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England, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Andalusia and Denmark on one continent? ...in one country? ...in one Spanish city? ...in one apartment?! This is only a token of the confusion that 25 year-old economics student Xavier (Romain Duris) faces as life changes for him. He can start work at the Ministry of Finance, thanks to a friend of his father, but first he must learn Spanish. Fortunately, the European Union's Erasmus program will allow him to participate an Immersion experience and study in Barcelona. To do this, he must leave Martine (Audrey Tautou), the girl he has been living with in France for four years. After a short time trying out the hospitality of a neurosurgeon and his attractive wife, Xavier is taken in by a group of students from several nations to share an apartment. He somehow thrives in this chaotic environment, discovering many things about himself and the world represented by his multicultural set of roommates. There is some character evolution, and Xavier does find occasion to question the values that led him to his Barcelona experience. In its own way, the film represents metaphorically a Europe which both unites and divides; however, it comes across as comic and dramatic entertainment rather than a symbolic coming of age film. Directed by Cédric Klapisch. Introduced by Professor Robert Peckham (French).

 

It's 1989. Alex Kerner (Daniel Brühl) and his single, divorced mom Christine (Katrin Sass) live in a tiny 79 square meter apartment in East Berlin. Shortly before the Berlin Wall falls and East Germany (the "DDR") becomes history, Alex's mother, a dedicated party activist and DDR supporter, has a heart attack and falls into a coma-and misses the triumph of capitalism. Eight months later, her miraculous awakening and recovery present Alex with a dilemma: How to protect his mother's weakened heart from the shock of Coca-Cola, Burger King, Audis and Mercedes? His efforts to protect her arise partly out of guilt. After all, his loyal communist mother collapsed after seeing him participating in an anti-DDR demonstration. But he quickly discovers that his plan to protect mom by creating an artificial "DDR" within their small apartment faces huge obstacles. One of them is a huge Coca-Cola banner hanging within sight of their apartment window. (Talk about product placement!) Another is where to find all the old East German products that vanished within months of the demise of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik. His efforts to keep all the historical changes from his mother are both funny and poignant. In the process, Alex reinvents history and creates an entirely new version of what happened while his mother was in a coma. Directed by Wolfgang Becker. Introduced by Professor Charles Hammond (German).

 

This impressive debut film from Argentinian director Fabian Bielinsky has many engaging twists as it tells the tale of two con artists. The younger of the two, Juan (Gaston Pauls) is trying to pull off a small-time bill switch in a convenience store when Marcos (Ricardo Darín) "arrests" him. Marcos encourages Juan to become partners with him and although Juan is reluctant at first, he agrees. They do some low-level grifting until a phone call from Marcos' sexy sister Valeria (Leticia Bredice) leads him to his old partner, who tells him of a caper that will really bring in the big bucks. This involves selling a forgery of nine Weimar-era stamps (the "Nine Queens" of the title) to a rich Spanish collector who's desperate to buy them before he leaves the country. On top of this caper there's the matter of the inheritance Marcos has swindled from Valeria and his little brother. The swindling gets more complex you wonder who's really scamming who. The maze-like plot of Nueve reinas keeps the viewer guessing as to what's really going on; the tense chemistry between Juan and Marcos makes for a sly tweaking of the buddy genre. Unlike a run-of-the-mill action film where car chases and people shooting each other pass for exposition, this film is an intelligent essay on the value of dialogue. --Robin Eisgrau. Adult language. Introduced by Professor Jorge López (Spanish).

 

Possible Loves is a fascinating film which could only have come out of a production company far from the Hollywood movie mills. Murilo Benicio stars as Carlos. He has arranged to meet Julia (Carolina Ferraz) at a movie theater one rainy night in Rio de Janeiro, but she never shows up. As the two meet again fifteen years later, the movie splinters into three possible scenarios as to what happened to Carlos in the intervening years. One scenario theorizes what would have happened if Carlos had married, a second looks at Carlos's life as a confirmed bachelor, and the third explores Carlos after he discovers his identity as a gay man. In all three scenarios, Carlos is an intelligent, charming man with fully-realized relationships with those around him.This is top-notch filmmaking from start to finish-writing, directing, acting, sets and locations, cinematography-all excellent by any standards. --"giovannif7" (West Hollywood, California United States, from Amazon.com). Directed by Sandra Werneck. Introduced by Professor Lucia Florido (French).

 

Spring 2004

February 6: A la folie, pas du tout (He Loves me, He Loves Me Not) (2002) - France

That adorable Audrey Tautou from Amélie plays the central role in this deceptive story of a rather unusual romance. It would spoil the film's clever design to reveal what happens halfway through He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, so let's just say that Tautou plays a winsome girl in the sunny town of Bordeaux. When we first meet rising young artist Angelique (Tautou), she is in the glorious throes of true love, and the whole world has seemingly fallen under her spell. But Angelique's blissful world may not be as enchanting as it first seems, and in a quick startling moment, her life - and our understanding of it -seems to unravel in front of our eyes. Director Laetitia Colombani's inventive structure plays a satisfyingly tricky game with the audience, and may have some viewers going back to the beginning to make sure they saw what they thought they saw. --Robert Horton. Introduced by Prof. Paul Crapo (French).

February 27: El crimen del Padre Amaro (The Crime of Padre Amaro) (2002) - Mexico

This controversial film follows a handsome young priest, Padre Amaro, who arrives in a small town and finds himself surrounded by hypocrisy and corruption--and also finds himself tempted by a beautiful young woman. What makes El Crimen del Padre Amaro (The Crime of Father Amaro) particularly effective is that Amaro is no innocent--he skillfully forces a newspaper publisher to retract a scandalous story about the Church and is willing to take extreme steps to preserve his career. Some of the movie's harsher digs at the Catholic Church have provoked accusations of prejudice; but though Padre Amaro portrays a world in which no one's hands are clean, it also finds redeeming qualities in every character. Bret Fetzer. Introduced by Prof. Randal Garza (Spanish).

April 2: Kolya (1997) - Czechoslovakia

Winner of the 1997 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this charming Czech drama uses the backdrop of the Russian military occupation in Prague for its funny, sad, and ultimately delightful story of a 55-year-old man's friendship with a 5-year-old boy. It doesn't exactly start out as friendship: Louka is a cellist who lost his symphony job after writing a sarcastic remark on an official form, and although he's struggling financially he still enjoys the company of several young women who find him irresistibly sexy. The last thing he needs is a surrogate child, but that's what he gets when young Kolya is abandoned by his mother, a Russian woman Louka had agreed to marry so she could avoid being sent back to Russia. While the Russian presence creates an atmosphere of suspicion and restriction, the deepening connection between Louka and Kolya turns this into an unforgettable film, beautifully photographed, sensitively performed, and directed with just the right combination of subtle sentiment and harsh reality. Its Oscar was definitely well deserved. --Jeff Shannon Introduced by Prof. Lucia Florido (French).

April 23: Erleuchtung Garantiert (Enlightenment Guaranteed) (2000) - Germany

If you have ever traveled, ever been out of your element, not spoken the language, not been familiar with the culture... this is the movie for you. On that level alone, this film is a gem. In addition, there is a wonderfully gentle but transcendent Zen message lying underneath. These two hapless German brothers prove that when you've hit rock bottom, the one thing that is guaranteed to help is looking at things differently. Watching two middle-aged German men achieve a certain degree of Buddhist enlightenment is not only hilarious, it's also heartwarming. When you first start watching the movie, you will think to yourself, "man, these are cruddy production values. It looks like it's on video tape." But by the end of the journey you will understand. And you will love it all the more for its untraditional production values. Because ultimately, the value of the film is not determined by the film's budget. Tara Chace. Introduced by Prof. Lizz Caplan (German).