#136 – Lilya 4-ever, (Lilja 4-Ever), 2002, Lukas Moodysson
Lilya lives in poverty and dreams of a better life. Her mother moves to the United States and abandons her to her aunt, who neglects her. Lilya hangs out with her friends, Natasha and Volodya, who is suicidal. Desperate for money, she starts working as a prostitute, and later meets Andrei. He offers her a good job in Sweden, but when Lilya arrives her life quickly enters a downward spiral.
#417 – Day of Wrath, (Vredens dag), 1943, Carl Theodor Dreyer
In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne’s older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother – but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon’s son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it’s a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.
#453 – Breaking the Waves, 1996, Lars von Trier
In a small and conservative Scottish village, a woman’s paralytic husband convinces her to have extramarital intercourse so she can tell him about it and give him a reason for living.
#515 – Dogville, 2003, Lars von Trier
A barren soundstage is stylishly utilized to create a minimalist small-town setting in which a mysterious woman named Grace hides from the criminals who pursue her. The town is two-faced and offers to harbor Grace as long as she can make it worth their effort, so Grace works hard under the employ of various townspeople to win their favor. Tensions flare, however, and Grace’s status as a helpless outsider provokes vicious contempt and abuse from the citizens of Dogville.
#553 – Melancholia, 2011, Lars von Trier
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
#643 – Dancer in the Dark, 2000, Lars von Trier
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life’s troubles – even if just for a moment – by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
#651 – The Hunt, (Jagten), 2012, Thomas Vinteberg
A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son’s custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.
#653 – The Celebration, (Festen), 1998, Thomas Vinteberg
A grandiose party to celebrate a sixtieth birthday unleashes a family drama with all the lies that conceal horrendous secrets. The eldest son, Christian, stages a showdown with the popular pater familias; his provocative, moving after-dinner speech dislodges all the masks, which finally fall completely as the father-son conflict intensifies and the bewildered guests look on.
#802 – Russian Ark, (Русский ковчег), 2002, Aleksandr Sokurov
A French marquis wanders through a vast labyrinth of corridors, theaters and ballrooms at a reception for a Persian ambassador.
Jumbo Cactuar Film Index 