The White Material [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [2009]

Criterion white material in WHITE MATERIAL, the great contemporary French filmmaker Claire Denis (CHOCOLAT, BEAU TRAVAIL), known for her restless, intimate dramas, introduces an unforgettably crazed character. Played ferociously by Isabelle Huppert (STORY OF WOMEN, THE PIANO TEACHER), Maria is an entitled white woman living in Africa, desperately unwilling to give up her family's crumbling coffee plantation despite the civil war closing in on her. Created with Denis signature full-throttle visual style, which places the viewer in the center of the maelstrom, WHITE MATERIAL is a gripping evocation of the death throes of European colonialism and a fascinating look at a woman lost in her own mind.

Although not as internationally known as many of his fellow Japanese filmmakers, director Mikio Naruse created haunting dramas comparable to legends like Mizoguchi and Ozu. This Criterion release brings together five of his silent films, the only ones that are still known to exist. The films are Flunky, Work Hard, No Blood Relation, Apart From You, Every-Night Dreams, and Street Without End.