Spiritual Exercises: 10 Films by Olivier Smolders(2007)

The Brood(en)

A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, while a series of brutal attacks committed by a brood of mutant children coincides with the husband's investigation.

War and Peace(ru)

A seven-hour epic adaptation of the novel by Leo Tolstoy. The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.

Adagio(it)

Tangled up with blackmail and crooked cops, the son of a former gangster seeks out his father's old friends, who risk everything to save him.

The Family Friend(it)

Geremia, an aging tailor/money lender, is a repulsive, mean, stingy man who lives alone in his shabby house with his scornful, bedridden mother. He has a morbid, obsessive relationship with money and he uses it to insinuate himself into other people's affairs, pretending to be the "family friend". One day he is asked by a man to lend him money for the wedding of Rosalba, his daughter. Geremia falls in love at first sight with the bewitching creature and and soon indulges in a "beauty and the beast" relationship...

Monster(ja)

When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms into the school demanding to know what's going on. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher, and child, the truth gradually emerges.

How to Survive Without Mum(fr)

After Antoine was fired from his job, he became a stay-at-home dad taking care of his four children, while his wife Isabelle restarts her career as a lawyer. For Antoine, the family's upcoming ski vacation is a godsend: he can finally take a break from parenthood and enjoy a luxury ski resort! But just as they are about to step on the train, Isabelle is called back to work for an emergency and Antoine has to deal, on his own, with his four mischievous kids going wild on the slopes and in the fancy hotel, as the trip turns into total chaos…

The Desperate Hours(en)

Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.

Sick of Myself(no)

Increasingly overshadowed by her boyfriend's recent rise to fame as a contemporary artist creating sculptures from stolen furniture, Signe hatches a vicious plan to reclaim her rightfully deserved attention within the milieu of Oslo's cultural elite.

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin(it)

Carol Hammond, daughter of a politician, has vivid nightmares involving sex orgies and LSD. In a dream, she murders a neighbor she envies and wakes up to a real investigation into her neighbor's murder.

The Lady from Shanghai(en)

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

Mad God(en)

A figure known as "The Assassin" descends from the heavens into a nightmarish pit full of monsters, titans, and cruelty.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster(ja)

After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.

Death in Venice(it)

Composer Gustav von Aschenbach travels to Venice for health reasons. There, he becomes obsessed with the stunning beauty of an adolescent Polish boy named Tadzio who is staying with his family at the same Grand Hôtel des Bains on the Lido as Aschenbach.

Barfly(en)

Downtrodden writer Henry and distressed goddess Wanda aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But, they like each other's company—and Barfly captures their giddy, gin-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids.

The Ice Harvest(en)

A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.

Frankenstein Conquers the World(ja)

During WWII, Germans obtain the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster and transport it to Japan to prevent it being seized by the Allies. Kept in a Hiroshima laboratory, it is seeming lost when the United States destroys the city with the atomic bomb. Years later a wild boy is discovered wandering the streets of the city alone, born of the immortal heart.

Perfect Days(ja)

Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.

The Grudge 3(en)

Jake Kimble, the sole survivor of the Chicago massacre, is killed while in solitary confinement. His doctor begins investigating the claims he made about a long-haired woman in white, as a mysterious Japanese woman arrives at his old apartment building to help them get rid of the curse.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person(fr)

Sasha is a young vampire with a serious problem: she's too sensitive to kill. When her exasperated parents cut off her blood supply, Sasha's life is in jeopardy. Luckily, she meets Paul, a lonely teenager with suicidal tendencies who is willing to give his life to save hers. But their friendly agreement soon becomes a nocturnal quest to fulfill Paul's last wishes before day breaks.

Peeping Tom(en)

Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.

Vapors(en)

Mr. Jaffee is a curious but closeted married man, who decides to take a walk on the wild side one night over to the local bath house located in Times Square, New York. When he is a approached by Thomas, a swinging regular who takes an interest in Mr. Jaffe as the new face "on the scene", a deep discussion about marriage, connection and loss begins to unexpectedly unfold. The two become emotionally intimate in a very short time, with no sexual contact of any sort, while everyone around them are screwing like rabbits.

Skyscrapers(en)

A new skyscraper is being built in New York City, and numerous workmen are busy at hazardous jobs high above the ground. When one of the workers, Dago Pete, deliberately starts a fight, he is immediately fired. But the discharged worker soon comes up with a plan to commit a robbery and get even. His scheme could affect the lives of several others.

Giselle(pt)

Sexy girl seduces all the members of her family. She indirectly causes the failure of his father's marriage, for her stepmother falls in love with her. Then, she has affairs with her father's stepson, and with the farm housekeeper. She and some friends are also raped by some bad guys. But they all celebrate the ruin of traditional family values.

Secrets(en)

A woman's unfulfilling marriage leads her into a passionate affair with a wealthy extramarital lover.

Just Before Losing Everything(fr)

Julien is 10 years old. He pretends to go to school but then hides out under a bridge, his backpack filled with clothes. A few kilometers away, 15-year-old Joséphine does the same and waits for the bus.

Black Deep Throat(it)

A newspaper reporter is in search of information about an exclusive sex cult.

Emmanuelle's Love(en)

Emmanuelle withdraws into a temple in Tibet, where she wants to find to her true self. She's given a mystic substance which will give her youth and allow her to enter the souls of other women. Now she sets out and searches her true love Mario from 20 years ago. When he sees young Emmanuelle, he doesn't believe it's really her, but she retells all the juicy details of her past to prove it to him.

Sirene(nl)

Monsterlike cranes reign over an inhospitable harbour as prehistorical reptiles. The only human being they accept is a lonesome fisherman. He is to witness a strange encounter between a ship's mate and a mermaid. Imagination or reality?

Secret Beyond the Door...(en)

After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.

Sunset Boulevard(en)

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

Total Romance(fr)

Martina and Andy are golden icons of the jet set whose game consists of winning and breaking as many hearts as possible, each trying to be more cruel and scheming than the other. One day Martina realizes that one of her lovers has the audacity to leave her for a young brainless virgin, Angie. So she gives Andy a vengeful assignment: to lead her new rival astray. Andy, however, has more ambitious plans: he proposes to seduce the prudish Christina, a young pianist whose musical talent is equaled only by her unwavering chastity. In frustration, Martina challenges, Andy: if he succeeds she will be his at last. But when Andy falls in love, the two seducing accomplices turn into ruthless rivals.

Feral(xx)

A wild boy is found in the woods by a solitary hunter and brought back to civilization. Alienated by a strange new environment, the boy tries to adapt by using the same strategies that kept him safe in the forest.

La lozana andaluza(es)

In 16th century Rome, Rampín, a friendly and shameless rogue, exploits his arts of deception. He lives with his aunt, Napolitana, a pimp dedicated to the same trades as his nephew. With the arrival of a beautiful Andalusian, Lozana, her fortune enters their house by making her the most beautiful courtesan in Rome. Lozana and Rampín reach an agreement: he will be at her service, taking her lovers home, and she will treat him like a king and give him the best, something that others will never have. But one fine day, Don Sancho, a handsome Spaniard, falls in love with her.

Roulette d'Amour(en)

An elderly man wanders through the night. Flashbacks explain how he lost his love.

Eroticide(en)

EROTICIDE tells the story of a young man named Yan (Jocelin Haas) and how his addiction to erotic humiliation sets the course of his life on a downward spiral when his ex, Kendra (Lisa Di Capa) comes back into the picture, forcing him to choose between a future with his loving girlfriend, Elise (Stephanie van Rijn) or one of empty sexual gratification with Kendra.

Des rêves pour l'hiver(fr)

Elevator to the Gallows(fr)

A self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

Sweet Smell of Success(en)

New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.

The Strange Mrs. Crane(en)

Hoping to bury her criminal past, Jenny Hadley settles into a comfortable existence as Gina, the wife of the politician Clinton Crane. When her former associate Floyd Durant shows up to blackmail Gina, she has no choice but to murder him. Things take a bizarre turn when Barbara Arnold is charged with Durant's murder and Gina is selected to serve on the jury.

Ringside(en)

Joe O'Hara finds out he has a damaged optic nerve just before a boxing match for the title. He needs the money badly, so he doesn't delay the fight. The opponent discovers Joe's weakness and pounds on his eyes, causing him to go blind.