December 02, 2016 - "Ghost in the Shell" (1995)

Friday 7 p.m., December 02, 2016
Stanley Coulter Hall, Room 239


Director: Mamoru Oshii
Origin: Japan
Language: Japanese
Running time: 83 minutes

The year is 2029. The world has become intensively information oriented and humans are well-connected to the network. Crime has developed into a sophisticated stage by hacking into the interactive network. To prevent this, Section 9 is formed. These are cyborgs with incredible strengths and abilities that can access any network on Earth.

November 18, 2016 - "A Brighter Summer Day" (牯岭街少年杀人事件) (1991)

Friday 7 p.m., November 18, 2016
Stanley Coulter Hall, Room 239

Director: Edward Yang (杨德昌)
Origin: Taiwan
Language: Mandarin
Running time: 3 hours, 56 minutes

A Brighter Summer Day is a 1991 Taiwanese drama film directed by Edward Yang. The film is an extraordinarily large project for a Chinese-language film, not only for its duration of almost four hours, but also for its involvement of more than 100 amateur actors in different roles. The English title is derived from the lyrics of Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?". Based on a true story, primarily on a conflict between two youth gangs, a 14-year-old boy's girlfriend conflicts with the head of one gang for an unclear reason, until finally the conflict comes to a violent climax. The film depicts a great array of political and existential themes such as the need of guidance during adolescence, the loss of Taiwan’s cultural identity in favour of the growingly influential Western culture, the unrestrained violence caused by an uneasy socio-political juncture, the desire of migrating towards an expectedly better country, the hardships of parenthood, the awkwardly naive and sometimes dangerous way in which teenagers convey love and sex, the downside of multi-faceted friendship, the strained differences between social classes forced to coexist in the same dismal place, and, especially, the fatal and irreversible consequences of an aimless life and a confused upbringing.

November 11, 2016 - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Friday 7 p.m., November 11, 2016
Stanley Coulter Hall, Room 239

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Origin: USA | UK
Language: English | Russian
Running time: 95 min

In 1964, with the Cuban Missile Crisis fresh in viewers' minds, the Cold War at its frostiest, and the hydrogen bomb relatively new and frightening, Stanley Kubrick dared to make a film about what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button -- and played the situation for laughs. Dr. Strangelove's jet-black satire (from a script by director Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern) and a host of superb comic performances (including three from Peter Sellers) have kept the film fresh and entertaining, even as its issues have become (slightly) less timely.

November 4, 2016 - " The Baader Meinhof Complex" (2008)

Friday 7 p.m., November 4, 2016
Stanley Coulter Hall, Room 239

Director: Uli Edel
Origin: Germany | France | Czech Republic
Language: German | English | French | Swedish
Running time: 150 min

Director Uli Edel teams with screenwriter Bernd Eichinger to explore a dark period in German history with this drama detailing the rise and fall of the Red Army Faction, a left-wing terrorist organization that became increasingly active following World War II. Also known as the Baader-Meinhof Group, the Red Army Faction was formed by the radicalized children of the Nazi generation with the intended goal of battling Western imperialism and the West German establishment. Adapted from author Stefan Aust's definitive account of the group that resorted to killing innocent civilians in the name of democracy and justice, The Baader Meinhof Complex stars Moritz Bleibtreu as Andreas Baader and Martina Gedeck as Ulrike Meinhof. Bruno Ganz co-stars as Horst Herold, the head of the German police force faced with the task of bringing the Red Army Faction to justice..