This film is part of Rentals
Beauty and the Dogs
Kaouther Ben Hania’s bold and defiant fiction debut tells the story of a sexual assault in nine stunning single-take sequences.
Drama 2017 100 mins Not rated
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Overview
Nine single-take sequences follow Mariam (Mariam Al Ferjani) over the course of one night. It begins benignly at a university fundraising event, where she catches the eye of a handsome new face. The second sequence sees the man pursuing her, his intentions unclear. Mariam next appears dishevelled and petrified. She has just been raped by several policemen. And so a bureaucratic nightmare begins, as Mariam and the man attempt to obtain a medical or police statement in order to report the crime.
The film offers sharp social commentary on the agency of a rape victim – questioned rather than believed and engaged in a maddening cycle of victimising behaviour. Mariam’s defiance reveals the manipulation of stigma against her and the underlying systemic corruption, but also the power she that has to resist.
Related
Drama
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Historical drama 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).
Family Romance, LLC. Family Romance, LLC.
Drama 2019 89 mins Director: Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog is on typically thought-provoking form, dramatising the work of a ‘rent-a-relative’ service, in this Tokyo-set meditation on contemporary alienation.
A White, White Day A White, White Day
Drama 2019 109 mins Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Iceland’s finest actor Ingvar Sigurðsson gives a heart-breaking and Cannes award-winning performance as widowed cop who becomes increasingly obsessed with his wife’s death.
Fanny Lye Deliver'd Fanny Lye Deliver'd
Drama 2019 112 mins Director: Thomas Clay
The wife of a puritanical farmer seems resigned to her lot, until she has her head turned by the arrival of a young couple in Thomas Clay’s provocative period drama.
Resistance Resistance
Drama 2020 121 mins Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz
Jesse Eisenberg brings to life the extraordinary true story of mime artist Marcel Marceau’s role in rescuing Jewish orphans from the Nazis.
The Personal History of David Copperfield The Personal History of David Copperfield
Drama 2019 120 mins Director: Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci brings David Copperfield fizzing to life with all-star collaborators in this exuberant, entertaining and sharply pertinent adaptation.
Woman with a Movie Camera
High Life High Life
Science Fiction 2018 113 mins Director: Claire Denis
The messiness of sex, the mysteries of birth and the moving spectacle of devoted parenting in the face of impending oblivion create a potent atmosphere in Claire Denis’ English-language debut.
Vita & Virginia Vita & Virginia
Romance 2018 110 mins Director: Chanya Button
Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki relive a literary love affair, fiery and forbidden, with a remarkable legacy.
Blinded by the Light Blinded by the Light
Comedy 2019 118 mins Director: Gurinder Chadha
In 1987 during the austere days of Thatcher's Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Animals Animals
Comedy 2019 109 mins Director: Sophie Hyde
Sophie Hyde's joyous ode to female friendship stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat as two 30-something women navigating booze, boyfriends, wild nights and blurry mornings.
The Perfect Candidate The Perfect Candidate
Drama 2019 105 mins Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Celebrated Saudi director Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda) returns with an inspiring drama about a young doctor unexpectedly becoming an electoral candidate.
The Assistant The Assistant
Thriller 2019 87 mins Director: Kitty Green
Kitty Green's #MeToo drama is a sobering take on one day in the life of a film company assistant.
New
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Historical drama 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).
Family Romance, LLC. Family Romance, LLC.
Drama 2019 89 mins Director: Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog is on typically thought-provoking form, dramatising the work of a ‘rent-a-relative’ service, in this Tokyo-set meditation on contemporary alienation.
A White, White Day A White, White Day
Drama 2019 109 mins Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Iceland’s finest actor Ingvar Sigurðsson gives a heart-breaking and Cannes award-winning performance as widowed cop who becomes increasingly obsessed with his wife’s death.
On the Record On the Record
Documentary 2020 97 mins Director: Kirby Dick
A searing exploration of the costs of coming forward, turning up the volume on one of the biggest #MeToo stories in the music industry.
Fanny Lye Deliver'd Fanny Lye Deliver'd
Drama 2019 112 mins Director: Thomas Clay
The wife of a puritanical farmer seems resigned to her lot, until she has her head turned by the arrival of a young couple in Thomas Clay’s provocative period drama.
Resistance Resistance
Drama 2020 121 mins Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz
Jesse Eisenberg brings to life the extraordinary true story of mime artist Marcel Marceau’s role in rescuing Jewish orphans from the Nazis.