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Cinemateca
José Luis’s Pick and Tips
The pick:
Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)
The only thing more disappointing than the actions of GM regarding the EV-1 are the attitudes of some of the reviewers. Oil companies, car companies, and other companies with interest in the automotive industry have been keeping the electric car down for years. Car companies have the capacity and ability to make all-electric cars that will run just as well or better than gas-powered cars, yet we don't have them. And to say that electric-powered cars would not hurt oil companies is ridiculous. Power plants and other non-automotive oil consumers pay a fraction of what we do for oil and gasoline. Oil companies would lose billions, if not trillions, of dollars if we switched completely to alternative fuels. And don't forget all of the other automotive-related companies that would crumble if we switched to electric.
The tips
In order to be able to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Be sure to check the schedule carefully. Also, please remember the new ticket price of 50 pesos. Discount cards are 450 pesos for 12 shows.
On Monday after 4pm buy your tickets for any selection of the week. Don't take the risk of being locked out! Nos vemos en el Cine….
George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (1993)
Tuesday, January 2, noon
Family classic, English, 89 minutes
Director: Emile Ardolino
Cast: Kevin Kline, Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lynn Cohen, Kyra Nichols
Narrated by Kevin Kline, this movie version of the timeless Yuletide fantasy—produced by George Balanchine—features the New York City Ballet. Angels and sugarplums dance, a magic prince conquers all, a dreamy young girl twirls across the stage and a Christmas tree grows sky-high in this enchanting adaptation.
Nacho Libre (2006)
Tuesday, January 2, 5:30pm
Wednesday, January 3, 6pm
Comedy, English, 92 minutes
Director: Jared Hess
Cast: Jack Black, Troy Gentile, Carla Jimenez, Ana de la Reguera
After spending his childhood in a Mexican monastery, Ignacio (Jack Black) decides to remain there and work as a cook, mostly to be close to beautiful Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera). So it's natural that when he learns the orphanage is in financial trouble, he pitches in to help—by disguising himself and joining the professional wrestling circuit as a luchador named Nacho. But there will be hell to pay if the church elders find out!
Tous Les Matins Du Monde (1991)
Tuesday, January 2, 7:30pm
Wednesday, January 3, 4pm
Foreign drama, French with English Subtitles, 105 minutes
Director: Alain Corneau
Cast: Gerard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Guillaume Depardieu, Myriam Boyer
Racked with grief after his wife's untimely death, gifted viola da gamba player Monsieur de Sainte Colombe (Jean-Pierre Marielle) moves into a small house in his garden to keep himself and his two young daughters (Anne Brochet and Carole Richert) safe from the outside world. But their solitude is broken when a young musician comes calling (played by Gerard Depardieu's son, Guillaume, and later by Depardieu himself) in search of a lesson.
Henri Langlois: Phantom of the Cinematheque (2005)
Wednesday, January 3, noon
Thursday, January 4, 7:30 pm
Foreign documentary, French with English subtitles, 128 minutes
Director: Jacques Richard
Cast: Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Jack Valenti.
Acclaimed filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and others pay homage to the founder of the progressive Cinémathèque Française in this documentary that chronicles Henri Langlois's remarkable life. From the theater's early days in the 1930s and Langois's resistance of the Nazis to the Paris riots in the 1960s, this film captures the story of the passionate cinephile through interviews, archival footage and movie screenings.
Faust (Lekce Faust, 1994)
Friday, January 5, 4pm
Tuesday, January 9, 7pm
Wednesday, January 10, 7pm
Sci-Fi/ experimental, English, 97 minutes
Director: Jan Svankmajer
As a nameless Czech everyman (Petr Cepek) exits a subway station, a stranger hands him a map that ultimately draws the man to his doom. The diagram leads to a nightmarish theater where he takes on the mantle of Faust, unwittingly summons Mephistopheles and losing his soul in the bargain. Director Jan Svankmajer's imaginative film employs stop-motion animation, special effects, Claymation and live action to achieve the movie's surrealistic effect.
Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)
Friday, January 5, 8pm
Thursday, January 11, 7pm
Friday, January 12, 3pm
Documentary, English, 91 minutes
Cast: Martin Sheen, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, David Freeman, Colette Divine
Amid ever-increasing gas prices, this documentary
Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier
Sung in German with English subtitles,
186 minutes
Saturday, January 6, 2:30pm
Next week: Rossini's Cinderella
After the tonality-stretching dissonance of Salome and especially Electra, Richard Strauss moved on to a different musical path with his next opera. The epic grandeur of Rosenkavalier stems not just from its immense length (over three hours) but from the all-too-human complexity of its characters, each of whom is smitten with someone else and the endless stream of graceful melodies the composer conjures. The musics sheer gorgeousness has given this most heartbreaking of 20th century operas its pride of place in the repertory.
For this performance at the Munich Opera House, conductor Carlos Kleiber leads a committed reading of the buoyant score that savors every note. The three leads are superb singer-actresses who get full marks for embodying Strauss's most richly romantic creations: Gwyneth Jones (the Marschallin), Brigitte Fassbaender (Octavian) and Lucia Popp (Sophie) offer a truly entrancing final trio, one of the great scenes in all opera.
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