Top Rated Drama Movies on Kanopy - Page 286

Confusion Na Wa

2013

Confusion Na Wa

2013
7
Set in a Nigerian city Confusion Na Wa is a dark comedy about a group of strangers whose fates become intertwined over the course of 24 hours. At the heart of everything is a phone found by two opportunist wasters Charles and Chichi who, having read through its contents, decide to blackmail the owner Emeka. Little do they realize that their misdemeanors have set in motion a chain of events that will lead to their own downfall.
Come Simi

2015

Come Simi

2015
5
A neurotic pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth, attempts to reunite her estranged family which includes an impossible mother riddled deeply with Alzheimer's, an aging porn star sister and an intense Aunt, whom the family hasn't seen in 18 years. All in an effort to fix her family history before giving birth. The colorful journey travels from Venice to Van Nuys to Simi Valley and in the end, love must win out.
Alive and Kicking

1991

Alive and Kicking

1991
8.5
Gritty and powerful Screen One film that takes an unflinching look at drug addiction. Lenny Henry plays a dealer convinced he is untouchable, Robbie Coltrane the ex-gangster turned drug counsellor who is determined to break him. Writer Al Hunter (The Firm) was inspired by the true story of a football team founded to help drug addicts kick their habit.
Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl

2007

Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl

2007
6
On April 26th, 1986, reactor four at Chernobyl nuclear power station explodes, sending an enormous radioactive cloud over Northern Ukraine and neighbouring Belarus. The danger is kept a secret from the rest of the world and the nearby population who go about their business as usual. May Day celebrations begin, children play and the residents of Pripyat marvel at the spectacular fire raging at the reactor. After three days, an area the size of England becomes contaminated with radioactive dust, creating a 'zone' of poisoned land. Based on Mario Petrucci's award-winning book-length poem (split over two books), 'Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyl', and the shorter version 'Half Life: a Journey to Chernobyl", tells the story of the people who dealt with the disaster at ground-level: the fire-fighters, soldiers, 'liquidators', and their families.
The Crow's Nest

2014

The Crow's Nest

2014
6
The life of a simple piñata salesman named Don Cleo is turned upside down when he falls victim to an extortionist he can’t possibly afford to pay. The harder he tries to raise the funds, the deeper into trouble he gets. If Don Cleo hopes to survive, he’ll have to face his fears and stand up to his tormentors.
Five Days, Five Nights

1961

Five Days, Five Nights

1961
7
Five Days, Five Nights (Fünf Tage, Fünf Nächte) takes place in Dresden in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. While Dresden is in ruins, over two thousand paintings by artists including Rembrandt, Raphael, Rubens, Giorgione, and Vermeer have disappeared from the city’s Old Masters Picture Gallery. Red Army captain Leonov and his soldiers have been ordered to recover the lost paintings. During the next five days, Dresden’s residents join the search for the collection. A secret Nazi document offers a first lead…
Indescribable

2013

Indescribable

2013
9.5
Amidst financial pressures and the uncertainties of WWI, Pastor Frederick Lehman begins to write a song about the love of God. When he gets stuck on the third verse, ten-year-old Blynn comes to the rescue by calling a sibling council and laying out a strategy to help Papa write the song. Along the way they waste a lot of paper, explore an old asylum, meet a real Jewish Rabbi, and learn about events that took place more than eight centuries earlier. Faced with failure and grief, Blynn is left grappling with a desire to love God. Can Papa help Blynn discover the truth about God’s love? Featuring the vocals of Guy Penrod.
The Airship

1983

The Airship

1983
1
Franz Xavier Stannebein, a young boy at the turn of the 20th century, wants to do nothing more than fly. He carries this dream through his years at an orphanage and into adulthood as a merchant in Spain. He eventually invests everything he has into building his own version of an airship. He later meets some industrialists in Germany who want to support his idea, and they ask him to build an airfield in Spain. When he sees the Nazis use the field during the Spanish Civil War, however, he feels betrayed and goes to Germany to protest. There he is thrown into an insane asylum in Leipzig. After WWII, his grandson and other survivors of the family searches for him, only to find the empty asylum... Based on the novel Das Luft-Schiff. Biografische Nachlasse zu den Fantasien meines Grossvaters (1974) by Fritz Rudolf Fries. The non-camera animation in the film was created by internationally known director Lutz Dammbeck.
Our Short Life

1981

Our Short Life

1981
5
The fun-loving, 26-year-old architect Franziska Linkerhand (Simone Frost) works for a famous professor. Yet, she feels restrained by her dependence on him and longs to take risks. When her marriage falls apart, she moves to a small town for a fresh start. Franziska approaches her new life with vigor and idealism. Many of her colleagues have given in to the dictates of economic restrictions and prefabricated apartment blocks; but Franziska hangs onto her ideals and, as in her private life, is not willing to compromise…
The Elective Affinities

1974

The Elective Affinities

1974
2
Eduard and Charlotte live an isolated and idyllic life together. But soon Eduard feels that something is missing and he invites his friend Otto to come stay. Charlotte, meanwhile, decides that her foster daughter Ottilie should come live with them. Complex and passionate relationships between the four people begin. Based on Goethe's novel of the same title.
Stealing Roses

2012

Stealing Roses

2012
3
Terrified at the prospect of losing his seriously ill wife, a man plans a bank robbery to pay for her medical treatments with help from his eccentric friends - while his son, a cop, tries to stop him.
Minna von Barnhelm oder Das Soldatenglück

1962

Minna von Barnhelm oder Das Soldatenglück

1962
5.5
This film takes place during the Seven Years' War. The Prussian Major von Tellheim has become engaged to the Saxon noblewoman Minna von Barnhelm. After the war, the King - in an unwarranted move - deprives the major of his honor. Von Tellheim becomes impoverished and, filled with shame, breaks off his relationship to Minna. An innkeeper in Berlin, who is a police informer, makes the Major move to a shabby little attic because he cannot pay his debt. In the meantime, Minna has also arrived at the inn. She and her lady's maid Franziska are questioned and spied on by the nosy innkeeper. Minna has followed her beloved Tellheim and she now cunningly manages to elicit a new declaration of love from him...
The Silence of the Forest

2003

The Silence of the Forest

2003
6
A film about the difficulty for even the most well-intentioned person to know and respect another culture. In this case, the problem is so acute that there is even heated debate over what to call that 'other.' The subtitles in the film use the familiar word 'pygmies,' a relatively pejorative European term; the Bantu or villagers' expression for the same group, Babingas, carries similar negative connotations. These highly specialized, tropical rainforest hunter-gatherers should perhaps be called by their own ethnonym, Aka, MoAka (sing.) and BaAka (pl.)
When the Stars Meet the Sea

1996

When the Stars Meet the Sea

1996
7
The film traces the destiny of Kapila, an outcast child who had been deemed by his fellow villagers to have supernatural powers of destruction, because of the timing of his solar eclipse birth.
Kukurantumi

1983

Kukurantumi

1983
5
Addey is a lorry driver and an industrious family man who makes ends meet by plying his trade between Accra, the capital city, and his village , Kukurantumi. When he loses his job for reasons beyond his control, he plots a marriage between his daughter, Abena, and an affluent businessman but she refuses the union because she loved another. Abena disobeys her father Addey and, with Bob, the poor young man she loves, elopes to Accra where things worsen.
Wozzeck

1947

Wozzeck

1947
5
While an anatomy seminar prepares to examine the cadaver of Franz Wozzeck in the name of scientific progress, medical student Büchner excoriates humanity for having allowed Wozzeck’s fate. The tragic story unfolds in flashbacks, as Büchner narrates.
Blackfellas

1993

Blackfellas

1993
6
Young Aboriginal Doug has done his time for petty theft, but quickly drifts back under the bad influence of ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd. Doug knows where he’s heading – he’s seen it all before, in the hard life of his father. Returning to his traditional country and the love of girlfriend Polly is the way out. But Floyd’s mateship is hard to shake.
The Golden Pomegranate

2010

The Golden Pomegranate

2010
6
Noa (Achinoam Nini), a popular Israeli singer of Yemenite descent, prepares for a concert in Jerusalem. She is interrupted by an old Arab man who claims to have been a close friend her great grandmother. He tells her about Mazal, a Jewish child-bride (Hadar Ozeri) from Yemen, who preserves her religion, culture, family and her unique art, surviving the harsh, violent conditions of Jerusalem and the Holy Land in the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries. She becomes the mother of two, a young widow (Galit Giat), and the family's breadwinner through her skills as a jeweler in gold and silver. In time, a woman of property (Timna Brauer) and an ardent patriot, she prevails through the unfolding bloody decades while living in the Old City of Jerusalem. She heads a family of extraordinary, unforgettable characters and grows old in strength and determination, remaining true to her traditions and ideals.
Yellow

2013

Yellow

2013
6
The story of a lonely young woman who begins an unlikely relationship with dire consequences.
The Tempest

1980

The Tempest

1980
7
Prospero, the true Duke of Milan is now living on an enchanted island with his daughter Miranda, the savage Caliban and Ariel, a spirit of the air. Raising a sorm to bring his brother - the usurper of his dukedom - along with his royal entourage. to the island. Prospero contrives his revenge.