This film is part of Rentals
Couple in a Hole
One of the most original British features in recent years follows a Scottish couple’s bizarre underground existence in a French forest.
Director: Tom Geens
Overview
Why are a Scottish couple living in a hole in a French field? Tom Geens’ weird and wonderful debut feature proffers this arresting premise and proceeds to unfurl one of the most original British films in recent memory.
Kate Dickie (Red Road) and Paul Higgins (The Thick of It) play the couple who inhabit an underground forest dwelling, enabling them to eke out a sparse existence and play out mysterious grief-imbued rituals. Only when a farmer from the local village takes an interest in their plight does their bizarre edifice begin to come crumbling down. Having made his name with a string of dark and occasionally cruel short films, Tom Geens brings a profound oddness to the proceedings, interspersed with splashes of the blackest humour. From Geens’ mysterious premise emerges a tender relationship drama, enhanced by its lush yet menacing pastoral photography and a gloriously off-kilter soundtrack from BEAK> (Geoff Barrow of Portishead).
Related
The Peasants The Peasants
Drama 2023 115 mins Director: Hugh Welchman and Dorota Kobiela
Using an advanced oil painting animation technique, The Peasants is a visually thrilling rendering of Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning tale.
The Iron Claw The Iron Claw
Biopic 2023 132 mins Director: Sean Durkin
Compelling sports drama about the real-life Von Erich brothers and their tragic journey to the top of professional 1980s wrestling.
Samsara Samsara
Drama 2023 114 mins Director: Lois Patiño
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.
Gassed Up Gassed Up
Drama 2023 102 mins Director: George Amponsah
A group of London teenage boys turn to motorbike crime for survival in George Amponsah’s high-octane follow-up to The Hard Stop.
The End We Start From The End We Start From
Drama 2023 102 mins Director: Mahalia Belo
A stunning post-apocalyptic British drama navigating the anxieties of parenthood and the future of the world.
Mami Wata Mami Wata
Drama 2022 107 mins Director: C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi
Filmed in vivid black-and-white, C.J. Obasi’s bold Sundance winning film navigates the conflict between tradition and modernity in a Nigerian coastal village, featuring an incredible oceanic soundscape and hypnotic score.
45 Years 45 Years
Drama 2015 95 mins Director: Andrew Haigh
One of the most acclaimed British features of recent years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a couple rocked by news from the past.
52 Tuesdays 52 Tuesdays
Drama 2013 110 mins Director: Sophie Hyde
A mother undergoing a gender transition meets his estranged daughter every Tuesday, changing gradually each time they meet. An intelligent indie hit about modern identity.
99 Homes 99 Homes
Drama 2014 112 mins Director: Ramin Bahrani
With precision and pertinence, Ramin Bahrani’s drama reveals the human cost of the 21st-century economic crisis.
Akenfield Akenfield
Drama 1975 98 mins Director: Peter Hall
Peter Hall’s extraordinary, long-unseen work of sublime poetic realism traces three generations of one Suffolk family and their lives in the farming industry.
All Quiet on the Western Front All Quiet on the Western Front
War 1930 133 mins Director: Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone's pioneering, Oscar®-winning film is one of the most powerful films about the consequences of war
American Gangster American Gangster
Crime 2007 157 mins Director: Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott’s heavyweight crime drama follows the rise and fall of drug-runner Frank Lucas, commandingly portrayed by Denzel Washington.
Wildfire Wildfire
Drama 2020 84 mins Director: Cathy Brady
Sisterly bonds are pushed to breaking point in this simmering drama set on the Irish border, the debut feature from acclaimed shorts director Cathy Brady.
Shell Shell
Drama 2013 87 mins Director: Scott Graham
In a remote part of Scotland, teenager Shell develops an intense relationship with her reclusive father.
For Those in Peril For Those in Peril
Drama 2013 92 mins Director: Paul Wright
An intense and mysterious drama about the lone survivor of a strange fishing accident who’s outcast and persecuted by his fellow villagers.
Out of Darkness Out of Darkness
Horror 2024 87 mins Director: Andrew Cumming
Bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘period film’, Andrew Cumming’s Palaeolithic horror movie is a true original.
The Peasants The Peasants
Drama 2023 115 mins Director: Hugh Welchman and Dorota Kobiela
Using an advanced oil painting animation technique, The Peasants is a visually thrilling rendering of Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning tale.
The Iron Claw The Iron Claw
Biopic 2023 132 mins Director: Sean Durkin
Compelling sports drama about the real-life Von Erich brothers and their tragic journey to the top of professional 1980s wrestling.
Samsara Samsara
Drama 2023 114 mins Director: Lois Patiño
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.
Gassed Up Gassed Up
Drama 2023 102 mins Director: George Amponsah
A group of London teenage boys turn to motorbike crime for survival in George Amponsah’s high-octane follow-up to The Hard Stop.
Occupied City Occupied City
Documentary 2023 251 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.