The Indian Act, passed in Canada in 1876, made members of Aboriginal peoples second-class citizens, separated from the white population: nomadic for centuries, they were moved to reservations to control their behavior and resources; and thousands of their youngest members were separated from their families to be Christianized: a cultural genocide that still resonates in Canadian society today.
Set in the 1930s in the international city of Shanghai, the film follows the extravagant life and times of a group of jazz musicians, living from one advance paycheck to the next, as the country teeters over the brink into the Second Sino-Japanese War.
After the atomic obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, over 36,000 Australian men and women, part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF), marched onto Japanese soil. They were assigned the toughest and most dangerous area of Japan: Hiroshima Prefecture, which included the atom-bombed city. The Forgotten Force tells for the first time the story of Australia's role in Japan. Rare archival and private footage, photographs and eyewitness accounts from both sides vividly recreate the atmosphere of post-war Japan - the horror of Hiroshima and its aftermath; the struggle to build a new "democratic" society while under the heel of military rule; the growth from suspicion and fear to friendship and trust between foes.
Communist Ivan Platonov is actively involved in the collectivization of his native land, even the death of his wife does not stop him. One by one, rebellions of discontented peasants break out. Platonov's propaganda work takes on a different quality, the hero takes up arms and is not afraid of death.…
A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba, where — through the universal language of music — dark and ancient connections between their peoples reveal the roots of jazz.
At the end of the Heian period, Musashibo Benkei, a warrior monk who hated the Heike clan, was humiliated by his fellow monks and left the mountain monastery. Soon, Benkei competes with the Heike warriors on the Gojo Bridge in Kyoto and takes away their swords. One night he tried to stop a young man who had a beautiful sword on his belt and fought him, but he could not win. Knowing that this young man Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune) is looking for an opportunity to overthrow the Heike clan, Benkei asks him to let him join him.
Zhao Yun or Zhao Zilong is legendary general from early Three Kingdoms period of China. He was best sidekick and advisor for Liu Bei and had since accompanied him on most of his military exploits, from the Battle of Changban (208) to the Hanzhong Campaign (217–219).
Made famous by the 1957 Hollywood movie, the bridges of the River Kwai emblematize one of the most misunderstood events in history. Contrary to the romanticized film version, the structures represent a period of terror, desperation, and death for over 16,000 POWs and 100,00 local slaves. The Thailand - Burma Railway was the vision of the Japanese Imperial Army: a 250-mile track cut through dense jungle that would connect Bangkok and Rangoon. To accomplish this nearly impossible feat, the fanatical and ruthless Japanese engineers used POWs and local slaves as manpower. Candid interviews with men who lived through the atrocity - including Dutch, Australian, British, and American POWs - illuminate the violence and horror of their three-and-a-half-year internment. From Britain's surrender of Singapore the enduring force of friendship, The True Story Of The Bridge On The River Kwai narrates a moving and unforgettable account of a period in history that must be remembered.
The story of Che Guevara, featuring episodes from his childhood, his career as a medical student and work with lepers, and finally his life as a militant and guerrilla fighter.
A wild tale of mistaken identity set during the Nazi occupation of Greece and starring the great Thanasis Vengos. Thanasis is called upon, during the Occupation, to testify at the trial of a tavern owner accused of serving cat meat to his customers. He too is accused of perjury and imprisoned with some resistance fighters. The resistance fighters escape, but Thanasis remains in his cell. He is accused of being Ivan, the notorious ringleader of certain revolutionaries.
Thom Andersen's hour-long documentary adroitly combines biography, history, film theory, and philosophical reflection. Muybridge's photographic studies of animal locomotion in the 1870s were a major forerunner of movies; even more interesting are his subsequent studies of diverse people, photographed against neutral backgrounds.
At the beginning of the XVII century, events take place preceding the liberation struggle led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. A young boy Pavlo Pokhylenko leaves his native Kaniv to join the Zaporizhian Sich (camp and cossack army) to fight for freedom and the Orthodox faith.
The Crusades reign supreme. Joachim's habit has become like a second skin. Shrouded in the darkness of the world, his life intertwines with dreamlike experiences and mystical visions. A river of oil unfolds before his eyes. The ascetic receives a divine revelation—prophecies and visions that only his heart can unveil. His final endeavor is humanity's greatest challenge: overcoming the apocalypse. A journey through hope, life beyond life, the values of existence—the search for the divine within every living being—the power of love.
Celebrate the 150th anniversary of the short-lived but far-reaching American Institution The Pony Express by following a historical re-enactment along the original trail from Sacramento California to Saint Joseph Missouri.
Spring of 1917. Soldiers of the former Wild Division are returning to their villages. Anzor, a footman of Prince Naurbek, commander of the Kabarda regiment, finds poverty and ruin at home - his mother and many other villagers have fallen into bondage debts to Princess Zhansurat. Anzor goes to the prince and asks him to return his land - after all, he shielded Naurbek from enemy bullets in battle. Having received a handful of millet, Anzor returns to his place. Subsequent meetings with the Bolsheviks Kantemir and Mashuko, and then with Kirov himself, convince Anzor of the necessity to fight against the princes.
A classic battle between good and evil pits an unscrupulous fortuneteller who has been preying on the good citizens of Edo against a master-less samurai who founded a school for underprivileged children in a poor neighborhood. Into the mix comes a young woman running away from a forced marriage disguised as a teenage boy and becomes a student of the beloved Sensei, while he staves off the advances of a skilled pickpocket and prepares for a bloody showdown against a direct retainer of the shogun!
Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost offers new insights into the Peoples Temple tragedy, exploring lingering questions about Pastor Jim Jones, his religious and social justice movement, and the deaths of his followers that day.