Cinemateca, June 9–15 

José Luis Pick’n’tip June 6, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

The Pick

Ladies in Lavender

An intelligent film about tenderness, longing, and what is most beautiful about merely human vulnerability. Judi Dench can say more with a lifted eyebrow, a widening of the eyes, a tilt of the head, a slope of the shoulder, than any merely pretty starlet in Hollywood can do. The word is subtlety. Anyone interested in real acting will enjoy this film. Forget about plot; the story hardly matters and functions only as a vehicle to explore the possibility that lives can be altered, cracked open, shifted off balance and transformed by what washes up on the beach one morning. Look for the moment when the Polish boy leans his head on Dench's knee and she almost, almost, and then yes, no, is it possible? Touches, ever so lightly, his hair. That moment is the essence of the film, though gorgeous scenery, light-hearted and wistful costuming, and a spectacular score are not wasted. Maggie Smith is at her best, not merely tight-lipped and crusty but compassionate and, though less than Dench, also breakable. The film is a
lmost unbearably tender, but in this case life goes on, and without a fake-happy ending.

The Tip In order 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. I also want to remind you of our new ticket price: 50 pesos and discount cards buy 12 shows for 450 pesos. Starting Monday, after 11am, buy your tickets in advance for any movie or show of the week. If you have a discount card, collect your pass to secure a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out.

Would you like to receive this info by email? Write to José Luis at alephamour@hotmail.com.  Thank you.


The Movies

Winner of Best Documentary in the Boston Film Festival 
Lost and Found in Mexico
Monday, June 9 at 5pm
Documentary, English, 53 minutes
Writer/director/producer: Caren Cross

Lost and Found in Mexico explores the question: What lies on the other side of the American dream? This quirky documentary explores the lives of Americans who chose to leave their hard-working, successful and fast-paced lives to live in San Miguel, where leisurely conversations take place in the main square, burros walk the streets and people find their hearts engaged in living once again. While many Mexicans are leaving families behind and risking their lives to cross the border to a better life, this film focuses on the Americans who have decided to cross in the other direction—for a simpler life. Questions and Answers with the filmmaker follow the show. All proceeds benefit the Mexican kids’ scholarships.



Twist and Shout (Tro, Hab og Kaerlighed, 1984)
Monday, June 9 at 7pm
Thursday, June 12 at 3pm
Scandinavia, Danish with English subtitles, 108 minutes
Director: Bille August
Cast: Adam Tonsberg, Lars Simonsen, Camilla Soeberg, Ulrikke 

Director Bille August’s bittersweet movie is a sexy coming-of-age story about four teenagers who find love and heartbreak during the height of Beatlemania in sixties Denmark. As their libidinous passions explode, the teens find themselves caught up in a web of conflicting emotions that make for one hard day’s night. Along the way, they get an up-close-and-personal lesson about the raging hypocrisy of the “adult” world


Ladies in Lavender (2004) 
Tuesday, June 10 at 5pm
Friday, June 13 at 5pm
Romantic drama, English, 103 minutes
Director: Charles Dance
Cast: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Natascha McElhone, Daniel Brühl, Miriam Margolyes 

It’s 1936, and two sisters, Janet and Ursula Widdington (Maggie Smith and Judi Dench), are at their beach house in Cornwall for some rest and relaxation. But their idyll is interrupted when they chance upon a mystery man awash on the beach and decide to nurse him back to health. Turns out he’s Andrea (Daniel Bruhl), a violinist who was bound for America when his ship encountered trouble. Before long, he takes the quiet fishing village by storm. …



Oblomov (Neskolko Dney iz Zhizni I.I. Oblomova, 1979)
Tuesday, June 10 at 7pm
Russian film, in English, 142 minutes
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Cast: Oleg Tabakov, Yuri Bogatyryov, Andrei Popov, Yelena Solovey, Avangard Leontyev

In this film based on nineteenth-century novelist Ivan Goncharov’s tragicomedy, Oblomov (Oleg Tabakov) is a gentle, dignified aristocrat who would rather doze than compete in the modern world. A man definitely out of time, Oblomov does make room for a brief fling with a bewitching country girl named Olga (Elena Solovei). Oblomov is a nostalgic throwback to a Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution made such funny and winning iconoclasts obsolete.



The Princess and the Warrior (Der Krieger und die Kaiserin, 2000)
Thursday, June 12 at 7pm
Germany, German with English subtitles, 133 minutes
Director: Tom Tykwer
Cast: Franka Potente, Benno Furmann, Joachim Krol, Marita Breuer 

German director Tom Tykwer reunites with Run Lola Run star Franka Potente in a darkly skewed heist movie with obsession at its core. Sissi (Potente) is a nurse in a mental ward who gets run over in the street by a truck. Quick-thinking Bodo (Benno Furmann), a bank robber by trade, saves her life—not knowing that, in gratitude, Sissi would haunt his every move like a lovesick puppy!



Daughter from Danang (2002) 
Monday, June 9 at 3pm
Friday, June 13 at 3pm 
Social & cultural documentary, English, 81 minutes
Directors: Gail Dolgin, Vicente Franco
Cast: Heidi Bub, Mai Thi Kim 

This documentary follows an adopted American woman—one of thousands of Vietnamese children who were separated from their families and flown to America in 1975—who gets more than she bargained for when she’s reunited with her birth mother. The film emphasizes how much culture, rather than innate physical characteristics, can shape an individual. Won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.



Kids Movies: Cartoons
Saturday, June 14 at noon