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June 15, 2007
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Dir: Wes Anderson, USA (2004), 119 min.
When famed oceanographer Steve Zissou loses his best friend and long time
partner to an attack of a mythical species of shark, what could possibly
motivate him to seek out the deadly shark again? Revenge. "The Life Aquatic"
follows the journey of Zissou and his motley crew as they face pirates,
mutiny and Steve's own demons in this clever and bittersweet comedic drama.
Excellent music, exotic locations, superply sublime acting,
and action-packed rescues makes this film a must see!
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July 13, 2007
Mùi du du xanh (The Scent of the Green Papaya)
Dir: Anh Hung Tran, Vietnam (1993), 104 min.
Peaceful, beautiful, elegant... this is a tale set in Saigon during the 1950's.
In the first half of the movie we see the world through the eyes of a 10-year old girl, Mui,
who works hard as a servant in a merchant family, but always with a smile on her face,
refusing to be cynical and delighting in little things in nature, like a drop of
rain on a leaf or a scurrying ant. The second half of the movie focuses on Mui as a young
woman working in the house of a pianist and the changes her heart and life undergo.
A movie which is quiet and peaceful with poetic story-telling, and as pretty as a spring day.
"The Scent of the Green Papaya", in its simplicity and beauty reaches artistic heights
in cinema.
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August 10, 2007
Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)
Dir: Volker Schlöndorff, Germany (1979), 142 min.
In pre-WWII times, three-year-old Oskar Matzerath, intimidated by the
adult world, decides to cease growing. Retaining the stature of a child,
Oskar gets older but refuses to be part of society, protesting
narrow-minded middle class life with a tin drum and bloodcurdling shrieks.
A quirky, surreal, and haunting film, adapted from the novel by Nobel
Laureate Gunter Grass, with an extraordinary performance by David
Bennent (Oskar). Winner of the
1980 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and the Golden Palm at
Cannes Film Festival, "The Tin Drum" is one of the best films to come out
of Germany. Some adult content.
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September 14, 2007
Rang De Basanti (Paint it Yellow)
Dir: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, India (2006), 157 min.
Sue, a British filmmaker, is intrigued by an entry in
her grandfather's journal written when he was a British officer in
colonial India and she travels to India with the intention of making
a documentary on it.
There she meets five, carefree, fun loving university students, who are more
interested in parties and beer than making a film about India's past. But they
reluctantly join her, and begin a journey into a forgotten past,
eventually awakening to their true selves and the world around. What follows
alters their hitherto peaceful lives... With beautiful cinematography,
the film juxtaposes the past and the present like flowing poetry.
Nominated for the BAFTA film awards,
this film provides a deep insight into the psyche of India's youth and political scene.
Incredible and colorful scenes make this a
unique experience, not to be missed!
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October 19, 2007
Donnie Darko
Dir: Richard Kelly, USA (2001), 113 min.
A silver-masked man in a rabbit suit visits Donnie Darko and Donnie becomes
obsessed with altering the space-time continuum. Jake Gyllenhaal makes a
perfect tragic figure. If you are looking for a beautiful experience with
a unique film, "Donnie Darko" is just about as good as it gets.
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November 2, 2007
The Great Dictator
Dir: Charles Chaplin, USA (1940), 124 min.
"The Great Dictator" is a film par-excellence. Charlie Chaplin's satire on Nazi Germany,
made at a time when the worst horrors of Hitler's regime were still to come,
is funny and witty and yet makes a strong statement against facism.
Chaplin plays two roles, one as Adenoid Hynkel (portraying Hitler), the ruthless
dictator of Tomania, and another as a Jewish barber, bearing an uncanny resemblance
to Hynkel. The barber rescues a pilot in a battle, but loses all his memory of the
war shortly after. Things get twisted later when the barber escapes from a
concentration camp and is mistaken for Hynkel... Charlie Chaplin's first film with sound
is not to be missed!
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December 7, 2007
Memento
Dir: Christopher Nolan, USA (2000), 113 min.
After taking a severe blow to the head, Leonard has no short term memory.
Plagued by memories of his murdered wife and not knowing whom to trust, he pieces
the clues from his fragmented mind together to find her killer in this twisting and
enigmatic film noir. From writer and director Christopher Nolan, this uniquely told
story that has won almost 40 awards is sure to keep you entranced as the real
truth unravels.
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January 11, 2008
Passport to Pimlico
Dir: Henry Cornelius, UK (1949), 70 min.
Another gem from Ealing Studios, one of the finest exporters of British
films. An unexploded WWII bomb is accidentally
detonated in the center of the town of Pimlico, revealing a room with
treasures and old documents. One document states the region to be
historically part of Burgundy, France, and thus foreign territory. The British
government attempts to regain control of the region by cutting off services
to the area. Meanwhile, the "Burgundians" attempt to fight back.
"Passport" is a great, funny, touching film, well known to subject historians
and critics, and worthy of popular re-discovery.
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February 15, 2008
Spellbound
Dir: Jeffrey Blitz, USA (2002), 97 min.
"Spellbound" introduces us to eight contestants of the 1999 national
spelling bee. Each contestant has a different story, from the Texan with
immigrant parents who don't speak English to a Northeasterner who speaks
freely of growing up with au pairs. Meet them and their families as they
prepare for an intense competition that rivals any major sporting event.
Suspenseful and surprisingly riveting. Nominated for an Academy Award for
Best Documentary.
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March 7, 2008
Tito i ja (Tito and Me)
Dir: Goran Markovic, Yugoslavia (1992), 104 min.
A smart and bittersweet comedy, the film's lead character is an overweight
ten year-old boy named Zoran who has a crush on his classmate Jasna and a
bizarre obsession with the Communist
ruler of Yugoslavia, Marshall Tito. This obsession is fueled when Zoran
enters and wins an essay contest (the topic: "Do You Love Comrade Tito and Why").
The reward allows Zoran to go on a marching tour of Tito's
boyhood town, alongside Jasna and other winners. But his problems only get
bigger along the trip to the town... Full of kind-hearted humor, abounding
in hilarious episodes, this film is touching and very enjoyable!
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April 18, 2008
Baisers volés (Stolen Kisses)
Dir: Francois Truffaut, France (1968), 90 min.
"Stolen Kisses" is one of Truffaut's happiest films.
As soon as it begins, it promises to be one of the
most charming movies of all time, with a lilting French jazz song
and a shot of the Eiffel Tower against a clear Paris sky.
The lead, Antoine, is the awkward anti-hero youth of the sixties,
full of nervous energy, one of the working classes, love lorn and uneducated.
He lies, he loves, he fails, and he succeeds. A gentle movie,
sometimes farcical and always sweet-natured, this classic story is
charming and fresh even forty years later.
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May 2, 2008
Sketches of Frank Gehry
Dir: Sydney Pollack, Germany (2005), 83 min.
Get a first-hand look at one architect's creative process as director Sydney Pollack
introduces us to Frank Gehry, acclaimed designer of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
Watch as Gehry's ideas evolve from sketches to simple models to the architectural
masterpieces for which he is famous. Official Selection of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
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