2010_fall_CFS_schedule

The Centenary Film Society
@
The Robinson Film Center
Fall 2010 Schedule

Our films start around 7:30 pm (depending on the length of the film before our film; check the Robinson Film Center web site or call 459-4122 for exact details).
PLEASE NOTE: Admission to all Centenary Film Society films is free to members of the Centenary community with their Centenary ID. Admission is only $5 for the general public.
For more information: email Anna Medica, Student President (amedica@centenary.edu) or Jefferson Hendricks, Faculty Director (jhendric@centenary.edu).

Tu Sept 14 @ the RFC: Terribly Happy (Frygtelig lykkelig) -- (Denmark, 2008; Dir. Henrik Ruben Genz. Cast: Jakob Cedergren, Kim Bodnia, Lene Maria Christensen. in Danish w/subtitles. 95 minutes. Rated: PG-13.)

Robert Hanson is a Copenhagen police officer who, following a nervous breakdown, is transferred to a small provincial town to take on the mysteriously vacated marshall position and subsequently gets mixed up with a married femme fatale. Robert’s big city temperament makes it impossible for him to fit in, or understand the uncivilized, bizarre behavior displayed by the townspeople. Quickly spiraling downward into an intense diabollically-comic fable reminiscent of the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men or David Lynch's Blue Velvet, Terribly Happy displays a unique, often macabre vision of the darkest depths to which people will go to achieve a sense of security and belonging.

"Something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark. Terribly Happy, adapted from a novel by Erling Jepsen, is not a horror movie but a witty, expertly constructed psychological thriller." Stephen Holden, New York Times

Th Sept 16 @ the RFC: Ondine -- (Ireland/USA, 2009; Dir. Neil Jordan. Cast: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Dervla Kirwan, Stephen Rea. 111 minutes. Rated PG-13.)

Oscar-winning filmmaker Neil Jordan’s Ondine follows Syracuse (Colin Farrell), a lonely Irish fisherman who one day pulls a beautiful woman named Ondine out of the sea in his nets. His young daughter Annie is convinced that she is a “selkie” – a creature from Irish folklore much like a mermaid. Syracuse has his doubts, but as Ondine brings some luck and joy to his otherwise downcast life, he starts to think she might be right.

“A GORGEOUS CONTEMPORARY FAIRY TALE. When director Jordan resolves the mystery, he does so beautifully, satisfying both realists and those who long for a storybook ending.” – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post

Tu Sept 21 @ the RFC: Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky -- (France, 2009; Dir. Jan Kounen. Cast: Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen. in French, Russian, and English with subtitles. 120 minutes. Rated: R.)

Seven years after she was inspired by the bold debut of Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," famed fashion designer Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis) -- reeling from the death of her beau, Boy Capel (Anatole Taubmann) -- meets and falls for the Russian composer (Mads Mikkelsen) in 1920s Paris. A forbidden romance ensues in Jan Kounen's sumptuous period drama, the closing film of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

"Exquisitely styled, beautifully scored and redolent of eroticism and artistry, Jan Kounen's sensuous film restages the creative process as amour fou." Anton Bitel, Film4

Tu Sept 28 @ the RFC: Orlando -- (United Kingdom, 1992; Dir. Sally Potter. Cast: Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Quentin Crisp. 92 minutes. Rated: PG-13.)

Director Sally Potter adapts Virginia Woolf's 1928 allegorical novel about a woman who lives for 400 years -- the first half as a man -- in this surrealist adventure of sex and gender roles throughout the ages. The transition from man to woman and from the 16th to the 20th century is realized by Tilda Swinton's breakthrough performance and the film's Oscar-nominated costumes and art direction.

"At times breathtaking, at times frustrating, Orlando is an always intriguing fiction that examines life, literature, social mores and sexual difference over the period of the last four centuries in England. Nothing less than the deconstruction of Western civilization's patriarchal underpinnings, the movie is continually thought-provoking and challenging." Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

Tu Oct 5 @ the RFC: North Face (Nordwand) -- (Germany/Austria/Switzerland, 2008. Dir. Philipp Stölzl. Cast: Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek. in German with subtitles. 126 minutes. Rated: PG-13.)

Based on a true story, North Face is a suspenseful adventure film about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in 1936, as Nazi propaganda urges the nation’s Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif — the Eiger — two reluctant German climbers begin their daring ascent.

"A straightforward, wickedly suspenseful man-versus-nature saga of the type that rarely gets made anymore." Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle

Tu Oct 19 @ the RFC: Rudo y Cursi -- (Mexico, 2008; Dir. Carlos Cuarón. Cast: Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Jessica Mas. in Spanish with subtitles. 103 minutes. Rated: R.)

Beto (Diego Luna) and Tato (Gael García Bernal) Verdusco are brothers who work at a banana plantation and also play soccer for the village team. Nicknamed “Tough” because of his personality and football style, Beto dreams of becoming a professional soccer player; Tato’s dream is to be a famous singer, and both share the dream of building a house for their mother, Elvira. Their bad luck changes, however, when “Batuta,” a soccer talent scout, discovers them accidentally and they end up leaving their small town life and travelling to the Mexico City to seek their fortune.

"Hilarious, satirical, and melancholy, Rudo y Cursi may not go as deep as Y Tu Mamá También, but it has a similar vivacity. It turns this tale of brotherly bonds and sibling rivalry into one of the year's most memorable comic offerings." David Ansen, Newsweek

Tu Oct 26 @ the RFC: My Mexican Shiva (Morirse está en Hebreo) -- (Mexico, 2007. Dir. Alejandro Springall. Cast: Blanca Guerra, Martha Roth, Sergio Kleiner. in Spanish, Hebrew, and Yiddish with subtitles. 98 minutes. Rated: R.)

After a free-spirited Jewish patriarch drops dead during a party, his friends and family come together to sit shivah over him but spend much of their time complaining about his roguish ways. This bawdy Mexican comedy by writer-director Alejandro Springall uses the seven days of shivah to launch a series of hilariously escalating confrontations, including one in which elderly men nearly come to blows over who's the more genuine Jew. Meanwhile, two Yiddish-speaking angels, invisible to all but the moviegoers, dutifully take notes on the proceedings to determine whether Moishe's spirit will follow angels of light or angels of darkness after the shivah.

"Culture shock often proves the stuff of comedy, but the sight of a silver-studded, sombrero-topped mariachi band breaking into a rousing rendition of "Hava Nagila" transports diversity into the realm of the surreal." Ronnie Scheib, Variety

Tu Nov 2 @ the RFC: Séraphine -- (France, 2008; Dir. Martin Provost. Cast: Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent. in French and German with subtitles. 125 minutes. Rated: PG-13.)

Séraphine is the true story of Séraphine Louis (aka Séraphine de Senlis), a simple and profoundly devout housekeeper who in 1905 at age 41 — self-taught and with the instigation of her guardian angel — began painting brilliantly colorful canvases. In 1912 Wilhelm Uhde, a German art critic and collector discovered her paintings while she worked for him as a maid in his lodgings. Director Martin Provost builds his story around the relationship between the avant-garde art dealer and the visionary cleaning lady, forging a testament to the mysteries of creativity and the resilience of one woman’s spirit. A sleeper hit in France, Séraphine went on to a surprise win of the Best Picture and Best Actress for Yolande Moreau along with five other awards at the 2009 Cesars, the French equivalent of the Academy Awards.

"With exquisitely simple images and minimal dialogue, Séraphine is both haunting and humane." Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Tu Nov 9 @ the RFC: Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country -- (Denmark/Sweden/Norway, 2009; Dir. Anders Østergaard. in English and Burmese with subtitles. 84 minutes. Rated: PG-13.)

Anders Østergaard’s award-winning documentary shows a rare inside look into the 2007 uprising in Myanmar through the cameras of the independent journalist group, Democratic Voice of Burma. While 100,000 people (including 1,000s of Buddhist monks) took to the streets to protest the country's repressive regime that has held them hostage for over 40 years, foreign news crews were banned to enter and the internet was shut down. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of 30 anonymous and underground video journalists (VJs) recorded these historic and dramatic events on handycams and smuggled the footage out of the country, where it was broadcast worldwide via satellite. Risking torture and life imprisonment, the VJs vividly document the brutal clashes with the military and undercover police – even after they themselves become targets of the authorities.

"Burma VJ (Video Journal) is as gripping as any Hollywood thriller - and as heartbreaking as any weepie as we watch the celebratory mood that briefly blossomed in Rangoon give way to appalling violence." David Edwards, Daily Mirror (UK)

Tu Nov 16 @ the RFC: Hidden Fortress -- (Japan, 1958; Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki. in Japanese with subtitles. 126 minutes. Rated: PG-13.)

Having escaped the clutches of an enemy clan, Princess Yuki (Misa Uehara), her loyal retainers, and her faithful military commandant, General Rokurota Makabe (Toshiro Mifune), are hiding out in a secret mountain fortress. With their clan’s precious gold horde hidden in sticks of firewood, they plan to make their escape across a nearby border by disguising themselves as peasants. Once on their way, it’s one chase, swordfight, and hairs-breadth escape after another. Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale.

"One of the greatest action-adventure films ever made...The Hidden Fortress is first and foremost a flat-out 'pure entertainment' in the grand tradition—and a stunning demonstration of the visual power of the wide-screen film." David Ehrenstein, The Current

Tu Nov 30 @ the RFC: Lourdes -- (France/Austria, 2009; Dir. Jessica Hausner. Cast: Sylvie Testud, Léa Seydoux. in French with subtitles. 96 minutes. Rated: PG-13.)

Christine has been confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. In order to escape her isolation, she makes a journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the Pyrenees Mountains. She wakes up one morning seemingly cured by a miracle. The leader of the pilgrimage group, a handsome 40 year-old volunteer from the Order of Malta, begins to take an interest in her. She tries to hold on to this newfound chance for happiness while her cure provokes envy and admiration.

"Compelling, unusual and beautifully shot French drama with a terrific central performance from Sylvie Testud and a darkly funny script that really gets under your skin -- this is one of the best films of the year." Matthew Turner, View London