Film - The Last Samurai (2003) - USA
Language - English
Director - Edward Zwick
Screenplay - Edward Zwick, John Logan, Marshall Herskovitz
Academy Award Nominations - Supporting Actor (Ken Watanabe), Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound
Cast - Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, William Atherton, Billy
Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Spall

"Beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic" ...Robert Ebert of Chicago Sun- Times
The scope of the film is grand, and all its elements - from the cinematography, to the acting, to its beautiful score - all work to enhance it along the way...

The film is about war, the modernization of a country, and about the violent push and pull between progress and tradition.The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic period action drama film . The plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion , led by Saigo Takamori, and the Westernisation of Japan by foreign powers. Japan hires an American Civil War veteran ( Tom Cruise) to train their army with modern warfare techniques in order to fight against the all-powerful Samurai clans. However, his life changes in profound ways when he is captured by the Samurai during battle, and he comes into contact with their leader (Ken Watanabe). He slowly comes to love the culture of the very people he has come to destroy.

In 1876, former U.S Army Captain Nathan Algren, an alcoholic traumatized by his actions during the American Indian Wars, is approached by his former commanding officer, Colonel Bagley. Bagley asks him to train the newly created Imperial Japanese Army for a Japanese businessman, Matsue Omura, who intends to use the army to suppress a Samurai rebellion against Japan's new emperor. Tom Cruise portrays Nathan Algren, an American captain- whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with Samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji restoration in 19th. Century Japan...

The Last Samurai grossed a total of $456 million at the box office and became the sixth highest grossing fimof 2003.It received praise for the acting, visuals, cinematography and score. It was nominated for several awards, including four Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and two National Board of Review Awards.

Film: Ramchand Pakistani (2008) - Pakistan
Language: Urdu/Hindi (with English subtitles)
Director: Mehreen Jabbar
Screenplay: Mohammad Ahmed & Javed Jabbar
Dubai Film Festival: Best Film
Cast: Nandita Das, Rashid Farooqi, Syed Fazal Hussain, Hassan Niazi
A poignant and moving tale which dramatizes a family’s struggle against social and religious discrimination to contextualize the complicated relationship between Pakistan and India.Mehreen Jabbar delicately touches on themes of class barriers without taking sides allowing no judgment or finger pointing which lets us, the viewers, focus instead on the human story.
Adapted from real events, it begins in 2002 when an eight-year-old boy from the ‘’untouchable’’ Hindu Dalit caste in the Thar Desert accidently crosses the Pakistani- Indian border. Precocious young Ramchand (Syed Hassan Fazal), angry at his mother Champa (Nandita Das), runs away from his village and wanders over the border into neighboring India. His father Shankar (Rashid Farooqi) anxiously chases after him but both father and son are captured by the Indian border patrol and jailed. Their fellow detainees are mostly people, who like them, have walked unwittingly across the border and have remained imprisoned for many years, some losing their minds and others losing hope. Meanwhile the distraught Champa refuses to give up hope and waits years for the return of her husband and son. 
Simply told story details the lives of the poor who have been incarcerated due to unmitigated red tape and bureaucracy which, due to tensions between both countries, spells doom for poor people whose lives are spent in waiting. The screenplay follows the day-to-day life of the child as he interacts with other prisoners, the male prison warden and one female warden (Maria Wasti) who is made responsible for the child’s education. She is a mother-figure, but refuses to touch the child because of his low caste...

Film: A Passage to India (1984) - UK

Language: English

Director: David Lean

Screenplay: David Lean, based on the novel by E.M. Forster

Academy Award Nominations:

• Best Picture
• Director (David Lean)
• Actress (Judy Davis)
• Screenplay, Sound, Production Design, Editing, Costume
• Design & Cinematography

Academy Award wins:

• Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft)
• Music

Cast: Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, James Fox, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness, Saeed Jaffrey, Nigel Havers, Art Malik, Roshan Seth, Dina Pathak

Epic adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel is about class conflict and set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s.

The story revolves around a British school teacher (Judy Davis), newly arrived in India and accompanied by an elderly friend (Peggy Ashcroft) whose son is to be a prospective suitor for her. They are introduced to a local doctor (Victor Banerjee) who later arranges a picnic to the nearby Malabar caves. During the outing a misunderstanding occurs where the young lady accuses the doctor of assaulting her inside one of the caves. The subsequent trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and British.

Though vast in physical scale and set against a tumultuous Indian background, the film is also intimate, funny and moving, featuring a great ensemble cast, beautiful images of the Indian locations, an enchanting music score, and a riveting story.

• In collaboration with Serena Hotel, Islamabad

Film: Howard's End (1992) - UK/USA

Language: English

Duration: 2 hr 22 min

Director: James Ivory

Screenplay: Ruth Prawar Jhabvala, based on the book by E. M. Forster

Academy Award Nominations:

• Best Picture, Director (James Ivory)
• Supporting Actress (Vanessa Redgrave)
• Cinematography, Costume Design & Music Score

Academy Awards:

• Best Actress (Emma Thompson)
• Screenplay
• Production Design

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave, James Wilby, Prunella Scales, Samuel West, Jemma Redgrave

One of the most literate of E.M. Forster's novels becomes an equally literate film thanks to the finely nuanced screenplay of Ruth Prawer Jhabvalla.

The plot centers on class structure, family, hypocricy, real estate and Forster's dismay at how things were changing (though inevitable) during the Edwardian era where the different classes were starting to move in the same circles due to the gradual social changes taking place in Britain.

Three families - the reserved upper class Wilcoxes, who represent greedy old capitalits, the idealistic and artistic middleclass Schlegels, and the lower-middleclass downtrodden Basts - come together and clash.

At the center of the story is the house (Howards End) which plays a big part in the lives of all three families and involves treachery, lies, love and death.

The drama begins when Henry J. Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins), a stuffy money-obsessed businessman, falls in love with free-spirited Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) after his wife Ruth (Vanessa Redgrave) dies. When his widow wills away their house to Margaret it causes a lot of family turmoil. Meanwhile her sister, Helen Schlegal (Helena Bonham Carter), tries with disastrous results to help Leonard Bast (Samuel West), a working-class married man. Both sisters find themselves tested as they try to end the Wilcoxes' prejudice and help the Basts.

Superbly-mounted story of British class tension, with exceptional performances all around.

• In collaboration wit Alliance Francaise d'Islamabad

Language: English

Duration: 1 hr 51 min

Director: Arthur Penn

Screenplay: Robert Benton & David Newman

Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Director (Arthur Penn), Actor (Warren Beatty), Actress (Faye Dunaway), Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman), Supporting Actor (Michael J. Pollard), Screenplay & Costume Design

Academy Award wins: Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons), Cinematography

Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Wilder, Denver Pyle, Evans Evans

A landmark American film that uniquely combined European art-house aesthetics with mainstream Hollywood cinematics.

The film came with the tagline:"They’re young. They’re in love. They rob banks...’ It is a film containing dynamic power that stays fresh with each viewing !

Warren Beatty stars in this gangster film as small-time bank robber Clyde Barrow who joins up with Faye Dunaway as bored small-town waitress Bonnie Parker, to embark on a series of violent robberies in the Depression-era American Mid-West. Their legendary crime spree captures the newspaper headlines and catches the imagination of the American public. Both seemed to have the knack of entertaining people. Bonnie wrote ballads and mailed them in with pictures Clyde took with his Kodak. They seemed to consider themselves public servants, bringing a little sparkle to the poverty and despair of the Dust Bowl during the early Depression years. In the public's eye they were celebrated specifically as heroic bank robbers and were seen as a modern-day version of Robin Hood's gang.

The film is a milestone in the history of American movies and one of the definitive films of the 1960s. It paved the way not only for more realistic crime drama but also for a more open and mature interpretation of life and crime.

Language: French (with English subtitles)

Duration: 1 hr 58 min

Director: Stéphane Demoustier

Screenplay: Stéphane Demoustier & Pascal Garbarini

César Award: Best Actress (Hafsia Herzi)

Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Moussa Mansaly, Louis Memmi, Michel Fau, Pablo Pauly

Rating: PG-13

A breathtaking and captivating film is inspired by true events.

The film attempts to explore the thin line between good and evil and how sometimes dire life circumstances tip a person over to the dark side.

A prison guard Mélissa (Hafsia Herzi) is transferred to Borgo penitentiary center on the island of Corsica. She is accompanied by her husband and two children. The prison is composed mainly of Corsican inmates and operates under an open regime. Namely, the prisoners can freely roam as they please all day long, playing football, cards or doing bodybuilding. She manages to integrate into this unusual set-up thanks to a young inmate who seems to have influence there. However, when this inmate is released from prison he contacts Mélissa again to ask for a favour, which sets a dangerous plot in motion where she finds herself implicated in a double murder for which she is suspected of complicity.

• In collaboration with Alliance Francaise d' Islamabad

Language: French (with English subtitles)

Duration: 1 hr 48 min

Director: Gabriel Le Boumin

Screenplay: Gabriel le Boumin & Valérie Ranson-Enguiale

César Award Nominations: Best Actor (Lambert Wilson), Production Design, Costume Design

Cast: Lambert Wilson, Isabelle Carré, Olivier Gourmet, Catherine Mouchette, Sophie Quinton, Tim Hudson, Pierre Hancisse, Gilles Cohen

Rating: PG-13

The film looks at the life of one of the 20th century's most important leaders, French President Charles de Gaulle (Lambert Wilson). The screenplay covers only the briefest of periods- albeit an important one- namely from April to June 1940. This was the time when the french government was considering negotiating an armistice with Nazi Germany but General de Gaulle refused to capitulate and sought help of England to come to his country's aid.

The film also examines de Gaulle's loving relationship with his family. He is the father of three childten, and the youngest has a severe mental disability. He is a devout Catholic and along with the unwavering love and support from his wife Yvonne (Isabelle Carré), he faces all manners of adversity.

• In collaboration with Alliance Francaise d'Islamabad

Language: English

Director: Woody Allen

Screenplay: Woody Allen

Academy Award Nominations: Best Film, Director (Woody Allen), Production Design & Editing

Academy Award Wins: Supporting Actor (Michael Caine), Supporting Actress (Dianne Wiest), Screenplay (Woody Allen)

Cast: Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Max von Sydow, Dianne Wiest, Sam Waterston, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Carrie Fisher

There is a profoundly old-fashioned, almost moral message behind the film and its themes of love, fidelity, hope, and the fragility of happiness which underpin the drama at the centre.

This is Woody Allen's most successful film - a dramatic comedy, influenced by Anton Chekov, with a sharp and witty script enhanced by superb performances. The plot follows the overlapping stories of three sisters as they drift in and out of each other's lives with increadingly disastrous consequenses. The youngest (Barbara Hershey) lives with her spiritual guru (Max von Sydow), a witty intellectual recluse bitterly disillusioned with modern life. The middle sister (Dianne Wiest) is a frantically neurotic girl-about-town chasing after money and success. The eldest (Mia Farrow) is an apparently stable actress married to a wealthy accountant ( Michael Caine) and reigning over a warm nuclear family. Her previous husband (Woody Allen) is a hypochondriac, and now romantically involved with the neurotic sister.

The film slowly progresses and exposes the layers of illusion which are lifted off to display the emotional fragility, betrayal, and tragedy underneath.

• In collaboration with Alliance Francaise d'Islamabad

Language: French (with English subtitles)

Director: François Truffaut

Screenplay: François Truffaut, Suzanne Schiffman & Jean-Claude Grumberg

César Awards: Best Film, Actor (Gérard Depardieu), Actress (Catherine Deneuve), Director (François Truffaut), Screenplay, Production Design, Cinematography, Music, Editing, Sound

Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poiret, Heinz Bennent, Andréa Ferréol, Paulette Dubost, Jean-Louis Richard, Sabine Haudpin, Maurice Risch, Richard Bohringer

Endearing and uplifting film shuns politics, it simply entertains and brings back sharp memories of Hollywood films about World War II, which were shot on sound stages inside studios.

Truffaut's film is set during the German occupation of Paris and the screenplay revolves around a theatre troupe rehearsing a play. An actor (Gérard Depardieu), who secretly works for the Resistance, is cast as the leading man in a new play being put up at a famous theatre. His leading lady (Catherine Deneuve) is not only the owner of the theatre but also the star actress. Her husband (Heinz Bennent), the theatre's director and a German jew, has escaped Nazi Germany and is now secretly hiding in the basement of the theatre from where he gives notes on the production to his wife who is the only person who knows he is there. The colourful characters surrounding the two actors are a flamboyant director (Jean Poiret), the young ingénue (Sabine Haudpin) who will do anything to get a part in the play, the stage manager (Maurice Risch), a temperamental costume designer (Andrea Férréol) and a powerful, extremely nasty pro-Nazi critic (John-Louis Richard).

The film not only deals with anti-semitism but is also a plea for tolerance as we witness the romantic intrigues, suspenseful moments with the Gestapo and a flourishing love triangle between the actress and the two men - her leading man on stage and her husband residing below the stage.

• In collaboration with Alliance Francaise d'Islamabad

Language: English

Director: James Ivory

Screenplay: Ruth Prawar Jhabvala, based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher Reeve, James Fox, Peter Vaughn, Ben Chaplin, Patrick Godfrey, Lena Heady, Michel Lonsdale, Hugh Grant

Ruth Prawar Jhabvala's exquisite adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's book becomes a sumptuously produced film by the Merchant-Ivory team with the story taking on the form of a road trip and becoming a memory piece as a butler tries to amend his past by seeking someone he admired a long time back.

A rigid butler (Anthony Hopkins) and a housekeeper (Emma Thompson) circle each other with deeply repressed feelings while in the employ of Lord Darlington (James Fox) at his huge estate. The screenplay covers in great detail the fascinating heirarchy and workings of staff at a huge estate. The formal relationship between the butler and the maid is the crux of the story. Hopkins' sad eyes convey vast depths of sadness as he rigidly goes about his job working for a Nazi sympathiser without letting politics cloud his propensity to serve his master. Thompson, with a sharp tongue and a no-nonsense manner, falls in love with the butler but she holds back her feelings because he too fails to reciprocate. Twenty years on after she had left her job and having gotten married, he seeks her out to try and get her to return to Darlington Hall now owned by a rich American (Christopher Reeve).

Quietly introspective film harbours an emotionally wrenching core at its center about repressed emotions, misplaced politics and sticking to a regimental way of life without thinking about life's consequences.

• In collaboration with Alliance Francaise d'Islamabad