Birth of a Nation (1997)
Genre : Documentary
Runtime : 1H 25M
Director : Jonas Mekas
Synopsis
Filmmaker Jonas Mekas films 160 underground film people over four decades.
While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer.
A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.
Nick is the director of a low-budget indie film. He tries to keep everything together as his production is plagued with an insecure actress, a megalomaniac star, a pretentious, beret-wearing director of photography, and lousy catering.
A career driven professional from Manhattan is wooed by a young painter, who also happens to be the son of her psychoanalyst.
An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.
This expansive Greek drama follows a troupe of theater actors as they perform around their country during World War II. While the production that they put on is entitled "Golfo the Shepherdess," the thespians end up echoing scenes from classic Greek tales in their own lives, as Elektra plots revenge on her mother for the death of her father, and seeks help from her brother, Orestes, a young anti-fascist rebel.
An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho whom he met that evening at a coffee shop.
Born into aristocracy, Toulouse-Lautrec moves to Paris to pursue his art as he hangs out at the Moulin Rouge where he feels like he fits in being a misfit among other misfits. Yet, because of the deformity of his legs from an accident, he believes he is never destined to experience the true love of a woman. But that lack of love in his life may change as he meets two women
Mark 13 is a government-built killing machine programmed with artificial intelligence, able to repair and recharge itself from any energy source. Through a series of coincidences, the cyborg's head ends up in the home of a sculptress as a bizarre Christmas present from her boyfriend. Once inside its new home, the cyborg promptly reconstructs the rest of its body using a variety of household utensils and proceeds to go on a murderous rampage.
While attending a retrospect of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.
Gorgeous IRA operative Marie flees the British authorities and finds herself somewhere in the American continent, where she meets a stunning woman also named Marie, a singer in a traveling circus. The new friends start a vaudeville act that grows exponentially more popular after they incorporate striptease into their routine. When the singer Maria falls for a charismatic rebel, the girls leave the circus behind and recreate themselves as wild-eyed revolutionaries.
Edwardian England. A precocious girl from a poor background with aspirations to being a novelist finds herself swept to fame and fortune when her tasteless romances hit the best seller lists. Her life changes in unexpected ways when she encounters an aristocratic brother and sister, both of whom have cultural ambitions, and both of whom fall in love with her.
A coming-of-age story set in Germany in the 1960s. Siggi becomes involved in a love triangle when he falls for Luise, but the tightening political climate forces him to make a fateful decision.
Klaus Kinski has perhaps the most ferocious reputation of all screen actors: his volatility was documented to electrifying effect in Werner Herzog’s 1999 portrait My Best Fiend. This documentary provides further fascinating insight into the talent and the tantrums of the great man. Beset by hecklers, Kinski tries to deliver an epic monologue about the life of Christ (with whom he perhaps identifies a little too closely). The performance becomes a stand-off, as Kinski fights for control of the crowd and alters the words to bait his tormentors. Indispensable for Kinski fans, and a riveting introduction for newcomers, this is a unique document, which Variety called ‘a time capsule of societal ideals and personal demons.’
Oscar and Peter land a career-making opportunity when a Chicago tycoon chooses them to compete for the design of a cultural center. The tycoon mistakenly believes that Oscar is gay and has him spy on his mistress Amy. Oscar goes along with it and ends up falling in love with Amy.
The humorous portrait of a female artist. The film follows the career of 24-year-old Janine F. who in 2002 caused a commotion from the rooftop of a Berlin building.
The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.
David is an artist and a pothead. He's fallen in love with the beautiful and sexy Serena, and things are going simply splendidly until poor David's house burns down. Serena doesn't need the bad vibes, so she splits the scene and runs off to New York with rocker and junkie Tommy. Lonely David finally turns to the sweet, sweet comfort of marijuana and his strange menagerie of friends to forget about his lost home and love
Filmmaker Nicky offers to track down the son that Mamie gave up for adoption nearly two decades before. Meanwhile, Mamie's stepbrother (and the father of her child), Charley, along with his boyfriend, Gil, try to find out what became of the sperm Gil donated to a lesbian couple. Finally, singer Jude becomes entangled in a love triangle with androgynous drummer Otis and his conservative father.