“In nail-biting, onion-peeling style… a movie full of surprises.”
— Wesley Morris, The New York Times
“A carefully assembled, perceptive slow-burner.”
— Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter
“Sharply crafted [with] elements of noirish suspense…
distinguished by exceptionally fine performances.”
— Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com
THIS APRIL, CLASS, RACE AND IMMIGRANT IDENTITY COME TOGETHER IN AN ABSORBING, SLOW-BURNING THRILLER
THE CHARMER
Street Date: April 9, 2019
DVD/Digital SRP: $24.95
Director Milad Alami’s Feature-length Debut was a New York Times Critic’s Pick and Captured Numerous Awards, Including a Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Fedeora Awards at San Sebastián and More!
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
From director Milad Alami, THE CHARMER is an absorbing, slow-burning thriller, exploring class, race and immigrant identity; a 2018 theatrical premiere, it was a New York Times Critic’s Pick. On April 9, this acclaimed festival favorite makes its DVD and digital debut from Film Movement.
Esmail (Ardalan Esmaili) is a darkly handsome Iranian immigrant to Denmark, on the verge of being thrown out of the country if he can’t find a Danish woman to marry. He dresses well and frequents posh bars, easily ingratiating himself with attractive Danes who are seduced by his good looks, gentle manners, and apparent decency. But he’s a man caught between his self-interest and self-respect. Things get a lot more complicated when he meets a beautiful fellow countryman (Iranian singer Soho Rezanejad) who immediately grasps his game plan, but finds herself attracted to him nonetheless. THE CHARMER is a debut movie by a director who understands that a psychological thriller need not focus on violent crime. Rather, it wraps its head around the notion that small, seemingly insignificant acts may cause pain and trauma to those who become players in our lives.
Heralded in international festival play, THE CHARMER captured more than a dozen awards at prestigious festivals the world over, including a Silver Hugo for Alami in the New Director’s Competition at the Chicago International Film Festival, Winner of the Sven Nyqvist Cinematography Award at Göteborg, the New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Fedeora Award at San Sebastián, Winner of the International New Talent Competition at the Tapei Film Festival and many more.
BONUS FEATURE
Bonus Short Film – Summer (Directed by Pearl Gluck | USA | 19 minutes) — Two teenage girls in a Hasidic sleepaway camp secretly consult a taboo book that leads them to a sexual awakening for which neither of them are prepared.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: DVD & Digital (Amazon, iTunes, Vudu)
Running Time: 102 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Surround/2.0 Stereo
Language: Danish and Persian with English Subtitles
About Film Movement
Founded in 2002 as one of the first-ever subscription film services with its DVD-of-the-Month club, Film Movement is now a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. It has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide. Film Movement’s theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign art house titles. Its catalog includes titles by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner, Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrzej Wajda, Diane Kurys, Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, Sergio Corbucci and Ettore Scola. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com.
