Academy Award nominee Byambasuren Davaa (The Story of the Weeping Camel) wrote and directed this docudrama about the disappearing ways of nomadic life in her home country of Mongolia. Young Nansal, the oldest daughter of an actual nomad family, finds a stray dog that quickly becomes her close companion, despite her parents' disapproval. The film depicts the herdspeople's everyday tasks for livelihood and survival, while the city beckons from afar.

    Directed by:

  • Byambasuren Davaa
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Disappearing Acts
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    Disappearing Acts

    2000
    Music teacher Zora Banks (Sanaa Lathan) yearns for a successful career as a singer-songwriter -- and for a decent man in her life. While moving into a new brownstone, Zora meets rough-edged construction worker Franklin Swift (Wesley Snipes), and the two hit it off. But when certain secrets come to light, their burgeoning romance starts to unravel. John Amos costars in this made-for-cable-TV movie based on Terry McMillan's best-selling novel.

    Directed by:

  • Gina Prince
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Rosenstrasse
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    Rosenstrasse

    2003
    After her father dies, Hannah Weinstein (Maria Schrader) notices that her mother, Ruth (Jutte Lampe), is acting very strangely. Is Ruth's behavior brought on by her understandable grief at the loss of her husband, or does the suffering spring from something older, something repressed? As her mother's troubled childhood is revealed, Hannah realizes how little she ever really knew about the woman closest to her. Margarethe von Trotta directs.

    Directed by:

  • Margarethe von Trotta
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    The Locket
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    The Locket

    2002
    In this Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, two love stories are connected by the mystery of one simple locket. Vanessa Redgrave stars as Esther, a woman who befriends Michael (Chad Willett), a young man who's had a tough life caring for his mother. But with his mother gone and his impending marriage in jeopardy, Michael leans on Esther, who offers friendship and patient guidance that could end up saving his way of life.

    Directed by:

  • Karen Arthur
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    If These Walls Could Talk
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    If These Walls Could Talk

    1996
    A house holds the stories of three women -- and a glimpse at the evolution of American abortion rights. A 1950s widow (Demi Moore) seeks an illegal abortion after a one-night stand. A 1970s mother of four (Sissy Spacek) must choose between having a child and starting a career. And in the 1990s, a student (Anne Heche) clashes with anti-abortion activists en route to seek an abortion from her doctor (Cher). Cher co-directs with Nancy Savoca.

    Directed by:

  • Nancy Savoca
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Bastard out of Carolina
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    Bastard out of Carolina

    1996
    Angelica Huston follows dad John Huston into the field of directing with this adaptation of Dorothy Allison's autobiographical bestseller, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh as a single mom in the 1950s South. Her co-dependency on her new husband (Ron Eldard) blinds her to his continuing physical and sexual abuse of her daughter (Jena Malone). As the adult daughter, Laura Dern narrates this made-for-cable story in flashback.

    Directed by:

  • Anjelica Huston
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Now and Then
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    Now and Then

    1995
    Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty in this tender coming-of-age tale, four childhood girlfriends -- Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta -- recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more. Lesli Linka Glatter directs; Gaby Hoffmann, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Cloris Leachman, Thora Birch and Christina Ricci co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Lesli Linka Glatter
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Now and Then (1995)
    A heartwarming movie about four childhood girlfriends who, in adulthood reunion, relive their experience of the life-changing summer of 1970, including a mystery death, divorce, standing up to the boys, first kiss, and the meaning of true friendship. Each explores her unique identity amidst family and friends. Beautifully directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.
    - Frances   
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