KILLER OF SHEEP

Friday, November 2 at 7:00 and Sunday, November 4 at 4:00

“An American Masterpiece, independent to the bone.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times.

Charles Burnett’s landmark film was one of the first 50 films to be selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry and was chosen by the National Society of Film Critics as one of the 100 Essential Films. KILLER OF SHEEP combines incredibly lyrical elements with a starkly neo-realist, documentary-style approach that chronicles the unfolding story with depth and riveting simplicity. The protagonist, employed at the slaughterhouse, is suffering from the emotional side effects of his bloody occupation to such a degree that his entire life unhinges. His refusal to become involved in the similarly destructive, but human-focused occupations of his more affluent friends and acquaintances becomes the odd obstacle to the family’s well being. “A masterpiece. One of the most insightful and authentic dramas about African-American life on film. One of the finest American films, period.” - Dave Kehr, New York Times "Affectingly beautiful … Burnett used many kinds of African-American music on the soundtrack, and the movie itself has the bedraggled eloquence of an old blues record." - David Denby, The New Yorker (1977, 80 min.)

49TH PARALLEL

Friday, November 9 at 7:00 and Sunday, November 11 at 4:00

"Prompted by the Ministry of Information (as part of the propaganda campaign to bring the United States into the war) and largely shot on location, 49TH PARALLEL follows the misadventures of a group of German seamen stranded in Canada when their U-boat is sunk in Hudson's Bay. Picaresque encounters with a cross-section of Canadians provoke a running debate between Nazism and 'democracy' which, thanks to Pressburger's script, is far from cut and dried." --British Film Institute Directed by Michael Powell. Written by Emeric Pressburger. With Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey, Laurence Olivier, Anton Walbrook. (1941, 123 min.)



FOREVER

Friday, November 16 at 7:00 and Sunday, November 18 at 4:00

“Le Cimetière du Père-Lachaise is the largest cemetery in Paris and the final repository of the famous. Among its occupants are medieval lovers Heloise and Abelard, Modernist icons Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein, and sixties rocker Jim Morrison. Through its gates come tourists toting cameras to the burial site of Marcel Proust (though they might never have read him) and who sing at the gravesite of Yves Montand. Widows of well-remembered husbands, meanwhile, sweep their late spouses' gravestones and water the flowers. Into this ripe milieu, Heddy Honigmann—Peruvian-born Dutch documentarian and career-long chronicler of dislocation—brings her unique perspective and boundless curiosity, looking for the key to art and eternity, the allure of a celebrity afterlife, and the solace to be found in a necropolis of stars….Honigmann has made a film of great tenderness as well as profound inquiry. She is never reticent about asking a question; her trademark is getting people to open up in ways that must surprise even them. But she exercises the greatest respect, even awe, for those who walk among the headstones or occupy the more ethereal world of Forever.” – San Francisco International Film Festival
(2006, 95 min., in French w/English subtitles)

THE BIG ANIMAL (Duze Zwieze)

Friday, November 30 at 7:00

Back by popular demand! From a script by Krzysztof Kieslowski, this irresistible fable of small-town prejudice recalls the gentle ‘60’s comedies of Jiri Menzel and Milos Forman. A childless couple adopts a two-humped camel who inexplicably appears one day in their tiny Polish town. While the village first marvels at the animal’s lumbering grandeur, it soon becomes a source of civic discord. Directed by Jerzy Stuhr with dazzling cinematography by Pawel Edelman. (2000, 75 min., in Polish with English subtitles)