2009 Screenings
Happy-Go-Lucky
January 7th, 2009
Dir. Mike Leigh | 118 mins | 2008 | United Kingdom | English
Rachel is Getting Married
January 21st, 2009
Dir. Jonathan Demme | 114 mins | 2008 | USA | English
“Rachel Getting Married” is a contemporary “drama with an aggressive sense of humor” about the return of an estranged daughter to the family home for her sister’s wedding. Kym’s reemergence throws a wrench into the family dynamics, forcing long-simmering tensions to surface in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking. “Rachel Getting Married” paints a colorful, nuanced family portrait.
I’ve Loved You for So Long
March 4th, 2009
Dir. Philippe Claudel | 117 mins | 2008 | France, Germany | French
After serving 15 years in prison for killing her young son, Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) moves in with her younger sister, Lea (Elsa Zylberstein). Though Lea has built a comfortable family life in the years since Juliette went away, she is still affected by her sister’s terrible crime. Meanwhile, world-weary Juliette attempts to get past the years of estrangement and reconnect with Lea.
Milk
March 25th, 2009
Dir. Gus Van Sant | 128 mins | 2008 | USA | English
In 1972, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and his then-lover Scott Smith leave New York for San Francisco, with Milk determined to accomplish something meaningful in his life. Settling in the Castro District, he opens a camera shop and helps transform the area into a mecca for gays and lesbians. In 1977 he becomes the nation’s first openly gay man elected to a notable public office when he wins a seat on the Board of Supervisors. The following year, Dan White (Josh Brolin) kills Milk in cold blood.
Waltz with Bashir
April 8th, 2009
Dir. Ari Folman | 90 mins | 2008 | Germany, France, Israel | Hebrew
One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.
Un conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale)
April 22nd, 2009
Dir. Arnaud Desplechin | 150 mins | 2008 | France | French
Abel and Junon had two children, Joseph and Elizabeth. Victim of a rare genetic condition, Joseph’s only hope was a bone marrow transplant. As they and Elizabeth were incompatible, his parents conceived a third child in the hope of saving their son. But little Henri too was unable to help his brother, and Joseph died at the age of seven.
Whatever Works
September 2nd, 2009
Dir. Woody Allen | 93 mins | 2009 | USA | English
After a failed suicide attempt, brilliant New York misanthrope Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) forsakes his posh upper-class existence for meager accommodations in Chinatown. He meets his exact opposite in Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a pageant queen from the Deep South who’s long on sweetness but short on smarts. Surprisingly, Boris and Melody marry, but the sparks really fly when Melody’s born-again Christian mother (Patricia Clarkson) arrives and finds liberation instead of damnation.
Away We Go
September 16th, 2009
Dir. Sam Mendes | 98 mins | 2009 | USA | English
As they await the birth of their baby, a couple (John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph) travel across America in search of the perfect place to raise their family. During their journey, they share assorted misadventures and reconnect with old friends and relatives. The experiences and people they encounter help them define the word home on their own terms, possibly for the first time in their lives.
Summer Hours
October 7th, 2009
Dir. Olivier Assayas | 103 mins | 2008 | France | French
When elderly matriarch Hélène Berthier (Edith Scob) discovers that her health is declining, she contacts her three adult children about contending with her valuable art collection after her passing. As the family gathers, local son Frédéric (Charles Berling) is on hand, while his jet-setting siblings, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), fly in from abroad. Together, they try to agree on what to do with their mother’s collection, as they also grapple with her mortality.
Food Inc.
October 21st, 2009
Dir. Robert Kenner | 94 mins | 2008 | USA | English
Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets where it’s sold. Narrated by author and activist Eric Schlosser, the film features interviews with average Americans about their dietary habits, commentary from food experts like Michael Pollan and unsettling footage shot inside large-scale animal processing plants.
The Hurt Locker
November 11th, 2009
Dir. Kathryn Bigelow | 131 mins | 2008 | USA | English
Following the death of their well-respected Staff Sergeant in Iraq, Sergeant JT Stanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge find their Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit saddled with a very different team leader. Staff Sergeant William James is an inveterate risk-taker who seems to thrive on war, but there’s no denying his gift for defusing bombs.