Conrad Veidt stars as Matathias, a Jewish man who, after spitting on Christ en route to his crucifixion, is doomed to walk the earth until the Second Coming. After two passages – one set during the Crusades, the other in Mediaeval Italy – Matathias is offered redemption during the Spanish Inquisition.
Tag: UK
Odile and Camille are two sisters living in Paris. Odile is frustrated in her dull marriage to Claude, who shows no enthusiasm in her desire to buy a new apartment. Camille, studying for a doctorate, suffers from a panic disorder. The lives of both women are up-ended when three men enter their lives.
The use of kidnapped children as fighters was a systematic practice by the South African-backed Renamo army. We follow Julio Bombi’s journey to be re-united with his mother. Renamo kidnapped up to 100,000 children, and they became the most feared soldiers of all. When parents find their long-lost children, these hardened young assassins bear little resemblance to the children they lost.
Famed Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro returns to Peru for one final mission — to conquer the Inca Empire, convert its people to Christianity and capture a supposedly massive cache of gold. Upon arriving in the Incan capital, Pizarro and his men secure the palace of the new Incan king, Atahualpa. As the assault on the natives continues, the typically ruthless leader and his doomed hostage begin to respect — and even admire — each other.
The Limbo Line tells a story of Cold War double-crossing with British secret agent Manston trying to break up a group of Russian agents who return defectors to Moscow for brainwashing. When a Russian ballerina defects to Germany, Manston goes after the head of The Limbo Line in an effort to stop the group from kidnapping the defectors. Acting against the orders of his boss, Manston is faced with killing the communist leader of the movement in Germany or allowing the dancer to be turned over for interrogation and reprisals for her political beliefs. Matters are further complicated when Manston finds himself falling for the ballerina…
Jack Hulbert plays Martin, a straight-laced Parisian millionaire who falls in love with saucy chorus girl Jeannette. The plot requires that Martin pose as a reporter who is called upon by Jeannette to pose as her wealthy benefactor: in other words, he’s hired to impersonate himself!
A film by Krzysztof Zanussi inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Lady with an Ermine”. The director takes us to the Museum Czartoryski in Cracow where he presents his favourite painting and with the aid of video effects, he wryly invites us to compare “The Lady with an Ermine” with the better known “Mona Lisa”.
As the Nazis increase their stranglehold in Europe and enter World War II, millions of Jews are senselessly killed. The least likely ally during this time would be a German businessman, especially one who joined the Nazi Party to maintain the status quo. But as this documentary demonstrates, by employing Jews in his factory, Oskar Schindler becomes a hero, saving the lives of hundreds of Jews in Poland and Czechoslovakia from the horrors of ethnic cleansing.