Eastern European Cinema
Again this category lumps a lot of countries together where the Alice collection is not large enough to warrant separate shelf-space for each country represented. Eastern European films are often categorised by a healthy black humour, an ability to look hardship in the eye and laugh - if somewhat bitterly at times. Included here are films from Poland, Austria, Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. To look for films from a specific country refer to the 'By Country' link on the left.
Ulysses' Gaze (1995)
7.6/10
Director: Theo Angelopoulos
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Erland Josephson, Maia Morgenstern
Recounts the odyssey of an American filmmaker (Harvey Keitel) who returns to his Greek hometown after 35 years to pursue a dream of finding three reel... Read more
Katyn (2007)
7.1/10
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Starring: Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Zmijewski, Danuta Stenka, Jan Englert
Lauded Polish director Andrzej Wajda details the tragic events surrounding the 1940 massacre of 15,000 Polish army officers by Soviet troops in the Ka... Read more
The Death of Mister Lazarescu (2005)
Director: Cristi Puiu
Starring: Ion Fiscuteanu, Luminita Gheorghiu
Plagued with a terrible headache that will not go away, elderly Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) calls an ambulance. As he makes his frustrating journey... Read more
Tears for Sale (2008)
6.9/10
Director: Uros Stojanovic
Starring: Sonja Kolacaric, Stefan Kapicic, Katarina Radivojevic
Set in the first half of the 20th century, the story follows the journey of two sisters, Mala Boginja and Ognjenka. The little village where the siste... Read more
Divided We Fall (2000)
7.8/10
Director: Jan Hrebejk
Starring: Boleslav Polivka, Anna Siskova
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, this stark but sometimes humourous effort is set in a Czech town during World War II where the... Read more
Cold War (2018)
7.7/10
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Starring: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Agata Kulesza, Jeanne Balibar, Cedric Kahn
A passionate love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, who are fatefully mismatched and yet condemned to each other. Se... Read more
Empties (2007)
7.3/10
Director: Jan Sverak
Starring: Zdenek Sverak, Daniela Kolarova
Frustrated with the apathy of his unruly students, Joseph suddenly retires from his job as a school teacher. But as a man full of humour and playful e... Read more
An Unforgettable Summer (1994)
7.5/10
Director: Lucian Pintilie
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Claudiu Bleont
In 1925 Romania, young Marie-Therese Von Debretsy (Kristin Scott Thomas) refuses the flirtatious advances of her husband's commanding officer. As a re... Read more
When Father Was Away on Business (1985)
7.9/10
Director: Emir Kusturica
Starring: Moreno D'e Bartolli, Miki Manojlovic
Celebrated Balkan filmmaker Emir Kusturica won his first Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's highest honour, for this exuberant portrait of 1950s Y... Read more
The Great Water (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Ivo Trajkov
Starring: Saso Kekenovski, Maja Stankovska, Mitko Apostolovski, Verica Nedeska, Risto Gogo...
A prominent Macedonian politician suffers a heart attack and drifting between life and death, his mind wanders to childhood. In a camp for children w... Read more