Film and Impersonation
The Faculty Lecture Series presents a public lecture by Ted Perry, Fletcher Professor of the Arts, Film and Media Culture. Refreshments are available prior to the lecture.
Thursday, April 10, at 4:30 p.m., in McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Room 220. Free
The Shop on Main Street
The film and media culture program sponsors a screening of the 1965 film The Shop on Main Street as this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Film. As part of a Nazi Aryanization regulation, the quiet Slovak carpenter Tono is urged to take over the sewing shop of Rozalia, an older, Jewish woman. The two grow fond of each other. When Nazi authorities come to round up the Jews, Tono must decide whether he will turn her in or help her escape. The Shop on Main Street earned an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and a best actress nomination.
Sunday May 4, at 8:00 p.m., in Dana Auditorium. Free
Hirschfield International Film Series
Extraordinary foreign and independent films, screened at 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays, in Dana Auditorium. Admission is free.
April 5: The House of Sand
In 1910 Brazil, Vasco de Sá moves with his pregnant wife, Áurea, and her mother, Maria, from the city to the shifting dunes of the Maranhão desert. Shortly after their arrival, Vasco dies, leaving the women alone and without resources. Filmed entirely on location in northern Brazil, The House of Sand illustrates how three generations of women survive and adapt in a hostile environment. “Sensual, dreamlike, both intimate and epic”—Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer. In Portuguese with English subtitles. (Brazil, 2005, 98 minutes)
April 12: Iraq in Fragments
Director James Longley (Gaza Strip) surveys war-torn Iraq in three acts, building a picture of a country pulled in different directions by religious and ethnic rivalries. Filmed in verité style with no scripted narration, the film explores the lives of ordinary Iraqis in three regions, trying to survive in a land consumed by violence. “Visually arresting and deeply disheartening.”—Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News. Best Documentary, Sundance Film Festival, International Documentary Association, Chicago Film Festival. In Arabic and Kurdish with English subtitles. (Iraq, 2006, 94 minutes)
April 19: The Namesake
An aspiring engineer and his new wife move to New York from Calcutta in the late 1970s, and their American-born son grows up at the intersection of American culture and his family’s traditional Indian ways. In portraying the personal conflicts of globalization, director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay!) creates a winning, intimate film about the strength of family and the clash of cultures. “Brims with intelligence, compassion and sensuous delight in the textures, sights and sounds of life—all the way from the Taj Mahal to Pearl Jam.”—Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune. In Bengali, Hindi, and English with subtitles. (India/USA, 2006, 122 minutes)
April 26: Still Life
Coal miner Han Sanming returns to the Three Gorges to search for his ex-wife, whom he has not seen for 16 years. They meet on the bank of the Yangtze River and vow to remarry. Nurse Shen Hong looks for her long-missing husband, and though they embrace and waltz near the Yangtze, by the imposing Three Gorges Dam, they cannot bridge their years of separation. In this gorgeously crafted film, director Jia Zhang Ke (The World, Platform) uses cinematography to echo the characters’ desire to linger in the past and see the world maintain its beauty, despite the inexorable pull of change. Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival. In Mandarin with English subtitles. (China, 2006, 108 minutes)
May 3: The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Veteran filmmaker Ken Loach (Ladybird Ladybird, Land and Freedom) weaves the story of Damien and Teddy, brothers in 1920s Ireland. Teddy belongs to a guerilla squad that is fighting for Ireland’s liberation from English control; Damien is fully immersed in his medical school studies—until he experiences the war’s violence himself. The conflict within Ireland tests both brothers’ loyalties to their homeland and to each other. Golden Palm award, Cannes Film Festival. (UK/Ireland, 2006, 127 minutes)