The Migrant Experience
International Migrants Day is this week (December 18th) and it seems like a good time to remember the importance of protecting migrants and their political rights. These excellent films provide some insight into what migrants across the globe go through in the hope of finding a better life.
God's Own Country
A young farmer numbs his frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker.
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- United Kingdom • 2017
- Director Francis Lee
- Cast Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Ian Hart, Gemma Jones, Patsy Ferran, Naveed Choudhry
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on AMC+ Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
Fire at Sea
(Fuocoammare)
More than 17,000 people were reported to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in the last 15 years...
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- Italy, France • 2016
- Director Gianfranco Rosi
- Cast Samuele Pucillo, Mattias Cucina, Samuele Caruana, Pietro Bartolo, Giuseppe Fragapane
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Lion
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Australia, United States • 2016
- Director Garth Davis
- Cast Sunny Pawar, Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Abhishek Bharate
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Brooklyn
Two countries. Two loves. One heart.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland • 2015
- Director John Crowley
- Cast Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Jessica Paré
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Biutiful
You don't choose your family. We all belong to somebody, but to belong to Uxbal and Marambra, is both a blessing and a curse.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, Spain • 2010
- Director Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Cast Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
The Class
(Entre les murs)
Based on his real life, a teacher must deal with the challenging dynamics of his multicultural classroom.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2008
- Director Laurent Cantet
- Cast François Bégaudeau, Franck Keïta, Louise Grinberg, Rabah Nait Oufella, Esmeralda Ouertani, Rachel Regulier
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Secret of the Grain
(La graine et le mulet)
In southern France, a Franco-Arabic shipyard worker, assisted by his partner's daughter, pursues his dream of opening a restaurant.
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- France • 2007
- Director Abdellatif Kechiche
- Cast Habib Boufares, Hafsia Herzi, Farida Benkhetache, Abdelhamid Aktouche, Alice Houri, Bouraouïa Marzouk
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Maria Full of Grace
(María, llena eres de gracia)
Stuck in a low-paying job with an unexpected pregnancy, seventeen-year-old Maria decides to work as a drug mule to make money.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Colombia, Ecuador, United States • 2004
- Director Joshua Marston
- Cast Catalina Sandino Moreno, Guilied Lopez, Yenny Paola Vega, John Álex Toro, Virgina Ariza, Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Since Otar Left
(Depuis qu'Otar est parti...)
For a mother, a sister and a niece, nothing is the same... Since Otar Left
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium, Georgia • 2003
- Director Julie Bertuccelli
- Cast Esther Gorintin, Nino Khomassouridze, Dinara Drukarova, Temur Kalandadze, Rusudan Bolkvadze, Sasha Sarishvili
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Sunday God Willing
(Inch'Allah dimanche)
One woman's escape from tradition into the modern world.
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- France, Algeria • 2001
- Director Yamina Benguigui
- Cast Fejria Deliba, Zinedine Soualem, Rabia Mokeddem, Amina Annabi, Marie-France Pisier, Anass Behri
- Genre Family, Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
Three Colors: White
(Trois couleurs : Blanc)
After his wife divorces him and frames him for arson, a Polish expatriate plots his revenge.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Switzerland, France, Poland • 1994
- Director Krzysztof Kieślowski
- Cast Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Janusz Gajos, Jerzy Stuhr, Aleksander Bardini, Grzegorz Warchoł
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Repulsion
Beautiful young manicurist Carole suffers from androphobia—the pathological fear of interaction with men.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1965
- Director Roman Polanski
- Cast Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Wymark, Renée Houston
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Crackle, The Roku Channel, Plex, Plex Channel