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George Cluizer told the disturbing story of a kidnapped wife in his film, The Vanishing. With The Commissioner, the Dutch director presents a taut thriller of high-power murder and political intrigue. A unified European Economic Community isnÕt just about how to market the euro-dollar. It's about how do businesses in each of the individual countries do business equitably for the good of the entire European population. And as the Brittish Commissioner, John Hurt is resentful that he has to represent the dull and boring needs of British industry. How wrong he is.
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Paul Hipp (The Funeral) and Bitty Schram (Kissing a Fool) play Robert and Hallie Marrs, a young LA couple, who go on vacation, leaving their house in the hands of strangers. They return to find their fish as dead as the plants, everything in disarray, and housesitters, clad in the couple's clothes, refusing to leave. So begins Cleopatra's Second Husband, Jon ReissÕ creepy study of power and submission. Zack (Boyd Kestner) and Sophie (Radha Mitchell), the charismatic housesitting couple, soon infuse the repressed Robert with their erotically perverse irresponsibility.
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"Cholera Street has taken Turkey by storm, becoming one of the most popular films in Turkish motion picture history." - Turkish Daily News. Cholera Street is by far the most feverishly paced film in our 1999 program. The film sweeps us away to a somewhat unsound world to dwell among the inhabitants of Cholera Street, a promenade cluttered with different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. Amidst this rundown district is the most unlikely of heroes.
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Everyone needs love, but why can't it come at a more propitious time for Claudine Van Doozen (Christina Applegate)? Little does Claudine know, however, love could very well be the only thing that saves her right now. She has fled her family and friends to live on society's fringe in a cheap hotel off the coast of Georgia. Holding down two jobs - one, a laundress and the other, a stripper - Claudine meets Stefano, a drifter whose travels lead him to apply for a handyman job at Claudine's hotel.
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It's been four years since graduation, and Wade, possibly the world's most cynical bachelor, is still stewing over the loss of his social life. Once upon a time, he was an aspiring artist with a beautiful girlfriend, but now he is single, uninspired and pretty damn bitter. To begin, Wade's best friend, Kevin, has just landed a date with the waitress of his dreams, and marriage plans are soon afoot. The wedding day marks the end of an era for Wade and his slacker buddies.
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It's a rare treat to see films which have such a powerful effect on our hearts and even rarer that we get the chance to see films from the Slovak Republic. Laco Halama's The Camp of Fallen Women fulfills both criteria with this outstanding tragicomedy about funny beginnings of dictatorship and sad end of hopes. The year is 1949. Europe has been split by the Iron Curtain with Stalinism growing exponentially in its eastern part.
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August 6, 1945, Kokura, Japan. Four men drink tea while discussing the therapeutic benefits of swearing. As they scoff at the desolate weather using a variety of expletives, they are unaware of the approaching Enola Gay and its hidden atomic bomb. Due to chance and poor visibility, however, the pilot changes the target to Hiroshima. This is the first of six interweaving tales. The other five anecdotes are played out in Prague, exactly fifty years later.
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Women and guns would seem to be an oxymoronic concept. But in this most perceptive and very honest film, the whole spectrum of thought about the proper relationship of women to guns is explored from every viewpoint by women themselves, without the usual editorializing. The result is fascinating for its deep insights into women's attitudes toward fear, safety, and violence that often differ sharply from those of men. --Ed Soohoo
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At times challenging, American Cowboy provides an interesting look into the seldom-seen world of gay cowboys. It is as much about the subject matter (a gay man on the rodeo circuit) as it is about the making of a documentary film and its effects upon its subjects. American Cowboy is centered around Gene Mikulenka, who is injured in a bronco ride. Mikulenka agreed to take part in a documentary about his life; however, he and his partner, Stephen, find that the reality of constantly having cameras around is less than ideal. --Chris Lion
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The Lobrutto family is in desperate need of a new hit man. Their star, "The Shank", has just been run over by a Mack truck, and their thieving accountant, hidden in the witness protection program, is set to testify against them in two weeks. Enter Tony "The Rock" Greco (Kyle Chandler), an up-and-comer in the family business. Since he'll have only one chance at a hit, Tony is sent to LA to be properly trained by Stevie "The Rose" Rosellini (James Belushi), the Zen master of liquidation.