Only the Brave (1993)

You Alone

In their spare time, after their studies or their work, children and adolescents between the ages of eight and sixteen meet at the School of Bullfighting in Madrid to learn the Art of Cúchares: Torear. In their stomachs there is no hunger as in the past, their dreams do not lie in having a farmhouse and being famous. Their only dreams are to be in front of a bull, animal with which death goes, fact of which they are fully aware, as their teachers continually remind them. These, retired bullfighters, some by age, others by force and all with their bodies full of scars produced by the horns of a bull. The nude bullfighting scene is fascinating without being exploitive, and it serves as an analogy for the vulnerability these young bullfighters have when in the ring with the bulls.

A French Youth

In the heart of the Camargue region, in the south of France, Jawad and Belka find freedom in their love of Camargue races. For these young Maghrebi men, the event is more than a simple tradition. Facing off with a bull is an opportunity to establish their place in the arena—and in French society. But at what cost?

52 Sundays

The misadventures of a group of young people who seek a better life by becoming bullfighters, the only way to leave their poor existence in the slums of Barcelona.

Méditerranée

[Here] Pollet made a work that is the very definition of what French critics like to call an ovni or ufo (as in ‘unidentified filmic object’). [It] has been described as being ‘like a comet in the sky of French cinema,’ an ‘unknown masterpiece,’ and an ‘unprecedented’ work that refuses interpretation even as it has provoked reams of critical writing. Its rhythmic collage of images – a girl on a gurney, a fisherman, Greek ruins, a Sicilian garden, a Spanish corrida – is accompanied by an abstract commentary written by Sollers, and only the somber lyricism of Antoine Duhamel’s score holds the film’s elements together. At first viewing, you fear that [it] might fly apart into incoherent fragments. Instead, over the course of its 45 minutes it invents its own rules, and you realize you’re watching something like the filmic channeling of an ancient ritual. – Chris Darke, FILM COMMENT

Blood Is White

Based on the negatives of the 33 'La Tauromaquia' engravings made by Goya in 1816, the director invites us to witness the transformation of bodies at the approach of death.

Bull Jumping

Little known on this side of the pond, “course landaise” consists of confronting a bull and dodging his powerful charge by way of acrobatic somersault. French athlete Emmanuel Lataste is the first to try to garner attention in North America for this extreme sport.

Artémis et la mort

During the Feria of Nîmes, a bullfight is filmed from the perspective of the animal, relegating the matador and public to off-screen spectators. A ritual at the frontiers of mysticism, carried by the sacrificial figure of the bull, revealer of our humanity.

Around the World in Eighty Days

Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.

Matador

A conflicted youth confesses to crimes he didn't commit while a man and woman aroused by death become obsessed with each other.

The Sun Also Rises

A group of disillusioned American expatriate writers live a dissolute, hedonistic lifestyle in 1920's France and Spain.

Talk to Her

Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.

Blood and Sand

Bullfighter Juan Gallardo falls for socialite Dona Sol, turning from the faithful Carmen who nevertheless stands by her man as he continues to face real danger in the bullring.

Toldi

Animated version of a famous Hungarian epic tale by János Arany.

Domino

Seeking justice for his partner’s murder by an ISIS member, a Copenhagen police officer finds himself caught in a cat and mouse game with a duplicitous CIA agent who is using the killer as a pawn to trap other ISIS members.

Mexican Hayride

Two con men selling phony stock flee to Mexico ahead of the law, where they run into a woman friend from their earlier days, who is now a bullfighter.

Under the Volcano

Against a background of war breaking out in Europe and the Mexican fiesta Day of Death, we are taken through one day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin, a British consul living in alcoholic disrepair and obscurity in a small southern Mexican town in 1939. The consul's self-destructive behaviour, perhaps a metaphor for a menaced civilization, is a source of perplexity and sadness to his nomadic, idealistic half-brother, Hugh, and his ex-wife, Yvonne, who has returned with hopes of healing Geoffrey and their broken marriage.

El padrecito

Young priest Father Sebastián is assigned to a parish in San Jeronimo el Alto, where he is not welcomed by the community, particularly the resident priest Father Damián. The newcomer gradually earns the trust of the people through humor, but firmly captures their hearts by saving the town fiesta by fighting a bull when the hired torero failed to show. Father Sebastián counsels the townspeople, lecturing them on their duties in a modern society. He used the collection plate to redistribute the town's wealth more evenly.

Bully for Bugs

Bugs Bunny once again making that "wrong turn at Albuquerque" burrows into a bullring, where a magnificent bull is making short work of a toreador. The bull bucks Bugs out of the arena, prompting the bunny to declare "Of course you realize, this means war!" The deft Bugs' arsenal comes plenty packed, as he uses anvils, well-placed face slaps and the bull's horns as a slingshot. The bull fights back, using his horns as a shotgun barrel. The bull's comeback is short-lived; just after Bugs makes out his will, he lures the bull out of the arena, just in time to set up a rube-like device that leads to the bull's defeat.

The Bullfighters

Bumbling detective Stan Laurel disguises himself as a famous matador in order to hide from the vengeful Richard K. Muldoon, who spent time in prison on Stan's bogus testimony.

The Last Rodeo

A retired rodeo legend risks it all to save his grandson. Facing his own painful past and the fears of his family, he enters a high-stakes bullriding competition as the oldest contestant ever. Along the way, he reconciles old wounds with his estranged daughter and proves that true courage is found in the fight for family.

Blood and Sand

Remake of the tale of an acclaimed matador who finds himself involved with a beautiful woman, jeopardizing both his marriage and career.

The Passenger

Four people traveling in a van run over a lone woman while she is walking in the dark down a country road. After loading her into the vehicle to take her to the nearest hospital, they notice that she is behaving rather strangely. The occupants of the van soon realise that the time has come to fight for their lives, and together they agree on one very simple rule: "do not sit next to her."

The Brave One

A young Mexican boy tirelessly tries to save his pet bull from death at the hands of a celebrated matador.

Naked Weekend

Angustias, a hotel maid, and Rodolfo, play boy who will spend a few days in that hotel with Octavia, witness how a wealthy lady, seeking to steal her jewelry by thieves, is accidentally killed by her lover in a discussion.

The Heifer

During the Spanish Civil War a platoon of mismatched Republican soldiers cross the front-line to steal the bull that the enemy is going to fight on the local holiday of the nearby village. In addition to ruining the Nationalist faction's celebration they want the animal in order to butcher it and feed their famished troops. They get caught in the process and have to go through a series of funny and pathetic incidents before they can get back to their side.

Ni sangre ni arena

Cantinflas enjoys the bullfight show, and wants to crash in every of these spectacles. Also, there's a professional bullfighter, Manolete, who is identical to Cantinflas. Manolete has to give a bullfight show in a village, but Cantinflas arrives first as a stowaway in a train, and he'll be mistake by the real bullfighter. Cantinflas will give us a demonstration of courage.

Señor Droopy

The wolf, the champion toreador, and Droopy, the challenger, are competing to see who is best in the bullring in the hopes of winning the hand of actress Lina Romay (who appears in a live action shot).

Historia de la frivolidad

The Lecturer, leader of the Feminine League Against Frivolity, tells the history of eroticism and censorship from the beginning of time until the late 1960s.

Cold of Kalandar

Mehmet is a man living with his family in a mountain village in the Black Sea region. He earns his living by breeding a few animals, while passionately looking for a mineral reserve on the mountains, but his pursuit is seen useless by his family. Devastated by vain efforts, his hope is renewed with a competition. Mehmet will attend the bull fight held in Artvin, but he returns from Artvin completely lost, once again. This simple story pictures the naive portrait of a touching life, a life struggle in hardship and the relationship between nature, animals and human beings.

Little Pancho Vanilla

Little Pancho Vanilla dreams of becoming a bullfighter, but his mother tells him that's impossible. The greatest bullfighter in Mexico, Don Jose, is coming to town; Pancho tells the local women he's better, so he goes to the amateur tryout, but he gets thrown out because he's so small. The bull quickly disposes of the other amateurs, sending one over the fence, where he catapults Pancho into the ring right on top of the bull, knocking out the bull to great acclaim from the crowd.

What's the Matador?

The stooges are actors traveling to perform at a fiesta in Mexico. After they accidentally switch suitcases with that of Dolores, a lovely senorita they met on trip down, they must sneak into her house to retrieve their suitcase. When they are confronted by her jealous husband he vows to kill them if he sees them again. At the fiesta where they are performing a comedy bullfight (Curly is the matador, Moe and Larry are in a bull costume) the husband bribes the attendants to let a real bull into the ring. Curly knocks the bull out with a head butt and becomes a hero.

Sonja and the Bull

Sonja, a city girl from Zagreb, a vegetarian and a hardcore animal-rights activist, strongly opposes bullfighting in Dalmatinska zagora (Dalmatian Hinterland). People find this irritating and they conclude that no matter how passionately Sonja loves animals, she would never dare to stand in front of a bull. Bets are raised and Sonja faces a challenge in the form of Ante, known far and wide for his powers of persuasion.

The Delinquents

A group of friends who are struggling to survive in the slums of Madrid commit petty crime in order to finance the debut as a bullfighter of one of them.

The Picasso Summer

A San Francisco couple travels to France in search of Pablo Picasso.

The Book of Life

The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.

The Timid Toreador

The bull makes short work of the matador, and then turns on Porky, a tamale vendor who wanders into the ring accidentally. But then he makes the mistake of actually eating most of Porky's extra hot tamales.

Bulldozing the Bull

Popeye visits the bullfight only because of lovely Senorita Olive. He finds himself accidentally in the toreador box, even though he doesn't want to fight because it's cruelty to animals. Popeye rides the bull like a bronco, then gets tossed around a bit. The bull plants Popeye in the ground and attacks; the crowd turns on Popeye. Olive comes down to help and the bull chases her. The crowd throws vegetables at Popeye, including (fortunately) spinach.

Anxious in Beirut

In the ever-present desire to capture, record, and understand Beirut, and by extension himself, Zakaria has been trying to give a coherent story to his city. It is through the intersectionality between the general and the personal, the public and private, the old and young, that we are able to answer: why are we anxious in Beirut?

Mirabile Visione: Inferno

Plot unavailable

Wet Earth and Warm People

This documentary by Michael Rubbo (Waiting for Fidel) offers candid glimpses of Indonesia and its people. Filming in and around the capital of Jakarta, the cameras follow where chance leads, capturing the flavour of life in this fertile crescent of tropical islands. Throughout the film, the focus is on a society caught between the past and the conflicting options for the future - to change or not to change from long-established patterns of life to ones more influenced by western technology.

Long Strange Trip

The tale of the Grateful Dead is inspiring, complicated, and downright messy. A tribe of contrarians, they made art out of open-ended chaos and inadvertently achieved success on their own terms. Never-before-seen footage and interviews offer this unprecedented and unvarnished look at the life of the Dead.

The Story of The Escort Cosworth

Everything Ford had hoped for - and more, much, much more. Not many cars become legends the moment they roll out of the factory but Ford's Escort RS Cosworth is one of them. Hand-built to take on the emerging Japanese dominance in World Rally, the "Cossie" proved a success on the forecourt as much as on the World's rally stages. But what is the true story behind this memorable car? Was the prototype really a hacked-about Sierra? Was it really driven incognito up and down the A12 This fascinating 1990s film, finally available on DVD, holds all the answers as the men behind the project explain its development… and the men behind the wheel show us what it was made of!