CSL Foreign Film Festival

Films: Japanese Spanish German/Turkish French Portuguese Russian Korean Italian Hindi
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Welcome!

Welcome to the webpage of the Spring 2009 International Film Festival! After the successful experience of previous editions, this year we are proud again to offer a fascinating selection of new or recent films from around the world. The series will open with two films by critically acclaimed director Chris Eska. This Rice University graduate will be our honored guest for the March 10th screening of his short Doki Doki followed by his feature length August Evening. He will be available after the screenings to present his two productions and answer questions. You can learn more about these films and Chris Eska's career by visiting www.AugustEvening.com and www.ChrisEska.com.

The opening night will take place in the Media Center with films beginning at 6:30pm

All other screenings will be at 7.30pm in Sewall Hall 309 between March 12 and April 9 on a Tuesday and Thursday schedule

Below you will find the complete schedule of the upcoming screenings.

Doki Doki Japanese with English subtitles, 2003. Drama, Romance: 34min	Tues, March 10, 6:30pm Rice Media Center
	The film Doki Doki is about a group of train commuters who take the same train in Tokyo every single day for years. They always stand right next each other but never talk to each other and never really get to know each other, but one day things change... A film by Chris Eska. Official website
映画「どき、どき」は、東京で毎朝同じ電車を利用し、ほとんど同じ席に座り、また同じ車内に立ちながらも、なぜか言葉を交わすこともなく、会話もせず、お互を知ることもなく通勤、通学する人々を描いています。ところが、あることを境に, 言葉を交わすことに.なるのですが... Back to menu

August Evening Spanish, with English subtitles, 2007. Drama: 127min	Tues, March 10, after Doki Doki Rice Media Center
	August Evening (website) follows an aging undocumented farm worker named Jaime and his young, widowed daughter-in-law, Lupe, as their lives are thrown into upheaval. Lupe is more of a daughter to Jaime than his own children, and the two try to stick together… but change is inevitable. At the heart of the story is the conflict between generations. Aging parents and grown children have difficulty expressing both their love and mutual disappointment in each other. A father recognizes the unstoppable force of time and must say goodbye to his daughter so she can start her own life. A film by Chris Eska. Official website
August Evening presenta a Jaime, un granjero bastante mayor de edad, indocumentado y a su joven nuera viuda, Lupe, mientras que sus vidas se encuentran en un estado de mucha agitación. Lupe es más como una hija para Jaime que sus propios hijos, y los dos intentan mantenerse unidos… pero el cambio es inevitable. El fondo de la historia es el conflicto generacional. Es sobre la dificultad que tienen los padres ya mayores y los hijos adultos de expresarse entre si su amor y su mutua decepción. El padre reconoce la fuerza imparable del tiempo y debe despedirse de su hija para que ella pueda comenzar su propia vida. Back to menu

Auf der anderen Seite [The Edge of Heaven]
German, Turkish, with English Subtitles, 2007. Drama: 127 min	Thurs, March 12, 7:30pm Sewall Hall 309
	“There are six principal characters in “The Edge of Heaven”: two mothers, two daughters, a father and a son, all arranged in more or less symmetrical pairs. In the course of this extraordinary film by the German writer-director Fatih Akin (which won the best screenplay award in Cannes [in 2007]) children are lost, lost parents are never found, and generational and geographical distances grow wider. Yet at the same time, as the lives of the characters cross and entwine, there is a sense of human connections becoming stronger and thicker, of a fragile moral order coalescing beneath the randomness and cruelty of modern life. And even as the movie bristles with violence — accidental and systematic, sexual and political — its tone is curiously gentle.” A.O. Scott, The New York Times, May 21, 2008 A film by Fatih Akin.
“Der pensionierte Witwer Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz) vertreibt sich die Einsamkeit in Hamburger Bordellen, bis er Yeter (Nursel Köse, Kebab Connection) in eben solch einem Etablissement begegnet: Gegen eine monatliche Unterstützung in Höhe ihres bisherigen Lohns als Hure soll sie mit ihm zusammenleben. Alis gebildeter Sohn Nejat (Baki Davrak), der Germanistik an der Universität Hamburg unterrichtet, findet die Wahl seines sturen alten Herren mehr als eigenartig. Erst als er erfährt, dass Yeter den Großteil ihres Geldes zu ihrer Tochter Ayten (Nurgül Yesilcay) nach Istanbul schickt, um deren Studium zu finanzieren, beginnt er sie zu respektieren. Als Yeter auf tragische Weise ums Leben kommt, begibt sich Nejat auf die Suche nach Ayten. Doch die politische Aktivistin ist längst aus der Türkei geflohen und hat in Deutschland bei Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska, Solino) und ihrer Mutter Susanne (Hanna Schygulla, Winterreise) Zuflucht gefunden. Es braucht mehr als eine Reise, bis die Protagonisten schließlich zueinander finden… wenn auch auf unerwartete Weise.” (website) Back to menu

La Question Humaine [Heartbeat Detector]
French, with English subtitles, 2007. Drama, History: 143 min	Tues, March 17, 7:30pm Sewall Hall 309
	This social study takes place in today’s Paris where Simon Kessler works as an in-house psychologist whose overall mission is to improve productivity in an international chemical corporation. Management gets him to investigate the factory's CEO who seems to be suffering from depression. But then, between a rave party and hints of Nazi Germany, things turn oddly wrong as Simon himself begins to break down. For more details and reviews see here. A film by Nicolas Klotz.
Simon est psychologue d’entreprise, chargé d'améliorer la productivité des employés de la filiale parisienne d'une multinationale pétrochimique. Il se voit confier une mission : faire enquête sur le PDG qui s'est fait remarquer par un comportement qui laisse supposer des troubles mentaux graves. Au fil de ses recherches, entre une rave et une mise en parallèle des crimes nazis et le travail de nos sociétés techniques, le psychologue lui-même bascule vers le trip et découvrira le prix humain. Back to menu

Bossa Nova Portuguese, with English subtitles, 2000. Comedy, Romance: 95 min	Thurs, March 19, 7:30pm Sewall Hall 309
	Bossa Nova is a romantic comedy set in Rio de Janeiro. A film by Bruno Barreto, who has directed and/or produced films such as Dona Flor, Four Days in September, Bye, Bye Brazil among several others. Brazil is, unfortunately, known through movies that are sensationalist, violent, portraying it at its worst, such as City of God, Elite Squad, to name a few. Bossa Nova is just the opposite; it is light, fun, the photography is splendid, the characters are typical of both Brazilian and American cultures and reality. The soundtrack is all about Brazil. A film by Bruno Barreto.
Bossa Nova é uma comédia romântica passada no Rio de Janeiro. Um filme de Bruno Barreto, que já dirigiu e/ou produziu filmes como Dona Flor, O que é isso, companheiro?, Bye, bye, Brasil entre vários outros.O Brasil, infelizmente, é conhecido através de filmes que são sensacionalistas, violentos, retratando o país no seu aspecto mais deplorável, como Cidade de Deus, Tropa de Elite, entre outros. Bossa Nova é exatamente o oposto; é leve, divertido, a fotografia é esplêndida, os personagens típicos da cultura e realidade tanto brasileira quanto americana. A trilha sonora é puro Brasil. Back to menu

Rebro Adama [Adam’s Rib]
Russian with English subtitles, 1990. Comedy, Drama: 79 min	Tues, March 24, 7:30pm Sewall Hall 309
	In a small urban flat, grandma, mom, and two daughters live in partial harmony. Grandma is bed-ridden and mute, but rings a bell above her head. Her daughter Nina, a museum docent, misses male friendship and both her ex-husbands. Each fathered a daughter: Lida, beautiful, in her 20's, having an affair with her boss, and contemplating a month's vacation with him, and Nastiya, acerbic, 15, in trade school. It's grandma's birthday, so the women prepare a celebration; Nina's new male friend and both girls' fathers come. Lida learns more about her boss, and Nastiya announces she's pregnant just as her ex-boyfriend bangs on the door, drunk. Even grandma has a surprise for the family. Written by jhailey@hotmail.com (website) A film by Vyacheslav Krishtofovich.
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3-Iron Korean and French, with English subtitles, 2005. Comedy, Romance: 95 min	Thurs, March 26, 7:30pm Sewall Hall 309
	From Kim Ki-duk, director of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring Again, comes a superb love story with great cinematography. A young drifter finds empty houses while the owners are away. He then invites himself to the house and stays a few days comfortably. For return he takes care of little chores around the house by doing laundry or small repairs. To his great surprise, one day, he runs into a beautiful woman in an affluent mansion who is ready to escape her abusive marriage. A film by Kim Ki-duk.
봄, 여름, 가을, 겨울, 그리고 또 봄에서 세계적인 감독으로서의 권위를 굳힌 김 기덕 감독의 또 다른 명작인 빈집 (3-Iron)은 간단하면서도 세련된 기교를 표현한 영화이다. 한 젊은 떠돌이 남자가 주인들이 없는 빈 집을 찾아 들어가서 며칠씩 먹고 자며 지내는 동안 빨래도 해주고 고장난 것이 있으면 고쳐주기도 한다. 그러다 어느날 부자 동네의 한 집에 들어갔다가 우연히 그 집 여자주인을 마주치게 되는데…….. Back to menu

Sanguepazzo (Wild Blood)
Italian with English subtitles, 2008. Drama, History, 148 min	Tues, April 7, 7:30pm Sewall Hall 309
	Osvaldo Valenti and Luisa Ferida: idolized by the public, a famous and infamous couple on and off screen. Stars of the Fascist endorsed 'white telephone' cinema, their private lives were as wild as the villainous, depraved characters they portrayed. Driven by an uncontrollable lust for sensation and all consuming cocaine habits. Well at least that was the rumor. They denied every charge leveled against them, claiming the crimes attributed to them were inventions. However Valenti and Ferida had lent their glamour to the fascist regime and collaborated with the Germans. They had to pay. Thus the curtain fell on these two celebrated actors, Valenti as ever in the role of Villain and Ferida once more playing the doomed woman. (website) A film by Marco Tullio Giordana with Monica Bellucci, Alessio Boni, Luca Zingaretti. Official website
L’alba del 30 aprile 1945, cinque giorni dopo la Liberazione, vennero trovati nella periferia di Milano i cadaveri di Osvaldo Valenti e Luisa Ferida, giustiziati poche ore prima dai partigiani. Coppia celebre nella vita oltre che sullo schermo, Valenti e Ferida erano stati due divi di quel cinema dei “telefoni bianchi” che il fascismo aveva incoraggiato, incarnando quasi sempre personaggi negativi. Anche la loro vita privata era dominata dal disordine; entrambi cocainomani e, si diceva, sessualmente promiscui. Dopo l’armistizio dell’8 settembre 1943, quando il paese si spaccò in due e i tedeschi da alleati si trasformarono in esercito d’occupazione, Valenti e Ferida risalirono al Nord e aderirono alla Repubblica di Salò, ultima incarnazione della follia mussoliniana. Si stabilirono prima a Venezia, dove girarono fortunosamente qualche film, poi a Milano dove - arruolati in una banda di torturatori - si dettero alla borsa nera. Perlomeno queste erano le voci. Consegnatisi ai partigiani pochi giorni prima della Liberazione, i due negarono ogni addebito. Il Comitato di Liberazione pretese una punizione esemplare. Così calò il sipario su quei due attori un tempo famosissimi; Valenti nel ruolo del villain, Ferida in quello della donna perduta. (website) Back to menu

Chak De! Hindi, with English subtitles, 2007. Drama: 135 min	Thurs, April 9, 7:30pm Sewall Hall 309
Kabir Khan lives a middle-class lifestyle along with his widowed mom in Delhi, India, and is the Captain of the Indian men's hockey team. He fails to score at the last tournament resulting in Pakistan winning the World Cup amidst allegations that he was more inclined toward his opponents due to his religion. Kabir and his mom move away and virtually disappear for seven years. Thereafter Kabir surfaces to be a Coach for the women's hockey team, consisting of 16 players from all over India, some of who do not communicate well. Kabir's disciplinarian style ends up offending the players, lead by the militant Bindia Naik, who decide not to participate unless he resigns amidst allegations that he is having an affair with soon to-be married Vidya Sharma, who he appoints as the new Captain ... Written by rAjOo(gunwanti@hotmail.com) (website) A film by Shimit Amin.
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