This film is part of Rentals
Court
Hailed as a modern classic channelling the spirit of Satyajit Ray, Chaitanya Tamhane's film is an absurdist portrait of injustice in contemporary India.
Director: Chaitanya Tamhane
Overview
Winner of numerous awards including a top prize at Venice Film Festival, Court is an exemplar of modern Indian cinema at its best, channelling the spirit of masters such as Satyajit Ray. Narayan Kamble is an ageing folk singer living in Mumbai who has been marked by the authorities as a dissident. Kamble’s latest charge is for inciting the suicide of a sewage worker through the allegedly seditious lyrics in his songs. With no evidence and few witnesses, events unfold in a lower Mumbai courtroom, shedding a cold light on the justice system in contemporary India.
Alongside this, glimpses into the lives and minds of Kamble’s defence lawyer, the prosecutor and the judge illuminate the personal prejudices, corruption and ultimately injustice still prevalent in the shadows of the system. Tamhane’s debut feature places this convincing narrative within the context of a country full of contrasts: modernity versus tradition, wealth versus poverty, young versus old, with both humanity and humour. Combining the coiled tension of the best court-room dramas with a pointedly absurdist strain of black humour, Court is one of the finest films of the year; a feature debut which accords director Tamane “a place at the highest table of international cinema” (Sight and Sound magazine).
suicide references
Related
Good One Good One
Drama 2024 90 mins Director: India Donaldson
A father and daughter’s camping trip takes an unexpected turn in this terrific slow-burn drama.
The Passion of Remembrance The Passion of Remembrance
Historical drama 1986 83 mins Director: Maureen Blackwood and Isaac Julien
In this London-set drama, the Baptiste family are caught in intergenerational debates reflecting Black viewpoints on life in Britain.
Tornado Tornado
Action and Adventure 2025 91 mins Director: John Maclean
John Maclean’s follow-up to Slow West, an idiosyncratic western, offers a windswept interpretation of the Samurai genre.
When Autumn Falls When Autumn Falls
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: François Ozon
The ever-inventive François Ozon offers a bittersweet tale with a twist or two, about age, youth, the past and the art of breaking the rules.
Gholam Gholam
Drama 2017 95 mins Director: Mitra Tabrizian
An Iranian exile in London, who is haunted by his past, gets involved in the conflicts of a total stranger and has to see it through until the end, in this mesmerising slow-burn thriller.
When the Light Breaks When the Light Breaks
Drama 2024 77 mins Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
A young woman is forced to reframe the future she’d hoped for, in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s quietly breathtaking elegy of love, loss and acceptance.
Jugni Jugni
Drama 2016 110 mins Director: Shefali Bhushan
Exuberant Hindi romance about a composer searching for a golden voice, who unexpectedly falls for a vibrant younger performer.
I Am Not He... She I Am Not He... She
Drama 2015 108 mins Director: B.S. Lingadevaru
Lingadevaru’s unforgettable drama, based on an empowering true story of a young boy who travels to Bangalore to follow his dream of becoming a woman.
Fireflies in the Abyss Fireflies in the Abyss
Documentary 2015 88 mins Director: Chandrashekar Reddy
This absorbing documentary follows Suraj a 11-year-old boy who works in the 'rat-hole' mines in the Jaintia Hills of North East India, armed with nothing more than a pickaxe and a head torch. In these hostile pits, every day is a game of death.
Jalal's Story Jalal's Story
Drama 2014 109 mins Director: Abu Shahed Emon
Abu Shahed Emon's entrancing film tackles several of Bangladesh's pressing social issues in the story of an abandoned child, believed to be cursed, who ends up entering a life of crime.
An American in Madras An American in Madras
Documentary 2013 80 mins Director: Karan Bali
Fascinating documentary about Ellis R. Dungan, the American-born filmmaker who arrived in India in 1935 and went on to revolutionise Tamil cinema.
S/He Is Still Her/e: The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary S/He Is Still Her/e: The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary
Documentary 2024 101 mins Director: David Charles Rodrigues
A raw, intimate portrait of boundary-breaking artist Genesis P-Orridge, captured in their final year by director David Charles Rodrigues.
Good One Good One
Drama 2024 90 mins Director: India Donaldson
A father and daughter’s camping trip takes an unexpected turn in this terrific slow-burn drama.
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes
2023 96 mins Director: Sam Shahid
Celebrating the life and work of photographer George Platt Lynes: his daring imagery, gifted eye for the nude male form, and lasting influence.
The Passion of Remembrance The Passion of Remembrance
Historical drama 1986 83 mins Director: Maureen Blackwood and Isaac Julien
In this London-set drama, the Baptiste family are caught in intergenerational debates reflecting Black viewpoints on life in Britain.
Tornado Tornado
Action and Adventure 2025 91 mins Director: John Maclean
John Maclean’s follow-up to Slow West, an idiosyncratic western, offers a windswept interpretation of the Samurai genre.
Slow Slow
Romance 2023 108 mins Director: Marija Kavtaradze
Sundance award-winning love story about the evolving connection between a dancer and sign-language interpreter, when the man reveals he’s asexual.