Somewhere in The Night

Somewhere in the future there is a computer project called Simulacron one of which is able to simulate a full featured reality, when suddenly project leader Henry Vollmer dies. His successor Dr. Fred Stiller experiences odd phenomena. A good friend, Guenther Lause, disappears in the middle of a conversation and a week later nobody has ever heard of him. And those fits of dizzyness - Stiller cannot believe himself to be fool. There has to be an explanation for all this. Could Simulacron have something to do with it?

Gil and Inez travel to Paris as a tag-along vacation on her parents' business trip. Gil is a successful Hollywood writer but is struggling on his first novel. He falls in love with the city and thinks they should move there after they get married, but Inez does not share his romantic notions of the city or the idea that the 1920s was the golden age. When Inez goes off dancing with her friends, Gil takes a walk at midnight and discovers what could be the ultimate source of inspiration for writing. Gil's daily walks at midnight in Paris could take him closer to the heart of the city but further from the woman he's about to marry.

The Ballad of Narayama is legendary Japanese director Shohei Imamura’s riveting view of the harsh existence of pre-war rural life in Japan. The 1983 film, set in a rural mountain village is an artful blend of naturalistic drama and dark comedy, highlighting the customs of a people so tied to the land and the cycle of life and death that their customs dictate that when their elderly reach the age of 70, they must leave the village and ascend the mythical Narayama mountain to die, making way for a new life. It is a place where third sons are denied the pleasures of having a wife or any sort of sexual pleasures to keep the population down, unwanted boy children are put to death and girls are sold off for money…..

The House is Black, written, directed and edited in 1963 by Forugh Farrokhzad is a brilliant piece of work done on an issue that has hardly been portrayed in any kind of film, fiction or non. Filmed in B&W on location somewhere on a Middle Eastern island, the film portrays a rapid series of events during the everyday lives of all of its inhabitants that are suffering from various stages of leprosy.

An anthology film drama featuring three tales linked by the theme of death. In "The Immortals," adapted from a Helder Prista Monteiro play, two famous doctors, an 80-year-old father, and his 60-year-old son, contemplate senility and death. "Suzy," from an Antonio Patricio story, is set in the '30s when a young courtesan dies on the operating table. "Mother of the River" is from an Agustina Bessa-Luis fable about eternal life.

Shu Qi doubles your pleasure but maybe not your fun in The Second Woman, from director Carol Lai (Naraka 19, Floating Landscape). The award-winning actress plays twins in this mystery-drama-thriller about sisters Huixiang (Shu Qi) and Bao (duh, also Shu Qi), who have a potentially murderous falling out. As usual, chief among their conflicts is love; the two have a simmering feud over Nan (a typical Shawn Yue), Bao’s boyfriend and the star of The Legend of the Plum Blossom, a stage production in which Bao has a small role. Bao is also the understudy to lead actress Amy (Chen Shu), who’s dissatisfied with Bao’s performances. One day, Bao is sick and Huaxiang, who’s older and seemingly more mature, offers to be the secret stand-in.

Ex-gunhawk meets up and coming young punk intent on proving his worth by knocking off the king of the heap. Been there, done that. Seems like Angie Dickinson played this identical part in several films; wonder if she got as bored doing it as I did watching. What was with Royal Dano doing his impersonation of an injun? The producer couldn't find the genuine article? Let this one be your last choice.

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find joy in life.

Andrea Segre's tender, subtle, award-winning drama tells the story of Shun Li, a Chinese immigrant working in a bar on a small island in the Veneto lagoon.
Though lonely at first Shun Li slowly strikes up a rapport with Bepi, a Slavic fisherman nicknamed ‘The Poet’, and the pair forge an unlikely yet intimate bond. However, both the local Italian community and Chinese immigrant population object to the relationship and they soon find themselves driven tragically apart…