Monday,
March 6
7:00 pm
Vahlkamp Theater
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Himalaya (also known as Caravan)
Directed by Eric Valli
Unrated; 108 minutes; 1999
Tibetan with English subtitles
Starring: Thilen Lhondup, Gurgon Kyap, Lhakpa Tsamchoe, Karma Wangel, and Karma Tensing
“Himalaya . . . blends the land and customs of the people of Nepal into a visually poetic, moving story. . . . [Director] Valli shows us how this enormous, powerful terrain influences everything, from the ardors of the caravan journey to the close connection between the people and their spirituality.”
-Desson Howe, Washington Post
Tuesday,
March 14
7:00 pm
Vahlkamp Theater
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Rated R; 153 minutes; 2000
Spanish with English subtitles
Starring: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero, and Daniel Vanessa Bauche
“Every moment in Amores Perros . . . seethes with vitality and a passion for life even at its harshest and bleakest. It's a film of high energy, punctuated by rock music and a dark wit, yet it is capable of profound reflection and tragic irony. It is fully realized in all ways, ablaze with a raft of vital portrayals and rich in meaning and implication. "Amores Perros" relentlessly depicts life in all its savagery and folly, yet holds out the eternal possibility of personal redemption.”
-Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Wednesday,
April 5
7:00 pm
Vahlkamp Theater
Directed by Yôji Yamada
Unrated; 129 minutes; 2002
Japanese with English subtitles
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi, and Ren Osugi
Twilight Samurai “is a great samurai film in the way that Unforgiven, The Gunfighter or Will Penny--all muted, somber films about aging gunfighters--are great westerns. Both exciting and tender, it's a portrayal of the twilight of the samurai and of a warrior-father who realizes how futile and pointlessly dangerous much of his violent life has been. The acting is marvelous throughout, the drama touching . . . . The movie has a flawless mix of adventure and sadness, tension and warmth.”
-Michael Cunninngham, Chicago Tribune
Tuesday,
April 11
7:00 pm
Vahlkamp Theater
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Rated R; 133 minutes; 2004
French with English subtitles
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Chantal Neuwirth, and André Dussollier
“Jeunet brings a fresh brain and a wisdom about digital effects to his Great War battlefields, respects Sébastien Japrisot's rich and rambling story . . . and musters dozens of unforgettable images. A sense of magical thinking pervades the film, but it nevertheless remains harrowingly faithful to the verities of early-century warfare.”
-Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
April 24
7:00 pm
Vahlkamp Theater
Directed by Milcho Manchevski
Unrated; 113 minutes; 1994
Macedonian and Albanian with English subtitles, English
Starring: Katrin Cartlidge, Rade Serbedzija, Grégoire Colin, and Labina Mitevska
“Working in a sophisticated, elliptical style, [Manchevski finds] . . . his story's deepest meaning in hauntingly oblique connections. Ideas that defy reason, like the immutability of hatred and violence, may be best approached this way.”
-Janet Maslin, New York Times