Cinema Nouveau
Hosted in the atmospheric Bama Theatre, showtimes are weeknights and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm (unless noted). Admission is $7 general, $6 seniors and students, and $5 for Arts Council members. Tickets will be on sale at the Bama box office approximately one half hour before showtime. Call 758-5195 for more information.
March 7 - 12 , 2008
“Into the Wild ” (2007)
Directed by Sean Penn
Based on the book by Jon Krakauer
Adventure -Biography-Drama / Rated R / 2 hours / English/ color
Starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Brian Dierker, Catherine Keener,Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook
Nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Cast, Actor, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress; Golden Globe winner of Best Orginal Song-Motion Picture and nominated for Golden Globe-Best Score; Grammy Award nomination for Best Song-Motion Picture; Chicago Film Critics Association nominations for Best Picture, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor
Synopsis (Warning: May contain spoilers!)
Jon Krakauer's bestselling nonfiction book about the life of Chris McCandless is finally brought to the big screen in INTO THE WILD. Directed by Sean Penn, the film opens in 1992, when Chris (Emile Hirsh) is a promising college graduate. Shortly after graduation, Chris gives his life savings to charity, burns all of his identification, and begins hitchhiking across America, his ultimate goal being Alaska. Citing passages from his heroes, Thoreau and Jack London, he is determined to escape society and get back to nature. He blows from town to town like a tumbleweed, hopping trains, camping with aging hippies (Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker), working briefly with a farmer (Vince Vaughan), and befriending a widowed leather worker (Hal Holbrook). He revels in his newfound freedom, but meanwhile, his parents (Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt) have no idea where he is, and are sick with worry. While their relationship with Chris was already troubled, they are nonetheless devastated by his disappearance. Chris's sister, Carine (Jane Malone), narrates much of the film, offering her reflections on the effect Chris's absence has on his family. Chris finally makes it to Alaska, where he hikes out to a remote campsite and discovers an abandoned bus. He manages to survive there for a few months living off the land, but he eventually runs out of supplies and becomes trapped, leading to his tragic end. INTO THE WILD bounces around chronologically, jumping back and forth from the start of Chris's journey to his final few weeks living aboard the bus. This works to great effect as the storylines begin to merge and the tension and dread mount, and we see the fate that will eventually befall Chris. Penn obviously had great admiration for his subject, and while the film appears to differ from the book in places, it nevertheless paints a heartbreaking portrait of this young man's short but fascinating life.
March 14 - 20 , 2008
“The Kite Runner ” (2007)
Directed by Marc Forster
Drama / Rated PG-13 / 2 hours / English-Dari-Pashtu-Urdu-Russian / color
Starring Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub, Sayed Jafar Masihullah Gharibzada
Nominated for 2008 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film
Synopsis (Warning: May contain spoilers!)
Based on the international bestseller by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner is a fascinating historical epic set in 20th-century Afghanistan. In 1978, Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) are young boys living in Kabul , where Hassan and his father, Ali (Nabi Tanha), work as servants for Amir and his father, Baba (Homayoun Ershadi). Amir and Hassan make an excellent team in kite competitions, with Hassan having a gift for running down kites, but after one contest, he is bullied by Assef (Elham Ehsas), who does unspeakable things to him as Amir watches from a distance and then runs away, not helping his friend. As the Russians and then the Taliban take over Afghanistan , Baba and Amir escape to America , where they make a new home in San Francisco . But even as he graduates from college and meets a beautiful young woman, Soraya (Atossa Leoni), who is also from Kabul, Amir (now played by Khalid Abdalla) is haunted by his cowardice and can't turn down an opportunity to try to make things right when it is offered by his father's old friend Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub)--even if it means risking his life. The Kite Runner was adapted for the screen by David Benioff ( The 25 th Hour ), with much of the dialogue spoken in Dari, one of the primary languages in Afghanistan . Director Marc Foster ( Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland ) does a deft job navigating the complicated story, which moves from Afghanistan to San Francisco and Pakistan (with much of the film actually shot in China ), using many nonprofessional actors and a subtle score composed by Alberto Iglesias. Ebrahimi and Mahmoodzada make impressive debuts, with solid work by Abddalla, Leoni, and especially Ershadi.