David Farnor | On 05, Jan 2023

Arrow is a streaming service curated by members of the Arrow Video team, bringing together new horror, cult classics, cutting edge cinema, international favourites and more – from Lars von Trier to Park Chan-wook, plus TV shows such as The Bridge and Gomorrah.

This month, the line-up includes a double helping of martial arts mayhem starring the incomparable Sonny Chiba, a definitive collection of films by Swedish director Lukas Moodysson, and a diptych of Paul Joyce documentaries.

The Executioner – 2nd January

Ryuichi Koga (Chiba) is a descendent of the Koga Ninja school, now earning his living through more nefarious means as a gun for hire. When he is enlisted to take down a drug cartel alongside Hayabusa (Makoto Sato), a disgraced former narcotics detective now operating within the criminal underworld, and renegade Aikido master Sakura (Eiji Gō), tensions grow among this three-man team of ne’er-do-wells as each come to question each other’s motives.

The Executioner II – 2nd January

Koga returns in the even more gung-ho follow up, Karate Inferno, as the ringmaster of a gang of thieves plotting to steal a priceless jewel from a master criminal.

Reel Women – 13th January

Interviews with women directors working in Hollywood and Europe in the early 1990s, exploring the opportunities and obstacles that face them. A program made to accompany a Channel 4 season of films directed and produced by women.

Marlon Brando – 20th January

An examination of the craft of Marlon Brando, narrated by professionals of the film industry. The film follows his career from the stage with A Streetcar Named Desire, through the Actors Studio and professional relationships with Elia Kazan and Stella Adler to Hollywood. An actor who redefined the limits to which a professional may go in becoming the character not only intellectually but emotionally, Brando changed the meaning of film acting.

Show Me Love – 27th January

Åmål is a small insignificant town where nothing ever happens, where the latest trends are out of date when they get there. Young Elin has a bit of a bad reputation when it comes to guys, but the fact is that she is inexperienced in that matter. Another girl in her school, Agnes, is in love with her but is too shy to do anything about it. For different reasons, Elin ends up at Agnes’ birthday party as the only guest. They have a girl’s night out together but after that Elin desperately avoids Agnes, refusing to even consider her own homosexuality.

Together – 27th January

Elisabeth leaves her abusive and drunken husband Rolf, and goes to live with her brother, Göran. The year is 1975 and Göran lives in a commune called Together. Living in this leftist commune Elisabeth learns that the world can be viewed from different perspectives.

A Hole in My Heart – 27th January

In a decrepit apartment, a young man watches as his father and a friend shoot an amateur porn film. Issues of morality, reality TV and friendship are explored.

Container – 27th January

Poetic, experimental and different, Container is described by Lukas Moodysson as “a black and white silent movie with sound” and with the following words; “A woman in a man’s body. A man in a woman’s body. Jesus in Mary’s stomach. The water breaks. It floods into me. I can’t close the lid. My heart is full.”

We Are the Best! – 27th January

Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band — despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead.

Lilya 4-Ever – 27th January

Lilja lives in poverty and dreams of a better life. Her mother moves to the United States and abandons her to her aunt, who neglects her. Lilja hangs out with her friends, Natasha and Volodya, who is suicidal. Desperate for money, she starts working as a prostitute, and later meets Andrei. He offers her a good job in Sweden, but when Lilja arrives her life quickly enters a downward spiral.

Mammoth – 27th January

While on a trip to Thailand, a successful American businessman tries to radically change his life. Back in New York, his wife and daughter find their relationship with their live-in Filipino maid changing around them. At the same time, in the Philippines, the maid’s family struggles to deal with her absence.

 

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