78th Golden Globe Awards

Historical dramas and serial killer thrillers typically conjure their own set of cinematic tropes. But the sneakily ambitious Effigy: Poison and the City unfolds against these shared backdrops in an intriguing manner.

The Auschwitz Report is based on the true story of German documents smuggled out of the titular concentration camp in April 1944, which proved the horrifying scale of the Third Reich’s attempted “Final Solution. ” At the movie’s center is Noel Czuczor, who stars as Alfréd Wetzler, one of two men who, after more than a full year of meticulous escape planning, set off on a treacherous journey through mountains and underground tunnels.

Claiming to be “based on true events,” Twiceborn tells the story of Satoru Ichijo, a highly successful businessman who gives up everything to pursue his higher calling. The protagonist is based on real-life spiritual leader Ryuho Okawa and his rise as the founder and CEO of Happy Science Group, a religious sect that claims eleven million followers in the world.

Hollywood has dipped its toes into board game movies a handful of times over the past few years, but in Malaysia this was a novelty, until brothers Viknes and Thanesh Perrabu drew inspiration from an ancient Snake and Ladder board game. The game originated in India many centuries ago and was called “Paramapatham”.

Conscience (Conciencia’) stars Ruben Zamora, Carla Nieto and Barbara De Regil.  It is Sergio Peña’s opera prima, and it narrates the intimate story of a writer who finds himself in a deep state of emotional confusion and, while he is starting a new relationship, he continues to fight and be tormented by memories of a past love affair.

One of the benefits and pleasures of watching films from foreign lands is the invitation to visit the unique stories, vistas, languages and traditions of unfamiliar places and cultures. The Hater, the current film by Jan Komasa, does not provide this.

If you have ever experienced the deep serenity and powerful joy of hugging a tree, this movie might be for you. More than that, Toorbos is a brilliant film that takes you to the South Africa’s Knysna forest of the 1930s; an unusual and rarely shown landscape and time in the life of the African nation.

The Legend of the White Snake is one of the Four Great Folktales in Chinese literature. It is about a beautiful snake spirit who falls in love with a human named Xu Xian.

Giorgio Diritti's Hidden Away (Volevo nascondermi) is about Italian visionary artist Antonio Ligabue, one of the most important “naif” artists of the 20th century. Born in 1899 (he died in 1965), Ligabue started painting and sculpting in the early 1920s, while supported by the City Hospice for Beggars in Reggio Emilia and the region of the Po river delta, on the banks of which he often lived.

When Valia, whose funeral is the opening scene of The Father, suddenly calls a family member, Vassil (Ivan Savov) is sure: Valia, his wife, is still here. His son Pavel (Ivan Barnev) tries to bring him to his senses, but Vassil sees broken vases and electric light turning on as a sign that his wife tries to speak to him.