In 1910, acclaimed Russian novelist ‘Leo Tolstoy’ (qv), in the later stage of his life, works rather than a writer but as the leader of the Tolstoyan Movement, whose basic tenets are brotherly love and world peace through pacifism, and a denouncement of material wealth and physical love. His chief follower is Vladimir Chertkov, who does whatever he requires to advance the cause. Chertkov hires a young man named Valentin Bulgakov to be Tolstoy’s personal secretary in carrying out this work. Once ensconced in the life on the estate where much of the work is taking place, Bulgakov quickly learns that many there take from the movement only what he/she wants/believes. Also chief amongst the movement’s wants is the deeding of all Tolstoy’s writings to the people so that after his death it will become public domain. Tolstoy’s wife, the Countess Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy, believes that her husband’s writings are rightfully hers after he passes, as she wants and believes she deserves the monetary benefits derived from such. This places a strain between those in the movement, especially Chertov and the Tolstoy’s daughter Sasha, and the Countess. Bulgatov acts as the mediator between the parties, he who feels he needs to do what is truly in Tolstoy’s heart regardless of what Tolstoy may say or do.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian (1928 – ) in the 1990s, when he defies Michigan law assisting the suicide of terminally-ill persons. Support comes from his sister, a lab tech, the Hemlock Society president, and a lawyer. The child of survivors of the Armenian genocide interviews applicants: his sister video tapes them. He assembles a device allowing a person to initiate a three-chemical intravenous drip. The local D.A., the governor, and the Legislature respond. In court scenes, Kevorkian is sometimes antic. He’s single-minded about giving dying individuals the right to determine how their lives will end. He wants the Supreme Court to rule. He picks a fight he can’t win: is it hubris or heroism?

Based on the true story of the enduring but troubled love between Lois Wilson, co-founder of Al-Anon, and her alcoholic husband Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

‘Nelson Mandela’ (qv)’s release from prison and his ascent to a democratically elected President of South Africa marks a radical change in the country. This change away from apartheid will not be easy for anyone in the country, but Mandela has to figure out how to galvanize the residents of the country together. Because of his love of the game, Mandela places his support behind the Springboks, the national rugby team. South Africa is hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup, that being the only reason the Springboks are even competing in the tournament as its years on the sideline of world rugby events has not made it world ranked. The Springboks were previously considered the team of white South Africa, and as such was denounced by Mandela when he was in prison. But he does whatever he can to make it the team of all South Africa. He needs the support of the Springboks and its captain, ‘Francois Pienaar’ (qv), to achieve his unrealistic goal of the Springboks winning the World Cup, even against such rugby powerhouses the All-Blacks representing New Zealand. Mandela tries to inspire Pienaar to lead by example, much like Mandela has himself. Beyond Mandela’s dream, his racially mixed security team has the added pressure of protecting him at the Springboks’ matches while he places himself in potentially unprotectable situations.

Liverpool, 1955. When teenage rebel John Lennon (Johnson) learns that his aunt Julia (Duff) is actually his biological mother, he finds his loyalties divided. He finds an escape from domestic pressures in his growing passion for skiffle music.

Un’altra grande prova di attore per Robin Williams nell’ultimo film di Tom Shaydac, nel quale si racconta l’incredibile storia (vera) di Patch Adams, prima studente di medicina, poi paziente ed infine medico in un istituto per malattie mentali, convinto della necessità di dover curare le persone, prima delle malattie. Il film è ispirato alle autentiche vicende del Dr Hunter Patch Adams, fondatore del Gesundheit Institute, nel North Carolina, una clinica specializzata nella cura emotiva e psicologica del paziente, prima che medica. La storia parte dalle esperienze studentesche di Patch. Il preside della facoltà, Walcott, si oppone alle sue idee strampalate, ma l’entusiasmo di Patch contagia comunque altre persone, fra le quali l’infermiera Joletta e i compagni di corso Truman e Carin. Intanto Patch, con il suo atteggiamento divertente ed eccentrico riesce ad aprire un varco nelle paure dei più piccini. Combattendo contro la medicina ufficiale con la convinzione che “una risata è la miglior cura” il giovane rischia la propria carriera, ma riesce, alla fine, ad ottenere appoggi e validi risultati. Arriva anche a fondare l’Istituto che ancora dirige con successo e pubblica, nel 1993, un libro in cui spiega la propria esperienza e le strane ricette che prescrive, a base di travestimenti e palloncini colorati : l’importante è riuscire a stabilire un contatto di simpatia e di fiducia con i piccoli pazienti per poter ottenere positivi risultati clinici. Questa la storia. E pensiamo che non ci poteva essere altro attore in grado di vestire i panni di questo personaggio folle, ma estremamente deciso e motivato nelle proprie scelte di aiutare il prossimo.

New York gangster Ben ‘Bugsy’ Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womaniser with a foul temper, Siegel doesn’t hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea.

Captain Baron von Trapp is a widowed ex-naval officer with seven children who serve only to remind him of his deceased wife. The Von Trapp home is thus turned into a gloomy place of order and discipline, until the arrival of a new governess: Frauline Marie who is from a nearby Salzburg abbey. Marie shows the Von Trapp children the miracle of the Sound of Music, and teaches them how to sing. Captain von Trapp’s heart opens up to feelings he had forgotten and he and Marie fall in love. Marie and Georg von Trapp are married, only to have their world brought down around them by the 1938 Anschluss of Austria, where Nazi Germany takes control of the country and demands that Captain von Trapp assume a position in the German Navy.

A journalist, down on his luck in the US, drives to El Salvador to chronicle the events of the 1980 military dictatorship, including the assasination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. He forms an uneasy alliance with both guerillas in the countryside who want him to get pictures out to the US press, and the right-wing military, who want him to bring them photographs of the rebels. Meanwhile he has to find a way of protecting his Salvadorean girlfriend and getting her out of the country.

A journalist, down on his luck in the US, drives to El Salvador to chronicle the events of the 1980 military dictatorship, including the assasination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. He forms an uneasy alliance with both guerillas in the countryside who want him to get pictures out to the US press, and the right-wing military, who want him to bring them photographs of the rebels. Meanwhile he has to find a way of protecting his Salvadorean girlfriend and getting her out of the country.