The Escape

2009

When terrorists in war-ravaged Afghanistan kidnap and threaten to slay outspoken Danish journalist Rikke Lynvig (Iben Hjejle), young, English-speaking Taliban operative Nazir Osmani (Faegh Zamani) helps her plan a daring getaway. But when Nazir himself also escapes Afghanistan and seeks Rikke's help in Denmark, she is torn between personal loyalty and the political fallout of aiding a terrorist. Kathrine Windfeld directs this tense thriller.

3.3 Average Rating

Her Name Is Sabine

2007

French actress turned filmmaker Sandrine Bonnaire crafts a deeply personal portrait of her sister Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, and examines the inadequacies of the health care system in this moving foreign-language documentary. After languishing for five years in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine was ultimately transferred to a home in the Charente region of France, where her innate talents blossomed and flourished.

3.3 Average Rating

Nora's Will

2010

This award-winning black comedy follows the family of Nora (Silvia Mariscal), who carefully plans her suicide so that her assortment of estranged relatives, including ex-husband José (Fernando Luján), will have to celebrate Passover together and hopefully achieve a reconciliation. As José battles with unsympathetic cemeteries, a fractious rabbi and his devoted assistant, and his own son (Ari Brickman), he realizes how deeply he still loved Nora.

3.3 Average Rating

A Matter of Size

2009

Fed up with their fruitless attempts to lose weight, Herzl (Itzik Cohen) and his three heavyset friends decide to give up their tortuous diets and try their luck in the girth-friendly arena of sumo wrestling. Led by Japan native Kitano (Togo Igawa), Herzl and crew discover that there are places in the world where oversized waistlines are appreciated. Dvir Benedek and Shmulik Cohen also star in this lighthearted comedy.

3.3 Average Rating

Mutum

2007

Born into a family scrabbling out a rough existence on their farm in rural Brazil, sensitive 10-year-old Thiago (Thiago da Silva Mariz) tries to make sense of the growing rifts between the adults around him in this lyrical coming-of-age drama. Suffering from his father's abuse and the unhappiness between his parents, Thiago turns to his brother, Felipe (Wallison Felipe Leal Barroso), for insight into their emotionally chaotic world.

3.3 Average Rating

AIDS Jaago

2007

Acclaimed directors Mira Nair, Santosh Sivan, Vishal Bhardwaj and Farhan Akhtar examine the AIDS crisis in India with four short films that dispel common myths and illustrate how the disease affects ordinary people. A closeted gay man hides a secret from his wife, a young man is mistakenly diagnosed with HIV, a truck driver advocates for an HIV-positive child, and an HIV diagnosis brings a family together.

3.3 Average Rating

The Beaches of Agnès

2008

Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.

3.3 Average Rating

El General

2009

Filmmaker Natalia Almada's documentary traces 100 years of Mexico's history through the story of her great-grandfather Plutarco Elías Calles, whose brutal regime as president from 1924-28 overshadowed his heroics during the Mexican Revolution. A rich portrait of the Mexican people and the country's tumultuous history emerges as Almada contrasts her family's memories of Calles with the collective memory of her country.

3.3 Average Rating

Korean Wedding Chest

2008

Capturing in detail the elaborate blend of old and new wedding customs in Korea, filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger provides a thoughtful -- and, at times, humorous -- documentary centered on the ancient tradition of the wedding chest. The groom carries this chest, which contains specifically stipulated valuables, on his back to the parents of his bride. Meanwhile, modern wedding assistants meticulously make sure everything is perfect on the special day.

3.3 Average Rating

Fighter

2007

Although her strict father (Sadi Tekelioglu) expects her to study medicine, Aicha (Semra Turan) won't be deterred from training to become a skilled kung fu fighter. But in the process of building up her strength with a professional club, she unexpectedly falls for an adversary. At first, Aicha's passionate relationship with Emil (Cyron Melville) is like fire -- but in the end, her Turkish roots could tear them apart.

3.3 Average Rating

Salt of This Sea

2008

Born in Brooklyn to Palestinian refugee parents, Soraya (Suheir Hammad) decides to journey to the country of her ancestry when she discovers that her grandfather's savings have been frozen in a Jaffa bank account since his 1948 exile. She soon finds, however, that her simple plan is a complicated undertaking -- and one that takes her farther from her comfort zone (both geographically and emotionally) than she'd imagined in this romantic drama.

3.3 Average Rating

Open Hearts

2002

Cecile (Sonja Richter) and Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a happy couple living in Copenhagen, find their relationship changed forever when Joachim is hit by a car and paralyzed. Joachim grows increasingly bitter, and as his doctor, Niels (Mads Mikkelsen), consoles Cecile, the two become romantically involved. This also threatens Niels's marriage to Marie (Paprika Steen), who can't bear the thought of losing her husband.

3.3 Average Rating

Leaving

2009

Bored with her life of leisure, Suzanne (Kristin Scott Thomas) decides to reestablish her career as a physiotherapist. But first, she'll need an office ... and that's where her troubles begin in this drama from Catherine Corsini. As soon as Suzanne meets the man her husband hired to construct her backyard office, she falls hard -- and the attraction is mutual ... and dangerous. Sergi López and Yvan Attal co-star.

3.3 Average Rating

Stella

2008

When 11-year-old Stella (Léora Barbara) enters a prestigious Parisian school, she struggles to reconcile her new academic world with life at her family's working-class bar, hanging out with the regulars while her parents' (Karole Rocher and Benjamin Biolay) marriage disintegrates. Guillaume Depardieu and Jeannick Gravelines co-star in this moving autobiographical drama from French filmmaker Sylvie Verheyde.

3.3 Average Rating

2 Days in New York

2012

Marion and Mingus go from perfect domesticity to waking nightmare when her family comes from France to New York for the weekend. The visitors test the mixed couple's relationship with unsubtle racist remarks, odd sexual habits and bizarre behavior.

3.3 Average Rating

Love & Anarchy

1973

In pre-World War II Italy, the employees of a popular Roman bordello realize that a new arrival (Giancarlo Giannini) is planning to assassinate Mussolini. When one of the girls (Lina Polito) falls in love with the man, she's torn between saving him and saving her country. This is the film that put Italian director Lina Wertmueller on the map of world cinema. Giannini won a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal.

3.3 Average Rating