 |
Broken Wings
SHOW DATE: 5/2
SPEAKER(S): Jonathan Palevsky
Here's some information about the film:
Israel, 87 min., written/directed by Nir Bergman, In
Hebrew with English subtitles
Official Site: http://www.brokenwings.co.il/
The unexpected death of the family patriarch throws
every member of the Ullmann clan off course. Widow
Dafna takes to bed for three months and when she
finally returns to her job at the maternity hospital,
she has little time for her children. Eldest son, Yair
drops out of school and adopts a fatalist attitude,
shutting out his siblings and girlfriend. His twin
sister Maya, a talented musician, feels the most guilt
and is forced to act as a family caregiver at the
expense of career opportunities. Bullied at school,
younger son Ido responds by obsessively filming
himself with a video camera and attempting dangerous
feats. The baby sister, Bar, is woefully neglected.
Preoccupied with their own misery, the family is
barely a family anymore. When another tragedy strikes,
will they be able to support one another?
Opinions on this film vary, though most of the
feedback is positive:
PRO:
"The power of the sensitive, clear-eyed Israeli
drama Broken Wings lies in writer-director Nir
Bergman's understanding of the tangible challenges of
getting on with life following a death in the family."
-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
CON:
"The relatively inconsequential and languid movie
merely marks time until a predictable tragedy occurs
in the middle. It's easily guessed resolution comes at
the end."-- Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET
REVIEWS
See it first, then talk about it afterwards. This
week, join host and moderator Gabe Wardell as he
welcomes guest speaker Jonathan Palevsky of WBJC.
United States of Leland
SHOW DATE: 4/25
SPEAKER(S): TBA
Here's some information about the film:
US, 108 min., written/directed by Matthew Ryan Hoge,
starring Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Lena Olin, Kevin
Spacey, Jena Malone, Marin Donovan
Official Site:
http://www.paramountclassics.com/leland/main.html
Don Cheadle, playing juvenile detention teacher Pearl
Madison, is the powerful center around which a complex
cast of characters revolves in the riveting drama THE
UNITED STATES OF LELAND. A 16-year-old boy, Leland
(Ryan Gosling), commits a murder, yet seems to have a
normal sense of ethics and justice. He confesses his
wrongdoing to his mother who turns him in to the
police. What follows is a series of close-up character
studies on all of the people impacted by Leland's
actions. His mother (Lena Olin) is plagued with guilt,
his father (Kevin Spacey)--a novelist who writes about
violence in America--is complacent. Meanwhile, the
family of Leland's victim is ripped apart at the
seams, and his already troubled girlfriend (Jena
Malone) drifts even farther astray. Director Matthew
Ryan Hoge leads a brilliant cast through a cycle of
moral questioning in which the characters try to
understand Leland's motivations and how they will each
cope with the irreversible circumstances of what he
has done.
Opinions on this film varys widely:
PRO:
"A thoughtful, mature, daring work that looks beneath
the surface of an awful act and asks questions few
would ask." -- Tom Long, DETROIT NEWS
CON:
"The movie's idiotic fascination with the
senselessness of its central act is scarily close to a
fetish." -- Dennis Lim, VILLAGE VOICE
What will you think? Come to CSC and join in the
debate. See it first, then talk about it afterwards.
This week, join host and moderator Gabe Wardell as he
welcomes a fascinating guest speaker (TBA).
KITCHEN STORIES
SHOW DATE: 4/18
SPEAKER(S): TBA
Here's some information about the film:
Norway/Sweden, 91 min., directed by Bent Hamer,
written by Bent Hamer and Jörgen Bergmark
A quaint story about the friendship between two aging
men, KITCHEN STORIES is packaged as a comedy with a
very strange premise. It is based on research
conducted in Sweden in the 1950s when women were
observed in the kitchen for a study to determine the
best housework techniques. In the film, a fictional
plotline concerns a team of Swedish scientists--all
men--hired to observe bachelors living alone in
Norway. Their methods are absurd. The observers live
in funny little trailers outside their subjects'
houses. They sit in high, intimidating chairs placed
in the corner of their subjects' kitchens where they
take notes on a clipboard. Finally, there is a strict
rule that the observer and the subject must not speak
to each other or make contact of any kind. This last
rule is impossible to follow, and in the case of
observer Folke (Tomas Norstrom) and subject Isak
(Joachim Calmeyer) it is ignored.
PRO:
"The two central actors, Joachim Calmeyer (Isak) and
Tomas Norström (Folke), are instances of how to be
interesting without being in the least charismatic."
-- Stanley Kauffmann, NEW REPUBLIC
CON:
"If stoicism is your idea of killer Friday-night
entertainment, you won't find many numbingly boring
experiences to top this one."
-- Colin Covert, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
As always, everyone is invited to participate in the
post-screening discussion. This week, join host and
moderator Gabe Wardell as he welcomes a fascinating
guest speaker (TBA).
|
|
