District 9 (2009), Salesman (1969), The Hurt Locker (2008), Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1975), Man Bites Dog (1992), Talk Radio (1988), Scarecrow (1973), Nil by Mouth (1997) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Cinema Verite movies.
Storyline: In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends.
Plot Keywords: alien, mockumentary, based on short film, witchcraft, whistleblower, weapon, title appears in writing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Filmmakers (and brothers) Albert and David Maysles follow four employees of a company that makes expensive, ornate, illustrated bibles as they attempt to sell the items door-to-door to less-than-interested customers, who are mainly poor or lower-middle-class Catholics with little money to spend on pretty Bibles.—Gary Dickerson <slug@mail.utexas.edu>
Plot Keywords: trip, housewife, winter, clapping, applause, award, motivational speaker ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: An intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat. When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat, behaving as if he's indifferent to death. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James' true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever.
Plot Keywords: iraq, moral dilemma, bloody body of a child, strapped to a bomb, summary execution, panic, imperialism ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: The European equivalent of "The Return of the Secaucus 7," this Swiss film looks at the lives of several men and women in their 30s as they confront the slim gains of the "revolutionary" sixties. Max, a dissatisfied copy editor; Myriam, a redhead into tantric sex; and Marie, a supermarket checker who gives unauthorized discounts to the elderly, search for renewed meaning on a communal farm. The title character, a six-year-old child, is the carrier of their hopes for the future.—Mark Pritchard <mark94110@yahoo.com>
Plot Keywords: future, anarchism, cinema verite, switzerland, schoolteacher, geneva switzerland ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A camera crew follows a serial killer/thief around as he exercises his craft. He expounds on art, music, nature, society, and life as he offs mailmen, pensioners, and random people. Slowly he begins involving the camera crew in his activities, and they begin wondering if what they're doing is such a good idea, particularly when the killer kills a rival and the rival's brother sends a threatening letter.
Plot Keywords: dark comedy, mockumentary, black comedy, satire, rape, male frontal nudity, penis ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: An acerbic radio talk show host based in Dallas starts what could be an important few days when he discovers that his controversial late night show is about to be "picked up" by a nationwide network of radio stations. However, all is not perfect for him, because on top of troubles with his love life and fears that the management of the network will try to alter the content of his show he has to cope with a neo-nazi group who have been angered by his forthright opinions.
Plot Keywords: death threat, radio program, radio broadcast, telephone conversation, dialogue driven, telephone call, murder ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Max is an ex-con who's been saving money to open a car wash in Pittsburgh. Lionel is a sailor who's returning home to the midwest to see the child born while he was at sea. They form an unlikely pair as the brawling Max learns a little how Lionel copes with the world: Lionel believes that the scarecrow doesn't scare birds, but instead amuses them - birds find scare-crows funny.
Plot Keywords: car wash, attempted rape, hitchhiking, mental breakdown, road movie, prison, ex convict ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: The family of Raymond, his wife Val and her brother Billy live in working-class London district. Also in their family is Val and Billy's mother Janet and grandmother Kath. Billy is a drug addict and Raymond kicks him out of the house, making him live on his own. Raymond is generally a rough and even violent person, and that leads to problems in the life of the family.—Gustaf Molin <gustaf.molin@usa.net>
Plot Keywords: drug addict, violence, wife abuse, c word, working class, drugs, drug use ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: John has lost all his money. He sits outside a diner in the desert when Sydney happens along, buys him coffee, then takes him to Reno and shows him how to get a free room without losing much money. Under Sydney's fatherly tutelage, John becomes a successful small-time professional gambler, and all is well, until he falls for Clementine, a cocktail waitress and sometimes hooker.
Plot Keywords: niagara falls, prologue, flashback, bar, drink, drinking, flash forward ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A mother who supports her child with a credit card scam and an accused rapist meet and form a unique bond.
Plot Keywords: two word title, lying, love, introvert, flashback, fighting, desperation ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: After finding himself at the constant abuse of his best friend, Bobby, Marty has become fed up with his friend's twisted ways. His girlfriend, a victim of Bobby's often cruel ways, couldn't agree more and they strategize murdering Bobby, with a group of willing and unwilling participants in a small Florida town. In the midst of their plotting, they find themselves contemplating with the possible aftermath of what could happen.
Plot Keywords: cruelty, male frontal nudity, male nudity, blow job, oral sex in a car, based on true story, revenge ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: This drama takes the form of a story told using documentary material as an intrinsic part of the narrative. In this journey through the dark side of 1950s urban life, the camera follows Judith - a newly divorced woman looking for a fresh start - through the streets of Los Angeles as she encounters the strange denizens of the city, ranging from trendsetters to religious fanatics. All the tawdry and desperate faces of this world become a mirror for Judith's personal failures and struggles to claim her new life.—Fiona Kelleghan <fkelleghan@aol.com>
Plot Keywords: religious fanatic, divorcee, los angeles california, murphy bed, avant garde, beauty parlor, cinema verite ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Filmmaker Shirley Clarke ("The Connection") directs this powerful, stark semi-documentary look at the horrors of Harlem ghetto slum life filled with drugs, violence, human misery, and a sense of despair due to the racial prejudices of American society. There is no patronizing of the black race in this cinematic cry for justice. A fifteen-year-old boy called Duke is ambitious to buy a "piece" (a gun) from an adult racketeer named Priest, to become president of the gang to which he belongs, and to return them to active "bopping" (gang fighting) which has declined in Harlem. It is a clearly patent allegory of an attempt by Duke to attain manhood and identity in the only way accessible to him - the antisocial one.—alfiehitchie
Plot Keywords: new york city, based on play, based on novel, inner city, harlem manhattan new york city, ghetto, violence ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Ever seen the show "Survivor" and wished they would just start killing each other?? Series 7 literally gives its contestants the guns. The film is not merely a satire on reality TV. It is an example of just how far people will shamelessly go for fame. 6 contenders are pitted against each other in a no holds barred, kill or be killed contest. The reigning champ is Dawn, a hard-nosed, mother-to-be. We go back and forth between Dawn and the other 5 contenders to see if someone can dethrone Dawn and become the new Champion. What is the prize? How are the contestants picked? These questions are not as important as asking yourself how shameless has our society become?—Jeff Mellinger <jmell@uclink4.berkeley.edu>
Plot Keywords: fictional game show, fictional reality show, convenience store, corpse, death threat, dying man, family relationships ...
Movie Details Click Here!