Fall 2012
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Saturday, August 25 Note: Special Outdoor Screening at 11 p.m. on the Commons Center South Patio Lawn. Bring blankets and snacks. Rain Site will be in the Commons Center Dining Hall.
Presented by: Vanderbilt Global Perspectives
Sweden (2009) Dir: Niels Oplev. A discredited journalist and a mysterious computer hacker discover that even the wealthiest families have skeletons in their closets while working on a 40-year-old murder. Inspired by late author Stieg Larsson’s hugely successful book. Swedish with English subtitles. Rated R. 152 mins. DVD.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Wednesday, September 5
Presented by: Vanderbilt University Chinese Association
Taiwan (2000) Dir: Ang Lee. A martial arts spectacular featuring special effects and action sequences by the choreographer of The Matrix, Yuen Woo Ping. Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman’s daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life. Academy Awards for Cinematography, Score, Art Direction, and Foreign Language Film. Mandarin with English subtitles. PG-13. 120 mins.
Not One Less
Monday, September 10
Presented by: Vanderbilt University Chinese
Association (VUCA)
China (1999) Dir: Yimou Zhang. In a village in China mired in poverty, the teacher must leave for a month and can find only a 13-year old girl to substitute. He leaves one stick of chalk for each day and promises her an extra ten yuan if there’s not one less student when he returns. When one student turns up missing, she travels to the city to look for him in a place where thousands of children are working in the underground labor force or begging on the street. Mandarin with English subtitles. Rated G. 106 mins. DVD. Funding provided by VUCA.
A People Uncounted
Wednesday, September 12
Presented by: The Holocaust Lecture Series
Canada (2011) Dir: Aaron Yeger. The Roma (Gypsies) faced annihilation during the Nazi “Final Solution,” yet have been relegated to a footnote in history. Today, the Roma are victims of extreme and often violent racial persecution. This documentary brings the Romani history to life through the rich interplay of their poetry, music, and compelling first hand accounts. English. Unrated. 99 mins. DVD. Partial funding provided by The Holocaust Lecture Series.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Tuesday, September 18
Presented by: A.J. Reid Finlayson M.D.,
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
USA (1975) Dir: Milos Forman. A small-time criminal fakes insanity in hopes of doing easy time in a mental hospital. The brash rebel played by Jack Nicholson rallies the patients together to take on the oppressive Nurse Ratched, a woman more dictator than nurse. Based on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel, it is a stunning 1970s social critique. English. Rated R. 133 mins. DVD. Partial funding provided by Department of Psychiatry.
Erasing Hate
Tuesday, September 25
Presented by: The Office of Leadership Development &
Intercultural Affairs.
USA (2007) Dir: Bill Brummel. Violent skinhead Bryon Widner’s face, neck, and hands were covered with intimidating, racist tattoos. A series of painful laser procedures over the course of more than a year and a half was just the outward sign of an inner transformation. A first-person look inside the dark world of racist skinheads, that offers hope in one man’s escape from a life of violence, addiction, and bigotry. English. Not Rated. 90 mins. DVD.
Granito: How to Nail a Dictator
Wednesday, September 26
Presented by: Dr. Edward Fischer, Director of the Center of Latin American Studies
Mexico (2011) Dir: Pamela Yates. A story of destinies joined by Guatemala’s past, and how a documentary film intertwined with a nation’s turbulent history emerges as an active player in the present. The main characters are connected by the 1982 Guatemala then engulfed in a war where the military exterminated nearly 200,000 Mayan people. Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated. 103 mins. DVD. Funding provided by Center for Latin American Studies.
Devdas
Saturday, September 29 Note: Screened at 10 p.m. in The Commons Center MPR
Presented by: Vanderbilt Global Perspectives
India (2002) Dir: Sanjay Bhansali. Set in the early 1900s, a wealthy family prohibits their son from marrying the woman he loves. As his life spirals out of control, he takes up alcohol and a life of vice to numb the pain. Based on a classic Indian novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhye. Hindi with English subtitles. Rated PG. 185 mins. DVD. Partial funding provided by Global Perspectives.
Moi, Petite Fille de 13 Ans (As a Young Girl of 13)
Presented as part of The Tournées Festival
Tuesday, October 2
Presented by: Alexander Joskowicz, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and European Studies
France (2012) Dir: Elisabeth Coronel. Simone Lagrange, a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau, recalls with astonishing detail, the horrors of the Holocaust and her role in bringing Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie to justice. Composed of a lengthy interview interspersed with archival footage, she recalls unspeakable acts of barbarity with clear-eyed acuity. French with English Subtitles. Not rated. 88 mins. DVD.
Breaking the Silence – Music in Afghanistan
Monday, October 8
Presented by: Dr. Robert Fry, Senior Lecturer in Music History and Literature
Afghanistan (2002) Dir: Simon Broughton. The story of the return of music to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. Their banning of music is unprecedented in musical history, but during the former regimes of the Mujaheddin and the Soviets, music was caught in the political crossfire and could be a matter of life and death. English subtitles. Not rated. 60 mins. DVD. Partial funding provided by The Commons North House. This movie is part of World Music Films on Tour, a non-profit distribution initiative of IMZ
Les Hommes Libres (Free Men)
Presented as part of The Tournées Festival
Wednesday, October 10
Presented by: Alexander Joskowicz, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and European Studies.
France (2011) Dir: Ismaël Ferroukhi. In Nazi-occupied Paris during WWII, an Algerian immigrant is inspired to join the resistance by his unexpected friendship with a Jewish man. Recruited by the police to keep an eye on suspicious activities at a mosque, he finds himself fighting the good fight in spite of himself. French with English subtitles. Not rated. 99 mins.
S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine
Tuesday, October 16
Presented by: Holocaust Lecture Series
Cambodia (2003) Dir: Rithy Panh. A powerful documentary about the notorious detention center in Phnom Penh. Panh interviews two survivors and brings back several of the personnel who committed atrocious acts on behalf of the regime, many while they were still teenagers. A stark reminder of the horrors that result from blind obedience. Central Khmer with English subtitles. Unrated. 101 mins. Partially funded by The Holocaust Lecture Series.
Les Contes de la Nuit (Tales of the Night)
Presented as part of The Tournées Festival
Wednesday, October 17
Presented by: Dr. Daniel Ridge, Lecturer in the Department of French & Italian and Assistant Director of the W.T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies.
France (2011) Dir: Michel Ocelot. Ravishing animation is set in a little cinema where three storytellers meet every night to act out various tales set in forests and cities of gold populated with sorcerers, fairies, and powerful kings. An instant classic and a visual delight for any child and parent. French with English subtitles. Not rated. 84 mins. DVD.
Curling
Presented as part of The Tournées Festival
Wednesday, October 24
Presented by: Robert Barsky, Professor of English, French, Italian, and Jewish Studies.
Canada (2010) Dir: Denis Cote. The complex relationship between a reclusive Quebec father and his socially isolated,12-year-old daughter reaches a breaking point when the girl makes a grim discovery that compels her to break their suffocating cycle of dysfunction. French with English subtitles. Not rated. 92 mins.
The Candidate
Thursday, October 25
Presented by: Dr. Bruce Barry, Professor of Management, and Dr. John Geer, Professor of Political Science
USA (1972) Dir: Michael Ritchie. Robert Redford stars as an idealistic crusader who challenges a stodgy incumbent for a Senate seat, figuring out that idealism and winning are two very different things. Still a relevant take on the modern political campaign. The first of two political campaign feature films scheduled for the 2012 pre-election season. English. Rated PG. 110 mins. DVD. Funding provided by the Owen Graduate School of Management and the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions.
Winged Migration
Saturday, October 27 Note: Screened at 10 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema
Presented by: Vanderbilt Global Perspectives
France (2001) Dir: Jacques Perrin. A visually dazzling documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents. English. Rated G. 98 mins. Partial funding provided by Global Perspectives.
Primary Colors
Monday, October 29
Presented by: Dr. Bruce Barry, Professor of Management, and Dr. Alan Wiseman, Associate Professor of Political Science
USA (1998) Dir: Mike Nichols. A fictionalized version of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign for the presidency, based on the novel by Joe Klein. A satire with a spot-on performance by John Travolta as the candidate is also a meditation on the ethics of using damaging information about one’s opponent. The second of two political campaign feature films scheduled for the 2012 pre-election season. English. Rated R. 143 mins. DVD. Funding provided by the Owen Graduate School of Management and the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions.
La Princesse de Montpensier
Presented as part of The Tournées Festival
Tuesday, October 30
Presented by: Dr. Patricia Armstrong,
Senior Lecturer in French
France (2010) Dir: Bertrand Travernier. A gripping drama set against the savage wars of religion that ripped France apart in the 16th century. Based on a novella by the celebrated Madame de Lafayette, the film centers on the love of Marie de Mezières for her dashing cousin Henri de Guise, thwarted when her father’s political ambitions force her into marriage with the well-connected Montpensier, whom she has never met. French with English subtitles. Not rated. 139 mins.
Hipsters
Thursday, November 1
Presented by: Mr. Sasha Spektor,
Andrew Mellon Assistant Professor of Russian
Russia (2008) Dir: Vakeriy Todorovskiy. A lavish, candy-colored musical set in Moscow circa 1955. While the Cold War heats up on the world stage, rebellious youth wage a cultural battle against dismal Soviet conformity, donning brightly colored black-market clothing, adopting American nicknames and reveling in forbidden jazz. Russian with English subtitles. Unrated. 130 mins. Partial funding provided by Department of Germanic & Slavic Languages.
Half the Sky (Episode 1)
Monday, November 5
Presented by: Nashville Public Television
USA, Cambodia, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Vietnam (2012) Dir: Maro Chermayeff. A documentary inspired by Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, the acclaimed book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Sex trafficking, forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality claim one woman every 90 seconds and present the single most vital opportunity of our time. Kristof and celebrity activists travel across the globe to find meaningful solutions to empower women and girls and lay the groundwork for the next generation. English, Central Khmer, Urdu, and Vietnamese with English subtitles. Unrated. 120 minutes. DVD.
Half the Sky (Episode 2)
Wednesday November 7
Presented by: Nashville Public Television
A Continuation of the journey from Episode One. English, Central Khmer, Urdu, and Vietnamese with English subtitles. Unrated. 120 minutes. DVD.
The Way
Thursday, November 8
Presented by: Maria Pintane, Senior Lecturer in Spanish & Portuguese
Spain (2010) Dir: Emilio Estevez. An inspirational story of an irascible father who travels overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while traveling the El camino de Santiago. Deciding to take the pilgrimage himself, he learns to be a citizen of the world again. Spanish with English subtitles. PG-13. 123 mins.
L’apollonide (House of Pleasures)
Tuesday, November 13
France (2011) Dir: Bertrand Bonello. A frank account of life in a smart Parisian brothel in 1900. It demonstrates that la belle époque was less belle for the girls than for their wealthy clients, though better than walking the streets or working in a sweatshop. Superbly designed to suggest the oppressive, hypocritical haut-bourgeois decor and the obsessive eroticism that excludes real desire. French with English subtitles. Unrated. 122 mins. Funding provided by Nashville Premieres.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Wednesday, November 14 Note: Starting time at 6:30 p.m. due to the film length
Presented by: Vanderbilt Global Perspectives
India (2001) Dir: Ashutosh Gowariker. The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers. One of the most expensive films to come out of Bollywood – lavish, rousing entertainment in the old-fashioned tradition of Hollywood musicals with eye-popping song-and-dance routines. Hindi with English subtitles. Rated PG. 224 mins. Partial funding provided by Global Perspectives.
Aurora
Wednesday, November 28
Presented by: Jennifer Fay, Director of Film Studies, Associate Professor of Film Studies and English
Romania (2010) Dir: Cristi Puiu. A murder mystery turned on its head – where the mystery’s not the culprit, but the motive. Inside a non-descript apartment, a man and woman discuss the inconsistencies in Little Red Riding Hood, their voices hushed, mindful of waking the little girl sleeping in the next room. Behind a line of abandoned trailers on the outskirts of Bucharest, the same man then waits for something or someone to arrive. Today he will carry out a plan that will bring order to his world. Romanian with English subtitles. Unrated. 181 mins. Funding provided by Nashville Premieres.
5 Centimeters Per Second
Thursday, November 29
Presented by: Dr. Gerald Figal, Associate
Professor of Asian Studies and the Vanderbilt Anime and Manga Enthusiasts
Japan (2007) Dir: Makoto Shinkai. This animated drama tells the tale of two friends separated by chance and reunited by determination. Told in three interconnected segments, we follow a man through his life as cruel winters, cold technology, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love. Japanese with English subtitles. PG-13. 63 mins. DVD.