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.
Leben fur Leben ( Life for Life ) (1991)
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
In 1941, a young Silesian, Jan, manages to escape from Auschwitz. In retaliation, the camp commandant condemns 10 prisoners to the 'starvation bunker... Read more
The Double Life Of Veronique (1991)
7.8/10
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Halina Gryglaszewska, Irene Jacob, Kalina Jedrusik
Two women with identical looks, birthdates and names unknowingly have their lives inter-connected in this beautifully crafted thriller. When one of th... Read more
My Twentieth Century (1989)
7.1/10
Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Two twin sisters, who grew up separately, Dóra, a pseudo-aristocrat, and Lili, an anarchist bomber, are reunited through Z, a mysterious traveller of... Read more
The Seventh Continent (1989)
7.8/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Dieter Berner, Udo Samel, Leni Tanzer, Birgit Doll
A provocative and chilling depiction of a family who have lost contact with one another. Anna and Georg live with their daughter Eva, and while every... Read more
The Decalogue (1988)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Henryk Baranowski, Krystyna Janda, Daniel Olbrychski, Adrianna Biedrynska, Miros...
A.k.a. "Dekalog". Krzysztof Kieslowski's modern masterpiece, "The Decalogue", is one of cinema's greatest and most ambitious achievements. This extrao... Read more
A Short Film About Killing (1988)
8.1/10
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Jan Tesarz, Krzysztof Globisz, Miroslaw Baka
Kieslowski's title is accurate: a hideous murder is followed by a hideous execution. Expanded to feature-length by Kieslowski from his hour long "Deka... Read more
A Short Film About Love (1988)
8.3/10
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko
A young man falls in love with an older woman who lives in the flats across the courtyard. He watches her and her succession of lovers until she becom... Read more
Debajo Del Mundo ( Underground ) (1987)
8.1/10
Director: Beda Docampo Feijoo, Juan Bautista Stagnaro
Starring: Sergio Renan, Barbara Mugica, Victor Laplace
Aka 'Underground', 'Under the World'. The true story of a Polish Jewish family whose members had to literally bury themselves alive underground in ord... 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
Colonel Redl (1984)
7.7/10
Director: Istvan Szabo
Starring: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Hans Christian Blech, Gudrun Landgre...
Klaus Maria Brandauer stars in this epic story of intrigue, love and lust, set in Austria during the years leading up to WWI. Adapted from John Osborn... Read more