An early satirical anthology of socially conscious shorts.
Social & External
Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".
Imagine what it would be like if black settlers arrived to settle a continent inhabited by white natives? In 1788, the first white settlers arrived in Botany Bay to begin the process of white colonisation of Australia. But in Babakiueria, the roles are reversed in a delightful and light-hearted look at colonisation of a different kind. This satirical examination of black-white relations in Australia first screened on ABC TV in 1986 to widespread acclaim with both critics and audiences alike. This is the story of the fictitious land of Babakiueria, where white people are the minority and must obey black laws. Aboriginal actors Michelle Torres and Bob Maza (Heartland) and supported by a number of familiar faces from the time, including Cecily Polson (E-Street) and Tony Barry, who starred in major ABC-TV hits such as I Can Jump Puddles and his Penguin award-winning Scales of Justice. Babakiueria was awarded the United Nations Media Peace Prize in 1987.
Identical twin brothers, Ward and Clyde Kingsley lives intertwine in a scheme involving marriage, insurance fraud, and mistaken identity. Clyde marries heiress Agnes for her money, but when he plans to fake his death with the help of his dying twin Ward, Agnes falls for Ward, leading to a murder plot where Clyde is accidentally killed by his own accomplices, leaving Ward and Agnes to marry after Ward's recovery.
Lumber magnate Elihu Bennett seeks a monopoly in California's redwoods, clashing with mountain families like the Simpsons, who own valuable timber land. His daughter Ruth Bennett, educated and independent, disguises herself as a stenographer to spy on Stocker, her father's unscrupulous partner, and discovers his fraudulent schemes. She falls for Jerry Simpson, a lawyer and leader of the mountain folk, learning of Stocker's plot to steal their land and destroy ancient trees, including a beloved sequoia. After Stocker assaults Ruth, Jerry saves her, and Stocker dies in a reckless escape down a water flume. Elihu Bennett, realizing the truth, agrees to let the Simpsons keep their land, and Ruth and Jerry's love story culminates.
Lowell Sherman's seemingly perfect marriage to Alice, which is shattered when she has an affair with his best friend, Cyril Carr; Lowell's revenge ruins Cyril, leading to suicide, after which Lowell supports Cyril's son and marries Cyril's widow, Muriel, finding a complex love amidst ruin and guilt.
Molly is a young woman who out of desperation after failing to find work steals a pocketbook from a society woman, Blanche Armstrong. This act leads her into a legal conflict involving the District Attorney, Roger Hackett, who uses the situation to pursue his own lustful interests.
Thrown out of her home by a jealous husband, a woman sinks into degradation. Twenty years later, she is charged with killing a man bent on harming her son. The son, unaware of who the woman is, takes the assignment to defend her in court.
Illustrator Donald Barstow living in a run-down studio building develops an interest in the married Mrs. Blakely. She invites him to Philadelphia for the weekend and he accepts leading to unexpected complications for both.
Reporter Tom Warder exposes a theatrical producer, Isaac Shuman, for sexually harassing young women, including Tom's girlfriend. After being forced out of town, Shuman returns years later to frame Tom for theft, leading to his imprisonment and the tragic death of his family.
A man who believes his wife cares more for her dresses and social status than for their home life. To teach her a lesson and cure her of her vanity, he devises a plan to make her think he has lost all of his money. He hopes that by facing poverty, she will abandon her superficial ways and become a more devoted, practical wife.
The traveling troupe of actors gets stuck in Dawson City, and Andrews, the protagonist, with his wife, Edna, has almost no money. They set off for the gold region. Tired and hopeless after a long journey, they arrive at Dan Shaw's shack. The old miner welcomes them and confidently shows them a bag of wax nuggets that, for many years, he has been collecting to buy a house in California.
Vera Ashton's criminal history resurfaces via her brother when he coerces her into robbing her wealthy employer. A shootout occurs; Vera fatally shoots her brother in self-defense. Her fiancé, Dixon, supports her claim of being his wife. A surprise revelation clears Vera, preventing her arrest.
Sauntry, secretary to John Graydon, the wealthy banker, commits many robberies in the city among the wealthy class, gaining a rather sinister reputation. He hides his tracks by placing a wooden leg on one of the good ones, thus leaving a print and a round mark. Graydon's diamond disappears and the chain to which it was tied is found by Limpy Fisher, a boy from the East Side, with a wooden leg.
Dance hall girl, Daisy Wellington, is dismissed after falling ill. A young ranchman takes her to his cabin and helps her recover. She falls in love with him but ultimately sacrifices her newfound life by returning to the dance hall to earn money to bring his wife out west after the ranchman's savings are stolen by bandits.
Dirk Morgan, a trusted member of a powerful international criminal gang, receives word that the steamer Empress has left Melbourne with a secret shipment of gold; the letter also contains plans for the ship's hold and cabins. Dirk books passage for himself and Anne and they board the steamer in Sydney.
The old nunnery owns the best lands. Nuns rent out the land to local rich men, and exploiting peasants they have a wealthy life. The peasants live in misery. Especially, the family of the peasant named Levin. He is forced to give away his last horse, his son Andrii is imprisoned, his daughter Nastia becomes a maid of a rich landlord. Trying to prevent the master’s harassment, Nastia escapes and gets to the nunnery. She can see the other life of the nuns who manufacture false relics, drink alcohol and kill children. Nastia ends up in the basement for resisting one of the “spiritual pastors.” Meanwhile, her brother Andrii escapes from prison. He stirs up a rebellion and saves his sister. The film is lost.
Violet Waldron is the daughter of dissolute parents with no hope of redemption. Yet, strange as it may be, she is a loyal and loving soul, supporting her father and mother in their degradation, no matter how badly they mistreat her. Seeking help for Bill Waldron, who has overdosed on cocaine, she tries in vain to convince his mother, whom she finds in a wine room, to come home with her.
John Warner, the newly elected governor, as district attorney, had ordered the execution of Horgan's sons, thus making him his worst enemy. Horgan, head of the First District, owns a fancy saloon. Donald Warner, John's brother, a reckless and reckless, though very lovable boy, is a frequent visitor to Horgan's house, visiting with Dolly, a girl from the underworld.
The film tells about the inhabitants of the Russian city of Tsaritsyn-Stalingrad-Volgograd. The film consists of three novellas, united by the theme of love and the scene - a city on the Volga.
Sam Higgins, a grocery clerk, sends his invalid wife, her mother, and their baby to Arizona, hoping the desert climate will improve her failing health. The family rents a cottage owned by John Hecker, a stern railroad superintendent. However, they soon find themselves unable to pay the rent. Hecker threatens them with eviction, demanding they pay immediately or leave the premises. Desperate, they write to Sam for help. The film concludes with Sam attempting to secure the funds to save his family from being stranded in the desert.
A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.
A man attempts to evade observation by an all-seeing eye.
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
The screen adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s memoir tells the true story of a literature professor in revolutionary Iran who, amidst censorship and religious extremism, gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to immerse themselves in banned literary classics.
Owing to his alleged involvement with communist parties, film director David Merrill is forbidden from working in Hollywood. He decides to fight for his rights and faces numerous challenges.
In near-future New York, ten years after the “social-democratic war of liberation,” diverse groups of women organize a feminist uprising as equality remains unfulfilled.
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
At a media-swamped party to celebrate his seventieth birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got there. Danger and suspense ensue.
Sarah Barcant, a lawyer in New York City who grew up in South Africa, returns to her childhood dwelling place to intercede for Alex Mpondo, a Black South African politician who was tortured during apartheid.
Dark shadows are cast over Bill's recovery.
Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Disgrace is the story of a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his good looks, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect his cherished daughter. After having an affair with a student, he moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.
