Film Program 2011 / 2012

Film Title: The King’s Speech
Director(s): Tom Hopper
Film Origin: U.K.
Film Release Year: 2010
Synopsis:
The clarity of one’s speech reflects the confidence level of that individual. The relationship between king George VI and his speech therapist resembles an extraordinary psychoanalytic dance between a supportive mentor and his courageous student.
Screening Time: Fri, 2011-11-25 19:00
Discussant: Rosemarie Krausz

Film Title: Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Director(s): Mac Rothemond
Film Origin: Germany
Film Release Year: 2005
Synopsis:
The recent uprisings in the Arab world in the name of democracy, collectively known as the Arab spring, provide a timely moment to reflect on the psychological contributions to courage, heroism and political resistance. The 2005 award-winning German docudrama, Sophie Scholl: the final days, recounts the pure resistance of Sophie and a small group of fellow students at Munich University who opposed Hitler and the savagery of National Socialism in 1943.
Screening Time: Fri, 2011-12-02 19:00
Discussant: ARTHUR LEONOFF

Film Title: JCVD
Director(s): Mabrouk El Mechri
Film Origin: Belgium
Film Release Year: 2008
Synopsis:
After a bitter custody battle, and having filmed yet another b-action movie, Jean-Claude Van Damme returns home to Belgium only to be caught in a heist in his home town. Can this post-modern film of the failed movie star, a film that bridges (auto) biography and fiction, transform this man into an actor worthy of respect.
Screening Time: Fri, 2012-01-06 19:00
Discussant: Robert Northey

Film Title: The Namesake
Director(s): Mira Nair
Film Origin: U.S.A.
Film Release Year: 2006
Synopsis:
This film is based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s famous novel of a saga of a Bengali family settled in the USA, brought to screen by Mira Nair with compassion and humor. The personas of son and mother caught between Indian roots, family expectation and current culture get transformed by tragic events.
Screening Time: Fri, 2012-02-03 19:00
Discussant: DIAMOND ALLIDINA

Film Title: BLUE VALENTINE
Director(s): Derek Cianfrance
Film Origin: U.S.A
Film Release Year: 2012
Synopsis:
Blue Valentine toys with chronology in telling the story of a tumultuous relationship. The movie cuts back and forth between the end and beginning of a romance. By omitting the six years in the middle, the viewer is invited to fill in the blanks.
Screening Time: Fri, 2012-03-02 19:00
Discussant: Mary Eleanor Yack

Film Title: Lone Star
Director(s): John Sayles
Film Origin: U.S.A
Film Release Year: 1996
Synopsis:
A sheriff in a small town in Texas investigates a 20-year-old murder in which his father, the former sheriff, is implicated. Finding his prejudice against his father getting in the way of his investigation of fact, he opens himself up to the unknown. Discovering a fuller “truer” version of his father and of his mother yields surprises including a greater tolerance for truth, lies and the vast area of grey (past and present) eventually serving love, justice and life.
Screening Time: Fri, 2012-04-13 19:00
Discussant: Ely Garfinkle