The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

During his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.

Director:

Denys Arcand

Writer:

Denys Arcand

Stars:

Rémy Girard, Dorothée Berryman and Stéphane Rousseau

Storyline

In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', 50-something Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. He decides to make amends meet to his friends and family before he dies. He first tries to made peace with his ex-wife Louise, who asks their estranged son Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the entire Canadian system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while he also tries to reunite his former friends, Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude to see their old friend before he passes on.

Nowhere in Africa (2001)

A German Jewish refugee family moves to and adjusts to a farm life in 1930's Kenya.

Director:

Caroline Link

Writers:

Caroline Link, Stefanie Zweig (novel)

Stars:

Juliane Köhler, Merab Ninidze and Matthias Habich

Storyline

A Jewish family in Germany emigrate short before the Second World War. They move to Kenya to start running a farm, but not all members of the family come to an arrangement with their new life. Shortly after their departure, things are changing in Germany very quickly, and a turning back seems impossible. So everyone has to arrange himself with the new life in a new continent.

Kolya [kolja] (1996)

Franta Louka is a concert cellist in Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia, a confirmed bachelor and a lady's man...See full summary »

Director:

Jan Sverák

Writers:

Pavel Taussig (story), Zdenek Sverák(screenplay)

Stars:

Zdenek Sverák, Andrei Chalimon and Libuse Safránková

Storyline

Franta Louka is a concert cellist in Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia, a confirmed bachelor and a lady's man. Having lost his place in the state orchestra, he must make ends meet by playing at funerals and painting tombstones. But he has run up a large debt, and when his friend, the grave-digger Mr. Broz, suggests a scheme for making a lot of money by marrying a Russian woman so that she can get her Czech papers, he reluctantly agrees. She takes advantage of the situation to emigrate to West Germany, to her lover; and leaves her five-year-old son with his grandmother; when the grandmother dies, Kolya must come and live with his stepfather - Louka.

Journey Of Hope [Reise der Hoffnung] (1990)

The story of a turkish poor family who tries to emigrate illegaly to Switzerland.

Director:

Xavier Koller

Writers:

Xavier Koller, Feride Çiçekoglu

Stars:

Necmettin Çobanoglu, Nur Sürer and Emin Sivas

Storyline

In a village in eastern Turkey, tales of the economic success of Turks in Switzerland inspire Haydar to convince his wife Meryem that they must go. He sells their livestock and small plot of land in exchange for passage for two. He wants to leave their seven children in the care of the eldest and his parents; his father advises him to take one son to be educated in Europe, as economic insurance. The three set off for Istanbul, Milan, and Switzerland, stowing away on a ship. At Lake Como, they pay the rest of their money to unprincipled men who abandon them at an Alpine pass before a blizzard. Father and son are separated from Meryem. Will anyone reach the land of promise?

Tsotsi (2005)

Six days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader (Chweneyagae).

Director:

Gavin Hood

Writers:

Gavin Hood, Athol Fugard (novel)

Stars:

Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano and Israel Makoe

Storyline

In Johannesburg, the small time criminal Tsotsi is a teenager without feelings, hardened by his tough life. After killing a man with his gang in a robbery; hitting the gangster Boston of his gang; humiliating a crippled beggar along one night, Tsotsi hijacks a car and under the despair of a woman, he shoots her in the stomach. While driving the car, Tsotsi finds that there is a baby on the back seat and the woman was a desperate mother. He brings the baby to his house in the slum and becomes attached to him. For six days, the baby changes his behavior, arousing and developing the sense of empathy and humanity in the cold blood killer.

Note: Ameer's YOGI [Tamil] is a bad remake of Tsotsi

Departures [Okuribito](2008)

A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.

Director:

Yôjirô Takita

Writer:

Kundô Koyama

Stars:

Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue and Tsutomu Yamazaki

Storyline

Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.

No Man's Land (2001)

Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1993 at the time of the heaviest fighting between the two warring sides. Two soldiers from opposing sides in the conflict, Nino and Ciki, become trapped in no man's land, whilst a third soldier becomes a living booby trap.

Director:

Danis Tanovic

Writer:

Danis Tanovic

Stars:

Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac and Filip Sovagovic

Storyline

After various skirmishes, two wounded soldiers, one Bosnian and one Serb, confront each other in a trench in the no man's land between their lines. They wait for dark, trading insults and even finding some common ground; sometimes one has the gun, sometimes the other, sometimes both. Things get complicated when another wounded Bosnian comes to, but can't move because a bouncing mine is beneath him. The two men cooperate to wave white flags, their lines call the UN (whose high command tries not to help), an English reporter shows up, a French sergeant shows courage, and the three men in no man's land may or may not find a way to all get along.

Note: our LAGAAN lost oscar to this movie

The Sea Inside [Mar adentro] (2004)

The real-life story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 30 year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar (screenplay), Mateo Gil(screenplay)

Stars:

Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda and Lola Dueñas

Storyline

Life story of Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Film explores Ramón's relationships with two women: Julia, a lawyer who supports his cause, and Rosa, a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living. Through the gift of his love, these two women are inspired to accomplish things they never previously thought possible. Despite his wish to die, Ramón taught everyone he encountered the meaning, value and preciousness of life. Though he could not move himself, he had an uncanny ability to move others.

Note:Sanjay Leela Bhansali taken this movie concept and made GUZAARISH

The White Balloon (1995)

Several people try to take advantage of a little girl's innocence to hustle money her mom gave to her to buy a goldfish with.

Director:

Jafar Panahi

Writers:

Jafar Panahi (original idea), Abbas Kiarostami, and 1 more credit »

Stars:

Aida Mohammadkhani, Mohsen Kafili and Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy

Storyline

Razieh wants a fat goldfish for the Iranian New Years celebration instead of the skinny ones in her family's pond at home, because the fat fish looks like it's dancing when it swims. After many attempts she and her brother convince their mother to give them her last bit of money. Between their home and the fish store, Razieh loses the money.. She finds it, but it is temptingly just out of her reach.