Desperate Characters

Sep 22, 1971

1h 37m

★ 4.9

Overview

Sophie and Otto Bentwood are a middle-aged, middle class, childless Brooklyn Heights couple trapped in a loveless marriage. He is an attorney, she a translator of books. Their existence is affected not only by their disintegrating relationship but by the threats of urban crime and vandalism that surround them everywhere they turn, leaving them feeling paranoid, scared, and desperately helpless.

Genres

Drama

Production Companies

T.D.J. Productions Inc.

ITC Entertainment

Desperate Characters Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Sophie Bentwood

Shirley MacLaine

Otto Bentwood

Kenneth Mars

Claire

Sada Thompson

Leon

Jack Somack

Charlie

Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Mike Holstein

Chris Gampel

Flo Holstein

Mary Alan Hokanson

Young Man

Robert Bauer

Young Girl

Carol Kane

Francis Early

Michael Higgins

Raconteur

Michael McAloney

Man on Subway

Wallace Rooney

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

6.2

Popular Music

Oct 1, 2004

Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.

7.0

Caché

Oct 5, 2005

George, host of a television show focusing on literature, receives videos shot on the sly that feature his family, along with disturbing drawings that are difficult to interpret. He has no idea who has made and sent him the videos. Progressively, the contents of the videos become more personal, indicating that the sender has known George for a long time.

7.4

Distant Lights

Feb 11, 2003

Lichter is an episodic tale from Hans-Christian Schmid about the life on the border between Germany and Poland. The film sheds light on the everyday stories of escape and desperateness.

7.9

A Beautiful Mind

Dec 14, 2001

From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.

7.3

Sissi

Dec 22, 1955

The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.

7.1

Sissi: The Young Empress

Dec 1, 1956

Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.

7.1

Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress

Dec 18, 1957

After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. The young empress’ mother takes her from Austria to recover in Madeira.

7.1

Stranger Than Paradise

Oct 1, 1984

New York layabout Willie forms an unexpected bond with his young Hungarian cousin Eva when she pays him a surprise visit. Later, Eva moves in with their aunt in Cleveland, and Willie takes his best friend Eddie to see her—a visit that culminates in a strange, eventful trip to Florida.

7.1

Pi

Jul 10, 1998

A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.

7.8

Fail Safe

Oct 7, 1964

Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.

8.4

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Nov 19, 1975

A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.

7.3

The Promised Land

Feb 21, 1975

In nineteenth-century Łódź, Poland, three friends want to make a lot of money by building and investing in a textile factory. An exceptional portrait of rapid industrial expansion is shown through the eyes of one Polish town.

6.7

Fire

Aug 22, 1997

In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.

6.6

Requiem

Mar 2, 2006

Michaela, an epileptic, enrolls in college to study education. She goes off her medication and soon begins hearing voices and seeing apparitions that tell her to avoid religious objects, although she is devoutly Roman Catholic. One priest scoffs at the idea that Michaela could be possessed by demons, but a younger pastor arranges an exorcism for the young woman.

8.0

Casino

Nov 22, 1995

In Las Vegas, two best friends--a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.

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0.0

Hranice stínu

Nov 28, 1996

Thirty-year-old Prokop Randa returns to his native village, where he seeks peace and reconciliation with his life's failures. Jan Čep's novel, first published in 1935, inspired a group of students at Palacký University in Olomouc to attempt to create an experimental film story.

8.0

Our Eternal Song

May 23, 2025

Based on the true story of this miracle that delivered smiles and hope to the world, the love and conflict of each father and son, and the father and family who challenge the dream they once gave up are drawn by Tokuhiro Koizumi of the "Taiyo no Uta" and "Chihayafuru" series.