Maggie meets George at a bar. He has fallen for her while she was singing, and wants to know everything about her life. He finally gets her sad story, how the authorities took her four children (after one of them was burned badly when she was out working), how the man she was with continously beat her. Her life was a tragic one, and of course she doesn't trust anyone. George, by the way, is from Paraguay and has a tragic story of his own. He is a man with a strong will, and believes that he can change Maggie and give her the life that she deserves. Two times, Maggie and George makes a baby, and both times the authorities comes to take them away. Imagine how you would react to having 6 children removed from you, now imagine how Maggie and George reacts. It is a heartbreaking story, and sadly, a true one. Ken Loach is a master of showing us how life really is. He doesn't want to sugarcoat anything, he just wants us to realize that these people are real, that they are our neighbours and friends, the people we pass on the street, see in the supermarket. He also wants to show us how wrong the system is (I think), and how little they care for the parents and, ultimately, the children. I mean, sure, if the kids were actually beaten or abused, they would need to be removed right away, but in this movie, there is no evidence to suggest that. So aren't the kids better off with their real parents? Throughout the movie, Maggie gets worse (only barely hanging on to her sanity), as the system strip her of all dignity, we even learn that she was abused as a kid, and placed at an institution. You have to love a real life drama, to love this movie. There is no wonderland here to hide in, and even though the end suggests that Maggie and George finally got to keep three children (and become a family), there is no happy ending here. It is unbearable to watch at times, but only because the actors does a great job at making this seem real. Life can be unbearable. _Last words... don't be intimidated by the story. This is no action movie, but you'll definitely be the better person for watching it._
Morocco, 2004. Adil, aged 11, spends the summer playing with his friends and waiting for his idol, Olympic runner Hicham El Guerrouj, to compete in his last Games. The arrival of his father and older brother from France for a few days will mark him forever.
In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
In De Nestvlieder, Cor - a nest keeper - has been caring for his disabled mother Teuntje all his adult life. When his sister Hennie - who is on sabbatical - comes back to take care of their mother as well, Cor's life, which consists entirely of fixed patterns, gets upset.
A look at the lives of three generations of women. Monique and her daughter Sylvie run a brothel on the border of West Flanders and France. Eline, Sylvie's six-year-old daughter, is fascinated by the mysterious workplace of her mother and grandmother, but she is never allowed inside. A dramatic event turns their lives upside down and the family ties are put under pressure.
Tanaka is going through a tough time trying to support his younger sister Mitsuko, recently arrested and hold up in jail. As an investigative reporter, he immerses himself into a story about a shocking murder case gone cold; a family was brutally murdered a year ago and the case remains unsolved.
Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.
A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.
Beyond Silence is about a family and a young girl’s coming of age story. This German film looks into the lives of the deaf and at a story about the love for music. A girl who has always had to translate speech into sign language for her deaf parents yet when her love for playing music grows strong she must decide to continue doing something she cannot share with her parents.