Tag Archives: walter reade theater

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL: PRESUMED GUILTY

PRESUMED GUILTY closes the 2010 Human Rights Watch Film Festival with the harrowing story of Toño Zuniga

PRESUMED GUILTY (Roberto Hernández & Geoffrey Smith, Mexico, 2009)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Thursday, June 24, 7:00
212-875-5601
www.hrw.org
www.filmlinc.com

Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey Smith’s harrowingly frustrating documentary is precisely the type of true story that explains why the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, and the Human Rights Watch organization itself, unfortunately needs to exist. Part of the Accountability and Justice section of the festival and chosen as the closing night film, PRESUMED GUILTY details the plight of Toño Zuniga, a young man arrested in Mexico City in December 2005 for a murder he did not commit and, despite all the evidence supporting his innocence — and even more important, no evidence proving his guilt — remains locked up, facing a long sentence. PRESUMED GUILTY is a maddening indictment of Mexico’s corrupt legal system, from cops who are paid by the arrest, to prosecutors who need to present nothing at trials, to judges who refuse to listen to the truth. Lawyers Hernández and Layda Negrete, along with documentarian Geoffrey Smith (THE ENGLISH SURGEON), are given remarkable access to Zuniga, following him in prison and ultimately filming his ever-more-ridiculous retrial, which he watches from a tiny barred area behind the judge. Zuniga himself is a fascinating character who is somehow able to hold back any anger as the inequities just keep piling on, but viewers won’t be able to temper their anger as the frustration builds to impossible heights. Smith and Hernández will participate in a postscreening discussion and reception that will bring the 2010 Human Rights Watch Film Festival to its conclusion, until next year, when another series of politically based dramas and documentaries expose other frightening tragedies occurring all over the world.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL

Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s 12th & DELAWARE opens the 2010 Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
June 10-24
Tickets: $12, five-film pass $50
212-875-5601
www.hrw.org
www.filmlinc.com

When it comes right down to it, most film festivals are really unnecessary. Sure, it’s fun for a bunch of cineastes, us included, to catch the latest indie flick or foreign epic, but it’s also often an excuse for the glitterati to look fabulous and attend ultrahip after-parties. But there’s at least one film festival that is not only necessary but also essential: the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which begins June 10 at Lincoln Center with a benefit screening of Robert Connolly’s THE BALIBO CONSPIRACY, set in 1975 East Timor, and continues through June 24, showing seventeen features and several shorts. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s 12th & DELAWARE, about the battle between an abortion clinic and a pro-life center across the street from each other, opens the festival on June 10, while Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey Smith’s PRESUMED GUILTY, a harrowing tale of wrongful imprisonment in Mexico, closes things out on June 24. Raoul Peck’s MOLOCH TROPICAL, a political drama about his native Haiti, is the centerpiece selection. Other works examine the Angola 3, the murder of women in Ciudad Juárez, same-sex marriage, disappearances during the Khmer Rouge siege of Cambodia, immigration reform, the farmer suicide epidemic in India, and other conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, and the halls of Congress. For more than two decades, the HRWFF has been presenting fiction and nonfiction films that, together, form a kind of shocking world news report, sharing unbelievable stories that we should be reading about in newspapers and on the Internet and watching on the news instead of waiting for these films each year. Many of the screenings are followed by panel discussions or Q&As with the filmmakers and participants. (Keep watching twi-ny for upcoming reviews of several festival films.)

SOCIAL DECEPTIONS, WRY PERCEPTIONS: THE FILMS OF AGNÈS JAOUI

The career of LOOK AT ME writer, director, and star Agnès Jouai (right) will be celebrated at Lincoln Center this week

LOOK AT ME (COMME UN IMAGE) (Agnès Jaoui, 2004)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Tuesday, June 1, 2:00; Wednesday, June 2, 8:45; Thursday, June 3, 4:15
Series runs June 1-3
212-875-6500
www.filmlinc.com
www.sonyclassics.com/lookatme

Agnès Jaoui directed, cowrote, and stars in this fabulously French film about literature, music, love, and loyalty. Lolita (newcomer Marilou Berry) is an overweight young woman with dreams of becoming an opera singer. However, people seem to take an interest in her only when they learn that her father, mean-spirited Etienne (cowriter Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jaoui’s partner), is a famous novelist and publisher. Indeed, that is the case when her vocal coach, Sylvia (Jaoui), finally agrees to help Lolita’s singing group prepare for a special performance. Meanwhile, Etienne takes Sylvia’s husband, struggling novelist Pierre (Laurent Grevill), under his wing, even as he ignores his daughter’s calls for love. Berry is simply marvelous in her first major role, utterly charming and heartbreaking as she reaches out to her father, puts her faith in the wrong relationship, and battles to express herself in a smothering world of hangers-on, wanna-bes, and, if she looks hard enough, true love. There’s a reason this film was chosen to open the 2004 New York Film Festival. Don’t miss it.

LOOK AT ME is part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s series “Social Deceptions, Wry Perceptions: The Films of Agnès Jaoui,” which also includes a sneak preview of Jaoui’s latest work, LET IT RAIN, on June 1 at 6:15, with Jaoui present. The short series features three films by other directors in which Jaoui stars: François Favrat’s 2004 film THE ROLE OF HER LIFE (June 1, 4:10), Alain Resnais’s 1997 tribute to Dennis Potter, SAME OLD SONG, cowritten by Jaoui and Bacri (June 1, 9:00, and June 2, 2:00), and Cédric Klapisch’s 1996 drama, FAMILY RESEMBLANCES (June 2, 4:15), in addition to Jaoui’s 2000 directorial debut, THE TASTE OF OTHERS (June 2, 6:30, and June 3, 2:00). Jaoui is a tremendous talent who should be much more well known in America, not just the darling of cineastes and critics.

FILM COMMENT SELECTS: LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL

Kim Tae-woo is outstanding as annoying, self-obsessed auteur in Hong Sangsoo’s LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL

LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL (JAL ALJIDO MOT HAMYEONSUH) (Hong Sangsoo, 2009)
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
March 2, 3:45 & 9:00; March 3, 6:00
Series runs through March 4, $12 per screening, All Access Pass $129
212-875-6500
www.filmlinc.com
www.blog.naver.com

South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo’s latest film about a South Korean auteur, LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL, is another intriguing examination of art and sex in contemporary society, following NIGHT AND DAY (2008), WOMAN ON THE BEACH (2006), TALE OF CINEMA (2005), and WOMAN IS THE FUTURE OF MAN (2004). Hong, who has served as a juror at several film festivals and whose work has screened at fests all over the world, sets his latest self-reflexive story at the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival, where director Ku will be part of the jury. But it turns out that Ku is a self-absorbed, insensitive, and subtly obnoxious filmmaker who cares only about himself, walking away from fans and colleagues in the middle of a conversation or in the midst of signing an autograph, interested only in listening to people praise his own talent, which has been relegated to art-house films that few people see and even fewer understand. After leaving the festival to teach a class at a school on Jeju Island, he visits with a famous painter and former mentor who has unknowingly married Ku’s first love, setting the stage for the creepy Ku to perform yet more selfish acts. Kim Tae-woo is outstanding in the lead role, playing the self-obsessed director with an unerring casualness that makes him more absurdly ridiculous than conniving and mean-spirited. With a little bit of Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2 here, Woody Allen’s STARDUST MEMORIES there, Hong once again reveals the soft underbelly of ego within the film industry, but he also needs to edit himself more, as the bittersweet, slyly ironic LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL, made for a mere $100,000, is his latest film to clock in at more than two hours.

Matt Damon stars in closing-night film, Paul Greengrass’s GREEN ZONE

LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL is screening as part of Film Comment Selects, the cinephile magazine’s tenth annual examination of international works that have been overlooked, have not yet received distribution, or deserve to be rediscovered. The series, held at the Walter Reade Theater, runs through March 4 and includes such films as Elia Suleiman’s THE TIME THAT REMAINS, Edward Yang’s A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s AIR DOLL, a four-film focus on Philippe Grandrieux, Carl Foreman’s THE VICTORS, and a special screening of THE AVIATOR’S WIFE in honor of the late Eric Rohmer.

FILM COMMENT SELECTS: AIR DOLL

Nozomi (Bae Doona) dreams that there’s more to life in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s AIR DOLL

AIR DOLL (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2009)
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Tuesday, February 23, 6:15; Saturday, February 27, 1:30
Series: February 19 – March 4, $12 per screening, All Access Pass $129
212-875-6500
www.filmlinc.com

Over the last fifteen years, Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda has compiled a remarkable resume, directing seven narrative features and one documentary that investigate such themes as memory and loss. His latest, AIR DOLL, examines loneliness through the eyes of a blow-up doll come to life. Bae Doona stars as Nozomi, a plastic sex toy owned by Hideo (Itsuji Itao), a restaurant worker who treats her like his wife, telling her about his day, sitting with her at the dinner table, and making love to her at night. But suddenly, one morning, Nozomi achieves consciousness, discovering that she has a heart, and she puts on her French maid costume and goes out into the world, learning about life by wandering through the streets and working in a video store, always returning home before Hideo and pretending to still be the doll. Adapted from a manga by Yoshiie Goda, AIR DOLL is another beautiful, meditative study from Kore-eda. Nozomi’s wide-eyed innocence at the joys of life comes sweet and slowly, played with a subtle wonderment by South Korean model and actress Bae (SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, THE HOST). The film does, however, take one nasty turn and is a bit too long, at more than two hours. But it’s still another contemplative gem from the director of MABOROSI, NOBODY KNOWS, and STILL WALKING.

Movie lovers will be flocking to see George A. Romero’s latest zombie flick, SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, and other underseen, overlooked gems at Lincoln Center

AIR DOLL is screening as part of Film Comment Selects, the cinephile magazine’s tenth annual examination of international works that have been overlooked, have not yet received distribution, or deserve to be rediscovered. The series, held at the Walter Reade Theater, begins February 19 with Jonathan Kaplan’s 1979 drama OVER THE EDGE, which will include a cast reunion (Matt Dillon and Vincent Spano!) and after-party, and ends March 4 with Paul Greengrass’s GREEN ZONE. The festival also includes Edward Yang’s 1991 epic A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, a program of Godard rarities, Hong Sang-soo’s insightfully funny LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL, a four-film focus on Philippe Grandrieux, a Kiyoshi Kurosawa double bill of THE REVENGE: A VISIT FROM FATE and THE REVENGE: A SCAR THAT NEVER FADES, a special screening of THE AVIATOR’S WIFE in honor of the late Eric Rohmer, and even George. A. Romero’s latest zombiefest, SURIVIVAL OF THE DEAD, among other films from Hong Kong, Denmark, France, and Russia. On February 27, AIR DOLL will be shown as part of a $40 Day Pass along with Luc Moullet’s THE LAND OF MADNESS, Patrice Chéreau’s PERSECUTION, and the Romanian compilation TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE.

NEW YORK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

EYES WIDE OPEN examines forbidden passion at Jewish Film Festival

Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
January 13-28, $11
212-721-6500
www.filmlinc.com

The nineteenth annual Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center consists of thirty-two films, nearly every one a New York or U.S. premiere, examining topics both familiar and new, including photojournalism, Israeli cinema, WWII, the Middle East, religious tradition, homosexuality, anti-Semitism, and activism, ranging from Michaël Prazan’s three-hour EINSATGRUPPEN: THE DEATH BRIGADES to Adam Elliot’s claymation MARY AND MAX and restorations of Henry Lynn’s BAR MITZVAH (1935) and Falk Harnack’s THE AXE OF WANDSBEK (1951). This year’s crop once again comes from all over the Jewish diaspora, with feature-length narratives, shorts, and documentaries from Australia, Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, Romania, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the UK, Israel, and the United States. Ludi Boeken’s SAVIORS IN THE NIGHT, about German farmers protecting a Jewish family during World War II, is the opening-night selection, while Marleen Gorris’s WITHIN THE WHIRLWIND, about the struggles of poet and teacher Evgenia Ginzburg (Emily Watson), is the closing-night choice. Many of the films will feature introductions or postscreening discussions with directors, producers, and subjects. In addition to the Walter Reade Theater, several special screenings will take place at the JCC in Manhattan and the Jewish Museum.

NEW YORK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL: MARY AND MAX

Max becomes friends with an Australian girl in charming claymation film

MARY AND MAX (Adam Elliot, 2009)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Saturday, January 23, 9:00
Sunday, January 24, 8:45
212-875-5601
www.maryandmax.com
www.filmlinc.com

Winner of numerous awards at film festivals all over the world, Adam Elliot’s stop-motion animated MARY AND MAX is the touching, unforgettable tale of two loners who become pen pals, sharing the details of their hopes and dreams over decades. Mary (voiced by Bethany Whitmore as a young girl and Toni Collette when she gets older) is an oddball child living in a small town in Australia. Seeking a friend, she sends a letter to a random person she finds in a phone book. Max (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a childlike middle-aged man suffering from Asperger’s Disorder in New York City. Through the years, their long-distance relationship goes through emotional ups and downs, building to a surprising ending that still has us scratching our heads. Elliot, who won an Oscar for his short film HARVIE KRUMPET in 2003, wrote, directed, and designed the sets and characters for MARY AND MAX, inspired by the photography of Diane Arbus. He brings Mary and Max to life in charming ways, adding little details and flourishes that will endear you to them even though they both are very, very strange. The film, wonderfully narrated by Barry “Dame Edna” Humphries, required more than 130,000 individual frames and 212 puppets and took 57 weeks to shoot; the result is simply charming. MARY AND MAX is being shown this weekend at Lincoln Center as part of the New York Jewish Film Festival; executive producer Paul Hardart will be in attendance at the January 23 screening. (The film is also part of the Reel Abilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival running January 28 – February 2, presented by the JCC in Manhattan.)