September 5, 2012 - "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" (2006)

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, 2006
Director: Cristi Puiu
Origin: Romania
Language: Romanian
Running time: 150 min.

The plot of Romanian director Cristi Puiu's real-time drama is simple, following the travails of an ailing old man (veteran actor Ion Fiscuteanu) who waits for his illness to overtake him as a weary paramedic (Luminta Gheorghiu) shuttles him between hospitals. Inspired by filmmaker Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, Puiu's slyly metaphorical satire is the first installment of the planned series Six Stories from the Bucharest Suburbs. (from Netflix.com)

MPAA rating: Rated R for language and brief nudity
U.S. box office: $79,943

Watch the trailer on YouTube.

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A review of last week's film ("A Separation", 5 stars)
Steven says: The New York Times review of the movie says it so much better than I. The acting is superb, the tension is real, the plot is not ordinary but it is realistic. We see complex situations from our own lives and dealings with others. And we pass judgment on the characters for things we're not sure we would handle any other way. The story line delves into the definition of truth and justice, which is a moving target depending on your viewpoint and your own moral stances.

August 29, 2012 - "A Separation" (2011)

A Separation, 2011
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Origin: Iran
Language: Persian
Running time: 123 min.

An Iranian husband and wife split up over his decision to stay and care for his aging father instead of leaving the country with his family. But his fateful choice to hire a stranger to do most of the caretaking breeds unexpected consequences. (from Netflix.com)

MPAA rating: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material
U.S. box office: $7,098,492

Watch the trailer on IMDB.com

Announcing the Fall 2012 season

The Fall 2012 Season is August 29 – December, 2012.
All screenings but one for this season begin at 7:00 p.m. in Forney Hall, Room B124, 
480 Stadium Mall Drive, on the Purdue University campus (Oct. 10 will be in Beering 1245).
Parking is available in the Northwestern Avenue parking garage.

• Wednesday, August 29, 2012, A Separation, 2011; Director: Asghar Farhadi; Origin: Iran; Language: Persian;  123 min;  Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material 
• Wednesday, September 5, 2012, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, 2006; Director: Cristi Puiu; Origin: Romania; Language: Romanian; 150 min.; Rated R for language and brief nudity
• Wednesday, September 12, 2012, Certified Copy, 2010; Director: Abbas Kiarostami; Origin: France | Italy | Belgium; Language: French | English | Italian; 106 min  
• Wednesday, September 19, 2012, Kinyarwanda, 2011; Director: Alrick Brown; Origin: USA | France; Language: English | Kinyarwanda; 100 min
• Wednesday, September 26, 2012, Farewell, 2009; Director: Christian Carion; Origin: France; Language: French | English | Russian; 113 min
• Wednesday, October 3, 2012, Pariah, 2011; Director: Dee Rees; Origin: USA; Language: English;  86 min; Rated R for sexual content and language
• Wednesday, October 10, 2012, Cria Cuervos, 1976; Director: Carlos Saura; Origin: Spain; Language: Spanish; 110 min (Reminder: this week only will be in Beering 1245)
• Wednesday, October 17, 2012, Tales from a Golden Age, 2009; Director: Hanno Höfer, Razvan Marculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu, Ioana Uricaru; Origin: Romania | France; Language: Romanian; 155 min
• Wednesday, October 24, 2012, Tyrannosaur, 2011; Director: Paddy Considine; Origin: UK; Language: English; 92 min
• Wednesday, October 31, 2012, The Seventh Seal, 1957; Director: Ingmar Bergman; Origin: Sweden; Language: Swedish | Latin; 96 min
• Wednesday, November 7, 2012, Footnote, 2011; Director: Joseph Cedar; Origin: Israel; Language: Hebrew; 103 min; Rated PG for thematic elements, brief nudity, language and smoking
• Wednesday, November 14, 2012, Tuesday, After Christmas, 2010; Director: Radu Muntean; Origin: Romania ; Language: Romanian; 99 min
• Wednesday, November 28, 2012, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, 2011; Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Origin: Turkey | Bosnia and Herzegovina    ; Language: Turkish; 150 min.
• Wednesday, December 5, 2012, La Promesse, 1996; Directors: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne; Origin: Belgium | France | Luxembourg; Language: French | Romanian; 92 min
• Wednesday, December 12, 2012, Le Havre, 2011; Director: Aki Kaurismaki; Origin: Finland | France | Germany; Language: French; 93 min

August 8, 2012 - "The Time That Remains" (2011)

The Time That Remains, 2011

Director: Elia Suleiman
Origin: UK
Languages: Arabic | Hebrew | English
Running time: 109 min

From the creation of Israel in 1948 through the early 21st century, a Palestinian family experiences myriad triumphs and tragedies over the course of several generations in this sweeping drama from writer-director Elia Suleiman. (from Netflix.com)

U.S. box office: $18,719

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Review of last week's movie (3.5 stars)
Steven says: The tree as symbol of everything that is wrong and right about a family. It creeps. It searches for sustenance. It often steals one's heart (metaphorically) and it destroys things in its path in order to maintain its own strength. Not terribly subtle, the film still makes us think about the importance of things that we arbitrarily assign value to. In this film's instance, the assigned value is pretty high. The variety of coping mechanisms is what makes this film so real.