Countrymen (1963)

The Promising Boy

A normal boy receives a blow to the head which sets him off to perform rebellious acts.

Red Nightmare

A man takes his American freedoms for granted, until he wakes up one morning to find out that the United States Government has been replaced with a Communist system. The basis for this short film, narrated by Jack Webb, is the alleged Soviet re-creation of US communities for the purpose of training infiltrators, spies, and moles.

Round Trip Heart

26-year-old Hachiko Hojo works as a train attendant, selling items on a cart. She's good at her job, but she lacks self confidence. One day, she meets a movie producer. They decide to visit tourist attractions in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Hachiko Hojo looks back upon her life along the way.

Liberated Don Quixote

Russian stop motion animation depicting the court of the Duke and Duchess as they mock and abuse the titular hero.

Gonks Go Beat

Bizarre sixties fable resembling Romeo and Juliet, but instead of Montagues and Capulets, there are two musical communities, one who like rock and roll and one who like ballads, who become reunited through the love between a couple who love across their grouping. It features little furry puppets called Gonks.

Rate Me

A portrait of teen escort, 'Coco'.

Babykram ist Männersache

Arne and his younger brother Malte run the scrapyard they inherited from their parents on the outskirts of Hamburg and live a rather disoriented existence. One day, Malte finds an abandoned baby. He immediately takes the little one to his heart and wants to look after the child until he finds the birth mother. His brother Arne doesn't like the idea at all, but Malte wants to go through with the plan and even threatens to sell his brother the scrapyard. Disgruntled, Arne finally agrees and, as Malte is fully occupied with caring for the baby, sets off on a laborious search for the raven mother.

Torchy Blane in Chinatown

Torchy Blane joins her police-detective fiance to solve a series of murders involving a set of Chinese grave tablets taken and sold to a collector and death-threats written in Chinese characters.

The Wind Carpet

Japan and Iran are not in close relationship. More than 4 centuries ago, however, Persian carpets were used in the festival of Takayama, a historic city in mountainous area of Honsyu. A man planned to resume the carpet in the festival, and asked Kinue, a Persian carpet designer, to design it. Kinue's husband, Makoto, is a carpet importer. They send the design to Iran to weave the carpet. But just before Makoto goes to Iran to receive the carpet, Kinue dies of a traffic accident. A month before the festival, Makoto went to Isphahan, Iran, to receive the carpet. He brings his daughter Sakura, who does not open her heart after she lost her mother. To surprise, the carpet production has not even started. It will take 3 months from the start. For Makoto it means he betrays not only the festival planners but also his late wife.

The Shaman Sorceress

There is a tragic history behind the painting titled The Shaman Sorceress, left in the home by a mute girl and her father. With husband and daughter by her side, Mohwa devoted her life to practicing shamanistic rites. She is rejoined by her long-estranged son, who turns out to be a converted Christian. The ensuing religious conflict between the two grows more and more intense until a tragedy strikes.

The Serpent

During his military service, a man meets a woman who works in the kitchen at the camp and they start a relationship. When the man is out on combat exercises, he becomes a witness to his Sergeant being paralyzed by a snake.

The Vocation

Sven Nykvist, best known as Ingmar Bergman cinematographer, made this film as a tribute to his father who was a missionary in Kongo in the early 20th century. The story of his father Gustav Natanael Nykvist is told through his own photos, letters, and films. Director & cinematographer: Sven Nykvist. Narrators in the English dubbed version: Liv Ullmann & Sean Connery. Produced by Ingmar Bergman (Cinematograph AB). Digitally restored in 2022.

Locks

Martín, an attractive young man in love with his girlfriend Paula, wakes up worried. Without knowing why, he feels severe pain in his anus. He goes to the bathtub to try to relax, but begins to bleed. The bathroom door is unlocked and his roommates are about to arrive. What to do when you don't know who you are, and life is full of locks (and closets).

Seven Samurai

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Rosenda

A ruffian sends his assistant to force a peasant girl to marry him, but while he is bringing her to him, he falls in love with her.

Milk

A high school graduate, Yusuf could not pass the university entrance exam. Writing poetry is his greatest passion and some of his poems are being printed in various obscure literary journals. But neither these poems, nor the rapidly falling price of the milk they sell, are being of any benefit to Yusuf and Zehra's lives. When Yusuf finds out about Zehra's secret affair with the town's stationmaster he gets disconcerted. Will he find the way to cope with his anxiety for the unknown future, the rapid change that he is going through and the pain of taking a step into adulthood and leaving his youth behind

The Astronaut Farmer

Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel, and the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan – but Charles is undeterred.

1900

The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.

The Farm in the Small Marsh

War arrives to a small secluded village in Vojvodina. The Germans take a group of hostages through the village and on their way molest a small boy. As revenge, the boy sets the German corn on fire. An intelligent and shrewd Gestapo officer Šicer arrives to investigate. He does not even suspect that he is up against a group of small boys, led by Milan and Vaso, and orders that all men from the village be taken to custody. He announces that one man will be shot each day unless the real culprit steps forward. Children contact the partisans.

Anno Domini 1573

Europe in second half of 16th century was very rough place to live. Peasants of Slovenia and Croatia had even rougher times because of the constant threat of Turk raids and being taxed to death in order to provide defence against the Turks. But, the worst things were arrogant local feudal lords led by Franjo Tahi who were oppresing the common folk. All that led to the great peasant revolt of 1573. The movie is made for the 400th anniversary of the event.

Jacquou the Rebel

In 1815, young Jacquou lives an idyllic peasant life with his parents in the Périgord region of France. But one day, his childhood happiness is cruelly ended when his father is arrested, after a dispute with the arrogant Count de Nansac. With both his parents dead, Jacquou is adopted by Bonal, a kind priest, under whose influence he grows into an assured, morally upright young man. Now an adult, Jacquou has one desire. To repay the Count de Nansac for the evil he once inflicted on his parents...

The Scent of Green Papaya

In 1951, a young Vietnamese girl arrives at a Saigon household as their new servant.

Superfluous

Young farmer Mikajlo while on youth labour action falls in love with a student Nada and infatuated with her, he leaves the peasant brigade and Malena, a girl who as if she were overabundant, followed him to work the labour action. Mikajlo's courtship of Nada provokes laughter and ridicule, so ambitious 'Don Juan' returns to his brigade and the girl.

Empire of the Sun

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

Autumn Milk

With the death of her mother, eight-year-old Anna ends her childhood: From now on, she has to look after the nine-member family. Deprivation-rich years, which also find no end when Anna marries: Her husband Albert must be a soldier in the Second World War, and the pregnant Anna has to work hard in the farm and care sick relatives. Lonely and exposed to the harassment of the tyrannical mother-in-law, she waits for Albert, with no certainty that he will ever return.

Golden Door

The story is set at the beginning of the 20th century in Sicily. Salvatore, a very poor farmer, and a widower, decides to emigrate to the US with all his family, including his old mother. Before they embark, they meet Lucy. She is supposed to be a British lady and wants to come back to the States. Lucy, or Luce as Salvatore calls her, for unknown reasons wants to marry someone before to arrive to Ellis Island in New York. Salvatore accepts the proposal. Once they arrive in Ellis Island they spend the quarantine period trying to pass the examinations to be admitted to the States. Tests are not so simple for poor farmers coming from Sicily. Their destiny is in the hands of the custom officers.

Silent Light

Johan and his family are Mennonites from the north of Mexico. Against the law of God and Man, Johan falls in love with another woman.

Tess

A strong-willed peasant girl is sent by her father to the estate of some local aristocrats to capitalize on a rumor that their families are from the same line, but is left traumatised from her experiences.

Léolo

The story of an imaginative boy who pretends he is the child of a sperm-laden Sicilian tomato upon which his mother accidentally fell.

You Are So Beautiful

Aymé Pigrenet, a recently widowed farmer, is eager to find a new wife to help him run his farm. Desperate, he seeks the aid of a local matchmaker who suggest that he go to Romania to find a new wife. There he meets Elena.

Two Women

A young widow flees from Rome during WWII and takes her lonely twelve-year-old-daughter to her rural hometown but the horrors of war soon catch up with them.

I Am Cuba

Four vignettes on the lives of the Cuban people in the pre-revolutionary era. In Havana, Maria is ashamed when a man she loves discovers how she makes a living. Pedro, an old farmer, discovers that the land he cultivates is being sold to an American company. A student sees his friends attacked by the police while they distribute leaflets supporting Fidel Castro. Finally, a peasant family is threatened by Batista's army.

The Tree of Wooden Clogs

On a northern Italian farm, Batistì and his wife decide to send their son Minec to school, sacrificing his help in the fields but hoping to break the cycle of poverty in the family. But when Minec’s shoe breaks while walking for miles, Batisti puts the family’s future at risk to replace the clog.

Mother India

A poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, always sticks to her own moral code.

The Story of Qiu Ju

When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, a peasant woman, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.

Two Sons of Francisco

The story of Francisco, a very simple and poor man whose dream was to see his children become country music stars, and who made all the efforts to make it happen.

The Holy Innocents

Somewhere in the spanish country, in the 60s. Paco and his wife Régula are very poor. They work as tenant farmers for a very wealthy landowner. They have 3 children. One is backward. The others can not got to school because the master "needs" their work. When Regula's brother is fired from where he has worked for 61 years, he settles down at their little place... An attack against the archaism of the spanish country of the 60s.

Three Outlaw Samurai

Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.

Thanos and Despina

Katina, an impoverished Greek woman, tries to arrange the marriage of her shepherd son, Thanos, to Despina, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. But Despina’s father, Vlahopoulos refuses to give his blessings.

The Blue Bird

Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.

Yellow Earth

A communist soldier is sent to a remote region of China in order to collect folk songs. Staying with a peasant family (a widower with two small children), he discovers a community whose way of life is completely alien to him, but he gradually wins their trust…

Mockery

There is hunger in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. One day while dim-witted peasant Sergei is searching corpses for food, he meets a young woman looking for the town of Novokursk. She asks Sergei to help her get there, and to tell anyone they might meet that he is her husband.

Red Psalm

Set in the 1890s on the Hungarian plains, a group of farm workers go on strike in which they face harsh reprisals and the reality of revolt, oppression, morality and violence.

Wild Flower

The film features Fernandez himself as a character named Rogellio Torres. The lion's share of the footage, however, is devoted to the romance between Esperanza, granddaughter of a common laborer, and Jose Luis Castro, the firebrand son of a landowner. Joining a revolutionary movements, Castro is disowned by his father, but Esperanza remains loyally by his side. Later on, Castro's father is killed by outlaws; in seeking vengeance, he sacrifices his own life, while Esperanza carries on his revolutionary work with their young son in tow.

La vida no vale nada

Pablo, a wandering laborer, has imprisoned himself in a hell of alcoholism. Cruz, a widow, reaches out to the troubled man, but even her compassion may not be enough to save him.

The Peasants

Peasant girl Jagna is forced to marry the much older, wealthy farmer Boryna, despite her love for his son Antek. With time, Jagna becomes the object of envy and disdain with the villagers and she must fight to preserve her independence.

Tlayucan

Desperate because of his son's illness, the peasant Eufemio steals a pearl from the image of Santa Lucía in the village church.

Handcuffs

Yugoslavia, 1948, the year of Inform Bureau's resolution and Tito's break-up with Stalin. The story takes place during a wedding in the Dalmatian inland in Croatia. Ante marries a much younger woman, Visnja; the groom's godfather is Andrija, the partisan war hero born in this very village, and a member of the new Communist political establishment. Two members of the Yugoslav State Security crash the traditional wedding ceremony. In the growing atmosphere of fear nobody knows who will be arrested.

Woman of the River

When peasant girl Nives is deserted by smuggler Gino Lodi, she betrays him to the police. Police officer Enzo Cinti, who loves Nives, traces her to the Po River cane-fields, where she is working as a cutter to support herself and an infant son, and warns her that Gino has escaped from prison and is seeking revenge. She rejects his offer to protect her. Gino finds Nives, mourning the drowning death of their son. He surrenders himself to the police and then walks at Nives' side in the funeral procession.

The River Fuefuki

In a time of continuous civil wars ravaging the fields of feudal Japan, the eldest son of a very poor peasant family, living alongside the bridge over the Fuefuki river, decides to serve a warlord to escape his miserable condition, being soon followed by his younger brothers. Although not all the men of the family take this tragic path of death, women of the family will be doomed to endure the pain of loss during the next five generations.

Breakfast with the Devil

In 1947, among the ruins of war and in anticipation of a catastrophic flood, the locals of a Vojvodina village find themselves caught between the devastation of their livelihoods and the demands of the new Communist authorities.

One Russian Summer

Based on Mikhail Lermontov's novel Vadim, this costume drama, set in Russia during the 1700s, chronicles the battle between a vengeful, anarchic peasant and the tyrannical landowner who killed his mother and father.

Amal

A sublime documentary on childhood and bereavement that’s one of several shorts the filmmaker completed while working in Algeria for Georges Derocles’s company Les Studios Africa, for whom he would shortly make his breakthrough feature The Olive Trees of Justice.

Koskenkylän laulu

Reino Köyri the son of a wealthy house falls off a horse and ends up at Liuhala's cottage to be treated by Venla. There he falls in love with the daughter of the house Anna. The couple’s cohabitation is hampered by previous commitments and ambiguities in kinship.

The Colonel's Wife

Set just before the end of WWI on the abandoned farm in Vojvodina, the story follows the wife of an Austo-Hungarian colonel of a battered battalion who pays him a visit, only to experience the true Empire's decline through the meeting with disillusioned army.