Top Rated Drama Movies on Kanopy - Page 226

Vice and Virtue

1963

Vice and Virtue

1963
5.4
1944 : Occupied France. Juliette (Vice) is Wehrmacht General Bamberg's mistress and enjoys a privileged life. Her younger sister Justine (Virtue) is about to marry Jean who is in the Resistance and come to Juliette for help. Both sisters end up at "la Commanderie", where Juliette becomes SS Colonel Schonberg's mistress and Justine is detained with other pretty girls who must satisfy the sexual needs of high-ranking nazi officials. Inspired by "Justine ou les infortunes de la vertu" by the marquis de Sade
Uzumasa Limelight

2014

Uzumasa Limelight

2014
6.9
Fewer samurai films are being made, and the Uzumasa studio has fallen on hard times. One day, veteran "kirareyaku" (whose job it is to be felled with a sword by a film's star) actor Kamiyama is tasked with teaching sword action techniques to fledgling actress Satsuki. A few years later, the now-retired Kamiyama is visited by Satsuki, who has become a popular star.
Leather

2013

Leather

2013
4.5
Birch, a young man living in the Catskill Mountains, reunites with his childhood friend from the city, Andrew.
Five Star

2014

Five Star

2014
5.3
After John’s absent father is struck by a stray bullet, Primo takes it upon himself to verse the young boy in the code of the streets—one founded on respect and upheld by fear. A member of the Bloods since the age of twelve—both in the film and in reality—the streets of Brooklyn are all Primo has ever known. While John questions whether or not to enter into this life, Primo must decide whether to leave it all behind as he vows to become a better husband and father. Set during those New York summer weeks where the stifling heat seems to encase everything, Five Star plunges into gang culture with searing intensity. Director Keith Miller observes the lives of these two men with a quiet yet pointed distance, carefully eschewing worn clichés through its unflinching focus. Distinctions between fiction and real life remain intentionally ambiguous, allowing the story of these two men to resonate beyond the streets, as they face the question of what it means to be a man.
Peyote

2013

Peyote

2013
5.3
Pablo, a shy teenager, meets Marco, who is a few years older than him. Together they go on a impromptu road trip to the Mexican desert, a trip that will make them face what they mean to each other. This experience will turn Pablo’s life around: his points of view, his strength and his own sexuality. Two guys and a video camera that will record their friendship, struggles and the possibility to find another destiny.
Strings

1991

Strings

1991
5
This film explores the distant relationship between an elderly amateur musician, the woman who lives in the apartment above him, and the leaky bathtub that is bothering them both.
Quilombo

1984

Quilombo

1984
6.9
Quilombo dos Palmares was a real-life democratic society, created in Brazil in the 17th century. This incredibly elaborate (and surprisingly little-known) film traces the origins of Quilombo, which began as a community of freed slaves. The colony becomes a safe harbor for other outcasts of the world, including Indians and Jews. Ganga Zumba (Toni Tornado) becomes president of Quilombo, the first freely elected leader in the Western Hemisphere. Naturally, the ruling Portuguese want to subjugate Zumba and his followers, but the Quilombians are ready for their would-be oppressors. The end of this Brave New World is not pleasant, but the followers of Zumba and his ideals take to the hills, where they honor his memory to this day. Writer/director Carlos Diegues takes every available opportunity to compare the rise and fall of Quilombo with the state of affairs in modern-day Brazil.
La Habanera

1937

La Habanera

1937
6.1
While vacationing in Puerto Rico, a young Swedish woman falls in love with and marries a powerful local landowner. Ten years later, their marriage has turned sour; meanwhile, two Swedish doctors have arrived on the island to investigate a mysterious fever.
S#x Acts

2013

S#x Acts

2013
4.8
Gili is a teenager who decides to change schools. She is determined to improve her lame social status. Over the course of a few weeks she hooks up with several different boys, all from her new school. Their encounters get more and more sexual, each time exploring their limits a little further. The boys are eager to take what is so generously offered, and Gili is thrilled with the attention. Just as Gili is trapped in the zone where it's not certain if she is giving her consent to what is happening or not, the viewer too feels trapped in the same zone, feeling for certain that something terrible is happening, but unable to pin point exactly when, and what...
The Arch

1969

The Arch

1969
7.3
A widow upholds feudal virtue by suppressing her love for a cavalry captain in favor of her daughter.
Making an American Citizen

1912

Making an American Citizen

1912
4.9
A recent immigrant learns several hard lessons about how husbands in America are expected to behave.
Green

2011

Green

2011
5.1
A New Yorker moves to the country with her boyfriend, where her new friendship causes a problem as her partner also takes an interest in the woman.
The Pirogue

2012

The Pirogue

2012
6
Baye Laye is the captain of a fishing pirogue. Like many of his Senegalese compatriots, he sometimes dreams of new horizons, where he can earn a better living for his family. When he is offered to lead one of the many pirogues that head towards Europe via the Canary Island, he reluctantly accepts the job, knowing full-well the dangers that lie ahead. Leading a group of 30 men who don't all speak the same language, some of whom have never seen the sea, Baye Laye will confront many perils in order to reach the distant coasts of Europe.
Blocks

2010

Blocks

2010
5.5
Thirteen-year old Luchito lives in a working class complex of blocks in Santiago, Chile. He is obsessed with Manuel, a sixteen-year old who lives in the building across from him.
One Take Only

2001

One Take Only

2001
5.6
Hapless hustler Bank, rescues a miserable young prostitute, Som, from street thugs, and the two begin a quiet romance. When Bank has the opportunity to become a drug-runner for an affluent dealer, he resolves to raise enough money to rescue Som from the sex trade. But, as Bank descends deeper into Bangkok's violent criminal underworld, the possibility of leaving his old life behind grows ever more distant.
Something to Remember Me By

2005

Something to Remember Me By

2005
6.5
Irene lives with Mateo, his father, and her son David, 22 years old. Living together is harmonious and happy, but there is a conflict: David, a brilliant student of architecture, has decided to go and live with his girlfriend Clara, a supermarket cashier. Despite its liberal way of thinking, Irene cannot understand such an unequal relationship. However, David finds in his grandfather the necessary complicity to carry out his plans. Mateo is a old and vital octogenarian despite his tough history: he was a child during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), and he lost his house and all his family. But none of that could finish with his energy and desire to live. One day, however, Mateo arrives with terrible news.
Khodorkovsky

2011

Khodorkovsky

2011
5
Khodorkovsky, the richest Russian, challenges President Putin. A fight of the titans begins. Putin warns him. But Khodorkovsky comes back to Russia knowing that he will be imprisoned, once he returns. When I heard about it, I asked myself: why didn't he stay in exile with a couple of billions? Why did he do that? A personal journey to Khodorkovsky.
There's No Tomorrow

1940

There's No Tomorrow

1940
6.9
Evelyne, a woman of bourgeois origin, now reduced to dancing in a sleazy nightclub, is reunited with her first love, who has become a successful doctor.
Born Equal

2006

Born Equal

2006
5
Four characters living in one neighbourhood in London - all living dramatically different lives, all of them on the edge - see their stories unfold.
Saturday Night at the Baths

1975

Saturday Night at the Baths

1975
5
When struggling pianist Michael lands a job at the legendary Continental Baths in NYC, his wife Tracy encourages him, emphasizing how special the institution is. Michael, however, struggles with his own homophobia, yet at the same time, starts developing feelings for his confident and sexually free co-worker, Scotti.