Charles Bickford ("Mat"), is almost unrecognisable at the beefcake sailor who does his best "Popeye" impersonation opposite the slight "Olive Oyl" looking title character (Greta Garbo) in this simple love story with a bit of a sad backstory. She is the daughter of "Chris Christopherson" (George Marion) who travels to visit her long absent father from her farm in St. Paul. When they are reunited, he takes her to live on his coal barge where one evening they rescue three stricken sailors from a liner that hit something in the pea soup fog. The aforementioned Mr. Bickford takes a shine to her and she to him - but the father, a bit of an alcoholic, promptly concludes that "Mat" is a chip off the old block, and - King Canute style - tries to prevent their love from blossoming. It is only when she refuses to marry him, we learn of the tragedy from her past that haunts her still... but will he be deterred?. A brief scene with Marie Dressler ("Martha") is about all else there is in this tightly woven drama - which shows Garbo has some skill in the talkies to match her established skills on the silent screen, and the maritime environment contributes loads to the eeriness and effectiveness of the performances. As usual, with an Eugene O'Neill story, there is plenty of depth to the characters should you wish to read more into it - for me, though, it was an simply an entertaining romance with three engaging characters that worked well together on the screen.
The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters, in a time when those types of relationships were shunned.
Lichter is an episodic tale from Hans-Christian Schmid about the life on the border between Germany and Poland. The film sheds light on the everyday stories of escape and desperateness.
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
In director Baz Luhrmann's contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.
An emotionally scarred highway drifter shoots a sadistic trick who rapes her, and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.
Marnie is a thief, a liar, and a cheat. When her new boss, Mark Rutland, catches on to her routine kleptomania, she finds herself being blackmailed.
Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.
While on a business trip in Los Angeles, Edward Lewis, a millionaire entrepreneur who makes a living buying and breaking up companies, picks up a prostitute, Vivian, while asking for directions; after, Edward hires Vivian to stay with him for the weekend to accompany him to a few social events, and the two get closer only to discover there are significant hurdles to overcome as they try to bridge the gap between their very different worlds.
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
In a small and conservative Scottish village, a woman's paralytic husband convinces her to have extramarital intercourse so she can tell him about it and give him a reason for living.
Middle-aged suburban husband Richard abruptly tells his wife, Maria, that he wants a divorce. As Richard takes up with a younger woman, Maria enjoys a night on the town with her friends and meets a younger man. As the couple and those around them confront a seemingly futile search for what they've lost - love, excitement, passion - this classic American independent film explores themes of aging and alienation.