Set in medieval Kyoto, this is an engrossing tale of rape and murder in which contradictory accounts of events are later related from the perspectives of four of those involved. A film which awakened the West to the richness of Japanese cinema. find out more...

Tom Stoppard made his debut as a director with his most famous stage play. The story is a clever re-working of Hamlet based around two minor characters from the play stumbling through a land where reality and illusion overlap, unaware of their scripted lives and unable to deviate from them. This is an award winning and inspired transition from stage to screen. find out more...

Altman's highly acclaimed and superbly directed mish-mash of Raymond Carver's short stories. We flit between numerous characters and their strange, confusing, moving and emotive daily lives. The range of emotions, and the incredibly cynical humorous touches brilliantly deconstruct American life. find out more...

In the first and third acts of "Still Life" we follow labourer Han, who is searching for his runaway wife and daughter, and in the middle section we follow middle-class Hong as she looks for her lost husband. Set in the old village of Fengjie, a small town on the Yangtze River slowly being destroyed to make way for the Three Gorges Dam project, the film portrays the lot of ordinary people, predominantly migrant labourers, lost in an ever changing world. Superb use of photography helps make dir find out more...

A highly acclaimed and influential account of Algeria's turbulent past made in psuedo-documentary style. The tense plot surrounds the rise of nationalist organisations in '54 and the French government's attempts to quell them. This film was the prototype for most political thrillers of the 1970s. find out more...

The scene is contemporary Iran and the lives of a small circle of Iranian women living within the oppressive constraints of their strictly Islamic nation where the Koran has been subverted to the will of a male dominated society. It is through their anguish, anger and despair that we witness their strength and resilience in the face of a world that denies them respect as individuals and equality as women. 'The Circle' is a powerful and moving film, beautifully shot and emotionally gripping. find out more...

In an unnamed European town, in an unspecified era, live Cynthia and Evelyn. Every day Evelyn cycles to Cynthia’s chateau to work as a lowly maid and every day the cruel, vindictive Cynthia inflicts countless sad find out more...

Delphine is suddenly at a loss regarding her holiday, a friend has just backed out of a trip to Greece, her other companions have boyfriends and she can't bear spending August in Paris. She also hopes to find a dream lover, but receives only the unwelcome attentions of pushy predators, until... The film is flawlessly constructed with France's greatest living director effortlessly evoking the morose moods of holidaying alone among crowds, and revelling in the particulars of place, weather and ti find out more...

Andrey and Vanya are two young boys growing up alone with their mother. There is a solidarity to the family, a closeness born out of hardship and emotional dependence, but it is the re-appearance of their father after over a decade's absence that will prove the lads greatest test of brotherhood. Reluctantly allowed on a fishing trip with their new found father, what should have been an exercise in family bonding becomes a tortuous and punishing journey of discovery. "The Return" is a thriller th find out more...

"Josephine Decker has created a new style of thriller that employs allegory, incorporates touches of David Lynch as well as Magritte -esque imagery. Decker's setting of a remote farm feels like a metaphor for what turns out to be hell. The raw and emotional (and yes, sometimes funny) dialog tells a story that can seem familiar at points but really is meant to keep you guessing and off balance. I really enjoyed how the undertones of this film came to life through her very deft contrast of the find out more...