FOREIGN FILM FRIDAYS
Second Friday of each month, screen time 7:00 p.m.
Refreshments served.
Subtitled for English-speaking audiences.
Some of these films have not been rated and may be aimed at a mature audience. Parental discretion is advised.
July 11th - Les Invasions Barbares (Canada/France, 2003)
Denys Arcand's character study about the humor, hope and unspoken bonds that hold family and friends together against the onslaughts of life in our contemporary times. Winner of two major awards at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, the film merges Arcand's alternately witty and tender storytelling with the emotional tale of a father and son who think they have nothing left in common until - hit with a major crisis - they learn to share an insatiable appetite for life.
August 8th - Christmas in August (South Korea, 1998)
The achingly tender romantic drama follows a portrait photographer, Jung-won and his developing romance with a parking attendant, Da-rim. However, the romance never gets a chance to develop into intimacy. Jung-won soon finds out he is suffering from an unnamed illness and has come to terms with his impending death. He sets out to continue living as usual, going out with his friends and spending time with his family in the small town where he has lived for decades.
September 12th - Grbavica (Bosnia/Austria, 2006)
An understated, yet powerful look at post-war survivors living in Sarajevo. Esma is a single mother struggling to support her 12-year-old daughter, Sara, in the Grbavica district of Sarajevo, a neighborhood once used as an internment camp during the Yugoslav wars. When questions arise about her father, Sara realizes that her mother has never been honest about the war years, and the truth threatens to destroy them. Winner of the Berlin International Film Festival's Golden Bear Award, and official entry from Bosnia/Herzegovina for the 2006 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.
October 10th - Baran (Iran, 2001)
When Latif is given heavier tasks to accommodate new (illegal) Afghan worker Rahmat, he resents his displacement and treats Rahmat cruelly. Soon, Latif discovers her secret--that she is a young woman and the sole bread-winner of a large family--he has a change of heart. When government inspectors force all Afghans to be fired from the site, Latif discovers he cannot bear to be without her. Jeopardizing social standing and endangering his own well being, Latif stops a nothing to save his love.
November 14th - The Return (Russia, 2003)
A haunting story of a father who returns after a 12-year absence to take his two teenage sons on a journey to a remote island in northern Russia. Armed with a macho code of conduct, the father puts his sons through a series of endurance tests, determined to transform them into men. Doting Andrei is quick to cooperate, while stubborn Ivan is more reluctant to trust him. When they reach their destination at a remote lake, events take an even more enigmatic turn... winner of the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival.
December 12th - Secrets of the Heart (Spain, 1997)
Javi is a nine year old boy living in a small Spanish town in the early 1960s. He becomes fascinated by the idea that he can hear ghosts, especially in the room where his father died. As Javi begins to investigate his family life, he learns a great deal about his mother, uncle, and aunts. A delicate, mysterious story of childhood and crimes of passion. Winner of four Goya Awards, as well an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.