SUBTITLED FILMS at the Seattle International Film Festival
1:1
(En Til En)
Denmark/Great Britain, 2005 (90 minutes) Director: Annette K. Olesen
Cast: Mohammed-Ali Bakier, Joy K. Petersen, Anette Støvelbæk
The love affair between a Danish girl and a Palestinian emigrant is rocked to its core when her brother is found beaten half to death and all suspicions point towards the local Arab community. Mistrust and racial animosity bubble to the surface in this tough drama about the lack of tolerance and understanding between cultures.
Saturday, May 27 7:15 pm, Harvard Exit
Sunday, May 28 1:30 pm, Harvard Exit
4 Barefooted Women
(4 Mujeres Descalzas)
Argentina, 2005 (90 minutes) Director: Santiago Loza
Cast: Eva Bianco, María Onetto, María Pesacq
In a Buenos Aires apartment devoid of furniture, four very different women are drawn together to share secrets, find support and overcome their
"
fear of life."
Director Santiago Loza'
s intimate, bittersweet approach creates magic from some deceptively simple elements.
Wednesday, June 7
9:30 pm, Harvard Exit
Sunday, June 18 9:30 pm, Harvard Exit
7 Virgins
(7 Virgénes)
Spain, 2005 (86 minutes) Director: Alberto Rodríguez
Cast: Juan José Ballesta, Jesús Carroza, Vicente Romero, Alba Rodríguez, Julián Villagrán
With a 48-hour pass from juvenile detention to attend his brother
's wedding, Tano indulges in drinking, drugging, stealing and making love. The brief leave becomes a compulsory journey toward maturity when he realizes everything he thought he knew about his old neighborhood, his family and friends has changed.
Monday, June 5 9:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Wednesday, June 7 4:15 pm, Pacific Place
13 (Tzameti)
France/Georgia, 2005 (95 minutes) Director: Géla Babluani
Cast: Georges Babluani, Aurélion Recoing, Pascal Bongard, Fred Ulysse, Nicolas Pignon, Vania Vilers
Hoping for a quick payout, an amiable roofer intercepts a letter addressed to his delinquent employer. What he has taken instead is an invitation to hell, and one with paying spectators. Not for the meek, writer/director Gela Babluani's ingenious feature debut is a thriller that contains a truly sweat-inducing second act.
Friday, June 2 9:30 pm, Pacific Place
Sunday, June 4
9:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
20 Centimeters
(20 centimetros)
Spain, 2005 (113 minutes) Director: Ramón Salazar
Cast: Mónica Cervera,Pablo Puyol, Rossy De Palma, Pilar Bardem
Reminiscent of the Almodovar style and grounded by an amazing performance by Mónica Cervera, this bittersweet musical comedy is about a narcoleptic transvestite prostitute who longs to rid herself of the 20 centimeters hanging between her legs. She finds a refuge in her dreams where she is transformed into a seductive song-and-dance sensation.
Sunday, June 4 9:45 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Adam
'
s Apples (Adams Aebler)
Denmark, 2005 (94 minutes) Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
Cast: Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
A wicked black comedy about good and evil, ADAM
'
S APPLES centers around a small country parish where convicts are sentenced to community service. When a vicious neo-Nazi named Adam arrives he is assigned to the parish
's pride-and-joy apple tree, which is immediately beset with ravens, worms and lightning. Has Satan come?
Friday, May 26 4:00 pm, Pacific Place
Monday, May 29
6:30 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Ahlaam
Iraq/UK/Netherlands, 2006 (110 minutes) Director: Mohamed Al-Daradji
Cast: Aseel Adil, Bashir Al-Majid, Mohamed Hashim
Three patients are confined to a Baghdad asylum during the ongoing war, each with a searing tale to tell. Filmed under truly hellish conditions—including repeated kidnappings of cast and crew by both insurgent and American forces—writer/director/cameraman Mohamed Al-Daradji
'
s debut is a mature, visually stunning triumph.
Saturday, May 27 2:15 pm, Harvard Exit
Monday, May 29 9:15 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Los Aires Difíciles
Spain, 2005 (90 minutes) Director: Gerardo Herrera
Cast: José Luis García Pérez, Cuca Escribano
Still haunted by the tragic ending to a childhood romance, a middle-aged man gets swept into a passionate encounter with his housekeeper only to discover that she has some demons of her own. Director Gerardo Herrero keeps the tension high and puts the gorgeous coastal Spanish setting to breathtaking use.
Saturday, June 17 7:20 pm, Pacific Place
Sunday, June 18
1:30 pm, Pacific Place
Allegro
Denmark, 2005 (88 minutes)
Director: Christoffer Boe
Cast: Ulrich Thomsen, Helena Christiansen, Henning Moritzen In order to recover a secret from his past, a perfectionist piano maestro must enter
"
The Zone,"
a mysterious section of Copenhagen where lost memories take on tangible shape. Christoffer Boe
's (RECONSTRUCTION) visually stunning, narratively crooked fantasy is a real trip, in every sense of the word.
Monday, June 5 7:00 pm, Pacific Place
Thursday, June 15
4:30 pm, Pacific Place
Awakening From the Dead
(Budjenje Is Mrtvih)
Serbia/Montenegro, 2005 (136 minutes) Director: Milos Radivojevic
Cast: Svetozar Cvetkovic, Ljuba Tadic, Anita Mancic
It begins at the end: disillusioned liberal professor Miki climbs out of his own grave. The Americans have just begun their 1999 bombing campaign over Serbia and he
'
s come home to recriminate his father, in this scathing indictment of Balkan generation gaps and the deep wounds they inflict.
Monday, May 29 9:30 pm, Pacific Place
Friday, June 2 4:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Backstage
France, 2005 (115 minutes) Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
Cast: Emmanuelle Seigner, Isild le Besco, Noémie Lvovsky
Emanuelle Seigner (SWIMMING POOL) stars as a pop diva who brings a star-struck young female fan into her life. They fashion a strange, mutually parasitic relationship that treads a middle ground between celebrity obsession and a hormone-fueled attraction, in this fascinating music-driven character piece.
Friday, June 16 9:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Sunday, June 18
3:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
The Betrayal
(La Trahison)
France/Belgium, 2005 (80 minutes) Director: Philippe Faucon
Cast: Vincent Martinez, Ahmed Berrhama, Cyril Troley, Medhi Yacef, Medhi Idriss
The setting is war-torn Algeria during the early 1970s. When he discovers evidence that would seem to indicate a close confidant
's treachery, a sympathetic French lieutenant in the occupying forces is compelled to make decisions likely to cause ethnic tensions to erupt into violence, in this elegant, understated thriller.
Tuesday, May 30 9:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Thursday, June 1
4:00 pm, Neptune Theatre
The Birthday
(L'
Anniversaire)
France, 2005 (100 minutes)
Director: Diane Kurys
Cast: Lambert Wilson, Michèle Laroque, Jean-Hughes Anglade
Powerful media CEO Raphael got his start as a youthful idealist at a pirate radio station. He responds to his brother damning autobiography by inviting old friends from the radio station and his brother for a weekend getaway on his birthday. His gift to them? Revelations, cruelty and unexpected generosity.
Wednesday, June 7 6:45 pm, Pacific Place
Saturday, June 10
3:45 pm, Lincoln Square
A Bittersweet Life
(Dal kom han in-saeng)
South Korea, 2005 (118 minutes) Director: Kim Jee-woon
Cast: Lee Byeong-heon, Kim Yeong-cheol, Hwang Jeong-min
Sun-woo is an ice-cold perfectionist who spends his days as a hotel manager. On the side, he
'
s a Mr. Fix-It for his mobster boss. When he misinterprets an ambiguous command involving the boss
' attractive girlfriend, he wreaks bloody havoc on all concerned, in this stylish revenge drama.
Saturday, May 27 9:30 pm, Harvard Exit
Tuesday, May 30
4:15 pm, Neptune Theatre
Blood Rain
South Korea, 2005 (119 minutes) Director: Kim Dae-seung, Lee Won-jae
Cast: Cha Seung-won, Park Yong-woo, Ji Seong
In this imaginative, period detective thriller, a series of gruesome murders takes place on medieval Dongwha Island, apparently fulfilling a shamanist prophecy. Lavish costumes and vivid production design grace this riveting story of what later centuries will call forensics.
Tuesday, June 6 9:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Saturday, June 10 9:30 pm, Lincoln Square
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
(Ang pagdadalaga mi Maximo Oliveros)
Philippines, 2005 (100 minutes) Director: Aureas Solito
Cast: Nathan Lopez, JR Valentin, Soliman Cruz
A gay pre-teen in a Manila slum falls in love with the handsome cop next
door, causing his family of petty criminals no small amount of grief. This
dynamic debut transcends its indie budget with humor, gritty drama and
charm.
Friday, June 2 9:15 pm, Broadway Performance Hall
Sunday, June 4
11:00 am, Broadway Performance Hall
Broken Sky
(El cielo Dividido)
Mexico, 2006 (140 minutes) Director: Julián Hernandez
Cast: Miguel Ángel Hoppe, Fernando Arroyo, Alejandro Rojo
A chance encounter in a disco spins an established gay couple into an erratic, dangerously decaying orbit. Exhibiting breathtaking command of the medium, director Julián Hernandez presents a near-wordless love triangle between three attractive young men.
Saturday, June 17 9:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Sunday, June 18
11:00 am, Harvard Exit
Burnt Out
(Sauf le Respect que je vous dois)
France, 2005 (90 minutes) Director: Fabienne Godet
Cast: Olivier Gourmet, Dominique Blanc, Julie Depardieu
A regular Joe launches into an explosive rage against the impassive corporate machine—his passive-aggressive boss in particular—after his best friend is let go without warning. Utilizing a nifty array of flashbacks, debuting director Fabienne Godet delivers a taut, occasionally grisly slice of white-collar neo-noir.
Tuesday, June 13 6:45 pm, Pacific Place
Thursday, June 15
4:00 pm, Harvard Exit
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Canada, 2005 (129 minutes) Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Cast: Michel Côté, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Marc-André Grondin
A huge hit in its native Canada, this poignantly observed gay coming-of-age story follows young Zac and his family through the first two decades of his life in suburban Quebec. Beautifully acted and filled with moments of remarkably inventive humor and visual lyricism,
C.R.A.Z.Y. is a crowd-pleaser of the highest order.
Friday, June 16 9:00 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Sunday, June 18 1:15 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Carmen in Khayelitsha
(U-Carmen eKhayelitsha)
South Africa, 2005 (126 minutes) Director: Mark Dornford-May
Cast: Pauline Malefane, Andile Tshoni, Zweilungile Sidloyi
A carefree worker in a cigarette factory sets her sights on a straight-laced policeman, with fateful consequences. Set in the South African township of Khayalitsha and sung entirely in the regional language of Xhosa, this vibrant update of Bizet
'
s enduring opera breaks free of the work'
s stage origins to create a unique cinematic experience.
Wednesday, May 31 6:45 pm, Neptune Theatre
Sunday, June 4 4:00 pm, Lincoln Square
The Cave of the Yellow Dog
(Die Höhle des Gelben Hundes)
Mongolia/Germany, 2005 (90 minutes) Director: Byambasuren Davaa
Cast: Urjindorj Batchuluun, Babbayar Batchuluun, Nansal Batchuluun
This simple story of a young girl
'
s struggle to adopt a stray dog against her father'
s wishes provides a riveting entrée into the everyday lives of Mongolian nomads. With her follow-up to THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL, filmmaker Byambasuren Davaa has created another visually and dramatically arresting ethnographic docudrama.
Tuesday, May 30 9:15 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Saturday, June 3
2:00 pm, Lincoln Square
Chinaman
(Kinamand)
Denmark/China, 2005 (88 minutes) Director: Henrik Ruben Genz
Cast: Bjarne Henriksen, Vivian Wu, Lin Kun Wu, Paw Henriksen, Charlotte Fich, Nicolas Winding Refn
Keld is a struggling plumber whose wife of more than 25 years leaves him unexpectedly. On one of his nightly visits to a Chinese take-out joint, the owner makes him a business proposal that has results far beyond his wildest dreams, in this sweet and sour tale of love when it's least expected.
Tuesday, June 6 6:30 pm, Harvard Exit
Thursday, June 8
4:30 pm, Pacific Place
Close to Home
(Karov la bayit)
Israel, 2006 (90 minutes) Director: Dalia Hager, Vidi Bilu
Cast: Smadar Sayar, Naaina Schendar, Irit Suki, Katia Zimbris
Two young Israeli women with completely different temperaments are assigned to patrol the streets of Jerusalem as part of their military service. Even under the strain of politics and borders they live their lives with all the crushes, breakups and family issues that go with them.
Wednesday, June 14 4:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Saturday, June 17
7:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Combat
Belgium, 2006 (57 minutes) Director: Patrick Carpentier
Cast: Leo Joris, Tomas Matauko
In this Teddy Award-winning semi-fictional
"
filmed diary,"
the lines between brutality and desire are blurred as a hand-to-hand combat between two men in the woods becomes a ritual of sensuality, while the narrator relates a story about the renewal of a strange desire.
Saturday, May 27 9:30 pm, Northwest Film Forum
Monday, May 29
5:00 pm, Northwest Film Forum
A Comedy of Power
(L'
ivresse du pouvoir)
France/Germany, 2006 (110 minutes)
Director: Claude Chabrol
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, François Bérleand, Patrick Bruel
In a return to form for the great Claude Chabrol (LA CéRéMONIE), Isabelle Huppert stars as a magistrate whose investigation into a fraud case uncovers
some powerful secrets. When she chooses to wield that knowledge for personal gain, however, she learns that there are limits to her power.
Saturday, June 17 9:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Sunday, June 11
9:30 pm, Lincoln Square
Crime Novel
(Romanzo Criminale)
Italy/United Kingdom/France, 2005 (146 minutes) Director: Michele Placido
Cast: Stefano Accorsi, Anna Mouglalis, Kim Rossi Stuart
Set on the gritty streets of 1970s Italy, three juvenile delinquents plot and claw their way to full mob-hood. As the leading investigator obsesses over bringing them to justice, he finds himself compromised by his love for the girlfriend of one of the criminals.
Thursday, June 15 9:00 pm, Neptune Theatre
Saturday, June 17
4:00 pm, Pacific Place
Dark Horse
(Voksne Mennesker)
Denmark/Iceland, 2005 (106 minutes) Director: Dagur Kári
Cast: Jakob Cedergren, Tilly Scott Pedersen, Nicolas Bro
Daniel is paid by the heartsick to graffiti declarations of love on walls near the objects of their affection, but his days of carefree life come to an end when he falls in love with a flighty bakery worker. Shot in hazy black-and-white in tribute to the New Wave films of the
'
60s.
Sunday, May 28 11:00 am, Harvard Exit
Tuesday, May 30 6:45 pm, Pacific Place
The Days
(Dong-Chun De Rizi)
China/Hong Kong, 1993 (80 minutes) Director: Wang Xiaoshuai
Cast: Liu Xiaodong, Yu Hong, Liu Hua
Echoes of Antonioni grace this black-and-white mini-masterpiece, a chronicle of the last days of the deteriorating relationship of two struggling painters in post-Tiananmen Beijing.
Sunday, June 4 11:00 am, Harvard Exit
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Moartea Domnului Lazarescu
Romania, 2005 (154 minutes) Director: Cristi Puiu
Cast: Ion Fiscuteanu, Luminta Gheorghin, Gabriel Spahiu
A retired engineer spends what could be his last night on Earth being shuttled through a nightmarish series of hospitals in an attempt to actually get treatment. Presented almost in real time, this grimly humorous, marvelously insightful film has been a critical favorite ever since its ecstatically received premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Saturday, May 27 11:00 am, Harvard Exit
Tuesday, May 30
9:15 pm, Pacific Place
Delwende
(Delwende, leve-toi et marche)
Burkina Faso/France/Switzerland, 2005 (90 minutes) Director: S. Pierre Yaméogo
Cast: Blandine Yameogo, Claire Ilboudo, Celestin Zongo, Abdoulaye Komboudri
A rash of deaths in a West African village leads to a beautiful young dancer being exiled to a mysterious community of witches. Based on true events and skillfully utilizing a supporting cast of non-actors, this is an intriguing look at the persistent power of superstition.
Friday, June 9 9:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Monday, June 12
4:30 pm, Egyptian Theatre
The District!
(Nyocker)
Hungary, 2004 (95 minutes) Director: Áron Gauder
Cast: Voices: L.L. Junior, László Szacsvay, Andrea Roatis
Like an Eastern European SOUTH PARK, this irreverent animated satire follows Ritchie as he tries to bring peace to his feuding neighborhood by traveling back to the Stone Age and turning his ghetto into oil-rich property. But his plan attracts the ire of everyone from the Pope to Osama bin Laden to George W. Bush.
Wednesday, June 7 4:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Saturday, May 27
11:59 pm, Neptune Theatre
Dreaming of Space
(Kosmos kak predchuvstvie)
Russia, 2005 (90 minutes) Director: Alexey Uchitel
Cast: Yevgeny Mironov, Yevgeny Tsiganov, Irina Pegova
It
's 1957 and the USSR has just launched its first satellite into space. In this time of paranoia, Konyok, a gullible cook living in a restricted zone, meets an enigmatic stranger who was formerly a political prisoner now secretly obsessed with defecting.
Saturday, June 10 1:30 pm, Lincoln Square
Monday, June 12 9:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Early in the Morning
(un Matin bonne heure)
Guinea/France, 2006 (75 minutes) Director: Gahité Fofana
Cast: Mamoudou Camara, Sory Kandia Kouyaté, Amy Boiro
A raw and critical story rooted in the economic exploitation of Africa, EARLY IN THE MORNING follows Yaguiné and Fodé, schoolboys who try in vain to find work to help their poor families. Lured by the symbols of Western affluence and power that surround them, the two stow away on a flight to Europe.
Friday, May 26 4:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Sunday, May 28
1:30 pm, Pacific Place
Elsa & Fred
(Elsa y Fred)
Spain/Argentina, 2005 (108 minutes) Director: Marcos Carnevale
Cast: Manuel Alexandre, China Zorrilla, Blanca Portillo
Two stalwarts of Spanish language cinema, China Zorrilla and Manuel Alexandre, play aging widowers Elsa and Fred. A visit to the Trevi Fountain in Rome, the landmark from Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA, rekindles their passion for love in this touching romantic comedy.
Tuesday, June 6 4:30 pm, Pacific Place
Sunday, June 11 11:00 am, Lincoln Square
Every Other Week
(Varannan Vecka)
Sweden, 2006 (97 minutes) Director: Måns Herngren, Hannes Holm, Felix Herngren, Hans Ingemansson
Cast: Måns Herngren, Hannes Holm, Felix Herngren, Hans Ingemansson
In this wry comedy, two brothers try to deal with rocky relationships as they navigate their increasingly complex extended family of divorced parents and their new live-in partners, not to mention girlfriends past, present and future.
Friday, June 9 7:00 pm, Lincoln Square
Tuesday, June 13
9:15 pm, Pacific Place
Familia
Canada, 2005 (102 minutes) Director: Louise Archambault
Cast: Macha Grenon, Sylvie Moreau, Mylène St-Sauveur
Are we bound to walk in our parents
'
footsteps or free to forge our own identities? This confident, energetic feature film debut gets down to basics on the question, as 14-year-old Marguerite attempts to deal with her mother, a free-spirited aerobics instructor with an inconvenient addiction to gambling.
Sunday, June 4 7:00 pm, Pacific Place
Wednesday, June 7
4:30 pm, Lincoln Square
The First People on the Moon
(Pervye Na lune)
Russia, 2004 (75 minutes) Director: Alexsei Fedorchenko
Cast: Aleksei Anisimov, Viktor Kotov, Igor Sannikov
Is it Sci-Fi? Documentary? Mockumentary? This original film mixes real and flawlessly fake archival footage revealing the
"
secret"
story of the Soviet cosmonauts who tried to beat the Americans to the moon by thirty years. In true Russian style, humor and menace rub against each other.
Thursday, June 15 9:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Sunday, June 18 7:30 pm, Harvard Exit
The Fish Fall in Love
(mahiha ashegh mishavand)
Iran, 2005 (96 minutes) Director: Ali Raffi
Cast: Reza Kianian, Roya Nonahali, Golshifteh Farahani, Maryam Saadat
Returning to his hometown for the first time in 25 years, Aziz finds that his former family home is now a thriving restaurant run by four spirited, independent women, one of whom is a former lover. Emotions run high in this colorful jewel of a film as the conflicting parties seek a resolution.
Sunday, June 11 1:45 pm, Lincoln Square
Tuesday, June 13
9:15 pm, Broadway Performance Hall
The Forsaken Land
(Sulanga Enu Pinisa)
Sri Lanka/France, 2005 (108 minutes) Director: Vimukthi Jayasundara
Cast: Mahendra Perera, Kaushalya Fernando, Hemasiri Liyanage
A Sri Lankan community deals with the daily rigors of the decades-long civil war surrounding them. Displaying a painter
'
s knack for landscapes, first-time director Vimukthi Jayasundara crafts a visually dazzling, nearly dialogue-free exploration of the precious grace moments within perpetual conflict.
Saturday, June 3 11:00 am, Harvard Exit
Tuesday, June 6
9:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Four Stars
(Quatre Etoiles)
France, 2006 (100 minutes) Director: Christian Vincent
Cast: Isabelle Carré, José Garcia, François Cluzet, Michel Vuillermoz
An eccentric spinster
'
s will leads to an unusual alliance between her last surviving relation (the stunning Isabelle Carre) and a two-bit con man on the prowl, in this nimble, multi-layered romantic farce set against the buttery backdrop of Cannes.
Friday, June 9 9:30 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Monday, June 5 7:00 pm, Lincoln Square
Saturday, June 3 4:00 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Frostbite
(Frostbiten)
Sweden, 2006 (97 minutes) Director: Anders Banke
Cast: Petra Nielsen, Grete Havnesköld, Emma Åberg
The vampires are moving north
…
to Sweden! A mother and her teenage daughter leave the big city only to discover a new sort of problem—the kind with fangs. When the world around you is bloody dark, the last thing you want to hear is that there is another month until daylight.
Friday, June 2 11:59 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Garpastum
Russia, 2005 (110 minutes) Director: Alexey Guerman Jr.
Cast: Evgeny Pronin, Danila Kozlovsky, Chulpan Khamatova
It
's 1914 and World War I is looming, but brothers Andrey and Nikolai have more interest in playing soccer on the streets of St. Petersburg than following current events. When war finally breaks out, their lives take a turn toward turmoil in this film about the end of youth and of an era.
Thursday, June 8 4:30 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Saturday, June 10
9:15 pm, Pacific Place
Go West
Bosnia-Herzegovina/Croatia, 2005 (97 minutes) Director: Ahmed Imamovic
Cast: Mario Drmac, Tarik Filipovic, Rade Serdedzija
Gay lovers Kenan, a Muslim cellist, and Milan, a Serbian student, fight to survive the brutal inter-ethnic wars of early-
'
90s Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dreaming of peace, happiness and acceptance, they travel west with one of them disguised in drag, in a film that provocatively addresses subjects once thought taboo in Eastern Europe.
Wednesday, June 14 6:45 pm, Pacific Place
Monday, June 12
2:00 pm, Pacific Place
Gradually
Be (Ahestegi)
Iran, 2006 (81 minutes) Director: Maziar Miri
Cast: Mohammad Reza Forutan, Niloofar Khoskholgh, Hassan Poorshirazi
Mohmoud learns that his mentally unstable wife has gone missing, so he leaves his factory job and goes to Tehran to find her. When he arrives home the entire neighborhood has different accounts of her whereabouts. A runaway wife is a terrible humiliation, but gradually he understands the underlying circumstances.
Saturday, June 17 7:15 pm, Broadway Performance Hall
Friday, June 16
4:00 pm, Harvard Exit
Grain in Ear
(Mang Zhong)
China/South Korea, 2005 (109 minutes) Director: Zhang Lu
Cast: Liu Lianiji, Jin Bo, Zhu Guang-xuan, Tong Hui Wang
A Korean-Chinese woman struggles to bring up her son alone by selling homemade kimchi to factory workers. When a tragic misadventure befalls the child, her revenge on the uncaring neighbors is extreme and pitiless, in this melodrama with a social conscience that is reminiscent of Fassbinder.
Saturday, June 17 11:00 am, Harvard Exit
Friday, June 16
6:30 pm, Harvard Exit
Gravehopping
(Odgrobadogroba)
Slovenia, 2005 (103 minutes) Director: Jan Cvitkovic
Cast: Gregor Bakovic, Drago Milinovic, Sonja Savic
Pero (a Gene Wilder lookalike) earns his living by making speeches at funerals. He and his eccentric family—two sisters, a nephew and his father (who devises elaborate plans to off himself)—live together in a typically Balkan world of black humor and irony, where tragedy always looms.
Wednesday, June 14 4:15 pm, Pacific Place
Friday, June 16
9:45 pm, Pacific Place
The Great Match
(La Gran Final)
Spain/Germany, 2006 (88 minutes) Director: Gerardo Olivares
Cast: Ahmed Alansar, Attibou Aboubacar, Tano Alansar
Parallel stories from remote regions of the planet (Mongolia, Niger and the Amazon) follow the trials and tribulations of far-flung soccer enthusiasts determined to watch the 2002 World Cup final. A visually breathtaking, gently comic homage to the indigenous communities that are its subject.
Thursday, June 8 9:30 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Sunday, June 11
7:00 pm, Lincoln Square
Happy As One
(Komm Naher)
Germany, 2006 (97 minutes) Director: Vanessa Jopp
Cast: Meret Becker, Hinnerk Schönemann, Stefanie Stappenbeck
Actress Meret Becker is outstanding as a blaspheming, fire-spitting vixen—the embodiment of an urban Tasmanian devil—in a wry but entertaining story that follows various characters as they stumble around Berlin, faltering but finding their way towards each other in the never-ending quest for love.
Monday, June 12 7:00 pm, Pacific Place
Wednesday, June 14
2:00 pm, Pacific Place
Hell
(L'
Enfer)
France/Italy/Belgium/Japan, 2005 (98 minutes)
Director: Danis Tanovic
Cast: Emmanuelle Béart, Karin Viard, Marie Gillain
Three sisters, traumatized by a violent incident from their childhood, reunite for the chance to come to terms with their past, in a script originally intended for Krzysztof Kieslowski and now masterfully realized by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic (NO MAN
'
S LAND).
Thursday, June 1 9:45 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Tuesday, June 6 4:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
The Hidden Blade
(Kakushi-ken: oni no tsume)
Japan, 2005 (132 minutes) Director: Yoji Yamada
Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Takako Matsu, Hidetaka Yoshioka
A lowly samurai (Masatoshi Nagase, MYSTERY TRAIN) rescues a woman from her abusive husband. An unspoken love blooms between them as the samurai's loyalty to his feudal overlord is called into question in this, the second film in a trilogy whose first installment was the Oscar-nominated THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI.
Monday, May 29 6:30 pm, Pacific Place
Thursday, June 1
4:00 pm, Lincoln Square
The Horizon of Events
(L'
Orizzonte Degli Eventi)
Italy, 2005 (115 minutes)
Director: Daniele Vicari
Cast: Valerio Mastrandrea, Gwenaelle Simon, Luzlim Zeqja
Max is an up-and-comer in the competitive world of nuclear physics who works at a research institute inside San Grasso Mountain. When colleagues catch him using an unethical procedure he spirals into crisis, eventually finding himself on his own in the mountains, in the most basic of situations.
Monday, May 29 6:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Wednesday, May 31
4:30 pm, Pacific Place
Host & Guest
(Bangmunja)
South Korea, 2005 (92 minutes) Director: Shin Dong-il
Cast: Kim Jae-rok, Kang Ji-hwan
A cynical, divorced intellectual has a bizarre life-changing (and life-saving) encounter with a stoic evangelist, who turns out to have his own problems. From amusingly varied viewpoints, the two bond and start to take a stand against the oppressing forces in their lives.
Wednesday, May 31 7:00 pm, Pacific Place
Thursday, June 1
2:00 pm, Pacific Place
House of Sand
(Casa de Areia)
Brazil, 2005 (115 minutes) Director: Andrucha Waddington
Cast: Fernanda Montenegra, Fernanda Torres, Seu Jorge
Award-winning mother and daughter actresses (Fernanda Montenegro, of CENTRAL STATION, and Fernanda Torres) shine in an inspirational story of three generations of women struggling for survival among the inhospitable sand dunes of northeastern Brazil. Also featuring the Brazilian guitarist Seu Jorge (THE LIFE AQUATIC).
Friday, June 16 7:00 pm, Pacific Place
Saturday, June 17
1:15 pm, Pacific Place
I Am
Jestem
Poland, 2005 (100 minutes) Director: Dorota Kedzierzawska
Cast: Piotr Jagielski, Agnieszka Nagórzycka, Basia Szkaluba
An eleven-year-old boy lives in an abandoned riverboat and dreams of being a poet. He makes friends with a girl his same age from a wealthy family who is secretly drunk most of the time. Impeccably acted and photographed, I AM
'
s complex emotional empathy never falters.
Saturday, June 3 11:00 am, Neptune Theatre
Monday, June 5 7:00 pm, Egyptian Theatre
Iberia
Spain/France, 2005 (99 minutes)
Director: Carlos Saura
Cast: Sara Baras, Antonio Canales, Marta Carrasco
Celebrated director Carlos Saura (BLOOD WEDDING) engages Spain's most celebrated actors, dancers and singers in this extraordinary tribute to Isaac Albéniz's
"
Iberia"
suite on its hundredth anniversary. The film tracks each piece from its initial conception to the final performance, with documentary footage interspersed among the varied interpretations.
Saturday, June 3 6:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
Monday, June 5
4:30 pm, Neptune Theatre
The Iceberg
(L'
iceberg)
Belgium, 2005 (84 minutes)
Director: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy
Cast: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gor