2010 Season
A Serious Man
January 20th, 2010
Dir. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen | 106 mins | 2009 | USA, United Kingdom, France | English, Yiddish
Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a physics professor at a 1960s university, but his life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Sari Lennick) is leaving him, his jobless brother (Richard Kind) has moved in, and someone is trying to sabotage his chances for tenure. Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis, but whether anyone can help him overcome his many afflictions remains to be seen.
Broken Embraces
April 7th, 2010
Dir. Pedro Almodóvar | 128 mins | 2009 | Spain | Spanish, English
The death of Ernesto Martel (José Luis Gómez) sets off a chain of events that forces one man to come to terms with his past. Before he went blind, Harry Caine was Mateo Blanco (Lluís Homar), a film director who often worked with Ernesto. Ten years ago, Ernesto and Mateo’s friendship became a battle for Lena (Penélope Cruz), Ernesto’s mistress and Mateo’s secret object of affection. When the former recruits his son (Rubén Ochandiano) to spy on the latter, things quickly spiral out of control.
A Single Man
April 21st, 2010
Dir. Tom Ford | 100 mins | 2009 | USA | English
Mourning the loss of his partner Jim, George Falconer, an English professor working in Los Angeles, is finding life increasingly difficult to face. After being ignored by the family of his partner upon his death, George has now decided to end it all by committing suicide. While preparing for his departure, George encounters some of the people he has met during his time in Los Angeles and they notice a change in the man.
The Ghost Writer
May 5th, 2010
Dir. Roman Polanski | 128 mins | 2010 | United Kingdom, France, Germany | English
An unremarkable ghost-writer has landed a lucrative contract to redact the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former UK Prime Minister. After dominating British politics for years, Lang has retired with his wife to the USA. He lives on an island, in luxurious, isolated premises complete with a security detail and a secretarial staff. Soon, Adam Lang gets embroiled in a major scandal with international ramifications that reveals how far he was ready to go in order to nurture UK’s “special relationship” with the USA. But before this controversy has started, before even he has closed the deal with the publisher, the ghost-writer gets unmistakable signs that the turgid draft he is tasked to put into shape inexplicably constitutes highly sensitive material.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
May 12th, 2010
Dir. Niels Arden Oplev | 153 mins | 2009 | Sweden, Denmark, Germany | Swedish
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet’s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vanger’s are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.
Bright Star
UNKNOWN
Dir. Jane Campion | 119 mins | 2009 | United Kingdom, Australia, France | English, French
A secret love affair begins between 23 year-old English poet, John Keats (Ben Whishaw), and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), an out-spoken student of high fashion. This unlikely pair begin at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed not only by his poetry but also by literature in general.
The Kids are Alright
Fall 2010
Dir. Lisa Cholodenko | 107 mins | 2010 | USA | English
Lesbian couple Nic and Jules have been together for twenty years, bringing up two children thanks to the contributions of a anonymous sperm donor. As 18-year-old daughter Joni prepares to leave for college, she and younger brother Laser get curious about their heritage. Making contact with Paul, the laid-back restaurateur whose sperm bank deposit helped bring them into the world, the two set off a chain reaction.
Winters Bone
Fall 2010
Dir. Debra Granik | 119 mins | 2010 | USA | English
Faced with an unresponsive mother and a criminal father, Ozark teenager Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) does what she can to manage the household and take care of her two younger siblings. Informed by the sheriff (Garret Dillahunt) that their father put their home up for bond and then disappeared, Ree sets out on a dangerous quest to find him. Her entire family’s fate now in her hands, Ree challenges her outlaw kin’s code of silence and risks her life to learn her father’s fate.
Micmacs
Fall 2010
Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet | 105 mins | 2009 | France | French
I am Love
Fall 2010
Dir. Luca Guadagnino | 120 mins | 2009 | Italy | Italian, English, Russian
At a dinner — during which her husband, Tancredi (Pippo Delbono), learns that he and his son Edoardo Recchi Jr. (Flavio Parenti) are about to assume control of the Edoardo Recchi Sr.’s (Gabriele Ferzetti) lucrative business — Emma (Tilda Swinton) meets a chef named Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini). Antonio and Emma soon find themselves in bed together. With the family already divided over the elder Recchi’s unusual plans, Emma’s affair is the wild card that might divide the family for good.
Get Low
Fall 2010
Dir. Aaron Schneider | 100mins | 2009 | USA | English
When much-feared hermit Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) comes to town with a wad of cash and announces his intention to preside over his own funeral, fast-talking mortician Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) smells a big payday in the air. Frank sends his young apprentice, Buddy, to charm Felix and win Felix’s business. As the day of the unusual event approaches, Buddy uncovers a long-held secret involving the hermit, a local widow (Sissy Spacek) and an Illinois preacher.