The 55th BFI London Film Festival
By James McCaskill and Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Members
The London Film Festival (October 12-27, 2011) says it "Brings the Best of the Best to London", which it does in grand style. If you can't get to Cannes, Venice is too crowded and Toronto came at a time when you were busy--then by all means make the London Film Festival and you will see the top picks from those three superb film festivals and more. The "more" often are premieres of UK and international films.
Director Alexander Payne at the London Film Festival. Photo from the London Film Festival website.
The London Film Festival is a celebration of film and as Sandra Hebron, Artistic Director of LFF, says, "(F)ilm has never been more needed, whether to help us make sense of our lives or to offer us temporary escape." This was Sandra's last year at the helm of the London Film Festival, which she has led for the past 15 years. In that time she took what was a small South Bank festival to a world-class, important festival. Australian Clare Steward, who took the Sydney Film Festival to similar stature, will take over the LFF next year.
A number of films at London were reviewed in our Toronto article or have played in the Washington area, such as The Artist, Ides of March, 50/50 among others.
This October the city was deep into preparations for next Summer's Olympics. Subways were under construction, areas of London were tied up with new stadiums going up. The city is going to have quite a Summer 2012 which means all will be in readiness when the 56th BFI London Film Festival rolls around next October. Notice that BFI London Film Festival name? For the first time BFI is in charge of UK film money, that too may change by next Autumn.
OPENING NIGHT GALA:
360 (Fernando Meirelles, UK/Austria/France, 2011) 360 is a dynamic and moving roundelay of love in the 21st Century. Director Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardner, Blindness) and writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) give us a distinctly modern take on Arthur Schnitzler's classic play Reigen (La Ronde), the starting point for this interlocking series of encounters between people in different cities and countries. Schnitzler's original used ten pairs of lovers from different sections of Viennese society to show how sexual relationships can transgress social boundaries. Morgan and Meirelles broaden this out, as the film weaves through Vienna, Bratislava, Paris, London, Rio, Phoenix and Denver into a single seamless narrative. (Extracted from the festival catalogue, written by Sandra Hebron).
CLOSING NIGHT GALA:
Left to right: Jolyon Coy, Ann Mitchell, Tom Hiddleston, Terence Davies, Sarah Kants, Harry Hadden-Paton. Photo from the London Film Festival website.
The Deep Blue Sea (Terrence Davies, United Kingdom, 2011). Adapted from a famous British play by Terence Rattigan, this is the story of post WWII England, with a younger wife of a high court judge in love with a young former wartime pilot trying to find his place in the new postwar world. Rachel Weisz gives an Oscar worthy performance as the clinging lover who feels the romance may be over. As the former Lady Collyer she has given up access to a rich lifestyle and is also trying to rebuild her life. The cinematography and furnishings beautifully recreate postwar England in every detail. The film also screened at AFI's EU Festival in November.
AND THE WINNERS ARE
Best British Newcomer Award: Junkhearts (Tinge Krishnan, UK, 2011). The jury said, "Junkhearts is a striking example of British independent film making, a sophisticated social drama that carries real weight and purpose. The cast are uniformly excellent; while (Eddie) Marsan and (Romola) Garai are reliably so and Tom Sturridge confirms his rising-star status; newcomer Candese Reid is, on this showing, a genuine discovery."
The Rising Star Award: The award for Best British Newcomer was presented by Edgar Wright and Minnie Driver to Candese Reid, for her acting role in Junkhearts. Starting acting at the age of nine, she joined Nottingham's prestigious Television Workshop, and her role in Junkhearts, at the age of 18, was her first professional acting role. Chair of the Best British Newcomer jury, Andy Harries said, "Candese is a fresh, brilliant and exciting new talent. Every moment she was on screen was compelling."
Best Documentary Award: Werner Herzog's powerful exploration of violence and its consequences, Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life, picked up the Best Documentary Award. The jury, chaired by Adam Curtis, said, "Much of the strength of the film lies in Herzog's interview style, which is respectful, but never precludes him asking uncomfortable questions ('destiny has dealt you a bad deck of cards, which doesn't exonerate you and which does not mean I have to like you'). What emerges is a coruscating study of the senselessness of violence, whether from individuals or state, and a particularly disturbing picture of the society that breeds it."
Best Feature Film: This year Argentinian director Pablo Giorgelli took the award for best feature film for Las Acacias, a slow-burning, uplifting and enchanting story of a truck driver and his passengers. The director received his Star of London from film director Terry Gilliam.The jury commented: "In a lively and thoughtful jury room debate, Las Acacias emerged as a worthy winner, largely because of the originality of its conception. Finely judged performances and a palpable sympathy for his characters makes this a hugely impressive debut for director Pablo Giorgelli."
MUST SEE FILMS
Breathing (Atman, Karl Markovics, Austria, 2011). The directorial debut of Austrian actor Karl Markovics, Breathing is an assured, intelligent work that has deservedly picked up a number of prizes in Europe since it premiered at Cannes earlier this year. Roman (Thomas Schubert) is a surly teenager about to be released from a penal institution where he has been serving time for violent crime. Roman takes a work-release job as the first step toward his freedom. He takes a job in a mortuary, moving dead bodies. He comes across a dead woman with his same last name and wonders if it can be the mother who abandoned him at birth. This leads him to explore his past. This is Austria's nominee for best foreign language film and was recently shown in the AFI's European Union Film Festival.
Darwin (Nick Brandestini, Switzerland/USA, 2011). No, not named for Charles Darwin but Darwin, California, is named for a 19th century miner. The director, Nick Brandestini said, when I asked him how he choose a ghost town for this documentary, "I am from Switzerland, very different place from Darwin. I drove through Death Valley and saw all those small communities and wondered who would live there." The 52 or so people who have chosen this isolated spot in the road have each come for their own reasons. Brandestini allows each person the time to tell their own stories in this fascinating community that has no government but has an odd collection of people; they are treated with the utmost respect and allowed to reveal who lives in Darwin.
Guilty (Vincent Garenq, France, 2011). Philippe Torreton plays the real bailiff Alain Marecaux who with his wife and a large other number of ordinary citizens is accused of involvement in a pedophile ring. The true story of how justice was not carried out as “innocent until proven guilty” and false evidence remains supported makes a harrowing feature film and uncovers one of the most scandalous court cases in recent French law.
Headhunters (Hodejegerne, Morten Tyidum, Norway, 2011). Up to now Norwegian mystery writer Jo Nesbo has resisted calls to bring his suspenseful books to the screen. Morten Tyium has made, as festival director Sandra Hebron calls it, "An assured and intelligent rollercoaster of a movie." Roger is a headhunter for a job placement company and has found the perfect candidate who also owns a valuable painting that intrigues Roger even more. The plot twists and occasional bits of humor make this a Must See film.
Hut in the Woods (Hier Unten-Hutte im Wald, Hans Weingarther, Germany, 2011). Martin was newly released from a mental institution; previously he was a mathematician with a brilliant future but now he is penniless with no job prospect. Viktor was a young boy, recently orphaned, living rough in a deserted, crumbling building. Martin takes the role of protector and together they construct the hut in the forest, an idyllic existence when compared to their previous life. Martin meets and encourages Leda to join them. Just when life seems settled, harsh reality intrudes. As in his previous film, The White Noise, Weingarther takes a sympathetic view of mental patients.
Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life (Werner Herzog, USA, 2011). Herzog's documentary on the aftermath of a Texas murder and its effect has screened in the Washington area.
The Kid with a Bike (Jeanne-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium/France/Italy, 2011). Cyril is an 11 year old boy abandoned by his father who still believes his father will be back. Cecile de France plays a hairdresser who enters the film and seems to be the only change agent left who can steer Cyril from an eventual life of street life, detention, drug abuse or worse. Why does she care about this troubled youth and what is society's responsibility to him? As usual, an excellent moral tale that the Dardennes Brothers so deftly craft. The film will was screened at the AFI EU Festival in November.
Mourning (Morteza Farshbaf, Iran, 2011). Farshbaf is a protegee of Abbas Kiarostami and some similarities of style may be seen. When a young boy's parents quarrel and disappear, his deaf aunt and uncle show up to take him home. The boy is thought to be somewhat fragile but must go on this tragic, but at times comic road trip where sign language becomes a universal language and the Iranian countryside becomes a character of its own. The layered presentation and evolving communication of the truth are rarely seen in films and you suddenly care what happens to all the main characters. Mourning will screen February 10 and 12, 2012 at the Iranian Films Series at the Freer Gallery.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey/Bosnia and Herzegovnia, 2011). The Turkish director of Distant this time follows a police procedural of a murder committed in the countryside. A convoy of prisoners and police and forensic experts travel through the night to various pastoral spots as clues are revealed on this road trip. The beautiful landscape and the lighting and cinematography create painterly depictions of rural Turkish life and a character of its own. The film requires concentration to detail, moralistic questions, revealing in the end what is truth. Another masterpiece from Ceylan. This film shared Grand Jury Prize at Cannes 2011 with The Kid with a Bike.
Oslo, August 31st (Joachim Trier, Norway, 2011). After his award winning film Reprise, Trier's second feature follows Anders, a young addict in rehabilitation, venturing back out into Oslo with all the history and ghosts from his past that may be difficult to face again. Based on the novel of the same name by Pierre Drieu la Rochelle, Anders must find his self-worth and future without the crutch of drugs.
Shame (Steve McQueen, UK, 2011). The film's honest look at sex addiction has raised hackles in many quarters. Male nudity does trouble some people but the film and its focus is not pornographic. The script was developed after interviews with sex addicts in New York City. Michael Fassbender (playing Brandon) has another superb acting job in his second McQueen film having played Bobby Sands in award winning Hunger. Q&A from the London film festival is in this issue of Storyboard.
Volcano (Runar Runarsson, Iceland/Denmark, 2011). Newly retired curmudgeon Hannes must deal with his new freedom of time and his estranged children. When his wife's health takes a tragic turn, he rallies to her side and care, to the chagrin of the children and the surprise of health care workers. He feels the calling of their original home on a volcanic island and the pain of choices to be made. The film is Iceland's foreign language nominee for the Oscars. The Icelandic directors must be a very tight knit and supportive community. The director, who was extremely shy, told how other Icelandic directors and the film community encouraged him to make his first feature film. He had gone to film school in Denmark and won awards for his short films, including his 2004 Oscar nominated short The Last Farm.
The Waves (Las Olas, Alberto Morals, Spain, 2011). Miguel (Carlos Alvarez-Novoa), an 80 year old, travels from his home In Valencia, Spain, to Argeles-sur-Mer, France. When I asked Alberto Morals about this journey film he said, "There are always travel films, road movies. In The Waves, the old man is an empty character who feels compelled to journey to the first concentration camp where 500,000 Spaniards were interred and died during the Spanish Civil War. Hungarian photographer Robert Capa took photos there of bodies in the waves." The Capa photographs provided the title of the film. The trek Miguel makes reveals the deep scars of the Civil War that still remain. Morals insisted that Miguel show no emotion, important that he remain an empty character throughout the film.
Where Do We Go Now? (Nadine Labaki, France/Lebanon/Italy/Egypt, 2011). The surprise Audience Award winner at this year's Toronto Film Festival is the second feature by Labaki who made the successful Caramel in 2007. The story centers on how, in a move of solidarity, the women in a small Middle Eastern village with both Christians and Muslims can stop the men from taking revenge and causing more bloodshed. The film has some wonderful comic and heartbreakingly tragic and poignant moments and may well be one of the final 5 nominees for best foreign language film since it has been nominated by Lebanon.
VERY GOOD FILMS
Carnage (Roman Polanski, France/German/Spain/Poland, 2011). Yasmina Reza's play The God of Carnage comes to the silver screen with an outstanding cast (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly) revealing the deep troubles in two families. What begins as a civilized discussion of a fight between their two children soon spins out of control revealing that the fights of adults are far worse than those of their children. Important that you watch the final credit crawl for a hilarious ending to this somber, troubling satire.
Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes, United Kingdom, 2011). This is the directorial debut of famed actor Ralph Fiennes. He plays the lead role of Coriolanus with other actors Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, Gerald Butler, and Vanessa Redgrave in an Oscar-worthy performance as his mother. Josh Logan, the screenwriter, with Ralph Fiennes described in a press interview how they updated the Shakespeare tragedy of the Roman general by placing it in modern Serbia and selectively choosing lines from Shakespeare's play to maintain the flavor and focus of the play but mixing it with modern language for accessibility to a larger audience. Distributed by the Weinstein Company, it should have a December 2011 or early January 2012 release in Washington, DC.
A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, France/Ireland/United Kingdom/Germany/Canada, 2011). Canadian director Cronenberg tackles a screenplay by Chrisopher Hampton dealing with the complex professional and personal relationships of Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and their methods of psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Keira Knightly plays Sabina Speilrein, a disturbed Russian patient and fellow psychiatrist. Based on Hampton's play The Talking Cure and John Kerr's non-fiction book A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Speilrein. The film played at this year's AFI's EU Film Festival.
The Descendants (Alexander Payne, USA, 2011). Payne's adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings' novel shows a severely non-tourist view of Hawaii. Matt King, played by George Clooney in top form, has a most successful life (money, family, an important law practice) that unravels showing the mystery and contradictions underneath it all. As the film begins, Matt's wife is in a terminal coma, his kids are running wild and members of his family have their own agendas and needs that vary sharply from his. By the film's end we learn more of life's shortcomings. This film is currently playing in DC.
Gypsy (Martin Sulik, Slovakia/Czech Republic, 2011). An excellent film centered on Adam, a 14 year old Roma boy who must accept his uncle marrying his widowed mother, and the stigma of the gypsy in Europe, morale issues, and if there is a future for him to continue schooling or seeing his girlfriend. Many of the parts are done by nonactors and there is a tragic feeling of Hamlet about the film. The film played at this year's AFI's EU Film Festival.
The Jewel (Il Gioiellino, Andrea Molaioli, Italy, 2011). The collapse of the Italian company Parmalat did not get the headlines here that it did in Europe. Parmalat was a "too-big-to-fail" company whose fall revealed the corruption and greed, and the dodgy financial dealings that mirrored later bank failures in several countries. Elements of the failure of Enron are echoed here; Parmalat's bankrupcy of 14.3 billion dollars is Europe's largest. Gross corporate incompetence had placed relatives of the founder, Amanzio Rastelli, in positions they were not capable of holding. The legal challenges are still ongoing, necessitating that actual names be changed in this film but those that have read of the corporate greed will have no trouble figuring out who is who. Those who are not up to speed on European bankruptcy will have a enjoyable and twisting plot to enjoy. The film played at this year's AFI's EU Film Festival.
Last Winter (L'Hiver Dernier, John Shank, Belgium/France, 2011). Small family farms are under pressure everywhere and especially in rural Europe. Johann (Vincent Rottiers) is the spokesmen for the neighborhood co-op. He is torn between the demands of the other farmers, his desire to continue the family tradition and to his sister. The countryside plays an important character as filmed by master cinematographer Hichame Alaouie.
Michael (Marcus Scheinzer, Austria, 2011). Michael is a 35 year old single man working in an office who seems like your everyday next door neighbor nerd. The truth in his tidy suburban home which has many locks and blinds, is that he has kidnapped and is keeping a young boy hostage in his cellar but acting like it is a normal family at times. Reminiscent of the work of Michael Hanneke, the documentary-like feature film slowly builds tension, but it is the quiet, almost mundane lifestyle provides the chill to this story. The film played at this year's AFI's EU Film Festival.
Snowtown (Justin Kurzel, Australia, 2011). Not your typical Australian splatter film, although there is gore to spare in this recreation of horrendous serial killers in a small Australian town. When I interviewed the director he said, "What began as an ideology, chasing pedophiles from the community, soon degrades into a series of murders. Eleven in all by four people. It is rare that so many people act in concert in such horrendous deeds." The newspapers at the time called it 'Bodies in a Barrel.' There was a sadistic thrill in killing. Sixteen year old Jamie Vlassakis (Lucas Pittaway) comes under the control of intruder John Bunting (Daniel Henshall) who in an especially grisly scene has Jamie perform a mercy killing on a tortured soul in a meticulously filmed scene. Not for the squeamish but it is an almost journalistic presentation of a recent rampage.
GOOD FILMS
Abu, Son of Adam (Salim Ahamed, India, 2011). Abu is a retired seller of perfumes in the marketplace who decides that he and his wife should use their saved monies to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He must first collect some debts owed him and begin the necessary paperwork including passports for the journey. A comic and poignant tale of a man's new awareness of the outside modern world and its complexities, and the support of family and friends is presented. This is India's nominee for best foreign language film.
Las Acacias (Pablo Giorgelli, Argentina/Spain, 2011). A quiet road movie about Ruben, a truck driver taking a load of lumber from Paraguay, who gives a ride to Jacinta, a young Indian woman with a baby who needs to go to Buenos Aires to live with her relatives. A slow but charming film unravels as quiet loner Ruben bonds with Jacinta and her baby girl and realizes the years he has missed with his own son who lives with his estranged wife. The film won the Camera d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The director told the audience in London how difficult it had been filming many of the scenes inside the truck cab but which created the intimacy of the film against the expansive landscapes in Paraguay and Argentina.
Alois Nebel (Tomas Lunak, Czech Republic/Germany/Slovakia, 2011). This was not listed in the catalog but was an added press screening. An animated black and white film about Alois, a lonely, middle aged dispatcher at a mountainside train station who is troubled by memories from torture in World War II. He meets a kind woman in the city he would like to date. The time is 1989 and he hears about the fall of the Berlin Wall amid the oncoming storms and floods. The film was also at the Toronto Film Festival and is the foreign language nominee for the Czech Republic.
The Bird (L'oiseau, Yves Caumon, France, 2011). Rising above the trap of psychological melodrama, The Bird follows Anne as she works in a kitchen and into her private life. Yves Caumon skillfully shows the drama in her life.
The Exchange (Eran Kolirin, Israel/Germany, 2011). Oded, a physics scholar and professor at Tel Aviv University seems happily married and lives a very routine life. One day he returns home in the afternoon to get a folder, and suddenly is fascinated by what is going on all the time in the world around him and others that he has never taken time to notice. Kolirin directed the wonderful A Band's Visit and has some of the same quiet moments of illumination and wonder in this film.
The Forgiveness of Blood (Joshua Marston, United States/Albania/Denmark/Italy, 2010). Marston's first feature film was Maria Full of Grace. This is the tale of an Albanian family in a blood feud and how it affects each family member. It won the Silver Bear in the 2011 Berlin Film Festival for Original Screenplay and was originally nominated by Albania as their foreign language nominee, but was disqualified by the Academy since Marston as an American was both the director and screenwriter.
The Giants (Bouli Lanners, Belgium/France/Luxembourg, 2011). Lanner, the director of Eldorado has another film with youngsters, this time somewhat abandoned by their mother in their grandfather's country house. The friends and enemies they make, and how they survive are adventures somewhat reminiscent of a Mark Twain novel. At the 2011 Cannes Film Festival the film won the Society of Auteurs and Dramatic Composers' SACD Prize as the section's best French-language film, and also the Art Cinema Award from the art house cinema group CICAE. The film played at this year's AFI's EU Film Festival.
Here (Braden King, USA, 2011). Director King uses Will's (Ben Foster) satellite mapping skills in Armenia as analogy to his finding the contours of his life. At a back of nowhere hotel Will meets Gadarine (Lubna Azabal) who shares his journey into the uncharted landscape.
I Wish (Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan, 2011). Kore-eda, master director of films like Nobody Knows and Still Walking has another film about children and families. Two young brothers, one living with his rock-musician father in another city, and the other living with his mother and grandparents conspire to play hooky and meet somewhere in Kumamoto. A cast of other children join them on this quiet but reflective road trip which comments on the family dynamic in modern Japan and provides a panoramic journey from the city to Japan’s countryside.
Li and the Poet (Andrea Segre, Italy/France, 2011). Shun Li is a Chinese immigrant sold into indentured work in Venice to pay off her debts and to save money to transport her son from China. This is not the postcard Venice seen in many Hollywood films. Veteran actor Rade Serbedzija plays the fisherman Bepi, who befriends the Chinese woman with consequences.
The Loneliest Planet (Julia Loktev, Germany/United States). A young engaged couple (Gael Garcia Bernal and Hani Furstenberg) employ a guide and transverse the wild countryside and mountains in the country of Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains. A fascinating road trip film about trust and forgiveness and relationships is addressed by American director Loktev. A slow film that builds in tension and will cause audience conversation.
She Monkeys (Lisa Aschan, Sweden, 2011). A coming of age tale of two ages in a family, Emma, a teenager tries to join a local equestrian team and meets the fascinating and beautiful Cassandra, who is already a star of the team. Emma's precocious and chubby seven year old sister Sara, is exploring her own sexual awareness and female identity. Sara thinks she is in love with her older male cousin and is embarrassed when Dad doesn't want to buy her a bikini for swimming. The film played at this year's AFI's EU Film Festival.
Terraferma (Emanuele Crialese, Italy/France, 2011). Another film dealing with Europe's problems or issues with immigrants. A Sicilian fishing family finds African refugees including a mother and young baby and must decide whether to report them, as the law requires, or to help them. The director said many of the immigrants were played by real immigrants who had come to Italy several years earlier. We thought the film was a little heavy handed in some scenes for emotional effect. This is Italy's nominee for best foreign language film.
Director Michael Winterbottom at the London Film Festival. Photo from the London Film Festival website.
Trishna (Michael Winterbottom, UK, 2011). Thomas Hardy's late 19th Century novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles is transported to modern India by master filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. Where Tess had been torn between two diametrically opposed men, Trishna (Freida Pinto) now has to choose between her family and rich, idle Jay (Riz Ahmed) now the son of a property developer. Trishna's life in innocent family dominated rural India is contrasted with her downfall in cosmopolitan Mumbai.
Wuthering Heights (Andrea Arnold, United Kingdom, 2011). Another retelling of Emily Bronte's novel but this time the twist is that Heathcliffe is a young, black homeless youth found in Liverpool. Arnold (Fish Tank, Red Road) uses her wonderful visual and documentary like style here also as in her other films. James Howson who plays Heathcliffe is very good in the role and the actor playing his younger counterpart is also good. I thought the younger Catherine Earnshaw was good but felt the film lost its momentum when the older Cathy is presented and fails to look like or continue the acting ability of her younger counterpart.
AVOID
Asshole (Gandu, Kaushik Mukherjee, India, 2010). This is a very controversial film in India based on a young rapper living with his single mother in a Kolkata flat. Gandu's life consists of watching porn and playing video games and the movie seems like a strange cross of a MTV video with pornography. His best friend is Rickshaw, a rickshaw driver who is also a Bruce Lee fan. Scenes of drug abuse, masturbation and intercourse are added to thundering rap songs. This is definitely what could become a strange cult film in India and elsewhere.
Old Dog (Khyi Rgan, Perna Tseden, China (Tibet), 2010) An attempt to rebrand Tibetan films falls flat. Poorly filmed, you are 45 minutes into the film before the face of the lead character appears. The film has the most senseless ending of any film I've seen in ages. Animal lovers stay away.
The 55th BFI London Film Festival took place October 12-27. Visit the website.
Calendar of Events
FILMS
American Film Institute Silver Theater
"The Films of Alexander Payne" includes Sideways, About Schmidt, Election and Citizen Ruth.
"More Muppets, Music and Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy" begins November 23 and runs through December. Titles in December include The Muppet Movie, Muppet History, The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol and more.
"Holiday Classics" offers classics such as It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol.
Other special events in December include A Clockwork Orange (40th anniversary), One, Two, Three (50th anniversary), and The French Connection (40th anniversary).
A new series, "Opera in Cinema" captures live opera performances. "Don Giovanni" is on December 7 at noon and 7:00pm, December 10 at 10:00am and December 11 at 10:00am.
"Ballet in Cinema" also captures live performances from Europe's top ballet companies. "Sleeping Beauty" is on December 15 at 2:30pm and 6:30pm, and December 17 at 10:00am. "The Nutcracker Suite" is on December 16, 19, 20, 21, and 22 at 2:00pm and December 18 at 3:00pm.
Freer Gallery of Art
"Reincarnations: Films from Thailand" is a series of three films. On December 9 at 7:00pm is Eternity (Sivaroj Kongsakul, 2010); on December 10 at 2:00pm is Kon Khon (Sarunyu Wongkrachang, 2011) which is Thailand's Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010).
"Far Left of Center: The Fiery Politics of Koji Wakamatsu," a two-film series, is a look at how WWII and radical political movements have affected life in Japan. On December 16 at 7:00pm is Caterpillar (Koji Wakamatsu, 2010) and on December 18 at 2:00pm is United Red Army (Koji Wakamatsu, 2007).
National Gallery of Art
In conjunction with the Gallery's exhibit "Warhol: Headlines" is a series of films shown on Saturdays throughout October, November and December. The dates for December are December 2 at 1:00pm "Chelsea Girls," December 3 at 12:30pm "Outer and Inner Space," December 4 at 2:00pm "Time Frames," December 10 at noon "John and Ivy," December 17 at noon "Space," December 24 at 12:30pm "Soap Opera," and December 31 at noon "Velvet Underground and Nico."
"Yuri Ilyenko: Ballad of Ukraine" is a three-film series to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. On December 10 at 2:00pm is A Spring for the Thirsty (Yuri Ilyenko, 1965) which will be introduced by Philip Ilyenko, Yuri Ilyenko's (1936-2010) son. On December 10 at 4:00pm is The Eve of Ivan Kupala (Yuri Ilyenko, 1968) and on December 17 at 2:00pm is Swan Lake-The Zone (Yuri Ilyenko, 1990).
"American Originals Now" focuses on various artists. Fred Worden will be present for two programs: on December 11 at 4:30pm is a program of short films and on December 14 at 4:30pm is "After Hours in the Cerebral Kitchen."
"Le Cinema Fantastique" concludes in December with two avant-garde works The Seashell and the Clergyman (Germaine Dulac, 1928) followed by Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau, 1930) on December 4 at 5:00pm. On December 24 at 2:00pm and 4:00pm is Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, 1946), on December 31 at 2:00pm is Orphee (Jean Cocteau, 1950) and on December 31 at 4:00pm is Donkey Skin (Jacques Demy, 1970).
Other film events in December are The African Twin Towers (Christoph Schlingensief, 2006) introduced by Alex Jovanovic on December 3 at 4:00pm. On December 18 at 4:00pm and December 21 at 12:30pm is Mysteries of Lisbon (Raul Ruiz, 2010). On December 28 at 12:30pm is Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story (Shelly Dunn Fremont and Vincent Fremont, 2000); on December 28 at 2:30pm is The Universe of Keith Haring (Christina Clausen, 2008); on December 29 at 12:30pm is Notes on Marie Menken (Martina Kudlacek, 2006) and on December 30 at 12:30pm is Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling (James Rasin, 2010).
National Museum of African Art
On December 3 at 2:00pm is Movement (R)evolution Africa (2007), a documentary about African choreographers. Co-director Joan Frosch will participate in a Q&A after the screening.
Washington Jewish Community Center
December 1-11 is the 22nd Washington Jewish Film Festival. The opening night film is Mabul (Guy Nattiv, 2010). See feature films, documentaries and short films from numerous countries. Locations: Washington DC Jewish Community Center, Avalon Theater, AFI Silver Theater, Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theater, American University Wechsler Theater, Embassy of Italy, Embassy of Switzerland, Goethe-Institut Washington and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington.
Goethe Institute
The series "An Homage to Christoph Schlingensief" continues with Terror 2000 (1992) on December 5 at 6:30pm, United Trash (1995) on December 12 at 6:30pm, with more in January.
French Embassy
On December 13 at 7:00pm is Roses on Credit (Amos Gitaï, 2010), based on the 1959 novel by Elsa Triolet. See a 35mm print of this movie previously only seen on TV.
The Japan Information and Culture Center
On December 9 at 6:30pm is an anime film Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004). On December 15 at 6:30pm is The Reluctant Samurai (Hirokazu Koreed, 2006).
The National Theatre
Two holiday films are shown in December. On December 5 at 6:30pm is Christmas in Connecticut (1945) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan and on December 12 at 6:30pm is White Christmas (1954) with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.
National Archives
On December 2 at noon is a program of short films promoting the New Deal including Hands (1934) and We Work Again (1936). On December 10 at noon is Julie and Julia (2009) with Meryl Streep as Julia Childs.
The Avalon
This month's "Greek Panorama" film is Riders of Pylos (Nikos Kalogeropoulos, 2011) on December 7 at 8:00pm. The December "Czech Lions" film is Men in Rut (Robert Sedlácek, 2009) on December 14 at 8:00pm. The "French Cinematheque" film for December is The Three-Way Wedding (Jacques Doillon, 2010) starring Julie Depardieu and Louis Garrel.
Italian Cultural Institute
On December 7 at 6:30pm is Bread and Tulips (Silvio Soldini, 2000).
The Italian Cultural Institute takes part in the 22nd Washington Jewish Film Festival with a documentary An Encounter with Simone Weil (Julia Haslett) on December 6 at 5:00pm and 7:30pm with the filmmaker in attednance for discussion.
Kennedy Center
On December 1 at 7:00pm is Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World (Rob Gardner, 2012), a documentary about the masterworks of Islamic Art and Architecture.
University of Maryland, Hoff Theater
On December 2 at 5:00pm is Tideland (Terry Gilliam, 2005).
Busboys and Poets
Rare Exports (Jalmari Helander, 2010) from Finland is the movie of the month. Shows are December 5 at 7:00pm (Hyattsville), December 11 at 8:00pm (14th & V in DC), December 18 at 7:00pm (Shirlington, and December 26 at 8:00pm (5th & K in DC).
The Phillips Collection
A series of films about ballet complements the paintings of Edgar Degas. On December 17 at 2:00pm is La Danse--Le Ballet de l'Opera de Paris, a behind the scenes documentary about the Paris Opera Ballet. On December 22 at 6:00pm is The Turning Point starring Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft. On December 29 at 6:00pm is An American in Paris starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron.
FILM FESTIVALS
