Films & Schedules - Saturday, February 13, 2010

90 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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STARS DON’T TWINKLE IN OUTER SPACE

DIRECTOR: Peter Thwaites - (Great Britain)

A young boy’s fantasy about a trip to a strange planet in a rocket ship morphs into a different kind of trip altogether as reality sets in.

10 Minutes    

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PLEASE SAY SOMETHING

DIRECTOR: David O’Reilley - (Ireland/Germany)

A troubled relationship between a cat and mouse set in the distant future.

10 Minutes    

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RUNAWAY

DIRECTOR: Cordell Barker - (Canada)

Happy passengers are having a great time on a crowded train, oblivious to the fate that awaits them around the bend.

9 Minutes    

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POSTE RESTANTE

DIRECTOR: Marcel Lozinski - (Poland)

What happens to letters addressed to Santa? To deceased relatives? To God? The birth, delivery, and reincarnation of undeliverable letters in Poland.

14 Minutes    

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GRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEEPING BEAUTY

DIRECTOR: Nicky Phelan - (Ireland)

Granny O’Grimm, a seemingly sweet old lady, loses the plot as she tells her version of Sleeping Beauty to her terrified granddaughter.

6 Minutes    

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NEXT FLOOR

DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve - (Canada)

During an opulent and luxurious banquet, complete with hordes of servers and valets, eleven pampered guests participate in what appears to be ritualistic gastronomic carnage.

12 Minutes    

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ALMA

DIRECTOR: Rodrigo Blaas - (Spain)

Alma, a little girl, skips through the snow-covered streets of a small town. Her attention is caught by a strange doll in an antique toy shop window. Fascinated, Alma decides to enter…

5 Minutes    

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THE GROUND BENEATH

DIRECTOR: Rene Hernandez - (Australia)

Kaden’s troubles give way to self-discovery through a young girl and boy who loiter on his street.

20 Minutes    

Through a Glass, Darkly is the moving story of a Norwegian teen suffering from a terminal illness who comes to terms with her life and imminent death via conversations with an otherworldly presence.

Adapted from Jostein Gaarder’s acclaimed novel, Through a Glass, Darkly is the sensitive, moving story of how an otherworldly presence helps a young girl come to terms with her serious illness. Cecilie, home from the hospital, wants everyone to act normally, but it isn’t so easy for her family. It isn’t easy for Cecilie either, but she has found a way to cope—by thinking back to a family holiday in Spain where she fell in love with Sebastian. One night an odd man enters Cecilie’s room, claiming to be an angel named Ariel. At first Cecilie doesn’t believe him, but when he does things that no human can do, she accepts his claim and asks him to reveal the secrets of heaven. Ariel agrees, but only if she first tells him what it is like to live on Earth.

Filmography: The Last Viking (97), Little Big Sister (00), Okay and Big Plans (02), The Man Behind the Door (03).

Best Live Action Feature Award, Chicago Children’s Film Festival.

Sponsored by Norwegian Consulate General, San Francisco.

85 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Family Fare.

Sweetgrass takes on the mythology of the American West as it observes a seasonal last roundup of sheep by ranchers in Montana.

Lucien Castaing-Taylor, who teaches in Harvard’s Visual Anthropology department, and Ilisa Barbash, of Harvard’s Peabody Museum, describe themselves as “recordists” rather than filmmakers, as they capture a family and their animals in their final season herding sheep in Montana’s spectacular Absaroka-Beartooth mountain range. The herders work like cowboys out of the old West, but unlike cattle, stubborn sheep can be hilarious to watch. From the cockeyed sight of a massive sheep drive down a small town’s empty main drag, to a herder pouring his heart out on a cell phone at the top of a monumental vista, Castaing-Taylor and Barbash sharpen their sense of humor as well as their all-embracing lens to create an unforgettable cinematic experience. “A really intimate, beautifully shot examination of the connection between man and beast.”—The New York Times.

First Feature Film.

Sponsored by Alaska Airlines.

105 Minutes     Digital    

Interests: New Directors, Documentary Views, Global Classroom.

In this sensational comedy, a film composer with writer's block and a pregnant executive enter into an unusual bargain to keep a secret from the exec's conservative mother.

Ezequiel, a nearly broke film music composer, has 20 days to deliver a score. He’s just not hearing it. One day he calls his bank, and listening to muzak while on hold for Paula, an executive he’s never met, he hears a song that inspires a breakthrough. How to find that song again, among the hundreds of inane on-hold muzak tunes? Paula, meanwhile, has not told her very conservative mother that, though she is pregnant, she is no longer with her boyfriend. When mother and composer both wind up in her office, she impulsively introduces Ezequiel as the father. They each have something the other needs, and though they are not even acquaintances, Ezequiel and Paula soon enter into a strange partnership. A witty romantic comedy that has been a sensation in Argentina, Hernán Goldfrid’s breezy film features a stellar cast, including Norma Aleandro, Diego Peretti, and Natalia Oreiro.

First Feature Film.

106 Minutes    

Interests: New Directors, Narrative Feature, Spanish Language, Latino, Comedy, Music.

The decades-long battle for control of the Barnes Foundation's near-priceless collection of impressionist art—as waged by the city of Philadelphia against the collection's protectors—is the riveting focus of Don Argott's documentary.

“What is art’s relationship to the public at large and who decides who gets to see it? Rarely has the City of Brotherly Love seemed so rancorous as in Don Argott’s fascinating, thoroughly researched documentary on the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania. The foundation, established by Dr. Albert Barnes in 1922, boasts one of the world’s largest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modern paintings—works that Barnes wished to make accessible to serious students and everyday people. But since his death in 1951, lawyers, elected officials, and businesspeople have sought to exploit the Foundation, ignoring the express wishes of Barnes never to turn his collection into an enormous tourist attraction—and never to move it to Philadelphia, a city he despised. The Art of the Steal is filled with intrigue, conflicting reports, enormous egos, and provocative questions about money, culture, and art.”–New York Film Festival.

Filmography: Rock School (05), Head Space (06), Two Days in April (07).

101 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary Views, Art.

A simple act of generosity sends a young man on a picaresque journey through a frightening netherworld of crime and weirdness in this evocative tale.

Bimal and Meera are a young Kolkata couple, very much in love and on the verge of getting married. But Bimal has an idealistic streak that jeopardizes their bliss. On a visit to his old school, he sees how it has fallen into disrepair and decides to donate a new, handcrafted window to replace the now decrepit one from which he gazed as a boy. It seems like a simple act of generosity, but in Dasgupta’s Bengal, generosity can seed chaos. Soon, he is lost in a picaresque netherworld of petty crime and mystical visions. “Window showcases Dasgupta’s striking imagery and sense of place, but still more impressive is his delightful, seamless mesh of the magical with the realistic, the slapstick with the ethereal, and romance with global economics.”—Telluride Film Festival.

Selected Filmography: Distance (78), Crossroads (81), The Return (86), Their Story (92), The Shelter of the Wings (93), A Tale of a Naughty Girl (02), Chased by Dreams (04), Memories in the Mist (05), The Voyeurs (07).

110 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature.

A taut, involving drama centered around the mysterious disappearance of a young woman.

Ahmad, divorced from his German wife, has recently returned to Tehran. Looking forward to joining a group of old university friends for a weekend getaway on the Caspian Sea, he reflects that perhaps it is time to find an Iranian wife. One of the group, Sepided, has invited someone new, an attractive teacher named Elly, who she thinks just might be a match for Ahmad. But as the lighthearted gathering settles in, Elly mysteriously disappears from their seaside bungalow. As lies and deception compound into catastrophe, About Elly focuses on the behavior and values of the Iranian middle class, illustrating how convention, conformity, and tradition can be restrictive, even among those who fool themselves into thinking they are not guided by them.

Filmography: Beautiful City (04), Fireworks Wednesday (06).

Winner of the Best Narrative Feature award at the Tribeca Film Festival and this year’s Iranian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

119 Minutes    

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, Middle Eastern.

Jools and Lynda Topp are twin sisters and one of New Zealand's most beloved performing duos. This affectionate portrait mixes remembrances of their childhood, testimonies from friends, fans, and colleagues, and examples of what the girls do best, a mix of lesbian folk songs and anarchist vaudeville.

One of New Zealand’s most cherished and charmingly irrepressible performing duos, twin sisters Jools and Lynda Topp are immensely popular with rednecks and left-wingers alike. Although they do not look identical, their voices virtually are, melding into a yodelling, country-and-western harmony all its own. Jools and Lynda introduce themselves during a performance full of music and happy memories. Colleagues and friends proceed to shine light on the special success of the sisters’ cheerful, radical lesbian love songs and anarchist vaudeville comedy. Pooley weaves performances and home movies from their carefree farm childhood with footage of the sisters during demonstrations against nuclear weapons, apartheid, and for gay rights, to fashion an affectionate, unforgettable portrait.

Filmography: Haunting Douglas (03), The Promise (05), Try Revolution (06).

Sponsored by Q Doc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival.

84 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary Views, Music, Queer.

Christine, a crippled skeptic, joins a pilgrimage to Lourdes in an effort to reconnect with society. When she is apparently healed and the media gets hold of the story, Hausner's film becomes a sensitive, satirical look at faith and doubt.

Christine (Sylvie Testud), confined to a wheelchair, is isolated and socially awkward. Desperate to engage with the world around her, she joins a religious group journeying to Lourdes, the iconic Christian shrine in the Pyrenees mountains. Skeptic though she is, Christine needs companionship, and, like the others, hopes for a miraculous cure from the grotto’s healing waters. When she wakes up one morning seemingly cured by a miracle, surprising attention comes her way. “Always treading a fine line between sorrow and satire, Hausner’s cool depiction wavers between a critique of religion and a story of redemption. Christine’s pilgrimage is perplexing and wonderful in its misguided search. She will discover that the most important part of the journey is to believe in something, whether basic human kindness or divine intervention.”—Cinematheque Ontario.

Filmography: Lovely Rita (01), Hotel (04).

In French with English subtitles.

Sponsored by Austrian Consulate General, Los Angeles.

99 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, French Language.

Valery Todorovsky's period-set musical Hipsters centers around a group of splashy young rebels living in Moscow in the 1950s.

Moscow, 1955. In the midst of strict Cold War Soviet conformity, nothing can stop a group of young “hipsters” from donning outrageous threads, adopting American nicknames, puffing up their pompadours, throwing back martinis, and reveling in forbidden jazz. Straight-laced 20-year-old Communist Youth Party member Mels finds these brazen renegades shocking until he falls under the spell of a pretty one and joins the new revolution. Soon he’s cavorting in the latest flashy fashions, sporting an enormous do, and wailing on the saxophone—all in an exuberant musical that delves into a chapter of Russian history little known to outsiders. Music and the common dream of America become a manifestation of freedom. The winner of four Nika Awards (Russia’s Oscar) including Best Film, Hipsters is universal in its celebration of self-expression and spirited opposition to conformity.

Filmography: Love (92), The Land of the Deaf (98), The Lover (02), My Stepbrother Frankenstein (04).

Sponsored by Hotel Modera.

125 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Music.

A suburban family is forced to put their life in perspective and figure out what's worth fighting for in this sensitive, hilarious comedy from the director of Look Both Ways (PIFF 30).

Sarah Watt’s follow-up to her imaginative first film, Look Both Ways (PIFF 30), examines both the comedy and drama of suburban family life in Melbourne, and will resonate with anyone who has endured life’s daily little challenges only to get sideswiped by a massive one. Sacha Horler stars as Natalie, an average housewife dealing with everyday realities and family chaos: never-ending mortgage payments, raucous kids, family celebrations, and an absent-minded husband (Matt Day). Suddenly, fate throws an unexpected curve ball, and Natalie and her family must pull together as one in ways they could never have anticipated. Natalie’s year-long trial ensures that she has little choice but to laugh and cry, often at the same time, as the riches and meaning of a life worth fighting for come into focus.

Filmography: Look Both Ways (05).

Sponsored by KINK.FM.

92 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Comedy.

A lonely orphan's life is transformed by an extraordinary woman who teaches him to conquer grief and discover the magic in nature and himself.

Set on the beautiful Irish coast, Sarin’s warm, emotional film tells a story of acceptance, kindness, and the healing power of love. Eight-year-old Tomas’ gentleness makes his life difficult. His helpful nature is interpreted as weakness and the other boys at the orphanage bully him. Then one day, a kind woman named Maire sweeps in and infuses his once-cheerless existence with love, laughter, and the belief in magic. After Maire whisks him away to her home on enchanted Corrie Island off the West Coast, Tomas grows and comes into his own—but Maire’s reserved husband can’t hide his lack of interest in the child. Just when Tomas begins to come out of his shell and see the goodness in the world and the people around him, Maire’s delicate health takes a turn for the worse. Will her husband, who has not accepted Tomas as his son, be able to step up to the responsibility of caring for Tomas as Maire has done?

Filmography: Cold Comfort (89), Deluxe Combo (04), Partition (07).

100 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Family Fare.

In this good-hearted film about the trials of caring for the elderly, a middle-aged bachelor who lives with his mother finds himself looking after the mothers and aunts of two acquaintances over a long weekend.

“One of Italy’s leading scriptwriters, 59-year-old Gianni Di Gregorio (screenwriter of Gomorrah), stars in his utterly charming directorial debut as the money-troubled Giovanni, who spends his days caring for his elderly mother in Rome. Giovanni discovers that some of his back rent will be forgotten if he also takes in his landlord’s elderly mother for a few days during the traditional mid-August holiday. But when the landlord arrives, he has both his mother and his aunt in tow. Then Giovanni’s friend Luigi shows up with a similar caretaking request for his own aged mother. Winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Best First Film prize, Mid-August Lunch has a wonderfully loose, almost improvised feel in which Di Gregorio focuses on following the natural rhythms of his houseguests’ interactions with each other rather than on a set storyline.”—Film Society of Lincoln Center.

First Feature Film.

Cultural Partner: Italian Cultural Institute, San Francisco.

75 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Comedy.

Sentenced to prison at age 19, A Prophet is the story of a seemingly shy and weak boy who slowly rises in the ranks of the prison’s reigning Corsican gang, all the while secretly devising his own plans.

Frenchman Malik El Djebena, part Arab, part Corsican, is condemned to six years in prison. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old and cannot read or write. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang currently ruling the prison, he is given a number of “missions” to carry out, which toughen him up and gain the gang leader’s confidence in the process. Malik is a fast learner and rises up the prison ranks, all the while secretly devising his own plans. “Audiard’s rich thriller is elegantly structured, arresting in its detailing of a little-known subculture, filled with fascinating characters, and gripping from beginning to end.”—Film Comment.

Selected Filmography: A Self-Made Hero (96), The Beat That My Heart Skipped (04).

Winner, Grand Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival, and this year’s French submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Co-sponsored by Alliance Française de Portland and TV5MONDE, and with support from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

150 Minutes    

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, French Language.

Marthe and Michel live with their kids on the edge of a near-completed freeway. When the road is suddenly opened up to traffic, the noise and pollution threatens to destroy the family unit. Ursula Meier's absurd comedy—a "road movie in reverse"—brilliantly redefines the meaning of home.

With just the right touches of farce and drama, Home is what Meier has termed “a road movie in reverse.” An ordinary middle class family lives an ordinary life in their ordinary house that sits next to an unused highway. With no neighbors or cars for miles, they live a typical day-to-day existence. Michel (Olivier Gourmet) goes to work by getting into his car on the other side of the empty stretch of road that seems to lead nowhere. Marthe (Isabelle Huppert) maintains a calm household while her teenage daughter listens to music and suns herself next to the guardrails. Life is good—or at least average. But when the highway is suddenly opened and cars whizzing by become the norm, the family’s dynamic changes: dad’s stressed, mom’s freaking out, and things spiral out of control. Ultimately, the family needs to redefine what “home” means.

Filmography: Sleepless (99), Table Manners (01), Strong Shoulders (02).

In French with English subtitles.

Sponsored by Consulate General of Switzerland, San Francisco.

95 Minutes    

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, French Language.

A powerful crime drama set in Jaffa’s multi-ethnic Ajami neighborhood, a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

Winner of the Best Film, Director, and Screenplay awards at this year’s Israeli Film Academy ceremony, this powerful collaboration between Shani (Israeli) and Copti (Palestinian) offers a unique perspective on the myriad complexities of the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ajami is a tough Jaffa neighborhood, rife with tension. In this multi-ethnic stew, a powerful Bedouin clan wages a violent vendetta against a poor family that has offended its honor. A teenage worker from the occupied territories desperately tries to raise money to help his ailing mother. A Jewish police detective struggles with the disappearance of his brother. An affluent Palestinian and his Jewish girlfriend dream about the future. As these gripping stories intersect, we witness the dramatic collisions in a world of sustained, machismo-fueled chaos.

First Feature Film.

This year’s Israeli submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest.

120 Minutes    

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, Jewish, Middle Eastern.

Set in the 1930s Manchurian desert, three Korean men—a bounty hunter, a gang leader, and a train robber—meet aboard a train and engage in a chase across Manchuria to take possession of a mysterious map.

“One might call director Kim Ji-woon’s stunning homage to Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone a kimchi Western. The film boasts masterful high-speed action like you’ve never seen before: think Stagecoach meets high-wire Jackie Chan meets The Road Warrior. Tongue firmly in cheek, this action-comedy is set on the Japanese-occupied Manchurian steppe in the 1930s as a bizarre trio of Korean exiles—The Good (a sharp-shooting bounty hunter in a duster), The Bad (a wickedly handsome knife-throwing gang leader) and The Weird (a two-fisted gun-slinging thief)—get their hands on a treasure map and then set off in hot pursuit of buried Qing dynasty loot. Kim’s exhilarating, escalating mayhem pits our three antiheroes against fast-moving trains, horses, trucks, motorcycles, Jeeps, explosions, Japanese and Chinese soldiers, and Russian bandits. And, after all that, their final, existential showdown does not disappoint.”—AFI Fest.

Selected Filmography: A Tale of Two Sisters (03), Bittersweet Life (05).

130 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Asian.