*UPDATED*
The original film planned for Dec. 5 was not available. We will now be screening the Russian film "How I Ended This Summer", from 2010.
How I Ended This Summer, 2010
Director: Aleksei Popgrebsky
Origin: Russia
Language: Russian
Running time: 124 minutes
At an isolated science station in the Arctic, meteorologist Sergei and young intern Pavel face the impending closure of the now-irrelevant base. While Sergei eagerly anticipates returning to his family, Pavel still hopes for a grand adventure. Time is distorted so far north, where the never-setting summer sun can make a day stretch into weeks, and this engrossing thriller examines how altered perceptions affect the two men. (from Netflix.com)
Watch the trailer on Netflix.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
November 28, 2012 - "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" (2011)
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, 2011
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Origin: Turkey | Bosnia and Herzegovina
Language: Turkish
Running time: 150 min.
A body has been buried in the grasslands of rural Turkey. Over the course of one night, a doctor and a detective from a nearby town join a search effort in which the desolate landscape comes to symbolize their own solemn, insular lives. (from Netflix.com)
U.S. box office: $138,730
Watch the trailer on IMDB.
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Review of last week's film ("Tuesday, After Christmas", 3.5 stars)Steven says: Here's another film that really benefitted from discussion. The director was methodical in his story telling, yet sneaky in his camera choices. People were deliberately left out of frames in several scenes, providing extra focus on one character while minimizing the other's impact in the scene. We've seen this same adulterous affair played out in countless movies, but this was one of the first I've seen where the script tried to humanize each player. No one wins in these situations, and he made it clear that, even after the end of the script, the characters had much more to overcome. I'd like to watch it again to pay more attention to the periphery and less to the subtitles.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Origin: Turkey | Bosnia and Herzegovina
Language: Turkish
Running time: 150 min.
A body has been buried in the grasslands of rural Turkey. Over the course of one night, a doctor and a detective from a nearby town join a search effort in which the desolate landscape comes to symbolize their own solemn, insular lives. (from Netflix.com)
U.S. box office: $138,730
Watch the trailer on IMDB.
---
Review of last week's film ("Tuesday, After Christmas", 3.5 stars)Steven says: Here's another film that really benefitted from discussion. The director was methodical in his story telling, yet sneaky in his camera choices. People were deliberately left out of frames in several scenes, providing extra focus on one character while minimizing the other's impact in the scene. We've seen this same adulterous affair played out in countless movies, but this was one of the first I've seen where the script tried to humanize each player. No one wins in these situations, and he made it clear that, even after the end of the script, the characters had much more to overcome. I'd like to watch it again to pay more attention to the periphery and less to the subtitles.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
November 14, 2012 - "Tuesday, After Christmas" (2010)
Reminder: There will be no film screening on Nov. 21, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
But on November 14, we will watch:
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Tuesday, After Christmas, 2010
Director; Radu Muntean
Origin: Romania
Language: Romanian
Running time: 99 min
Paul Hanganu (Mimi Branescu) is in love with two women: Adriana (Mirela Oprisor), his wife of 10 years, and Raluca (Maria Popistasu), his mistress of the past several months. Now, at a crossroads, Paul is forced to choose between them in this drama from Romanian director Radu Muntean. Combining careful staging and emotionally intense dialogue, the film presents an unblinking profile of a man in crisis and the women whose lives he's ensnared. (from Netflix.com)
U.S. box office: $25,866
Watch the trailer on YouTube.
---
Review of last week's film (Footnote, 4.5 stars)
Steven says: With close-ups galore, we don't miss much emotion on the faces of our main actors. In fact, the first three minutes or so is one camera focused on a father's face as his son gives an acceptance speech. So much going on behind those eyes. The film is expertly shot with snippets of fantasy thrown in; and in the climax, the editing and music bring a great amount of suspense and excitement to a largely academic paper trail. So what if there are more answers than questions? In this film, they serve to heighten the frustration felt by the main characters as they navigate their father-son relationship and professional differences.
But on November 14, we will watch:
---
Tuesday, After Christmas, 2010
Director; Radu Muntean
Origin: Romania
Language: Romanian
Running time: 99 min
Paul Hanganu (Mimi Branescu) is in love with two women: Adriana (Mirela Oprisor), his wife of 10 years, and Raluca (Maria Popistasu), his mistress of the past several months. Now, at a crossroads, Paul is forced to choose between them in this drama from Romanian director Radu Muntean. Combining careful staging and emotionally intense dialogue, the film presents an unblinking profile of a man in crisis and the women whose lives he's ensnared. (from Netflix.com)
U.S. box office: $25,866
Watch the trailer on YouTube.
---
Review of last week's film (Footnote, 4.5 stars)
Steven says: With close-ups galore, we don't miss much emotion on the faces of our main actors. In fact, the first three minutes or so is one camera focused on a father's face as his son gives an acceptance speech. So much going on behind those eyes. The film is expertly shot with snippets of fantasy thrown in; and in the climax, the editing and music bring a great amount of suspense and excitement to a largely academic paper trail. So what if there are more answers than questions? In this film, they serve to heighten the frustration felt by the main characters as they navigate their father-son relationship and professional differences.
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