Struggling to survive: Films on Netflix Steaming

Each of these movies are about women or men struggling to survive, where individuals often make a living by any means they can (if you catch my drift).

We haven’t seen all of them yet but we hope to view them online soon!

1. La Vie Promise 2002 NR 89 minutes. While on the lam in the countryside, a prostitute and her estranged teenage daughter struggle to reconcile their differences.
2. Or, My Treasure 2005 NR 96 minutes. An Israeli girl does all she can to support her mother, a sick and aging prostitute. Her goal is that her mother never has to walk the streets again.
3. Descent 2007 NC-17 99 minutes. In the wake of a violent rape, a star college student descends into depression, drug abuse and promiscuity, then gets the chance to exact revenge.
4. This Girl’s Life 2003 R 104 minutes. A porn star enters a tentative romance as she cares for her ailing father and supplements her income by testing the monogamy of other women’s men.
5. Viva Laldjerie. Three urban Algerian women face an uncertain future in this drama set during times of increasing fundamentalism. Twenty-something Goucem (Lubna Azabal), her traditional mother, Papicha (Biyouna), and prostitute Fifi (Nadia Kaci) must steer clear of the local terrorists yet still make enough money to survive. Liberated Goucem refuses to give up her freedom by continuing to work and hitting the nightclubs, while her mom longs for happier times.
6. End of Love. In the wake of his mother’s suicide, a handsome gay man named Ming (Chi-Kin Lee) navigates the twisted road to love while secretly working as a “rent boy” in Hong Kong.
7. Lila Says. 2004. French film. Average Netflix stars: 3.2 stars (we’ve seen it and agree). Lila Says tells the story of a quiet young poet who develops a crush on the blond Lila, a girl who recently moved into his Arab ghetto with her “aunt.” Note: hot actors.
8. L.I.E. 2001 UR. IMDb says this film is about “A 15-year-old Long Island boy loses everything and everyone he knows, soon becoming involved in a relationship with a much older man.” It’s a classic independent film with a gay theme, and a must-see for gay young adults from the NYC area.  Recommended!

L.I.E. (2001) UR. According to Netflix: “In this biting and disturbing coming-of-age tale from writer-director Michael Cuesta, life is bittersweet along the L.I.E., also known as the Long Island Expressway, as suburban teen Howie Blitzer (Paul Franklin Dano) learns all too clearly. In the space of a week, he loses nearly everything and everyone he knows and is left to navigate his adolescence virtually unsupervised.”