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coming up at boston's independent moviehouses - the brattle, harvard film archive, mfa and coolidge

Repertory Series The Brattle Selects 2009 Bad Day At Black Rock at 3:15, 7:30 Double Feature w/ LONELY ARE THE BRAVE. (1955) dir John Sturges w/ Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin [81 min] Re-envisioning the Western has long been a favorite pastime of Hollywood’s greatest directors. Here, John Sturges takes what could be a standard old-fashioned Western and transplants it to post-WWII Arizona. Tracy’s John J. Macreedy comes to the backwater town of Black Rock to deliver a posthumous medal to the family of a heroic Japanese-American soldier killed in battle. Upon arrival, however, he discovers the townsfolk are a tightlipped, uncooperative and potentially murderous lot. Outstanding performances all around make this a terrific film that stands as both a progressive morality tale and a tension-filled thriller. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2009/images/janfeb-brattle-bad.jpg final showing

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Based on Graham Greene’s novel, this very cinematic film noir is set in Vienna, and stars Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. Directed by Carol Reed. (1949) 1h33m one day only

Empty Nest by Daniel Burman (Argentina, 2008, 91 min.) Daniel Burman's superbly imaginative and entertaining Empty Nest is a comedic look at the problems inherent in married life and the difficulties associated with keeping a long-term relationship new and exciting. Burman invites the viewer into the quasisurrealist world of playwright Leonardo (Oscar Martnez) and his wife Martha (Cecilia Roth). At once hilarious and nostalgic, Burman's film ponders reality itself while offering a profound consideration of memories and how they are created. In Spanish and Hebrew with English subtitles. Description adapted from the Toronto International Film Festival. Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. showing through jan 25

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath (US/Laos 2008, 100 min.). Filmed over the course of 23 years, The Betrayal is an epic story of one family's journey from war-torn Laos to the mean streets of New York in the 80's to the present. Thavisouk Phrasavath tells the story of himself as a young man struggling to survive a war and the hardships of immigrant life. His mother tells her own astonishing tale of perseverance as a soldier's wife. Breathtaking and compelling, renowned cinematographer Ellen Kurass directorial debut is a remarkable collaboration with co-director Phrasavath a poetic, deeply personal film about the hidden, human face of wars collateral damage. In English and Lao with English subtitles. one day only

Empty Nest by Daniel Burman (Argentina, 2008, 91 min.) Daniel Burman's superbly imaginative and entertaining Empty Nest is a comedic look at the problems inherent in married life and the difficulties associated with keeping a long-term relationship new and exciting. Burman invites the viewer into the quasisurrealist world of playwright Leonardo (Oscar Martnez) and his wife Martha (Cecilia Roth). At once hilarious and nostalgic, Burman's film ponders reality itself while offering a profound consideration of memories and how they are created. In Spanish and Hebrew with English subtitles. Description adapted from the Toronto International Film Festival. Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. showing through jan 25

It Always Rains on Sunday by Robert Hamer (UK, 1947, 92 min.) On another rainy Sunday in London, as Rose Sandigate (Googie Withers) goes about her daily, mundane chores, she discovers her ex-lover, Tommy Swann (John McCullum), hiding in her toolshed after his escape from prison. The film combines Hitchcockian suspense with French poetic realism to create a portrait of post-war British life. "A bleak thriller realized with utter vibrancy, Robert Hamers savory stew of Londons lower class roils with an emotional brutality and precision that most films dont dare attempt, let alone achieve. Dense and compact, melodramatic but never maudlin." (Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York). Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. final showing

La Len by Santiago Otheguy (2007, 85 min.). Surrounded by a labyrinth of waterways meandering through lush wilderness, Alvaro lives a simple, lonely life harvesting reeds and fishing. In this remote area of Argentina, Alvaros homosexuality and his love for books aggravates his isolation. The only link between this boundless territory and the city is the water-taxi "El Len. Its captain, El Turu, feels threatened by Alvaro's differences and continually harasses him. But Alvaro doesnt know that El Turus masks an inner turmoil. final showing

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North by Katrina Browne, Alla Kovgan, and Jude Ray (2008, 86 min.). When filmmaker Katrina Browne discovers that her ancestors, the DeWolfs, a highly respected Northern family, used to be the largest slave-trading family in US history, she and nine relatives embark on a journey along their ancestors slave trade routefrom quaint Bristol, Rhode Island, to the slave castles in Ghana, and the familys former sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba. Confronting guilt (or the lack of it), grief, and questions of their own privileges, the family members begin to develop a vision of how to reconcile their own lives with their familys past. Browne traces a brave journey that provides a glimpse of how we can work our way through the rough tangle of the black-white divide. Discussion with the directors follows the January 15 screening. showing through feb 1

Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Naglaa Fathi, Farid Shawki, Ezzat el-Alaili Egypt 1978, 35mm, color, 130 min. Arabic with English subtitles Alexandria, Why? marked a radical, newly introspective turn in Chahine’s active career, a sharp departure from his Fifties musicals and melodramas and his later epics and political films. The first of Chahine's four film semi-autobiography, entitled “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” Alexandria, Why? focuses on a precocious adolescent whose dreams and colorful attempts to become an actor unfold against the vivid backdrop of Alexandria during World War II. A rich ensemble cast inspires Chahine's young thespian hero with a wealth of dramatic subplots—at turns hilarious and touching—about wartime life. The autobiographical nature and nostalgic flavor of Alexandria, Why? make it one of Chahine’s most accessible works, a charming and entertaining film that also delivers a potently subversive and impassioned anti-war message. An E DDirected by Youssef Chahine. Egypt 1991, 35mm, color, 22 min. Arabic with English subtitles one day only find/upload a trailer

Promise to the Dead by Peter Raymont (Canada, 2006, 92 min.). On September 11, 1973, Chiles military attacked its government. As the coup took hold, the democratically elected president Salvador Allende called government members to the presidential palace to stand against their attackers, facing certain death. Ariel Dorfman was Allendes cultural advisor, and should have been called too; he later discovered his name had been struck from the list so he could live to tell what happened that day. Three decades later, Dorfman is an internationally respected writer and human rights activist, winner of the Sir Laurence Olivier Award for the play Death and the Maiden. Filmmaker Peter Raymont travels to Chile with Dorfman in late 2006, at the time when Augusto Pinochet, is dying. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. one day only

Short Program: Youth Producing Change (78 min.). The Countdown by Rene Dongo (US, 2007, 6 min.) shares an artists hope that society can work to fill the empty space left by September 11. Women Empowerment by Bridges to Understanding (South Africa, 2007, 5 min.) reflects the harsh reality South African mothers face in raising children alone in their township. I Want My Parents Back by students of the Media Arts Center San Diego (US/Mexico, 2007, 11 min) shows the impact of U.S. immigration policies on families. Islands of the People by Students of the Atira Womens Resource Society (Canada, 2007, 6 min.) A 13-year-old girl makes a commitment to learn the Haida language from her grandmother, one of the last living people who can speak, read, and write in Haida. The True Cost of Coal by Students of the Appalachian Media Institute, Appalshop Inc. (2007, 8 min.). Mountain communities rally to protect their rights, land, and health. The Hidden Cost of Cashme one day only

Repertory Series The Brattle Selects 2009 Braffle Winner Ewan O'Sullivan Selects Das Boot: The Director's Cut at 7:00 Buy Tickets (1981) dir Wolfgang Peterson w/ Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer [209 min] Before fronting Hollywood blockbusters like The Perfect Storm, Wolgang Peterson directed this masterpiece of claustrophobic widescreen action. The crew of a German submarine during World War II struggles with both the reality of life underwater and the ideology they are meant to be fighting for. Gut-wrenchingly realistic in its portrayal of the incredible danger of submarine warfare, DAS BOOT remains a thrilling and compelling WWII film to this day. Not to be missed on the big screen! http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2009/images/janfeb-brattle-boot.jpg one day only

DDirected by Youssef Chahine. With Hind Rustum, Farid Shawki, Youssef Chahine Egypt 1958, 35mm, b/w, 90 min. Arabic with English subtitles Chahine himself stars in this melodrama of poverty and sexual frustration that shocked Arab audiences in the 1950s. The filmmaker is remarkably effective as a crippled newsvendor who lives alone in a squalid, pinup-lined shack and whose obsession with a beautiful young lemonade stand vendor leads inevitably towards violence. One of the decisive turning points in Chahine’s long career, Cairo Station marked a new visual daring and embrace of ambitious and controversial subject matter, an attempt to rejuvenate formula-driven mainstream Egyptian cinema by judiciously adding formal and thematic elements from both neorealism and German expressionism. one day only find/upload a trailer

Project Kashmir by Senain Kheshgi and Geeta V. Patel (2008, 89 min.). Two American friends, one Hindu and one Muslim, enter the war zone of Kashmir to investigate the 60-year rivalry between their homelands India and Pakistan. Beautifully shot, the film captures the physical splendor of Kashmir, while expertly interweaving deeply moving personal stories of Kashmiris with those of the two American women, who strive to reconcile their ethnic and religious heritage with the violence that haunts their homeland. In English, Urdu, Kashmiri, and Hindi with English subtitles. one day only

Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Seifeddin, Salah Kabil, Mohsena Tawfiq Egypt 1972, 35mm, color, 105 min. Arabic with English subtitles A vivid portrait of a nation in chaos, The Sparrow is set against the background of Egypt’s shocking defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel, a traumatic event that transformed Egyptians' confidence in Nasser into ambivalence towards a leader suddenly revealed to be deeply fallible. Eschewing traditional narrative in favor of an episodic ensemble piece focused on the hunt for a politically connected crime kingpin, The Sparrow'sheady combination of realist and expressionist elements is meant to disorient the viewer and evoke Chahine’s vision of a country suddenly gone far astray. one day only

USA vs. Al-Arian by Line Halyorsen (Norway, 2007, 98 min.). A passionate, outspoken pro-Palestinian activist, university professor Sami Al-Arian was charged in 2003 with funding and supporting a Palestinian terrorist group and held in prison awaiting a trial for two-and-a-half years. USA vs. Al-Arian is an intimate family portrait that documents the strain brought on by Al-Arians trial, a battle waged both in court and in the media. A tight-knit family unravels before our eyes as trial preparations consume their lives. In Arabic with English subtitles. one day only

Who Does She Think She Is? By Pamela Tanner Boll (2008, 84 min.). From the director of Born into Brothels, Boll's new film Who Does She Think She Is? features five bold women who navigate some of the most problematic intersections of our time: mothering and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. final showing

Children and Seniors: $8, Adults: $10 DAVEY THE CLOWN is a physical comedian, juggler, unicyclist and accordionist. His show is big and funny - perfect family entertainment. It contains silly juggling, amazing magic, incredible unicycling (on a six-foot unicycle,) wacky antics, beautiful and rousing accordion music, balloon sculpture, tons of audience participation, and a rubber chicken! Kids (and adults!) can't get enough of Davey the Clown! one day only

Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Yousra, Youssef Chahine, Hussein Fahmy Egypt/France 1989, 35mm, color, 105 min. Arabic with English subtitles The third installment in Chahine’s quartet of autobiographical films finds the director’s work stalled by a strike. During the interruption in filming, Chahine reminisces about a past relationship with one of his actors while finding himself gradually drawn to an actress. The intimacy between director and performer is depicted symbolically, in a tender dance number clearly in homage to the Hollywood musical and set on a snow-covered street in Berlin during a film festival. A masterful amalgam of realism and fantasy, Alexandria Again and Forever is Chahine’s paean to the power of imagination and the artist. one day only

Confronting Amnesia: Frozen Memories of the Russian Gulag by John J. Michalczyk (2008, 50 min). This powerful and insightful documentary explores the establishment and operations of the Gulag, which led to the arbitrary decisions of life or death for its prisoners. Weaving interview with survivors, scholars, and historians, Michalczyk tells the story of the Russian people under Stalins era of The Great Terror, in which the remote labor camps of the Gulag were used as a deterrent to real or perceived threats against the regime. The film exposes the unrelenting suffering experienced by Gulag victims and their families. But the film also recognizes the profound changes of the past 15 years in the former Soviet Untion which have seen the establishment of various human rights advocay groups to ensure that this abuse never happens again. Director present. one day only

Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Nour-el-Cheif, Laila Eloui, Mahmoud Hemeida Egypt 1998, 35mm, color, 137 min. Arabic with English subtitles Alarmed by the rise of religious fundamentalism in Egypt in the 1990s, Chahine created an historical epic centered on the philosopher Ibn Rashd (known in the West as Averroës) and set in medieval Córdoba, Spain where—under Arab rule—a secular and multicultural society flourished. To make his point, Chahine concocts the story of a young Arab man lured away from his “decadent” lifestyle and indoctrinated into a fundamentalist sect. Though the film operates as a sincere and moving plea for tolerance and a timely warning against violent religious extremism, Chahine also provides plenty of spectacle, including a steamy romance and lots of song and dance. one day only

Empty Nest by Daniel Burman (Argentina, 2008, 91 min.) Daniel Burman's superbly imaginative and entertaining Empty Nest is a comedic look at the problems inherent in married life and the difficulties associated with keeping a long-term relationship new and exciting. Burman invites the viewer into the quasisurrealist world of playwright Leonardo (Oscar Martnez) and his wife Martha (Cecilia Roth). At once hilarious and nostalgic, Burman's film ponders reality itself while offering a profound consideration of memories and how they are created. In Spanish and Hebrew with English subtitles. Description adapted from the Toronto International Film Festival. Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. showing through jan 25

Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Mahmoud al-Melligi, Najwa Ibrahim, Izzat al-Alayli Egypt 1968, 35mm, color, 130 min. Arabic with English subtitles One of Chahine's most enduring classics, The Land details the struggle of a group of peasant farmers in the 1930s to protect their fields and their livelihood against a corrupt pasha interested only in self-aggrandizement. Adapted by Chahine from a novel published shortly after the abolition of the monarchy by Egypt's 1952 revolution, The Land offers a full-blooded narrative of political struggle and sweeping nationalist emotions and is a rallying cry for an Arab world demoralized by Israeli expansion in the late 1960s. one day only

Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North by Katrina Browne, Alla Kovgan, and Jude Ray (2008, 86 min.). When filmmaker Katrina Browne discovers that her ancestors, the DeWolfs, a highly respected Northern family, used to be the largest slave-trading family in US history, she and nine relatives embark on a journey along their ancestors slave trade routefrom quaint Bristol, Rhode Island, to the slave castles in Ghana, and the familys former sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba. Confronting guilt (or the lack of it), grief, and questions of their own privileges, the family members begin to develop a vision of how to reconcile their own lives with their familys past. Browne traces a brave journey that provides a glimpse of how we can work our way through the rough tangle of the black-white divide. Discussion with the directors follows the January 15 screening. showing through feb 1

$3 all seats In this deceptively simple, nearly wordless tale, a young boy discovers a stray balloon that seems to have a mind of its own. Wandering through the streets of Paris, the two become inseparable, to the surprise of the neighborhood and the envy of other children. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, THE RED BALLOON remains one of the most beloved children's films of all time. (1956) dir. Albert Lamorisse, 34m imdb mrqe --> one day only

Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Khaled Saleh, Mena Shalaby, Hala Sedky Egypt/France 2007, 35mm, color, 122 min. Arabic with English subtitles In his last film, completed with the help of longtime collaborator Khaled Youssef, Chahine concocts a tasty melodrama, with plenty of political bite, out of a tale about a crusading public prosecutor taking on a corrupt and sadistic police chief in contemporary Cairo. Set in the cosmopolitan neighborhood of Choubra, known for the diversity of its residents, Chaos reveals the area to be a powder keg thanks to social and economic conditions that deteriorate while the elite look the other way. Chahine being Chahine, the drama and political commentary is overlaid with a love triangle that ups the ante for all concerned. one day only

Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Mahmoud el-Milligi, Sid Ali Khouiret, Huda Sultan Egypt/Algeria 1976, 35mm, color, 120 min. Arabic with English subtitles Arab melodrama draws on familial strife just as much as the melodramas of classic Hollywood and popular Indian cinema, and here Chahine, like Minnelli and Visconti, expands the family melodrama to examine a disillusioned nation. The story concerns a benevolent farmer, his troubled son and his grandson, who is beginning to chafe under his father’s restrictions; the situation is given an explosive charge by the return from prison of the patriarch’s beloved younger son. The film’s screenplay is co-written by songwriter Salah Jahin, who also wrote the score. (Yes, Prodigal Son is also a musical.) Jahin’s earlier music had praised Nasser, and his work on this film was meant to expiate the guilt he felt for helping to inflate Egypt’s expectation of its leader. one day only

with composer and MIT Professor of Music and Media Tod Machover Leon Theremin made music as strange as the life he lived. This documentary follows the story of Theremin as he invents the first electronic music synthesizer (the sound which found its way into so many classic 1950's sci-fi films) and explores his life in Russia following his abduction at the hands of KGB agents. one day only