Foreign Film Festival 2008: April 18th - 19th.

The Golden Door

Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato,
Francesco Casisa, Andrea Prodan
Miramax Films; Directed by Emanuele Crialese
Rated PG-13; 120 minutes; 2007

In the early 1900s, a poor Sicilian family leaves Italy in search of a better life in America. Before leaving they meet a mysterious woman named Lucy who is a Brit who wants to marry someone before they hit the opposite shore. The tough and sometimes cruel practices of Ellis Island are also explored in this sensitive drama.
In Italian and English with English subtitles

Princesas

Candela Pena, Micaela Nevarez, Mariana Cordero
IFC First Take;
Directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa
109 minutes; 2006

The princesses of the title are two prostitutes, Caye and Zulema, trying to make their way through daily life in Madrid. When Zulema is badly beaten Caye takes her to the hospital and the two become unlikely friends. Issues of economics, class conflict and racism are also addressed within the confines of the world of the working girls.
In Spanish with English subtitles

Amelie

Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Yolande Moreau,
Artus de Penguern, Urbain Cancelier
Miramax Films; Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Rated R; 121 minutes; 2001

Amelie is a shy young woman who has a love of life’s small pleasures. While she takes joy in the slightest things in life she is still looking for love as well as the course her life should take. Her slightly dysfunctional family have fostered her tentative interaction with her neighbors as well as the customers of the Parisian restaurant where she waitresses. When she successfully tracks down the owner of a box of boyhood treasures that she found in her house she begins to believe she might have the power to influence more of the people around her. This fairy-tale style film follows the heroine until she finds love and her place in life even though everyone around her has always underestimated her.
In French with English subtitles

Tsotsi

Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano,
Israel Makoe, Percy Matsemela
Miramax Films; Directed by Gavin Hood
Rated R; 94 minutes; 2006

The film traces six days in the lonely, violent life of Tsotsi (meaning “thug”), a ruthless, young gang leader in South Africa. Tsotsi rarely thinks beyond his next crime, but when a carjacking results in the accidental kidnapping of a baby, he comes to care for the child and begins to gradually rediscover his humanity, dignity and capacity to love.

Das Boot

Jurgen Prochnow, Hebert Gruenemeyer
Triumph Films; Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Rated R; 144 minutes; 1982

From Germany comes this masterful adventure epic illustrating the unremitting hardships German U-boat sailors underwent during World War II. DAS BOOT is a potent, universal anti-war statement showing crisp, hopeful and eager youth who turn into grizzled, stooped and old veterans fighting only to survive the horrors of war.
In German with English subtitles

"A masterpiece. So exciting it is irresistible. It ranks with the great war films."
-- Archer Winsten, NEW YORK POST

Shall We Dance?

Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka
Miramax Films; Directed by Masayuki Suo
Rated PG; 118 minutes; 1997

Set in modern day Japan, a middle-age businessman with a wife and teenage daughter is smitten by a dance instructor. To get close to the elusive woman, he signs up for a beginner’s dance class and becomes quite adept in the art of waltz. Meanwhile, his wife suspects he’s having an affair and puts a detective on his heels.
In Japanese with English subtitles

Blue

Juliette Binoche, Benoit Regent
Miramax Films; Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Rated R; 98 minutes; 1993

Julie (Juliette Binoche), numb after the tragic deaths of her husband and child, abandons her old life and begins an anonymous life in the middle of Paris. The first in Krzysztof Kielowski’s "three colors" trilogy that explores the events and emotions that shape the choices each person makes in his or her life.
In French with English subtitles
Special Recognition
1993 Venice Film Festival
Best Cinematography
Best Film
Best Actress (Juliette Binoche)

Lust, Caution

Tony Leung, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Wang Lee Hom
Focus Features; Directed by Ang Lee
Rated NC-17; 148 minutes; 2007

This espionage thriller is set in WWII-era Shanghai. A young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets caught up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue involving powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.
In Mandarin with English subtitles

Osama

Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar
MGM/UA; Directed by Siddiq Barmak
Rated PG-13; 82 minutes; 2003

In “Osama”, the first Afghan film to be made since the end of the Taliban regime, director Siddiq Barmak delivers an emotional story he read about while exiled in Pakistan. A 12-year-old Afghan girl and her mother lose their jobs when the Taliban closes the hospital where they work. With father and brother dead, there is no one left to support the family. Without being able to leave the house, the mother is left with nowhere to turn. To protect the two of them she disguises her daughter as a boy called Osama. The girl embarks on a terrifying and confusing journey as she tries to keep the Taliban from finding out her true identity.

The Motorcycle Diaries

Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna,
Mia Maestro, Mercedes Moran
Focus Features; Directed by Walter Salles
Rated R; 128 minutes; 2004

Based on his journal, this film follows the journey of Che Guevara and his best friend Alberto Granado in their motorcycle journey across South America in the early 1950’s. This trip profoundly affects the adventurous duo and eventually inspires Che to become the leader of the Cuban revolution impacting an entire continent.