THE DEPARTMENT OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

THE DEPARTMENT OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES,

OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT MARTIN, PRESENTS A

FOREIGN FILM SERIES:

(FALL 2004)

September 17: L’ auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment) (2002) – France

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).

October 29: Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) – Germany

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).

November 12: Nueve reinas (Nine Queens) (2000) – Argentina

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).

December 3: Amores possíveis (Possible Loves) (2001) – Brazil

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).

**OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC** **FREE ADMISSION**

**ALL SHOWINGS AT 7:00 pm ON THE UT-MARTIN CAMPUS IN THE WATKINS AUDITORIUM, UC**

**ALL FILMS IN ORIGINAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES**

THE MFL FOREIGN FILM SERIES IS FUNDED BY THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES & FINE ART AND

FOREIGN FILM SERIES: (Spring 2004)