My Name is Khan
Rizvan Khan, a Muslim man from India, moves to San Francisco and lives with his brother and sister-in-law. Rizvan, who has Aspergers, falls in love with Mandira. Despite protests from his family they get married and start a small business together. They are happy until September 11, 2001 when attitudes towards Muslims undergo a sea-change. When tragedy strikes, Mandira is devastated and they split. Rizvan is confused and very upset that the love of his life has left him. To win her back, he embarks on a touching and inspiring journey across America. "A potent, energetic heart-tugger and Khan and Kajol, major Bollywood stars, are highly appealing and equal to the demand of their emotion-charged roles."-Los Angeles Times. "Skillfully directed by Karan Johar and with an evocative score by Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy, "Khan" jerks tears with ease, while teaching lessons about Islam and tolerance."-New York Times. "An enormously enjoyable drama."-Variety. 145 min., Rated PG-13.
Crazy Heart – 3 Oscar Nominations: Best Actor, Jeff Bridges, Original Song & Supporting Actress, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Four-time Academy Award nominee Jeff Bridges stars as the richly comic, semi-tragic romantic anti-hero Bad Blake in the debut feature film Crazy Heart from writer-director Scott Cooper. Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can't help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician. As he struggles down the road of redemption, Bad learns the hard way just how tough life can be on one man's crazy heart. "Playing a drunken, washed-up music legend reduced to playing small-town bowling alleys, Jeff Bridges is the whole show here as a cowboy-style crooner who wrestles with his demons in ways that easily engage an audience's sympathies."-Variety. "Bridges' guileless performance makes this piquant little indie tale of country music, redemption, and the love of a pretty younger woman such a sad-song charmer."-Entertainment Weekly. "It's a juicy, career-crowning role, and Bridges -- a master of subtle brilliance -- plays the hell out of it."-Rolling Stone. 112 min., Rated R.
Lunafest - Short Films by, for, about women - Admission is Free
Wednesday, 3.24 at 6:30PM, Saturday, 3.27 at 2PM - followed by discussion
Filled with stories of reflection and whimsy, hope and humor, grace and perseverance, Lunafest films are renowned for celebrating the talents and stories of women. The films include many off the traditional festival circuit. Collectively, Lunafest films captivate audiences, compel dialogue and arm those who participate with both the knowledge and the motivation to make a difference in their communities. Lunafest films have won industry awards and audience accolades, and the films selected for 2009-10 Lunafest season share this brilliance. From quirky animation to touching documentaries, the 10 selected films are incredibly diverse in both style and subject matter, united by a common thread of exceptional storytelling by, for, about women.
92 min.
This Year's Shorts -
A Summer Rain - Ellie, an 11-year-old Israeli girl who immigrates with her family to Connecticut, deals with culture-shock and homesickness by writing letters everyday to her best friend back home. But soon the letters from her friend taper off. Hoa, a Vietnamese refugee her age living next door, is in the same situation. After a rocky start, will the two girls become friends? .
Plastic - What if you could alter your appearance simply by pushing or pulling on various body parts? Scrunch the waist, lift the bust line, streamline the thighs, add to the derriere? Would you do it? Anna in Australia did it -- see how it turned out.
Roz (and Joshua) - In just three minutes you learn all about Roz in California - homeless but employed, wanting to regain custody of the child taken from her 10 years ago, determined to succeed. Can miracles happen?
Monday before Thanksgiving - Laura Dern stars in a story about a single woman pressured by friends to find a soul mate. What should she do?
DIY: Emancipation 101 - What one thing, according to Susan B. Anthony, did more to emancipate women than anything else? A fun little one-minute animation from New England.
The Kinda Sutra - From Oscar- and Sundance-winning director Jessica Yu: Various adults are asked to recall their childhood conception of where babies come from, which are then played out in animated form by an Indian couple and their son, followed by clinical commentary from a bunch of erudite 5-year-olds. Absolutely hilarious.
A Vida Politica - Brazilian hairdresser Negra Jho uses her art to promote black identity and the message that "beauty is politics." Her activism has transformed her own life while empowering others.
Anjali - What does Indian-American teenager Anjali Gupal do when she sneaks her boyfriend into the house for a little "afternoon delight," only to discover that her father is already there, doing the same thing with another woman?
Omelette - From award winning director Nadejda Koseva: In less than five minutes, a young mother's misadventure with three eggs tells a poignant story of life in 1996 Bulgaria. Very powerful.
The McCombie Way - What is the secret for a happy life? The widow Ann McCombie, age 83, is a self-reliant resident of a small town in the California desert. With a display of pioneer grit and optimism she shares her secret.
A Prophet - Oscar Winner, Best Foreign Language Film
Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read not write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader's confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans. "96% Fresh."-Rottentomatoes.com "Rahim is an exciting, unpredictable presence, and Arestrup's Cesar has a stature that's nearly Shakespearean."-New York Magazine. "4/4 Stars. Director Jacques Audiard scores a triumph of the highest order with the defiant poetry of his vision."-Rolling Stone. "Grade: A."-Entertainment Weekly. "An answered prayer for those who believe that revitalizing classic forms with contemporary attitudes makes for the most compelling kind of cinema."-Los Angeles Times. 150 min., Rated R.
The Ghost Writer
When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost (Ewan McGregor), agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), his agent assures him it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start—not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang's long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident. The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA—a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), and his personal assistant (and mistress), Amelia (Kim Cattrall). As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA—and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost's predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered? Resonating with topical themes, this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller is a story of deceit and betrayal on every level— sexual, political and literary. The Ghost quickly discovers that the past can be deadly--and that history is decided by whoever stays alive to write it. "4/4 Stars. The Ghost Writer is the kind of impeccable adult entertainment, able to alternate edge-of-your-seat episodes with bleakly comic moments, that Hitchcock used to specialize in and that Polanski himself realized so successfully in "Chinatown" and Rosemary's Baby."-Los Angeles Times. "This movie is the work of a man who knows how to direct a thriller. Smooth, calm, confident, it builds suspense instead of depending on shock and action."-Roger Ebert. "Here's another thought: This old man who can't leave the house has just made the first important film of 2010."-San Francisco Chronicle. "All credit to a finely tuned Brosnan for packing so much intensity and wayward wit into his scenes with McGregor. Their verbal duels make for a dazzling game of cat-and-mouse."-Rolling Stone. 128 min., Rated PG-13.
Enlighten Up
Kate Churchill is a filmmaker and a dedicated yoga practitioner who insists that yoga can transform anyone. She decides to prove it. Her plan: select a subject, immerse him in yoga and follow him until he finds a yoga practice that transforms him. Her subject: Nick Rosen a skeptical, 29 year-old journalist living in New York City. Intrigued by the opportunity to peek behind the curtain of a 5.7 billion dollar "spiritual" industry, Nick signs on to investigate yoga for 6 months. Before he can say OM, he finds himself twisted up like a pretzel, surrounded by celebrity yogis, true believers, kooks, entrepreneurs and a gentle teacher from Brazil who leads his class with his feet behind his head. The more Nick investigates yoga the more contradictions he discovers, leading him to question whether yoga is anything more than a workout. As Nick searches for concrete facts and discards the lofty spiritual theories of his yoga teachers, he strays further from Kate's original plan. The two find themselves lost in Northern India, embroiled in a struggle between Kate's expectations and Nick's overt rejection of "spirituality." They circle the globe talking to mystics, gurus, mad men and saints searching for the true meaning of yoga. Ultimately, both Nick and Kate end up in places they never could have imagined. They don't find the answers to their questions, they find much more. "This is a peaceful kind of film, not terribly eventful, but I suppose we wouldn't want a yoga thriller. Relax. Let it happen."-Roger Ebert. "4/5 Stars. Enlighten Up! explores its subject with a light touch and welcome sense of humor."-New York Times. "This well-crafted film traverses the globe, interviewing a who's-who of gurus and investigating a wide range of regimens -- with Rosen as both questioner and body-contorting guinea pig."-Variety. 82 min.
North Face
A handful of men set aside their differences to conquer one of Europe's tallest mountains in this period drama inspired by a true story. In 1936, Nazi Germany is looking to shore up its reputation in the eyes of the world, and after a pair of German climbers died in an effort to climb the north face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps, the state is looking to find another group who can succeed where the earlier team failed. Henry Arau (Ulrich Tukur), the publisher of one of Berlin's biggest newspapers, is a loyal son of the Third Reich, and when his editorial secretary, Luise Fellner (Johanna Wokalek), tells him she knows some climbers who would be willing to take on the Eiger, Tukur gives her a free hand to assemble a team and make this dream a reality. Close friends Toni Kurz (Benno Fuermann) and Andi Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas) are serving in the German army when Fellner (who once dated Kurz) tries to persuade them to climb the Eiger; while Hinterstoisser is willing to take the risk in the name of patriotism, Kurz is cynical about the Third Reich and says he'll put his life on the line only for his own reasons and not to please Germany's leaders. Kurz and Hinterstoisser finally begin the climb in mid-summer, only to discover a pair of Austrians, Willy Angerer (Simon Schwarz) and Edi Rainer (Georg Friedrich), are now challenging them in a race to the top. "Transfixing. It is impossible not to put yourself in the boots of the mountaineers clinging to a sheer, icy rock face during a blizzard that threatens to send them into oblivion."-New York Times. "Cleverly playing on the genre's propagandistic ties to the Third Reich, the film reflects the tragic arc of National Socialism in each ominous crevasse and in every grandiloquent gesture."-Time Out New York. "Stolzl captures the period idealism and propaganda perfectly. The terrific footage of the climb is an almost unendurably tense watch."-Times (UK). 126 min.
That Evening Sun
An aging farmer fights to keep the home that is rightfully his after fleeing from a nursing home and discovering that his son has leased the family farm to his old nemesis. Placed in a nursing home by his son and promptly forgotten, Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) realized that waiting to die was no way to live. Determined to enjoy his last days, Abner packed his bags and set his sights on the family farm. At least there he could die on his own land, in familiar surroundings. But Abner is in for a rude awakening, because upon returning home he discovers that his son has leased the farm to Lorenzo Choat. Abner never cared much for Lorenzo, and when Lorenzo refuses to leave Abner takes up residence in an old tenant shack on the property. Before long, their dispute becomes volatile, each man believing himself to be in the right, and refusing to back down from their position. Betrayed by his son and haunted by dreams of his beloved, deceased wife, Abner draws a line in the sand in an attempt to reclaim his life. As threats are made and tension begins to brew, it's only a matter of time before the situation turns savage. "4/5 Stars. Holbrook's fierce, contained performance matches in depth and truthfulness his portrayal of a weary Army retiree who briefly becomes a surrogate father to Emile Hirsch's survivalist in Into the Wild. Holbrook strips the stereotype of the grumpy old man of sentimental shtick and cutesy old-codger mannerisms."-The New York Times. "Hal Holbrook was born to play sly, cantankerous rascals & he makes Abner a shining-eyed, noble crank."-Entertainment Weekly. 110 min., Rated PG-13.
The Tiger Next Door April 23
Experts estimate that there are more tigers in private captivity in the USA than there are roaming wild in the world. 24 of the m live in Dennis Hill's back yard. Dennis Hill is an ex-biker, recovering meth addict, convicted felon and breeder of exotic animals. Hill has been breeding, and selling tigers from his backyard in Flat Rock, Indiana for over fifteen years. Tigers, and other big cats, are simultaneously an occupation and an obsession for Hill. As the film begins, Hill has 24 tigers, 3 bears, 6 leopards and one cougar. He claims to know exactly what his animals are thinking by the look in their eyes. He is especially consumed with the prospect of breeding a stripeless white tiger. But now, after a surprise government inspection, he's lost the license that allowed him to keep exotic animals, and the state of Indiana is threatening to shut him down. He has just five days to find alternate homes for all but three of his brood and to bring his facilities up to code – or else lose what he considers to be his life's work. As Hill fights to hold on to his tigers over the days and months that follow, The Tiger Next Door follows him – exploring his motives, his past, and the curious, ethically-murky world he's created in his backyard. At the same time, the film ranges far beyond Dennis' animal compound, illuminating the connection between breeders like Hill, and the near-epidemic of wild animal keeping in the United States. 87 min.