Outside the Court
2011 · 60 min · Documentary, Crime
They arrive, they smoke, they wait - armed robbers seeking redemption, life-long thieves, addicts and anxious fathers of wayward children. Hard exteriors hide soft centres, old lives exist in young bodies - ordinary people awaiting judgement on an unlovely stretch of pavement outside a London magistrates' court. Whilst waiting for their cases to be heard they reveal their lives, and the complexities of the human soul are laid bare. Tense and intimate conversations with the filmmaker illuminate stories that the magistrates hear daily. Director Marc Isaacs spent three months outside Highbury Magistrates Court and, in doing so, demonstrates how the eye of the camera has the ability to delve much deeper into character and motivation than the eye of the law. Consequently, the more we get to know the characters in this film, the harder it is to make easy judgements. Whilst the court must judge, the filmmaker need not.
Directed by Marc Isaacs
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From Lift to The Road: The Films of Marc IsaacsSee all →
Lift · 2001Lift
★ 7.32001
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★ 4.82003
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★ 5.82003
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★ 6.22005
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★ 5.62009
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★ 5.32012
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More from Marc IsaacsSee all →
Lift · 2001Lift
★ 7.32001
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Director Marc Isaacs installs himself in the lift of a typical English tower block. People start talking to him, and we discover their lives.
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★ 6.52021
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When the Filmmaker is told his next film must be about crime, sex or celebrity to get funded, he takes matters into his own hands and begins shooting in his home with a cast of characters connected to his own life. We first meet two English builders, employed to replace the garden fence, temporarily removing the barrier between the house and a Pakistani neighbour. This introduces the film’s central theme of hospitality which ultimately finds its expression when a homeless Slovakian man charms the Filmmaker’s Colombian cleaner to let him in and tests everyone's ideas of the expectations and boundaries between host and guests.
Philip and His Seven Wives · 2005Philip and His Seven Wives
★ 6.22005
MovieDocumentary
Philip and His Seven Wives (2006) a film made for the BBC’s prestigious Storyville strand, tells the intriguing story of a former messianic rabbi who believes that he communicates directly with God. Isaacs’ captivating and intimate documentary is a portrait of this unconventional family whose lives revolve around faith and obedience to the head of the household.
Calais: The Last Border · 2003Calais: The Last Border
★ 5.82003
MovieDocumentary
A stark portrait of a town in decline. Brilliant juxstaposition between the scoff faced English day trippers searching for cheap booze, and the cold, snivelling asylum seekers existing on the streets. Thrown into the mix are two English ex pats, trying to make money against the odds.
Men of the City · 2009Men of the City
★ 5.62009
MovieDocumentaryDrama
In Men of the City, Isaacs takes a more stylised approach to the lives of workers in the City of London during the recent financial meltdown, balancing sensitive portraits of diverse individuals striving to retain their dignity and humanity in the midst of the crisis. Strong human characters are at the heart of all of Isaacs' work, and with these films he continues to create a unique vision of modern Britain.
The Road: A Story of Life and Death · 2012The Road: A Story of Life and Death
★ 5.32012
MovieDocumentary
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Travellers · 2003Travellers
★ 4.82003
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A very emotional look at the loneliness and heartache often conjured whilst travelling by train.A powerful and stunning piece with a focus on love lost, love found and regret.
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2016
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The body of a young Polish woman is found in a suitcase on a London canal adjacent to a block of flats. The filmmakers invite the residents to reflect on how the murder has affected them. Through their stories we are provoked to think about our own relationship to the strangers living in our midst.
Rainy Days · 2017Rainy Days
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MovieMusic
Splices together images from Isaacs's documentaries to create an experimental montage set to a soundtrack.
Sisters · 2017Sisters
2017
MovieDocumentary
Two ageing siblings sit next to each other in a pub, waiting for instructions from the filmmaker which never come. They watch the time go passing by.
Outsiders · 2014Outsiders
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MovieDocumentary
Our host Ben Ferguson and director Marc Isaacs travel to the Lincolnshire town of Boston to reveal a local story about communal fears about change and immigration.
Men Who Sleep in Trucks · 2016Men Who Sleep in Trucks
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MovieDocumentary
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