Films set over the course of a day are so intriguing; it takes ultimate planning and ingenious plot lines to pull them off. “Under the Fig Trees” (Film Movement) totally fits the bill.

This official 2023 Oscar-submitted film from Tunisia is set in a picturesque Tunisian fig orchard, portraying everyday life. The intergenerational ensemble of younger and older women tackle the issue of how class and circumstance don’t allow for personal freedoms, yet illustrates how sisterhood serves as a transformative act of resistance.

Other titles

Quite the opposite of the compressed-time-to-be-filmed “Under the Fig Trees,” the movie “Youth (Spring)” (Icarus Films) was filmed over five years. The documentary tackles life in independent workshops and how relationships form and fall apart.

“Peacock” (IndiePix Films) is a tantalizing South African gothic horror film that explores the dark recesses of the Afrikaner psyche and its compromised past. It achieves this when a young woman who has violated a puritanical code, is sent to a paranoid, old theologian who lives on an isolated farm and suffers from frightening visions and demonic hallucinations.

“Darkman” (Scream Factory) is available as a collector’s-edition 4K UHD plus Blu-ray or a limited-edition steelbook. Either selection enables viewers to experience the Sam Raimi classic masterpiece as never before. Besides a new 4K restoration, there are new bonus features, such as audio commentary with the filmmaker and “Darkman” superfan Josh Ruben as well as deleted scenes, plus a plethora of previously released extras.