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August 2008
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Forei gn Films
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New to View
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Vol. 2, No. 8 |
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The Foreign Films New to View newsletter is a monthly publication designed to keep you up to date on some of HCPL's latest foreign films on DVD. The selections in this newsletter are just a sample of the rich variety of films available to you through your library. Use the sign-up box above to have this newsletter sent directly to your e-mail every month, with new, recommended movies for you to view. See Foreign Films Archive.
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Angel-A, directed by Luc Besson
(in French, with English subtitle)
André is in trouble. He owes more money than he can possibly repay, and his only solution seems to be suicide. But as he prepares to leap from a bridge into the Seine, he finds himself instead rescuing an equally despairing woman, who also happens to be gorgeous...and quite possibly an angel. Angela then uses the rest of the night to rescue in turn the hapless André, gathering the necessary funds to pay off his gambling debts and rebuilding his demolished self-esteem.
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City of Men, directed by Paulo Morelli
(in Portuguese, with English subtitles)
Acerola and Laranjinha, two poverty-stricken young men living in Rio de Janeiro, have been closer than best friends, almost brothers, in fact. Yet, as in its companion work City of God, life in the mean streets of Rio is rife with conflict and suffering. When a renegade gang member creates a rival gang, the two friends find themselves on opposite sides of a gang war. Complicating matters even more is the fact that while Laranjinha is searching for his father, Acerola is himself a father to a little boy, whose mother wants to escape the sad and desperate life, leaving the infant with Acerola.
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Close-Up, directed by Abbas Kiarostami
(in Farsi, with English subtitles)
One of Iran's most acclaimed directors, Kiarostami presents a semi-documentary of a true story, complete with a cast of the very people involved, who re-create the story. The story involves a cinephile, who impersonates a film director and then faces the consequences when he is charged with fraud. Is he a burglar, using a ruse to case his next job, or is he a naïve but ardent lover of the art of the cinema?
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The Holy Girl, directed by Lucrecia Martel
(in Spanish, with English subtitles)
Amalia and Josefina are two teens who are becoming more aware of their changing bodies as well as their increasing religious passions. When a middle-aged physician makes a pass at Amalia, she decides to save him from his sinful ways.
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Mithya, directed by Rajat Kapoor
(in Hindi, with English subtitles)
VK is a struggling actor, who lands the role of his life. In fact, he may even end up paying with his life for this role. He agrees to impersonate a mob leader, whom a rival gang plans to murder, replacing the deceased mob boss with VK. Oops, VK finds himself in big trouble now, in this dark comedy of errors.
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Mon Oncle, directed by Jacques Tati
(in French, with English subtitles)
While this film provides subtitles, very little dialogue is actually spoken, as in any typical Tati movie,with most of the comic devices coming from sound effects and visual images. Similarly to Playtime and Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, M. Hulot just can't quite fit into the modern world. Still, he stumbles along, pipe in mouth and umbrella in tow, oblivious to the fast pace and gleaming chrome of the modern world. When his sister and brother-in-law cringe at his influence over his nephew, they hope a job in a modern factory will ease him into a more up-to-date lifestyle.
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Nine Queens, directed by Fabian Bielinsky
(in Spanish, with English subtitles)
Juan is a small-time grifter, who teams up with Marcos and an assortment of other ne'er-do-wells in a scheme to sell forged stamps - the nine queens in the title - to a business man, who himself is in trouble with the law. This psychological thriller keeps the audience guessing until the end about who is conning whom.
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Persepolis, directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
(in French, with English subtitles)
Based on the autobiographical graphic novel of the same title, this animated film allows viewers to see the unfolding events in 1970's Iran, as it moves from a nation governed by the hated Shah to one ruled by radical Islamic revolutionaries. Because of her outspokeness to the injustices she sees around her, Marji is sent to safety in Europe, but that also proves to be problematic. When she returns to her homeland, she will need to make another decision about where, if anywhere, she truly belongs.
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Sunflower, directed by Zhang Yang
(in Mandarin, with English subtitles)
Yang offers viewers a look at life in Beijing after the Cultural Revolution. Gengnian returns after six years in a labor camp. His ability to pursue his previous vocation as a painter is long gone, thanks to the privations of his imprisonment, but perhaps he can transfer his talent and love of art to his son Xiangyang. Rebellious Xiangyang, however, has other ideas, and so begins the thirty-year saga of father-son tensions in a world where the modern now smacks up against the ancient and traditional.
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Times and Winds, directed by Reha Erdem
(in Turkish, with English subtitles)
Three young friends live a less than idyllic life in a remote Turkish village. Their everyday lives seem at first glance to reflect a pastoral harmony with the world around them. That illusion though is only that - an illusion. Life is harsh; families are full of tensions; wishes and desires are thwarted as easily as the wind blows. The children find moments of joy, while surrounded steady hard work and ambivalent feelings towards parents. |
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