Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
to
to
Exclude
Only includes titles with the selected topics
to
In minutes
to
1-3 of 3
- Jessika, a precocious teenage girl with loving parents and a good-natured older sister, is the center of a slightly eccentric family. A series of small events disrupts their delicately balanced ecosystem. Jessika's father loses his job and becomes bored and despondent, while Jessika's mother reenters the workforce and becomes empowered. These events act as catalysts for the slow, painful disintegration of the family, with each member committing shocking acts of alienation and self-destruction. Desperately wanting her family but at the same time desiring her adolescent independence, Jessika struggles to find the best way to restore a balance.
- Is high-stakes poker a metaphor for the American Dream? A bi-coastal couple, Susan and Tim, carry their independent film company and four-year-old son on an eight month ride through the world of tournament poker. Their plan: Play in six high-stakes poker tournaments. Win some money. Document their journey. Save their company. Business and formerly romantic partners, Susan and Tim often disagree. Susan is a self-directed, high energy gambler who has won poker tournaments before. Tim is her sensible but anxious mate and often her unwanted conscience. No Limit takes us through the highs and lows of their quest. Along the way, we get to meet the peculiar players from around the globe who populate the poker world and hear their thoughts on poker's connection to the American dream. They are, by turns, passionate, overwrought, insightful and absurd. None are boring, and many have become superstars in their sport. Primarily, they speak to the virtues of both risk taking and a psychological understanding of other people. As Mirage Resorts' CEO Bobby Baldwin states, "you can't play business defensively; you can't have a relationship defensively. It's about offense." None of the players are very offensive, rather they're a surprisingly articulate, multi-ethnic set of individuals, admirably determined to follow their own path. At the same time, they follow strict, sometimes amusing poker social conventions. Their colorful interviews are the heart of the movie. As Susan struggles to scoop a jackpot, we also see the effect the poker tour is having on her relationships, both with Tim and their son. Clearly, poker moms are not like soccer moms. While exploring themes of greed, addiction, individualism, talent and freedom, Tim and Susan have made an entertaining documentary, guiding us through an offbeat world few of us will enter. Is there a happy ending? This is about the American Dream, after all...
- A once thriving reception hall has been reduced to catering to the funeral business and the somber rituals of death. The owner, Soleimani, is a sour, lonely and unloved old man who treats his workers with contempt, inflicting small cruelties whenever possible. Embittered and seeing a psychologist, he decides he will close the business in twenty days, sending his staff, already fighting just to get by, into a state of fear and uncertainty. Like a close-knit family, the staff members endure their daily suffering together. These good-hearted people include an ostracized young widow trying to survive with her daughter; a chef with a paralyzed arm who has a demanding wife; and two young men, working but homeless, who must sleep in the company's truck. Despite Soleimani's indifference to their plight, the people on his staff have retained their hope and humanity. As the threat of closure nears, they work together to save the hall and at the same time attend to each others' emotional needs.