Once a month we meet and discuss (virtually) the film that is available and free to all PU employees in Kanopy streaming services . This program was born out of the International Cinema Series.

Please make movie suggestions using this form: https://forms.gle/UDByDaTX17ABf57K9

For the next date of our Film Club please check Events Calendar.

Upcoming Film

Past Film

Abrazos

43 min | Documentary | 2014 (American)

Synopsis:

ABRAZOS tells the transformational journey of a group of U.S. Citizen Children, sons and daughters of undocumented immigrants, who travel from Minnesota to Guatemala to meet their grandparents – and in some instances their siblings – for the first time. There are 4.5 million other U.S. citizen children who, like them, have at least one undocumented parent and are part of mixed-status families, ABRAZOS is the story of 14 of them.

This film will be streamed in person on campus – see Calendar for details.

The Assistant

1h 27 min | Drama | 2019 (American)

Synopsis:

“THE ASSISTANT” follows one day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate and aspiring film producer, who has recently landed her dream job as a junior assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul. Her day is much like any other assistant‘s – making coffee, changing the paper in the copy machine, ordering lunch, arranging travel, taking phone messages, onboarding a new hire. But as Jane follows her daily routine, she, and we, grow increasingly aware of the abuse that insidiously colors every aspect of her work day, an accumulation of degradations against which Jane decides to take a stand, only to discover the true depth of the system into which she has entered

Official Selection at the Berlin International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Telluride Film Festival

City of God

Cidade de Deus
2h 13 min | Drama | 2002 (Brazilian, Portuguese/English)

Synopsis:

In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket (Phellipe Haagensen) is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood. José “Zé” Pequeno (Douglas Silva) is an ambitious drug dealer who uses Rocket and his photos as a way to increase his fame as a turf war erupts with his rival, “Knockout Ned” (Leandro Firmino da Hora). The film was shot on location in Rio’s poorest neighborhoods.

City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) was released in Brazil in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. Bráulio Mantovani adapted the story from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins, but the plot is loosely based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the film’s closure depicting the war between the drug dealer Li’l Zé and vigilante-turned-criminal Knockout Ned. The tagline is “If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you.”

The film received critical acclaim and garnered four nominations at the 76th Academy Awards; Best Cinematography (César Charlone), Best Director (Meirelles), Best Film Editing (Daniel Rezende), and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Mantovani). In 2003, it was Brazil’s entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not end up being nominated as one of the five finalists. It is frequently listed by many critics and audiences as one of the greatest films of the 21st century and one of the best films of all time.

In the mood for love

1h 38 min | Drama | 2000 (Cantonese)

Synopsis:
Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite, until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them. At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, Wong Kar-wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments. With its aching musical soundtrack and exquisitely abstract cinematography by Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, this film has been a major stylistic influence on the past decade of cinema, and is a milestone in Wong’s redoubtable career.

About  the director: Wong Kar-wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterized by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colors. A pivotal figure of Hong Kong cinema, Wong is considered a contemporary auteur, and ranks third on Sight & Sound’s 2002 poll of the greatest filmmakers of the previous 25 years. His films frequently appear on best-of lists domestically and internationally. Born in Shanghai, Wong emigrated to British Hong Kong as a child with his family. He began a career as a screenwriter for soap operas before transitioning to directing with his debut, the crime drama As Tears Go By (1988). While As Tears Go By was fairly successful in Hong Kong, Wong moved away from the contemporary trend of crime and action movies to embark on more personal filmmaking styles. Days of Being Wild (1990), his first venture in such a direction, did not perform well at the box office. It however received critical acclaim, and won Best Film and Best Director at the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards. His next film, Ashes of Time (1994), met with a mixed reception because of its vague plot and atypical take on the wuxia genre.

Downfall

Der Untergang
2h 36 min | Drama | 2004 (German)

Double Life of Veronique

La double vie de Véronique
1h 29 min | Drama | 1991 (French)

Bicycle Thieves

Ladri di biciclette
1h 29 min | Drama | 1948 (Italian)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

Hailed around the world as one of the greatest movies ever made, the Academy Award–winning BICYCLE THIEVES, directed by Vittorio De Sica, defined an era in cinema. In poverty-stricken postwar Rome, a man is on his first day of a new job that offers hope of salvation for his desperate family when his bicycle, which he needs for work, is stolen. With his young son in tow, he sets off to track down the thief. Simple in construction and profoundly rich in human insight, BICYCLE THIEVES embodies the greatest strengths of the Italian neorealist movement: emotional clarity, social rectitude, and brutal honesty.

 

Tomorrow

1h 59 min | Documentary | 2015 (American)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

Faced with a sense of powerlessness in the face of growing evidence of a coming mass human extinction, Melanie Laurent (Inglorious Bastards) and activist Cyril Dion travel to ten countries where grassroots pioneers are reinventing their economies and democracies. From Detroit, where urban farms have transformed a dying city, to Copenhagen, where nearly 70% of the energy is renewable, to Kuttambakkan in India, where participative democracy allows different castes to work together, and to other communities around the world, TOMORROW engages the audience to consider what can and must be done to save our future. 2016 César Award for Best Documentary Film. “*Critic’s Pick! Strikingly composed…fast-paced…an overall sense of lighthearted adventure…the hopscotching visuals are as vibrant as the subjects profiled.” – The New York Times

 

East Side Sushi

1h 46 min | Drama | 2014 (American, English/Spanish/Japanese)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

Single mom Juana can slice and dice anything with great speed and precision. After working at a fruit-vending cart for years, she decides to take a job at a local Japanese restaurant. Intrigued by the food, she learns to make a multitude of sushi on her own. Eventually she attempts to become a sushi chef, but is unable to because she is the ‘wrong’ race and gender. Against all odds, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, determined to not let anyone stop her from achieving her dream. This critically acclaimed indie favorite was the winner of awards at 9 different film festivals, including Best Narrative Feature at SF Indie Fest.

 

The Farewell

1h 40 min | Drama/Comedy | 2019 (American, Mandarin/English)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

In this funny, heartfelt story, Billi’s (Awkwafina) family returns to China under the guise of a fake wedding to stealthily say goodbye to their beloved matriarch–the only person that doesn’t know she only has a few weeks to live. As Billi navigates a minefield of family expectations and proprieties, she finds there’s a lot to celebrate: a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother’s wondrous spirit, and the ties that keep on binding even when so much goes unspoken.

Boy

1h 27 min | Drama/Comedy | 2010 (New Zealand, English)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

 

Out of nowhere, Boy’s Dad (Waititi) rolls up in a vintage car with his “gang”, and turns Boy’s life upside down. There are treasure hunts, fistfights, and falling-outs, as Boy grapples to learn why his Dad left the family so long ago.

Waititi adopts a fanciful deadpan tone that’s part Wes Anderson and part Flight of the Conchords, complete with child-like animations and hilarious re-enactments of Michael Jackson music videos. It’s one of the most creative comedies you’ll see all year.

 

Cold Sweat

1h 29 min | Drama| 2018 (Iran, Farsi)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:
Afrooz is the captain of the Iranian National Futsal Team, a women’s indoor soccer team. A long-held dream to play the Asian Games final is shattered when Afrooz’ husband imposes a travel restriction on her. Furious, Afrooz stands up against the patriarchal Iranian system. But will she win this battle?

 

 

 

The Women’s Balcony

1h 40 min | Drama/Comedy | 2016 (Israel, Hebrew)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:
An accident during a bar mitzvah celebration leads to a rift between the men and women in a devout community in Jerusalem in this rousing, good-hearted comedy. Awash with Jerusalem’s distinctive glow, THE WOMEN’S BALCONY is a warm, poignant portrait of a modern community struggling to balance protocol with practical, progressive values – at once rebellious and respectful in spirit.

 

Nana

1h 15 min | Documentary | 2015 (Dominican Republic, Spanish)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:
Live-in nannies Leidy, Fina and Clara leave their children in distant towns to be raised by relatives while they move away to the city to care for somebody else’s child. In a love chain, where mother figures are substituted and duplicated, bonds grow strong between kids and their nannies, and between the nannies’ children and the grandmothers or aunts who care for them. Is there just one way of defining motherly love? Going back and forth between urban and rural scenarios in Dominican Republic and Miami, ‘Nana’ goes deep into the conflicts faced by live-in nannies.

About Elly

1h 58 min | Drama | 2015 (Farsi, Persian)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:
With the return of their friend Ahmad from Germany, a group of old college pals (two married couples and a brother and sister, along with three young kids) decide to reunite for a weekend outing by the Caspian Sea. The fun starts right away as they quickly catch on to the plan of lively Sepideh, who has brought along Elly, her daughter’s kindergarten teacher, in hopes of se

 

Gather

1h 15 min | Documentary | 2020 (USA)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:
GATHER follows the stories of natives on the frontlines of a growing movement to reconnect with spiritual and cultural identities that were devastated by genocide. An indigenous chef embarks on a ambitious project to reclaim ancient food ways on the Apache reservation; in South Dakota a gifted Lakota high school student, raised on a buffalo ranch, is proving her tribes native wisdom through her passion for science; and a group of young men of the Yurok tribe in Northern California are struggling to keep their culture alive and rehabilitate the habitat of their sacred salmon. All these stories combine to show how the reclaiming and recovery of ancient food ways is a way forward for native Americans to bring back health and vitality to their people.

Yeelen

1h 45 min | Drama, Fantasy | 1987 (Mali)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

This adaptation of an ancient oral legend from Mali, is one the most acclaimed and widely seen African films ever made. 
Set in the powerful Mali Empire of the 13th century, Yeelen follows the journey of Nianankoro, a young warrior who must battle the powerful Komo cult. Nianankoro’s greatest enemy is his own father, a dangerous and corrupt wizard who uses his dark magic to try and destroy his son. Traveling over the arid Bambara, Fulani and Dogan lands of ancient West Africa, Nianankoro eventually comes face to face with his father in a final fatal showdown. Cisse’s extraordinary use of landscapes and light produces a unique and striking cinematic style.

 

 

The Country Doctor

Médecin de campagne
1h 42 min | Comedy, Drama | 2016 (France)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

This social dramedy stars Francois Cluzet as a devoted and revered countryside doctor whose life gets rocked by a middle-age woman who has come from the city hospital to earn her chops. Challenging each other with opposite views on medicine, the pair eventually bonds and learns from one another.

 

Leona

Leona
1h 34 min | Drama | 2018 (Mexico)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

An intimate, insightful, and moving film that tells the story of a young Jewish woman from Mexico City who finds herself torn between her family and her forbidden love. Ripe with all the drama and interpersonal conflicts of a Jane Austen novel, watching her negotiate the labyrinth of familial pressure, religious precedent, and her own burgeoning sentiment is both painful and beautiful – there are no easy choices to be made.

 

The return 

Возвращение
1h 50 min | Drama | 2015 (Russia)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer

 

 

Synopsis:

Andrey (Vladimir Garin) and Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov) are brothers who have been raised alone by their mother. When their father (Konstantin Lavronenko) suddenly returns home after vanishing some 12 years earlier, they are both extremely happy to see him back in their lives. Ivan, however, quickly grows suspicious of his father, and determines to find out where exactly his father vanished to all those years ago, and why he suddenly decided to come back into their lives now.

 

Sweet Bean 

An
1h 53 min | Drama | 2015 (Japan)

Link to online access: Princeton Kanopy link

Trailer:  trailer link

 

 

Synopsis:

The manager of a pancake stall finds himself confronted with an odd but sympathetic elderly woman looking for work. A taste of her homemade bean jelly convinces him to hire her, which starts a relationship that is about much more than just street food. Nominated for an Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Official Selection at the Toronto Film Festival.