Films - Competition - Venice 2004

Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain--a conflict that leads to tragedy for her family.

A transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days.

The factual story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 28-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.

A film based on true events from Italy. In the 1970s, a group of revolutionaries launched the broadcast of the underground Radio Alice. The people involved led a political struggle and a creative form of anarchy. The film follows their stories up until March 1977, when the Carabinieri shot an unarmed protester to incite unrest, during which the radio station was shut down.

A young couple, Matteo and Emma, work in a hospital. He is working in the ambulance and she is a surgeon. In one night, their lives will change.

A young boy attempts to convince a woman that he is her dead husband reborn.

The story revolves around Yoko Inoue, a pregnant woman in search of a cafe that was frequented by a Taiwanese composer whose life she is researching.

Young man arrives in Athens to seek his fortune. Vainly.

An emotionally cold man leaves the safety of his Alpine home to seek a heart transplant and an estranged son.

Meeting his disabled son for the first time, a young father attempts to forge a relationship with the teenager.

Parallel storylines tell the current state of affairs for two ex-lovers: Nora's a single mother who comes to care for her terminally ill father; holed in up in mental ward, Ismael, a brilliant musician, plots his escape.

A drama that investigates anxiety and disillusionment in America.

A Heroic, yet a tragic life of a fearless man begins! School days filled with fist fights It is at the end of President RHEE Seung-man's Liberal Party regime, and the streets are filled with demonstration parades. And there is Tae-woong in his disheveled school uniform, ignorant to all the chaos that surrounds him. The only concern on his mind is to find the bully from Hongik High who beat up his friend and to take his revenge upon him. He successfully finds the kid and beats him up pretty good. However, he gets stabbed by furious Seung-moon, who eyewitnesses the whole incident. With a bloody knife stuck in his body, Tae-woong shows up at Seung-moon's house and tells him to pull out the knife himself. Meanwhile, Seung-moon's older sister Hae-ok finds Tae-woong and his reckless behavior rather attractive. Later, when the police hears about this incident, they interrogate Tae-woong to investigate Seung-moon and Hae-ok's father PARK Il-won, who is a politician of the opposition party. However, Tae-woong keeps his mouth shut and protects Seung-moon's family. Entering the heart of Myungdong PARK Il-won runs for office as an independent candidate. However, his campaign rally soon falls into a complete chaos when Salmosa, a political gang under the Jaeryong Gang who are paid off by the Liberal Party, intrudes into the rally area. Infuriated Tae-woong quickly gains control over the situation. And soon after the incident, he starts to work for the Myungdong Gang as a bouncer at their best nightclub 'Miami'. Around the same time, Hae-ok is transferred to a nearby school as a teacher and the two start to get more drawn to each other. In the mean time, the war between the Myungdong Gang and its rival Jaeryong Gang is ever escalating and ultimately, the Myungdong Gang collapses by a conspiracy set up by the Liberal Party, who supports the Jaeryong Gang. Even in the midst of the bloody demonstration of the Student Revolution in April 1960, Tae-woong goes around collecting debts from former politicians to earn a living. And finally after series of defeats, PARK Il-won gets elected to the National Assembly. Happiness doesn't last forever... After promising her father that she'll turn Tae-woong into an honest living man, Hae-ok and Tae-woong are married with her father consent. The happy days continue with Hae-ok's pregnancy of their first child. Then, on the day of her delivery, as they are on their way to the hospital, they witness the tanks for the Coup d'Etat of May 1961 entering Seoul. And Tae-woong's life falls into the uncontrollable whirlpool of modern history.

Six months after losing their five years old daughter in a fire in the barn of their little farm, Jean and his wife Laure are facing troubles in their relationship and financial problems. Laure grieves the loss of their daughter and blames herself for her absence and Jean for his negligence for the fire; Jean is trying to rise from the ashes and somehow rebuild his life; and the insurance company refuses to pay the prize for the accident. Jean asks for a job in a mill to a friend to make money and support the psychiatric treatment of Laure. In his new job, he meets and becomes friend of the Kosovo refugee's siblings Kastriot and Labinota, while the Laure's sister Valérie separates them. Jean feels the passion of love and sense of life in his relationship with Labinota, who had her life destroyed with the war.

Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.

Estonian girls trafficked to Israel are forced into prostitution. The movie shows their struggles, induction into sex trade, and one girl's battle for freedom after an unforeseen incident.

Sergei has not been able to overcome the trauma of the loss of his made and his sister, drowned in a river while they were boating with him and his father.

The story of survival of 2 children in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Their mother has been imprisoned for "adultery" and their father is in Guantanamo Bay.

Growing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia Sedley.

An exploration on the impact of urbanization and globalization on a traditional culture.