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 referencesRelated
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of a 2024 Sundance audience award
The Goldman Case The Goldman Case
Drama 2023 116 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Gripping courtroom drama based on the explosive 1976 murder trial of French political activist, Pierre Goldman.
In Camera In Camera
Drama 2024 95 mins Director: Naqqash Khalid
A struggling actor faces relentless knockbacks in Naqqash Khalid’s sharp-witted comment on race and identity in the film industry.
Kneecap Kneecap
Drama 2024 105 mins Director: Rich Peppiatt
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
Tracks Tracks
Biopic 2014 113 mins Director: John Curran
Mia Wasikowska stars in this inspirational true story about one woman’s extraordinary odyssey through the Australian Outback.
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Biopic 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).
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.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.