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HAPPINESS
“Happiness” is a 1998 darkly comedic and deeply unsettling ensemble film written and directed by Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollshouse, Storytelling). It interweaves the lives of several characters from suburban New Jersey who are searching for fulfillment. The film’s tone shifts between satire, tragedy, and taboo, exploring themes of alienation, sexual frustration, family dysfunction,…
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LE COUPLE TÉMOIN aka THE MODEL COUPLE (NSFW)
“Le Couple témoin,” also known as “The Model Couple,” is a satirical French comedy directed by William Klein in 1977. The film presents a unique blend of social experiment and absurdist critique, following an ordinary couple selected by the French government to live under constant surveillance in a “model apartment,” which is a prototype of…
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BABYLON
“Babylon” (2022) is an epic and visually stunning film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. With a runtime of over three hours, it vividly portrays the wild excesses, ambitions, and decline of early Hollywood during the late 1920s and early 1930s, a period marked by the industry’s transition from silent films to talkies. The movie…
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SACRED HOUSES: THE PARK THEATRE, MANITOBA, CANADA
In this edition of the “Sacred Houses Series,” we pay homage to The Park Theatre in Manitoba, Canada, as we continue to honor notable movie theaters worldwide. The Park Theatre, located in Riding Mountain National Park, was constructed between 1936 and 1937. It is uniquely built from peeled logs and fieldstone, making it the only…
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HEAT
“Heat,” the 1995 film written and directed by Michael Mann, is a Los Angeles-set crime thriller that explores the parallel lives of a meticulous career thief (Neil McCauley, played by Robert De Niro) and a relentless LAPD robbery-homicide detective (Vincent Hanna, played by Al Pacino). Both men are at the top of their professions, driven…
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THE FOG (80)
“The Fog” is a 1980 supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter and co-written by Carpenter and Debra Hill. The story takes place in the small coastal town of Antonio Bay, California, as it prepares to celebrate its centennial anniversary. As the town gets ready for the festivities, a mysterious, glowing fog rolls in from…
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PIGEN MED NALEN aka THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
“Pigen med nålen” aka “The Girl with the Needle” is a 2024 film written by Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek and directed by Magnus von Horn. Set in the grim aftermath of World War I—circa 1919 Copenhagen—The Girl with the Needle follows Karoline (played by Vic Carmen Sonne), a young factory seamstress facing destitution:…
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LA PLANÉTE SAUVAGE aka FANTASTIC PLANET
“La Planète sauvage” (also known as “Fantastic Planet”) is a 1973 René Laloux-directed French-Czechoslovak animated allegory set on the strange world of Ygam, home to the gigantic, blue-skinned alien species known as the Draags. Humanity—here called the Oms—are tiny, animal-like beings, often kept as pets or exterminated as pests. The film follows an Om named…
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KINDS OF KINDNESS
“Kinds of Kindness” is a 2024 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and co-written by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou. The film is structured as a triptych, featuring three distinct yet thematically interconnected stories, with the same ensemble cast appearing in different roles throughout. Each tale explores themes of domination, control, and the human desire for meaning,…
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LE JOURNAL D’UNE FEMME DE CHAMBRE aka DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID
“Le journal d’une femme de chambre” aka “Diary of a Chambermaid” is a 1964 satirical and unsettling drama directed by Luis Buñuel. The film critiques French provincial society, exploring themes of repression, xenophobia, sexual obsession, and class hypocrisy. The story follows Célestine (Jeanne Moreau), a brilliant yet disillusioned Parisian woman who takes a job as…
The Other Cinema 