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Thursday, March 11
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
5:00 cancelled
8:00 cancelled
Crazy Heart
"Few American actors over the past 35 years have flickered and smoldered with such craft and resilience." (New York Times)
Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a hard-living, fading country star reduced to playing bowling alleys and hoping for complimentary drinks to get him through the night. Overshadowed by a former protégé (Colin Farrell), Blake eventually seeks redemption from a sympathetic and lovely young journalist (Maggie Gyllenhall).Crazy Heart features nuanced, understated performances by Farrell, Gyllenhall, and Robert Duvall—but the real story here is Jeff Bridges. In a career filled with “career performances,” Bridges manages to top himself. Oozing authenticity and gutter charm, Bridges sings and strums his way through a set of original songs and embodies this beat-up country sage with incredible ease. A remarkable turn, it’s no surprise Bridges has been nominated for the Academy Award (Best Actor), alongside fellow Academy Award nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal (Best Supporting Actress).
Official Website / Trailer | New York Times review
Scott Cooper. 2009. 111 m. R. US. Fox Searchlight.
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The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Art of the Steal
“The slow-motion hijacking of the world’s greatest privately held art collection is documented in impeccable, heartrending fashion.” (Variety)
About 100 years ago a great epic of art-world politics began when Albert C. Barnes started to buy paintings. His collection, eventually worth billions, would grow to include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos. Committed to keeping the works out of the hands of Philadelphia’s high-society “philistines,” Barnes housed his collection four miles outside of town and stipulated in his will that it never be loaned, sold, or moved. But since his death the philistines have been circling—and now they’ve swooped in to seize the spoils. It’s a nail-biter of a story that was the single most talked-about documentary at the New York Film Festival.
Don Argott. 2009. 101 m. NR. US. Sundance Selects.
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Earthbound
Farmanara’s latest is about a poet-painter who contends with being an intellectual in a theocracy as he wrestles with past and present—personal, cultural, and political—when he leaves Tehran and returns to his ancestral home in Kurdistan.
Q&A director Bahman Farmanara
Bahman Farmanara. 2008. 100 m. NR. Iran, Persian with subtitles.
Friday, March 12
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Art of the Steal
“The slow-motion hijacking of the world’s greatest privately held art collection is documented in impeccable, heartrending fashion.” (Variety)
About 100 years ago a great epic of art-world politics began when Albert C. Barnes started to buy paintings. His collection, eventually worth billions, would grow to include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos. Committed to keeping the works out of the hands of Philadelphia’s high-society “philistines,” Barnes housed his collection four miles outside of town and stipulated in his will that it never be loaned, sold, or moved. But since his death the philistines have been circling—and now they’ve swooped in to seize the spoils. It’s a nail-biter of a story that was the single most talked-about documentary at the New York Film Festival.
Don Argott. 2009. 101 m. NR. US. Sundance Selects.
Winning Time
"Minute for minute, likely the most engaging, irresistible film in the Sundance Film Festival." (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times)
Winning Time tells of Reggie Miller's gravity-defying, razor-tongued, and otherwise career-defining performance that single-handedly led the Indiana Pacers to an astonishing victory over the rival New York Knicks. Peabody Award-winning director Dan Klores goes beyond courtside theatrics in favor of a humorous, complex look at the psychology of the game and its players. Both die-hard fans and basketball tenderfeet will enjoy this entertaining look at how Miller proudly built his legend as "The Garden's Greatest Villain." As Variety raved: "Hitting from the top of the key, Dan Klores'... bouncy play-by-play covers psychological moves more than physical ones, resulting in a pic that stretches past sports."
Q&A director/producer Dan Klores, and editor/producer David Zieff, will be interviewed by New York Times critic Janet Maslin
Dan Klores. 2009. 68 m. NR. US.
The Runaways
"The Runaways bursts with energy, youth, excess, female empowerment, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. It's an instant hit worldwide with its cast of young stars." (Hollywood Reporter)
A no-holds-barred look at the all-girl rock band as they smoke, snort, and shimmy their way to fame in the late 1970s, The Runaways is a flashy, fun ride. Kristen Stewart is spot on as leather-clad bad girl Joan Jett, but it's Dakota Fanning, in an eye opening breakthrough role, who steals the show as "cherry bomb" Cherie Currie. Dressed up in their best glam-rock jail-bait outfits, these two chicks take no prisoners as they tear through their songs—and eventually each other. Excessive? Maybe. Yet then again, as the wise sage Howlin' Wolf once said, "The men don't know, but the little girls understand."
Official Website / Trailer | Hollywood Reporter review
Floria Sigismondi. 2010. 105 m. R. US. Apparition.
Tickets: $9 (members), $14 (nonmembers)
Saturday, March 13
The Cat from Outer Space
“Movies for Kids (and their Families)”
In this cosmic comedy for the whole family, an extraterrestrial cat named Jake leads a physicist, his girlfriend, the army, and a team of baffled scientists on endless escapades during a visit to our planet. Hilarious!
Norman Tokar. 1978. 104 m. G. US. Buena Vista.
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
2010 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts
This year's animated shorts program includes five Oscar-nominated films, and three bonus films from the Academy shortlist:
FRENCH ROAST • In a fancy Parisian Café, an uptight businessman is about to pay the check when he finds out that he has lost his wallet. To save time he decides to order more coffee. (France, 8 min., Director: Fabrice O. Joubert)
THE LADY AND THE REAPER (La Dama y la muerte) • A sweet old lady lives alone on her farm, waiting for death so that she can see her beloved husband once again. One night, she is invited to enter death’s domain, but someone will ruin it for her. (Spain, 8 min., Director: Javier Recio Gracia)
A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH • Wallace & Gromit have started a new bread baking business, ‘Top Bun’ and converted 62 West Wallaby Street into a granary with ovens, robotic kneading arms and an old-fashioned windmill on the roof. The transformation is perfect. Although business is booming, Gromit is concerned by the news that a dozen local bakers have ‘disappeared’ this year – but Wallace isn’t worried. He’s too distracted and ‘dough-eyed’ in love with former beauty and bread enthusiast, Piella Bakewell. While they enjoy being the ‘Toast of the Town’, Gromit soon realises his master’s life is in jeopardy, and turns sleuth to solve the escalating murder mystery – in what quickly becomes ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death.’ (UK, 30 min., Director: Nick Park)
GRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEEPING BEAUTY • Granny O’Grimm, a seemingly sweet old lady, loses the plot as she tells her version of "Sleeping Beauty" to her terrified granddaughter. (Ireland, 6 min., Director: Nicky Phelan)
LOGORAMA • Spectacular car chases, an intense hostage crisis, wild animals rampaging through the city and even more in Logorama! (France, 16min., Directed by H5: François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy, Ludovic Houplain)
PARTLY CLOUDY (bonus shortlisted film) • Everyone knows that the stork delivers babies, but where do the storks get the babies from? The answer lies up in the stratosphere, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life. Gus, a lonely and insecure grey cloud, is a master at creating “dangerous” babies. Crocodiles, porcupines, rams and more – Gus’s beloved creations are works of art, but more than a handful for his loyal delivery stork partner, Peck. As Gus’s creations become more and more rambunctious, Peck’s job gets harder and harder. How will Peck manage to handle both his hazardous cargo and his friend’s fiery temperament? (US, 6 min., Director: Peter Sohn)
RUNAWAY (bonus shortlisted film) • Happy passengers are having a great time on a crowded train, oblivious to the unknown fate that awaits them around the bend. The ensuing crisis leads to a class struggle that is as amusing as it is merciless. Naturally there are victims, but in the end everyone is equal. (Canada, 9 min., Director: Cordell Barker)
THE KINEMATOGRAPH (bonus shortlisted film) • Francis is an inventor. His invention is supposed to change the world but he forgot about one thing — dreams have a price. (Poland, 12 min., Director: Tomek Baginski)
Parents, please be advised that one of the shorts contains language that might be objectionable.
Various Directors. 2009. 101 m. NR. Various Countries, Various languages with subtitles. Magnolia Pictures.
The Art of the Steal
“The slow-motion hijacking of the world’s greatest privately held art collection is documented in impeccable, heartrending fashion.” (Variety)
About 100 years ago a great epic of art-world politics began when Albert C. Barnes started to buy paintings. His collection, eventually worth billions, would grow to include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos. Committed to keeping the works out of the hands of Philadelphia’s high-society “philistines,” Barnes housed his collection four miles outside of town and stipulated in his will that it never be loaned, sold, or moved. But since his death the philistines have been circling—and now they’ve swooped in to seize the spoils. It’s a nail-biter of a story that was the single most talked-about documentary at the New York Film Festival.
Don Argott. 2009. 101 m. NR. US. Sundance Selects.
The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
Sunday, March 14
The Cat from Outer Space
“Movies for Kids (and their Families)”
In this cosmic comedy for the whole family, an extraterrestrial cat named Jake leads a physicist, his girlfriend, the army, and a team of baffled scientists on endless escapades during a visit to our planet. Hilarious!
Norman Tokar. 1978. 104 m. G. US. Buena Vista.
2010 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts
This year's live action shorts program includes five Oscar nominated films:
KAVI • Kavi is a boy in India who wants to play cricket and go to school, but instead he is forced to work in a brick kiln as a modern-day slave. Unsatisfied with his fate, Kavi must either accept what he’s always been told, or fight for a different life even if he’s unsure of the ultimate outcome. (USA/INDIA, 19 min., Director: Gregg Helvey)
THE NEW TENANTS • A prying neighbour, a glassy-eyed drug dealer, and a husband brandishing both a weapon and a vendetta make up the welcome wagon. Set amidst the as-yet-unopened boxes and the hopes for a fresh start of two men on what might just be the worst moving day ever. Their new apartment reveals its terrifying history in a film that is by turns funny, frightening, and unexpectedly romantic. (Denmark/USA, 20 min., Director: Joachim Back)
MIRACLE FISH • 8-year-old Joe has a Birthday he will never forget. After friends tease him, he sneaks off to the sick bay, wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality. (Australia, 17 min., Director: Luke Doolan)
THE DOOR • A father attempts to come to terms with the devastating effects of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. (Ireland, 17 min., Director: Juanita Wilson)
INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA • Tomas is a bit too old for still living at home with his parents, but his failure to become a magician leaves him with no other choice. His father Bengt wants him to get a proper job. On Bengt’s 60th birthday party Tomas give him, and all his guests, an quite bizarre show. (Sweden, 22 min., Director: Patrik Eklund)
Various Directors. 2009. 101 m. NR. Various Countries, Various languages with subtitles. Magnolia Pictures.
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Art of the Steal
“The slow-motion hijacking of the world’s greatest privately held art collection is documented in impeccable, heartrending fashion.” (Variety)
About 100 years ago a great epic of art-world politics began when Albert C. Barnes started to buy paintings. His collection, eventually worth billions, would grow to include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos. Committed to keeping the works out of the hands of Philadelphia’s high-society “philistines,” Barnes housed his collection four miles outside of town and stipulated in his will that it never be loaned, sold, or moved. But since his death the philistines have been circling—and now they’ve swooped in to seize the spoils. It’s a nail-biter of a story that was the single most talked-about documentary at the New York Film Festival.
Don Argott. 2009. 101 m. NR. US. Sundance Selects.
The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
Monday, March 15
Zinat, One Special Day/We Are Half a Nation
Join us for two eye-opening documentaries that explore the role of women in Iranian society from both sides of the gender divide.
Zinat, One Special Day
This documentary by Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Mokhtari follows Zinat, the first woman from the Island of Qeshm on the Gulf Coast to remove her burqa in order to work as a nurse. Zinat defies the expectations and obligations of traditional Iranian society, eventually running against a man in the elections of her village.
Ebrahim Mokhtari. 2000. 53 m. NR. Iran, Persian with subtitles.
WITH
We Are Half a Nation
Iran's premier woman director, Rakhshan Bani-E'temad, covers the 2009 Iranian presidential election from a woman's point of view, posing questions to the candidates and asserting a female voting contingent that is, as the film asserts, "half a nation."
Rakhshan Bani-E'temad. 2009. 46 m. NR. Iran, Persian with subtitles.
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Art of the Steal
“The slow-motion hijacking of the world’s greatest privately held art collection is documented in impeccable, heartrending fashion.” (Variety)
About 100 years ago a great epic of art-world politics began when Albert C. Barnes started to buy paintings. His collection, eventually worth billions, would grow to include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos. Committed to keeping the works out of the hands of Philadelphia’s high-society “philistines,” Barnes housed his collection four miles outside of town and stipulated in his will that it never be loaned, sold, or moved. But since his death the philistines have been circling—and now they’ve swooped in to seize the spoils. It’s a nail-biter of a story that was the single most talked-about documentary at the New York Film Festival.
Don Argott. 2009. 101 m. NR. US. Sundance Selects.
Tuesday, March 16
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
Best of Ottawa '09
This program of award-winning highlights from North America’s largest animation festival features exciting new films from around the world. With work by both well-known and emerging filmmakers, it includes shorts, music videos, and more—funny, thought-provoking, suspenseful, and sometimes mind-blowing examples of animation’s infinite possibilities. Check www.animationfestival.ca for details on the festival.
For mature audiences.
Various Directors. 2009. 82 m. NR. Various Countries, Various languages with subtitles.
The Art of the Steal
“The slow-motion hijacking of the world’s greatest privately held art collection is documented in impeccable, heartrending fashion.” (Variety)
About 100 years ago a great epic of art-world politics began when Albert C. Barnes started to buy paintings. His collection, eventually worth billions, would grow to include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos. Committed to keeping the works out of the hands of Philadelphia’s high-society “philistines,” Barnes housed his collection four miles outside of town and stipulated in his will that it never be loaned, sold, or moved. But since his death the philistines have been circling—and now they’ve swooped in to seize the spoils. It’s a nail-biter of a story that was the single most talked-about documentary at the New York Film Festival.
Don Argott. 2009. 101 m. NR. US. Sundance Selects.
Wednesday, March 17
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
A Little Kiss
Two writers—one who returns to Iran after decades, and one who never left—investigate their own pasts and contemplate emotional pain, dementia, and death while visiting the Iranian countryside.
Bahman Farmanara. 2005. 100 m. NR. Iran, Persian with subtitles.
The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
Thursday, March 18
A Prophet
“Sweeping and precisely observed...with transparent compassion but none of the sentimentalizing that softens and cheapens too many mob stories.” (New York Times)
France’s official Academy Award submission and the winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, this sensational drama is from Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips). The story of an illiterate Arab teenager who lands in a French prison and learns to navigate the lethal alliances and rivalries of its power structure, it’s raw, intense, and unforgettable. Featuring the quietly compelling debut of Tahar Rahim.
Our current engagement with A Prophet has been rescheduled to open on Friday, March 12.
Jacques Audiard. 2009. 155 m. R. France/Italy, Arabic/Corsican/French. Sony Pictures Classics.
The Last Station
"Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent." (USA Today)
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, dazzle in this captivating look at the turbulent final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy. As Tolstoy (Plummer) becomes increasingly radical with age, he decides to reject his vast wealth—much to the dismay of his wife, the Countess Sofya (Mirren). The desperate countess is soon employing every trick she can muster to seduce her husband’s loyal disciple (James McAvoy), the man she blames for Tolstoy’s new will. Much more than a simple period biopic, The Last Station is high drama, filled with intrigue, sensuality, and a classical marital showdown featuring two legends in prime form.
Michael Hoffman. 2009. 112 m. R. UK. Sony Pictures Classics.
Kurosawa 101
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
Kick off the series with this lively two-hour lecture by Senior Programmer Christopher Funderburg that takes us from Kurosawa’s fascinating early years to his emergence as one of cinema's most legendary figures.. With a bonus screening of Rashômon following the two-hour lecture.
n/a. 2010. 120 m. NR. .
Tickets: $9 (members), $14 (nonmembers)
The Art of the Steal
“The slow-motion hijacking of the world’s greatest privately held art collection is documented in impeccable, heartrending fashion.” (Variety)
About 100 years ago a great epic of art-world politics began when Albert C. Barnes started to buy paintings. His collection, eventually worth billions, would grow to include 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, and 46 Picassos. Committed to keeping the works out of the hands of Philadelphia’s high-society “philistines,” Barnes housed his collection four miles outside of town and stipulated in his will that it never be loaned, sold, or moved. But since his death the philistines have been circling—and now they’ve swooped in to seize the spoils. It’s a nail-biter of a story that was the single most talked-about documentary at the New York Film Festival.
Don Argott. 2009. 101 m. NR. US. Sundance Selects.
Friday, March 19
Rashomon
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Brilliantly acted, Rashômon bulges with barbaric force.... A novel, stimulating moviegoing experience.” (TIME Magazine)
A terrible crime has been committed, and four different witnesses have four different versions of what happened. The impact of Kurosawa’s landmark film, which brought him international recognition and won an Academy Award, is impossible to overstate. NEW 35MM PRINT restored in August 2009.
Akira Kurosawa. 1950. 88 m. PG-13. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Ikiru
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“A masterwork of burning social conscience and hard-eyed psychological realism.” (TIME Magazine)
Kurosawa’s thoughtful drama examines the difference between living and merely existing. Takashi Shimura plays an ineffectual government official who learns he’s dying of cancer and resolves to finally make a difference in the world, underscoring the film’s affirmation that “man finds truth in misfortune.”
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1952. 143 m. NR. Japan, English/Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Saturday, March 20
The Three Lives of Thomasina
“Movies for Kids (and their Families)”
A lonely girl’s beloved marmalade cat, Thomasina, sickens and dies—but you can’t keep a good cat down. This touching drama set against the beauty of the Scottish Highlands features magic, hope, tears, and laughter. A Disney classic.
Don Chaffey. 1964. 97 m. PG. US/UK. Buena Vista.
Stray Dog
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“One of the greatest detective films ever made.” (New York Times)
In the intense heat of a summer afternoon, an inexperienced policeman’s pistol is stolen on a trolley car. The cop scours the city, desperately trying to retrieve the weapon which is being used in a series of violent crimes. The brutal world portrayed in Kurosawa’s crime thriller is a reflection of postwar Japanese society. NEW 35MM PRINT!
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1949. 122 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Sunday, March 21
The Three Lives of Thomasina
“Movies for Kids (and their Families)”
A lonely girl’s beloved marmalade cat, Thomasina, sickens and dies—but you can’t keep a good cat down. This touching drama set against the beauty of the Scottish Highlands features magic, hope, tears, and laughter. A Disney classic.
Don Chaffey. 1964. 97 m. PG. US/UK. Buena Vista.
Throne of Blood
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Unquestionably one of his finest works—charged with energy, imagination, and, in keeping with the subject, sheer horror.” (Chicago Reader)
Kurosawa transports Shakespeare’s Macbeth from medieval Scotland to a fogshrouded castle in feudal Japan. Toshiro Mifune plays the ambitious general who interprets a demonic prophecy by murdering his lord and taking command. Stark and surrealistic, with a scheming protagonist who ultimately meets one of the most memorable ends in film history.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1957. 110 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Drunken Angel
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“When I realized I couldn’t control Mifune, I let him play the part freely... I didn’t want to smother that vitality.” (Akira Kurosawa)
In Kurosawa’s earliest major work, a gangster whose hard living has left him with advanced tuberculosis forms an unusual bond with an alcoholic doctor. Toshiro Mifune, in his first of 16 collaborations with the director, plays the conflicted crook stuck between his loyalty to his yakuza bosses and his own redemption.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1948. 150 m. PG-13. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Monday, March 22
Stray Dog
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“One of the greatest detective films ever made.” (New York Times)
In the intense heat of a summer afternoon, an inexperienced policeman’s pistol is stolen on a trolley car. The cop scours the city, desperately trying to retrieve the weapon which is being used in a series of violent crimes. The brutal world portrayed in Kurosawa’s crime thriller is a reflection of postwar Japanese society. NEW 35MM PRINT!
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1949. 122 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Drunken Angel
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“When I realized I couldn’t control Mifune, I let him play the part freely... I didn’t want to smother that vitality.” (Akira Kurosawa)
In Kurosawa’s earliest major work, a gangster whose hard living has left him with advanced tuberculosis forms an unusual bond with an alcoholic doctor. Toshiro Mifune, in his first of 16 collaborations with the director, plays the conflicted crook stuck between his loyalty to his yakuza bosses and his own redemption.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1948. 150 m. PG-13. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Tuesday, March 23
Ikiru
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“A masterwork of burning social conscience and hard-eyed psychological realism.” (TIME Magazine)
Kurosawa’s thoughtful drama examines the difference between living and merely existing. Takashi Shimura plays an ineffectual government official who learns he’s dying of cancer and resolves to finally make a difference in the world, underscoring the film’s affirmation that “man finds truth in misfortune.”
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1952. 143 m. NR. Japan, English/Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Wednesday, March 24
Throne of Blood
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Unquestionably one of his finest works—charged with energy, imagination, and, in keeping with the subject, sheer horror.” (Chicago Reader)
Kurosawa transports Shakespeare’s Macbeth from medieval Scotland to a fogshrouded castle in feudal Japan. Toshiro Mifune plays the ambitious general who interprets a demonic prophecy by murdering his lord and taking command. Stark and surrealistic, with a scheming protagonist who ultimately meets one of the most memorable ends in film history.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1957. 110 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Thursday, March 25
Yojimbo
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“I’d like to be able to make a Western like Kurosawa makes Westerns.” (Sam Peckinpah)
A masterless samurai—a ronin—wanders into a village embroiled in a battle between two feuding clans. Calling himself Sanjuro, he arrives ragged and unshaven, looking to hire himself out to the highest bidder. But as Kurosawa’s action-filled black comedy plays out, he proves himself a master of the sword and purveyor of justice.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1961. 110 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Kagemusha
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Spectacular yet severe, violent yet gravely formal... marked by an overall nobility of style that extends to every gesture, stance, or movement.” (New York Magazine)
Epic battle scenes and searing human drama characterize this late Kurosawa masterpiece about a condemned thief who, because his features are identical to the emperor’s, is commissioned as the lord’s double. Soon the thief finds himself ruling the kingdom. Tatsuya Nakadai gives a remarkable dual performance.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1980. 180 m. PG. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Criterion/20th Century Fox.
Friday, March 26
Red Beard
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Assembled with the complexity and depth of a good 19th century novel...a great and moving film.” (Roger Ebert)
A young physician in 19th-century Edo begins to learn the importance of a life dedicated to helping others when he is sent to intern at a humble village clinic under the tutelage of intimidating yet brilliant Dr. Niide, aka “Red Beard.” Two years in the making, this was Kurosawa’s final collaboration with the great Toshiro Mifune.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1965. 185 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Dreams
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“A report from one of the last true frontiers of cinema.” (New York Times)
Released just after Kurosawa’s 80th birthday and his honorary Academy Award, Dreams is a collage of fantastic imagery and stories from the director’s subconscious. Ancient fox spirits, a beautiful snow demon, the ghosts of dead soldiers, and Vincent van Gogh (played by Martin Scorsese) figure into this extraordinary anthology—arguably the director’s most personal film.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1990. 119 m. PG. US/Japan, English/French/Japanese with subtitles. Warner Bros.
Saturday, March 27
The Three Lives of Thomasina
“Movies for Kids (and their Families)”
A lonely girl’s beloved marmalade cat, Thomasina, sickens and dies—but you can’t keep a good cat down. This touching drama set against the beauty of the Scottish Highlands features magic, hope, tears, and laughter. A Disney classic.
Don Chaffey. 1964. 97 m. PG. US/UK. Buena Vista.
Red Beard
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Assembled with the complexity and depth of a good 19th century novel...a great and moving film.” (Roger Ebert)
A young physician in 19th-century Edo begins to learn the importance of a life dedicated to helping others when he is sent to intern at a humble village clinic under the tutelage of intimidating yet brilliant Dr. Niide, aka “Red Beard.” Two years in the making, this was Kurosawa’s final collaboration with the great Toshiro Mifune.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1965. 185 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Kagemusha
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Spectacular yet severe, violent yet gravely formal... marked by an overall nobility of style that extends to every gesture, stance, or movement.” (New York Magazine)
Epic battle scenes and searing human drama characterize this late Kurosawa masterpiece about a condemned thief who, because his features are identical to the emperor’s, is commissioned as the lord’s double. Soon the thief finds himself ruling the kingdom. Tatsuya Nakadai gives a remarkable dual performance.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1980. 180 m. PG. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Criterion/20th Century Fox.
Sunday, March 28
The Three Lives of Thomasina
“Movies for Kids (and their Families)”
A lonely girl’s beloved marmalade cat, Thomasina, sickens and dies—but you can’t keep a good cat down. This touching drama set against the beauty of the Scottish Highlands features magic, hope, tears, and laughter. A Disney classic.
Don Chaffey. 1964. 97 m. PG. US/UK. Buena Vista.
Yojimbo
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“I’d like to be able to make a Western like Kurosawa makes Westerns.” (Sam Peckinpah)
A masterless samurai—a ronin—wanders into a village embroiled in a battle between two feuding clans. Calling himself Sanjuro, he arrives ragged and unshaven, looking to hire himself out to the highest bidder. But as Kurosawa’s action-filled black comedy plays out, he proves himself a master of the sword and purveyor of justice.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1961. 110 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Sanjuro
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“A surprising, fetching, beautifully made film.” (New York Times)
Sanjuro, Mifune’s roaming ronin from Yojimbo, returns in this follow-up adventure to help nine idealistic young samurai end the widespread corruption destroying their clan. More amazing swordplay than in any of Kurosawa’s previous efforts, including a scene in which Sanjuro single-handedly takes on 30 enemies, as well as an unforgettable final showdown with villain Tatsuya Nakadai.
Akira Kurosawa. 1961. 96 m. PG-13. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
An Afternoon with Production Designer Kristi Zea
Course: A19SP10B
The production designer creates the physical world that the characters inhabit and in which the story takes place. The elements of design include sets, locations, color palette, and the objects that help bring the story to life.
Kristi Zea, who began her career as a costume designer, has designed some of the most well regarded films of the past twenty years. She has worked with several master directors, including Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese, James Brooks, and Sam Mendes. She has also been both director and producer on several projects.
Credits include: Wall Street 2, Revolutionary Road, The Departed, and Philadelphia.
Please submit the registration form by mail or fax. Walk-ins are also accepted on the day of the class. Questions? Call the Registrar at 914.773.7663, ext. 8.
Various Directors. 2010. 120 m. NR. .
3:45 Please see note above for registration info. Class begins at 3:45pm.
Monday, March 29
Dreams
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“A report from one of the last true frontiers of cinema.” (New York Times)
Released just after Kurosawa’s 80th birthday and his honorary Academy Award, Dreams is a collage of fantastic imagery and stories from the director’s subconscious. Ancient fox spirits, a beautiful snow demon, the ghosts of dead soldiers, and Vincent van Gogh (played by Martin Scorsese) figure into this extraordinary anthology—arguably the director’s most personal film.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1990. 119 m. PG. US/Japan, English/French/Japanese with subtitles. Warner Bros.
Tuesday, March 30
Sanjuro
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“A surprising, fetching, beautifully made film.” (New York Times)
Sanjuro, Mifune’s roaming ronin from Yojimbo, returns in this follow-up adventure to help nine idealistic young samurai end the widespread corruption destroying their clan. More amazing swordplay than in any of Kurosawa’s previous efforts, including a scene in which Sanjuro single-handedly takes on 30 enemies, as well as an unforgettable final showdown with villain Tatsuya Nakadai.
Akira Kurosawa. 1961. 96 m. PG-13. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
The Hidden Fortress
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“One of Kurosawa’s graphically strongest works, reveling in spectacular wasted landscapes as well as choreographed action.” (Village Voice)
The Hidden Fortress follows a pair of cowardly farmers as they become entangled in a valiant general’s efforts to lead a fugitive princess (and her gold) back to their kingdom through enemy territory. At turns humorous and invigorating, Kurosawa’s most adventurous period drama is pure fun from beginning to end.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1958. 139 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Wednesday, March 31
Seven Samurai
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Not only a great film in its own right, but the source of a genre that would flow through the rest of the century.” (Roger Ebert)
Kurosawa’s most enduring masterpiece is certainly his most famous, if not the most famous Japanese film ever made. Seven warriors are hired by a desperate village to fend off an army of 40 bandits. It’s not the offered reward, but a code of honor and sacrifice that brings the samurai together against seemingly impossible odds.
Akira Kurosawa. 1954. 207 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Thursday, April 1
Dersu Uzala
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“One of the most beautifully composed and photographed of Kurosawa’s films.” (Donald Richie)
Working outside his native Japan for the first and only time, Kurosawa filmed Dersu Uzala in harsh snows of Siberia. The friendship of a Russian explorer and an Asian nomadic hunter in the Siberian wilderness is the basis for this story about civilization’s conquest over nature. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1975. 144 m. G. Japan/Soviet Union, Russian. Kino International.
Friday, April 2
Sanshiro Sugata
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“An extraordinary debut.” (New York Times)
Zen artistry is the subject of Kurosawa’s first film, one of the most influential debuts of all time. The title youth, an untrained fighter, is taken under the wing of a wise sensei who teaches his impudent pupil the skills and discipline of judo, which sets Sugata on the path to learn about himself.
Akira Kurosawa. 1943. 97 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films/Japan Foundation.
The Hidden Fortress
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“One of Kurosawa’s graphically strongest works, reveling in spectacular wasted landscapes as well as choreographed action.” (Village Voice)
The Hidden Fortress follows a pair of cowardly farmers as they become entangled in a valiant general’s efforts to lead a fugitive princess (and her gold) back to their kingdom through enemy territory. At turns humorous and invigorating, Kurosawa’s most adventurous period drama is pure fun from beginning to end.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1958. 139 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.
Saturday, April 3
Puss in Boots
“Movies for Kids (and their Families)”
In this exciting live-action version of the classic fairy tale, a singing and dancing Christopher Walken plays the wily feline who hatches a plan to bring his owner a title, wealth, and marriage. Fun for the whole family!
Eugene Marner. 1988. 96 m. G. US. MGM.
Dersu Uzala
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“One of the most beautifully composed and photographed of Kurosawa’s films.” (Donald Richie)
Working outside his native Japan for the first and only time, Kurosawa filmed Dersu Uzala in harsh snows of Siberia. The friendship of a Russian explorer and an Asian nomadic hunter in the Siberian wilderness is the basis for this story about civilization’s conquest over nature. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
See a trailer for this film
Akira Kurosawa. 1975. 144 m. G. Japan/Soviet Union, Russian. Kino International.
Dodes'ka-den
“Kurosawa Centennial, 1910-2010”
“Kurosawa was a painter, and when he turned to color in film, he...opened a striking new chapter in an already extraordinary career.” (Kurosawa biographer Stephen Prince)
In a series of vignettes set in a modern shantytown, an addled boy plows down a path in an imaginary trolley, an overworked woman is tormented by her alcoholic uncle, and a homeless father fantasizes about the opulent house he’ll one day build for himself and his son. Kurosawa’s first color film was also a radical departure for him in terms of style and storytelling. NEW 35MM PRINT!
Akira Kurosawa. 1970. 140 m. NR. Japan, Japanese with subtitles. Janus Films.