UW-Whitewater Offers International Film Series
Released: September 21, 2005
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, together with the department of languages and literatures, will offer an international films series for the fall 2005 semester. The series, which began on Sept. 20, runs through Dec. 13, on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in Hyer Hall room 214.
"Coming of Age" is the overall theme for the series and the movies come from several different countries including Italy, New Zealand, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Japan, Spain, Canada and Iran.
All non-English films are shown in their original languages with English subtitles. Refreshments will be provided through the support of the College of Letters and Sciences. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend.
For more information, contact Sheila Turek at (262) 472-1066 or tureks@uww.edu.
The film series is scheduled as follows:
Sept. 20 - Cinema Paradiso
Italy, 1988. Giuseppe Tornatore's beautiful 1988 film about a little boy's love affair with the movies. Philippe Noiret plays a grizzled old projectionist who takes pride in his presentation of screen dreams for a town still recovering from World War II. When a child demonstrates fascination not only for movies but also for the process of showing them to an audience, a lifelong friendship is struck.
Sept. 27 - Whalerider
New Zealand, 2002. A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
Oct. 4 - Christiane
Germany, 1981. This film by Uli Edel portrays the real story of a teenager caught up in the heroin culture of the late 1970s in Berlin.
Oct. 11 - Amarcord
Italy, 1973. Federico Fellini's warmly nostalgic memory piece examines daily life in the Italian village of Rimini during the reign of Mussolini, and won the 1974 Academy Award as Best Foreign Film.
Oct. 18 - Au Revoir, Les Enfants
France, 1987. Louis Malle wrote and directed this touching coming-of-age film that recounts his childhood in a French boarding school during World War II. "Au Revoir, Les Enfants" ("Goodbye, Children") is told through the eyes of Julien (Gaspard Manesse), an innocent youth whose simplistic childhood slowly dissolves into a rude awakening as he discovers the harsh realities of Nazi-occupied France.
Oct. 25 - Kikujiro
Japan, 2000. It's summer and nine-year-old Masao (Yusuke Sekiguchi) has no one to play with. By chance, Masao discovers the address and photo of the mother he has never met. A friend of his grandmother volunteers her husband, Kikujiro (Beat Takeshi) to accompany the boy on his quest. Ultimately, the two of them end up at a destination that neither of them could have imagined.
Nov. 1 - Tmavomodry Svet
Czech Republic, 2001. In this lavishly produced World War II film, a young Czech expatriate joins the RAF and must confront whether his impulse to love and honor is foolish in a world that doesn’t live up to his ideals.
Nov. 8 - Spirited Away
Japan, 2002. A Japanese anime film from the creator of "Princess Mononoke," this is the story of a girl named Chihiro who travels into the world of gods to find a way to turn her parents into human form after they were turned into... pigs.
Nov. 15 - Grobe Madchen Weinen Nicht
Germany, 2002. This film portrays the strains on the relationship between lifelong friends, Kati and Steffi, after Steffi finds out that her father is having an affair.
Nov. 22 - La Lengua de las Mariposas
Spain, 1999. For Moncho, it's an idyllic year: he starts school, he makes friends. But it's also the year that the Spanish Republic comes under fire from Fascist rebels. As sides are drawn and power falls clearly to one side, the forces of fear, violence and betrayal alter profoundly what should be the pleasure of coming of age.
Nov. 29 - Le Gout Des Jeunes Filles
Canada, 2005. Against the backdrop of poverty, fear and the brutal dictatorship of Haiti in 1971, the film depicts Fanfan, a 15-year-old boy who experiences a bizarrely terrifying incident involving a Tonton-Macoute. As a result, he hides out at his beautiful neighbor's house. There, he is trapped between his fear of being caught and the fulfilling of his deepest fantasy.
Dec. 6 - Spanish-language film to be announced.
Dec. 13 - Bacheha-Ye Aseman
Iran, 1997. Zohre's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes, Ali's. School awaits. Will the plan succeed?
- N & P Staff,npa@uww.edu
