Four Days 1999

Four Days 1999

Four Days 1999

Four Days 1999
R | 1h 32min | Drama | 12 September 1999 (Canada)

Storyline:

An unseen man recalls four days of his youth when he came of age. He is Simon, in mid teens, in awe of his father who’s planned a robbery with the down-and-out Fury. Dad double-crosses Fury, using Simon in a switch of the bag of cash. Unknown to Simon, however, a bank guard later shoots dad dead and wounds Fury. Simon leaves Ontario, as planned, heading for a remote Québec town. When Fury discovers the money gone, he follow Simon with the aid of Simon’s neighbor, Feather, who’s been dad’s lover. En route to Quebec, Simon is picked up by Chrystal, a wild woman who’s just left her husband. They all meet beside a lake for a final sorting out of money and relationships.

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Butterfly and Flowers 1985

Butterfly and Flowers 1985

Butterfly and Flowers 1985

Butterfly and Flowers 1985
Peesua lae dokmai (original title)
2h | Drama | 23 October 1985 (Thailand)

Storyline:

Hujan, an elementary school student, lived with his father and younger brother and sister since his mother died of illness. One day, learning that his father is about to lose his job, Hujan decides to quit school and become an ice candy peddler and gets involved in illegal work.

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The Motel 2005

The Motel 2005

The Motel 2005

The Motel 2005
Not Rated | 1h 15min | Comedy, Drama | 24 January 2005 (USA)

Storyline:

Thirteen-year-old Ernest Chin lives and works at a sleazy hourly-rate motel on a strip of desolate suburban bi-way. Misunderstood by his family and blindly careening into puberty, Ernest befriends Sam Kim, a self-destructive yet charismatic Korean man who has checked in. Sam teaches the fatherless boy all the rites of manhood.

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11 Flowers (2011)

11 Flowers (2011)

11 Flowers (2011)

11 Flowers (2011)
Wo 11 (original title)
Not Rated | 1h 50min | Crime, Drama, History | 9 May 2012 (France)

Storyline:

11-year-old Wang lives with his family in a remote village in China. Life is tough, but they make the most of what little they have. When Wang is selected to lead his school’s daily gymnastics, his teacher recommends that he wear a new shirt, which forces his family to make a great sacrifice. Soon after, Wang encounters a wounded man on the run and their fates are intertwined.

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Goodbye, Boys 1964

Goodbye, Boys 1964

Goodbye, Boys 1964

Goodbye, Boys 1964
Do svidaniya, malchiki! (original title)
1h 22min | Drama, War | 3 January 1966 (Soviet Union)

Storyline:

Goodbye, Boys! is the coming-of-age tale of three teenagers graduating from a Communist school during World War II. It’s summer, and their main goals are swimming in the Black Sea and wooing the girl all three of them love. However, they are asked to become officers in the military, and slowly their worlds begin changing forever. Their parents oppose them, they begin fearing losing each other and their families, and the military tricks and maneuvers them into joining the army instead of the navy.

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Sweet Thing 2020

Sweet Thing 2020

Sweet Thing 2020

Sweet Thing 2020
1h 31min | Drama | 22 October 2020 (Netherlands)

Storyline:

The story revolves around two siblings and their struggle to find solid ground in the homes of their alcoholic father and negligent mother. The children ultimately run away and find a temporary life for themselves.

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The River with No Bridge 1992

The River with No Bridge 1992

The River with No Bridge 1992

The River with No Bridge 1992
Hashi no nai kawa (original title)
2h 22min | Drama | October 1994 (USA)

Storyline:

Though ethnically and culturally identical to the average Japanese, the burakumin have been an underclass in Japanese society since the 17th century when the shogunate government codified social hierarchies. The burakumin were the class on the bottom rung. They were herded into separate villages, and forced to work in such lowly vocations as slaughtering animals and tanning hides. In 1922, Zenkoku Suiheisha (National Levelers Association) organized and started fighting for burakumin civil rights. Though these rigid categories may have blurred since the 1600s, and despite the Zenkoku’s modern successors – the Buraku Liberation League – the stigma of being a burakumin still remains today. In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the struggle, director Yoichi Higashi spins this tale about two boys who endure a daily torrent of prejudice for their lowly lineage, but grow up to fight for their rights.

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Young Hearts 2020

Young Hearts 2020

Young Hearts 2020

Young Hearts 2020
Thunderbolt in Mine Eye (original title)
1h 35min | Drama, Romance | 12 February 2021 (USA)

Storyline:

Harper enters high school and sparks a relationship with her brother’s best friend, Tilly. While Harper deals with social blowback, the older Tilly is congratulated, setting up a very modern love story in the age of Time’s Up and Me Too.

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Il Posto 1961

Il Posto 1961

Il Posto 1961

Il Posto 1961
Il posto (original title)
Not Rated | 1h 33min | Drama | 12 July 1962 (Portugal)

Storyline:

Domenico and Antonietta are two suburban Italian youths who meet while seeking “a job for life” from a big city corporation. After a bizarre screening process made up of written exams, physical agility exercises, and interview questions such as “Do you drink to forget your troubles?” (Domenico and Antonietta are no older than 17 or 18), they land jobs in the “Technical Division” and “Typing Services” respectively. From there, Domenico works as an underutilized errand boy until a clerk position is vacated by the death of an older employee. Domenico finally takes his place in a room of 12 other clerks with a manager overseeing them from a desk at the head of the room. The film ends as Domenico ponders his fate, from behind his tiny desk at the back of the small windowless room, listening to the sound of the mimeograph machine as it runs off carbon copies next to the manager’s desk.

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