MARCH/APRIL/MAY 2001

BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR: JAPANESE MASTER KINJI FUKASAKU

Until recently, Japanese action-master Kinji Fukasaku was known mainly in the West for his most atypical films: the phantasmagoric cult favorite BLACK LIZARD, and the gleefully trashy sci-fi epics THE GREEN SLIME and MESSAGE FROM SPACE. But in Japan, Fukasaku is renowned for such gritty, high-octane yakuza films as BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR & HUMANITY and WOLVES, PIGS & PEOPLE, movies that have had an enormous impact on the younger generation of outlaw directors including "Beat" Takeshi Kitano and Takashi Ishii. Fukasaku's pyrotechnic gangster movies suggest a methedrine-fueled hybrid of Fuller/Scorsese/Woo, with the social conscience of early Visconti. For nearly 40 years, Fukasaku has managed to balance the demands of genre filmmaking with a fierce concern for political and social themes - many of his greatest yakuza films are set during the chaotic post-WWII years, using his violent underworld hitmen and gang bosses to reflect the upheaval changing all levels of Japanese society. All films in Japanese with English subtitles except where noted.
—Dennis Bartok

TITLES INCLUDED:

BLACK LIZARD

BATTLES WITHOUT
HONOR AND HUMANITY

UNDER THE FLUTTERING MILITARY FLAG
 aka UNDER THE FLAG OF THE RISING SUN

GRAVEYARD OF HONOR AND HUMANITY
aka COPS VS. THUGS

WOLVES, PIGS AND PEOPLE

HIGH NOON FOR GANGSTERS
aka  VILLAINS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
JAPAN'S VIOLENT GANGS - BOSS
aka  SYMPATHY FOR THE UNDERDOG
GAMBLER - FOREIGN OPPOSITION
aka  GAMBLERS IN OKINAWA
aka  YAKUZA COMBAT FORCES
SHOGUN'S SAMURAI
aka  YAGYU CLAN CONSPIRACY
MESSAGE FROM SPACE
THE GEISHA HOUSE
 

MARCH 23 FRI 7 & 9 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
BLACK LIZARD
Japan 1967
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    Shy, stubborn detective Akechi (Isao Kimura) descends down a rabbit hole of psychedelic depravity in his quest for super female jewel thief Black Lizard (played by famous drag star Akihiro Maruyama). A swirling comic book miasma of decadent happenings and modern fairytale tableaux, with a brief appearance by legendary novelist Yukio Mishima. With Ko Nishimura, Kikko Matsuoka, Yusuke Kawazu.   (87 mins.)

MARCH 24  SAT 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
BATTLES WITHOUT
HONOR AND HUMANITY
Japan 1973
Director: Kinji Fukasaku     Forget  RESERVOIR DOGS, forget A BETTER TOMORROW and every other ultra-violent gangster flick you've ever seen. BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR & HUMANITY is an absolute chaos of beatings, shootings and stabbings, set amongst the post-war yakuza mobs in Hiroshima - Bunta Sugawara stars as the film's homicidal hero, a yakuza thug with an extremely short temper. A 1990 Japanese critics' poll voted this one of the 20 Best Japanese Movies of All Time. With Tatsuo Umemiya, Hiroki  Matsukata.

MARCH 30   FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
UNDER THE FLUTTERING
MILITARY FLAG aka
UNDER THE FLAG OF THE RISING SUN
JAPAN 1972
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    World War II widow Sachiko Hidari pieces together the Rashomon-style puzzle of her soldier husband Tetsuro Tanba's fate through a maze of bureaucracy and the contradictory recollections of his surviving comrades. What emerges is a Catch- 22 struggle against madness, as she discovers that Tanba had been executed for killing his insanely violent commanding officer (Shinjiro Ebara). This scathing anti-war indictment was co-written by Kaneto Shindo (ONI BABA) and is one of Fukasaku's personal favorites.    (96 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

FRI 8:50 P.M.
MODERN YAKUZA - OUTLAW KILLER
JAPAN 1972
DIRECTOR:KINJI FUKASAKU   Arrogant wannabe Bunta Sugawara tries to barnstorm his way out of the gutter into the bigger rackets, only to be beaten down by the established gang. Boss Noboru Ando, who remembers what it was like to be down-and-out, is fond of Sugawara despite his big mouth. But Sugawara's dissolute lifestyle, murderously jealous girl (Mayumi Nagisa in a bravura performance) and messed-up pals prove his undoing. Nothing can stop the death dealing that ensues in this gonzo classic, in what amounts to a dry run for GRAVEYARD OF HONOR & HUMANITY.   (90 mins.)

MARCH 31  SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
GRAVEYARD OF HONOR AND HUMANITY
JAPAN 1975
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU   If there's anything more insane and more perverse than BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY - this is it. Sociopathic loser Tetsuya Watari can't seem to get along with his yakuza pals (maybe it's those American sunglasses he's always wearing). His life becomes an uncontrollable spiral of mindless violence, heroin addiction, tuberculosis, sleazy sex and worse - climaxing with him eating his girlfriend's ashes! With Tatsuo Umemiya, Yumi Takigawa (SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEASTS), Noboru Ando.  (94 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

SAT 8:50 P.M.
STATE POLICE VS. ORGANIZED
aka COPS VS. THUGS
JAPAN 1975
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUKASAKU   Live-and-let-live cop Bunta Sugawara has his friendship with yakuza drinking buddy Hiroki Matsukata destroyed by internecine gang warfare and the intervention of supervisor Tatsuo Umemiya, an anti-corruption crusader and former gangster. A searingly unsentimental, realistic dissection of the strange symbiosis of Japan's law enforcement and yakuza underworld.  (90 mins.)

APRIL 7  SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
WOLVES, PIGS AND PEOPLE
JAPAN 1964
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    One of the first yakuza films by Fukasaku to receive critical acclaim. Legendary tough guy Takakura plays a lone-wolf hood who convinces his younger sibling (Kinya Kitaoji) to join his youth gang to help rob elder brother Rentaro Mikuni's mob. Fukasaku's gritty noir-tragedy moves like a runaway freight train.   (95 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

SAT 8:50 P.M.
HIGH NOON FOR GANGSTERS aka
VILLAINS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
JAPAN 1961
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    Gangster maverick Tetsuro Tanba enlisits a motley crew including a Korean, two Americans (one black, one white) and three women to rob a U.S. Army base payroll. Unfortunately there's another gang with the same idea, and things go awry when they begin squabbling amongst themselves. Believed lost until just last year, this is one Fukasaku's earliest films and has all of the trademarks of unnerving violence, social realism and unsentimental narrative that we've grown to love.   (82 mins.)

APRIL 14  SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
JAPAN'S VIOLENT GANGS - BOSS aka  SYMPATHY FOR THE UNDERDOG
JAPAN 1969
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUKASAKU  Koji Tsuruta returns from jail to assume control of his gang, but he's in for a rude awakening courtesy of the newly allied corporate yakuza. Tsuruta was a traditional actor of chivalrous roles, and Fukasaku uses this to heighten the already white-hot tension between the dwindling numbers of ethical outlaws and the emerging faceless, dog-eat-dog gangs. Moral dilemmas are punctuated with slam-bang action and prodigious bloodshed. With Noboru Ando  (THE WOLVES), Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF AND CUB series), Bunta Sugawara.    (96 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

SAT 9 P.M.
GAMBLER - FOREIGN OPPOSITION aka  GAMBLERS IN OKINAWA  aka  YAKUZA COMBAT FORCES
JAPAN 1971
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUYKASAKU   Sunglasses-wearing Koji Tsuruta is banished by mainland yakuza to Okinawa, where he ends up allied with old pal Noboru Ando and young Tsunehiko Watase. They go head-to-head with not only the local rival gang led by scarred, crazed Tomisaburo Wakayama, but American gangsters as well. Their new hard-earned gains are threatened when the corporate mainland boss arrives at the climax with his gangster army. Brutally unrepentant with a subtle sense of humor (Tsuruta keeps his sunglasses on even in bed with his girl!).   (93 mins.)

APRIL 19  THU  7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
SHOGUN'S SAMURAI aka  YAGYU CLAN CONSPIRACY
JAPAN 1978
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUKASAKU     Fanatical, power-obsessed Lord Yagyu (Kinnosuke Yorozuya Nakamura) will do anything to keep disfigured, going-mad Shogun Hiroki Matsukata in office - including  genocide and warring with his own son, one-eyed Jubei (Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba), in this all-star, big-budget samurai action spectacular. This is the feature length film version of another phenomenally popular seventies Japanese TV show, "Yagyu Clan Conspiracy."  With Yoshio Harada, Etsuko "Sue" Shiomi, Hiroyuki Sanada.   (130 mins.)

APRIL 28   SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
MESSAGE FROM SPACE
JAPAN 1978
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU   Vic Morrow and Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba lead a cast of interplanetary heroes in response to a distress signal from a planet in trouble, in this imaginative, STAR WARS-inspired sci-fi/fantasy. This was the big screen counterpart to the popular Japanese TV series known as "Swords of the Space Ark." With Tetsuro Tanba,  Etsuko "Sue" Shiomi.   (105 mins. dubbed in English)

APRIL 29   SUN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
THE GEISHA HOUSE
JAPAN 1998
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU   1960's female icons Sumiko Fuji (formerly known as Junko Fuji of the RED PEONY GAMBLER series), Yumiko Nogawa (GATE OF FLESH) and Mariko Okada (EROS PLUS MASSACRE) return as luminous as ever in Fukasaku's guide to the emotional labyrinth that was the mid-50's Kyoto geisha demimonde. Scripted by fellow director Kaneto Shindo.   (113 mins.)

TO TOP

IN LOVE WITH LOVE: THE FILMS OF ERIC ROHMER

Though Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Francois Truffaut and Claude Chabrol are all central to the French New Wave and shared in the critical adventures found in the pages of Cashiers du Cinema, it is Rohmer who has maintained the most steady of courses, creating a singular body of work touching on the most universal of subjects—matters of the heart. More literary than theatrical in his examinations of the complexities of romance, his characters talk, think and observe with singular intensity. But what keeps these featherweight dramas and supercilious characters infinitely engaging is how their actions serve to illuminate complex philosophical and ethical dilemmas. In Rohmer’s films the focal points are never on what the characters say or do, but the distance between those two, in that netherworld between language and action in which we all try to make sense of the world and ourselves.

Special thanks to Winstar Cinema for providing pristine, new 35 mm prints of many of the films as well as to New Yorker Films and USA Films.

TITLES INCLUDED:
MORAL TALES
THE GIRL FROM THE MONCEAU BAKERY
SUZANNE'S CAREER
MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S
LA COLLECTIONEUSE
CLAIRE'S KNEE
CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON
THE MARQUISE OF O

COMEDIES AND PROVERBS
THE AVIATOR’S WIFE
LE BEAU MARRIAGE
PAULINE AT THE BEACH
FULL MOON IN PARIS
SUMMER
BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS

FOUR ADVENTURES OF REINETTE AND MIRABELLE
RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS

TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS
A TALE OF SPRINGTIME
A TALE OF WINTER
A SUMMER’S TALE
AUTUMN TALE

MARCH 16 17 FRI 7 P.M., SAT 7 P.M.
FRI: GUILD THEATRE SAT: WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MORAL TALES I & II
THE GIRL FROM THE MONCEAU BAKERY
FRANCE 1962
SUZANNE’S CAREER
FRANCE 1963
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Rohmer’s “Moral Tales” series began with these two shorts. Both are stories of choices, made or not, narrated by young men who spend a lot of time pondering what to do about the women in their lives, only to find that all their pondering is pointless. Theses charming black-and-white films (shot on 16mm) serve as miniature precursors of Rohmer's later classics and show that his signature style was already formed by the early 60's. (26 mins. and 52 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

FRI8:30 P.M., SAT 8:30 P.M.
MORAL TALE III
MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S
FRANCE 1969
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER “Voted the best foreign film of the Seventies by an international poll of film critics, MY NIGHT AT MAUD’S is the centerpiece of Rohmer's 'Moral Tales' and the film that catapulted him to international fame. Over the Christmas season, a deeply committed Catholic is torn between a blonde woman he sees at church and the vivacious, intellectual (and dark) Maud— a choice that for him becomes a test of Pascal's theory of free will and chance. Jean-Louis Trintignant's night at Maud's features one of the most engrossing conversations in all cinema. A witty, literate transformation of erotic possibility into spiritual quandary, the film also stars Marie-Chrisine Barrault and Franciose Fabian."—James Quandt, Cinematheque Ontario. (105 mins.)

MARCH 18 19 SUN 7 P.M., MON 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
MORAL TALE IV
LA COLLECTIONEUSE
FRANCE 1967
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER "Summer at a villa near Saint Tropez, and nymphet Haydee adds a new item to her 'collection' every night, including non-painting painter Daniel Pommereulle. But, sometime antique dealer Patrick Bachau is wary of becoming another notch on the gun. Rohmer's first work in color features shimmering summertime photography by Nestor Almendros."—Michael Jeck, AFI. “A classic menage a trios, Rohmer delivers equal doses of eroticism and morality in a work reminiscent of DANGEROUS LIASONS and the writings of Nabokov…wryly and delightfully witty." — TIME OUT. (88 mins.)

MARCH 22 23 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
MORAL TALE V
CLAIRE'S KNEE
FRANCE 1970
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Tending to deal less with what people actually do, but more with what goes on in their minds, Rohmer's fifth "Moral Tale" is an exquisitely constructed film on sensual obsession. The soon-to-be-married Jerome (Jean-Claude Brialy), a French diplomat vacationing without his fiancée at a lakeside resort near the Swiss border, becomes enamoured with two teenage girls and fixates on his yearning to caress the knee of the cool, blond Claire (16-year-old Beatrice Romand). Raising sensuality to a near spiritual quest, Rohmer's study in temptation is told with great charm and ravishing cinematography by Nestor Almendros. "So funny and so moving, so immaculately realized, that almost any ordinary attempt to describe it must, I think, in some way diminish it." -Vincent Canby, THE NEW YORK TIMES. Voted Best Picture of the Year — National Society of Film Critics. (103 mins.)

MARCH 24 25 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MORAL TALE VI
CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON
FRANCE 1972
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The last of Rohmer's "Moral Tales" follows Frederic (Bernard Verley), a Parisian businessman whose suburban lifestyle is about to unravel. "Once a roue, the hero is now happily married, though tormented by his insatiable desire for women around him. (In a famous dream sequence, the women from the previous 'Moral Tales' appear to tempt him away from martial fidelity.) The squeamish husband meets his match in Chloe (Zouzou), the former mistress of a friend. Promiscuous, volatile, charmingly unconventional, Chloe threatens to destroy his marriage. Celebrated for its stinging insights into bourgeois propriety and for cinematographer Nestor Almendros' rapturous portrait of Paris."—James Quandt. (97 mins.)

MARCH 29 30 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
THE MARQUISE OF O
FRANCE/GERMANY 1974
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The conflict between passions and principles is an underlying theme that runs throughout Rohmer's work and in this comedy of manners the ever-present struggle is played out with delicious wit and irony. As an Italian citadel falls during the Napoleonic wars, the governor's daughter (Edith Clever) is saved from rape by a Russian officer (Bruno Ganz), but she still finds herself pregnant. Rohmer's only film in another language, first period work, and first adaptation (from Heinrich von Kleist's 1808 novella) is a major change of pace following the conclusion of the 'Moral Tales.' "It wasn't simply the action I was drawn to, but the text. I didn't want to merely translate it into images. I wanted to use the text as if Kleist himself had put it on the screen."— Eric Rohmer. Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival. (102 mins.)

MARCH 31 APRIL 1 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES AND PROVERBS I
THE AVIATOR’S WIFE
FRANCE 1980
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER One can't think of nothing. “The first of Rohmer's series of 'Comedies and Proverbs' is a return to the familiar territory of intimate human relationships after his excursions into history with THE MARQUISE OF O. Aggressively passive law student Philipe Marlaud, obsessed with a slightly older woman, spots her fly-boy lover exiting her apartment at 7 a.m. and trails him all over Paris as misconceptions multiply, eventually accompanied by playing-along-for-fun teenage Anne-Laure Meury.—Michael Jeck. "An exquisite toast to the dizzying uncertainties of romance." —David Denby, NEW YORK MAGAZINE. (104 mins.)

APRIL 5 6 THU 7:30 P.M. FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
COMEDIES & PROVERBS II
LE BEAU MARRIAGE
FRANCE 1981
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Who wanders the countryside builds castles in Spain. Rohmer's astute comedy follows a young art student from the provinces (Beatrice Romand, the "ugly duckling" from Claire's Knee) who is obsessed with the pursuit of a middle-aged lawyer who doesn't love her. As the young woman shuttles between Le Mans and Paris, chattering relentlessly with her best friend (Arielle Dombasle) about the love of her life, the film turns into a mortifying examination of self-delusion. "Rohmer's sunniest, funniest, warmest and wisest film."—Jack Kroll, NEWSWEEK. (97 mins.)

APRIL 7 8 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES & PROVERBS III
PAULINE AT THE BEACH
FRANCE 1982
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER A wagging tongue bites itself. As close as Rohmer comes to the structure of classic French farce, PAULINE AT THE BEACH sets into motion a roundelay of lovers who spend late summer in a Normandy resort misunderstanding each other's desires and motives. The Pauline of the title is a pubescent girl who gains a sentimental and sexual education by watching the seductions of the sextet of adults around her, including her glamorous cousin who wants to “burn of love.” The algebraic precision with which Rohmer charts their flirtations, betrayals and disputes it offset by the film's eroticism and its halcyon summer setting. "A refreshingly cool entertainment, rigorous, controlled, yet also profoundly passionate."—Andrew Sarris, THE VILLAGE VOICE. (95 mins.)

APRIL 12 13 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES & PROVERBS IV
FULL MOON IN PARIS
FRANCE 1984
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER He who has two women loses his soul. He who has two houses loses his mind. A young designer (Pascal Ogier, winner of the Best Actress Award, Venice Film Festival for her performance) is in a quagmire. She's living with her boyfriend in the suburbs, but seeks a more exciting life. Finding a small apartment in Paris proper is one way to ward off the daily boredom of her relationship, but the results prove disastrous. Rohmer, again capturing the little moments, which comprise a life, has created a detailed and revealing portrait of a woman who wants it all. "A comedie du bonheur, acute, but delicate like a Mozart sonata." —Claude Baigners, LE FIGARO. (102 mins.)

APRIL 14 15 sat 7 P.M., sun 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES & PROVERBS V
SUMMER
FRANCE 1985
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Ah! That times come where hearts fall in love. Shot in the Swiss Alps, Biarritz and the Canary Islands, SUMMER is one of the series’ most illuminating chapters. The story of Delphine (Marie Riviere), a bright and vulnerable young Parisian secretary whose vacation plans go awry after her girlfriend decides not to go, is a richly textured exploration of the search for romance. Rohmer captures each nuance of the self-absorbed Delphine, whose yearnings have difficulty surfacing. A bittersweet comedy, this personal odyssey moves from loneliness and desperation to one of the cinema's most magical experiences as Delphine sees the fabled ‘rayon vert’?the green ray at sunset?referred to in a Jules Verne tale. “Exquisite...a movie of uncommon sensitivity and emotional reserves” - Vincent Canby, THE NEW YORK TIMES. (96 mins.)

APRIL 19 20 THU 8 P.M., FRI 8 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
COMEDIES & PROVERBS VI
BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS
FRANCE 1987
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The friends of my friends are my friends. “Charming and disarming, this elegant romantic comedy focuses on a quartet of attractive young people — a civil servant, a computer programmer, a sports designer, and civil engineer-—who live in the Cergy-Pontoise suburb of Paris, a pristine housing development of Mondrian minimalism. As is usual with Rohmer's late explorations of romantic preoccupation, the four do an elaborate minuet of misunderstanding, their affections and allegiances constantly shifting until each ends up with the 'right' partner. Filled with enchanting cafe conversations about affairs of the heart and with great jokes about architecture and ensembles of color-coded clothing, BOYFRIENDS AND is as rigorous as it is gossamer.” —James Quandt. “Utterly charming...one of the most blissfully relaxed romantic comedies ever made.”—THE WASHINGTON POST. (102 mins.)

APRIL 21 22 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
FOUR ADVENTURES OF REINETTE AND MIRABELLE
FRANCE 1987
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Imbued with youthful energy, Rohmer’s improvisational quartet of stories follows Mirabelle (Jessica Forde), a student of ethnology at the Sorbonne, and her growing friendship with Reinette (Joelle Miquel), a country girl of certain virture. Becoming roommates in Paris, the two are involved in a series of escapades that grow more comical as they take on a snotty waiter, shoplifters, beggars and the hustling of art. Told with a slice-of-life quality and featuring two excellent performances, Rohmer succeeds in his goal “to return to my roots and to the tone of the first short films that we shot, Rivette, Truffaut, Godard and myself.” “ It’s all inescapably French (in the best sense) and concerned with the joys of not only good conversation but of seeing.”—TIME OUT (96mins.)

APRIL 26 27 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 p.m.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS I
A TALE OF SPRINGTIME
FRANCE 1989
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER "Inaugurating Rohmer’s newest cycle of films, A TALE OF SPRINGTIME follows Natacha, an 18-year-old pianist who has talent for music but not for life. She decides that her father, on whom she dotes, should drop his current mistress for another woman, Jeanne, a philosophy teacher whom Natacha adores. The domineering and capricious teenager plots to convince her father that he really belongs with Jeanne, and her stratagems are played out in a series of rendezvous and dinner parties in which philosophical jousting is barely disguised as a form of amorous competition. One of Rohmer's most refined and delightful films, SPRINGTIME offers a panoply of pleasures: music by Beethoven and Schumann, deluxe Paris apartments and French country houses, engrossing chat about Kant and Aristotle, lovely ensemble acting and—as always with late Rohmer—editing and photography of unerring elegance and precision."—James Quandt. (110 mins.)

APRIL 28 29 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS II
A TALE OF WINTER
FRANCE 1991
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The complexities of the human heart are illuminated in spellbinding fashion. Felicie (Charlotte Very, ARIA, BLUE), a hairdresser summer vacationing along the Brittany Coast with a new lover, mistakenly gives him the wrong address of her Parisian flat at the conclusion of their brief time together. Though she has other men in her life, her boss at the hairdressing salon and an all-too-cerebral librarian, it is this man on the beach who is her true love (and the man who has left her pregnant). An engrossing look in to the themes of destiny and reconciliation, A TALE OF WINTER is one season to cherish. (114 mins.)

MAY 3 4 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS
FRANCE 1995
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Three separate tales about the bumpy course of young love, each is centered on questions of chance and timing, each capped by a lightly ironic twist. In "The 7 O'Clock Rendezvous", a stolen wallet, a chance acquaintance, and rumors about a philandering boyfriend bring a voluble female law student to a fateful cafe appointment. In "The Benches of Paris," an earnest intellectual's elusive girlfriend refuses to meet him indoors, so they confine themselves to chilly outdoor trysts that provide a Cook's Tour of the city's parks. In "Mother and Child, 1907," a struggling painter takes a visiting Swede to the Picasso Museum, where he clumsily ditches her for a beautiful stranger. The most important aspect of the film, however, is Paris itself, portrayed with an affectionate intimacy that sardonically acknowledges its durable cliche's while also seeking out its more overlooked and intriguing concerns. (100 mins.)

MAY 5 6 SAT 7 P.M., SuN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
TALES OF THE FOUR SEASON’S III
A SUMMER’S TALE
FRANCE 1996
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The third installment of "Tales of Four Seasons" offers a vivid and witty scrutiny of French society and adolescent love. Dinard is a seaside resort in Brittany famous for its grand houses and ocean breezes. Gaspard has come to the beach to rendezvous with his girlfriend Lena, but while waiting he attracts the attention of two other young women. Though he presents himself as fate's plaything, we watch his growing determination to master the romantic opportunities presented to him. In dividing his attention between the two women, he seeks refuge, advice and friendship from the funny, academic Margot, while flirting with the sultry, disco-diva Solene. Being neither particularly adept at the art of seduction nor sure of what he really wants, Gaspard finds himself boxed into a predicament of his own making: he has soon invited all three women—Lena appears days later without warning—on a side trip to Quessant. (113 mins.)

MAY 11 12 FRI 7:30 P.M., SAT 7:30 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS IV
AUTUMN TALE
FRANCE 1998
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER “Rohmer brings his “Seasons" series to a close with a warm, contemplative comedy that looks back at his own career. Two actresses who have grown up in Rohmer's films—Marie Riviere (A SUMMER TALE) and Beatrice Romand (LE BEAU MARRIAGE)—are cast as lifelong friends who find them selves slipping into middle age. Romand is a forty-something widow with two grown children who manages her own vineyard in the Rhone Valley. The contentedly married, city-dwelling Riviere decides that her best friend's life won't be complete until she finds a man, and sets out to land one for her. A marvelous Rohmer roundelay of mistaken identities and misread motives ensues as Riviere finds herself falling for the handsome salesman she's recruited for her friend, and Romand feels drawn to the Don Juanish professor her son's girlfriend has exhumed for her. As always, the pleasure of Rohmer's filmmaking lies in the contrast between the geometrical certainties of his plotting and the unpredictable emotions of his characters. The autumnal atmosphere culminates in an outdoor wedding, a swirling celebration that seems to promise ultimate happiness for all Rohmer's characters, past and future.”—Dave Kehr (110 mins.)
TO TOP

VISIONS OF TIBET In conjunction with May’s Tibetan Arts and Culture Festival, held in celebration of the 14th Dalai Lama’s visit to Portland May 13-15, we are pleased to present a selection of films providing insight into the rich traditions of Tibetan culture and the efforts to preserve it. A complete schedule of the numerous events taking place in the community can be obtained from the Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, host to the Festival and visit, (503) 222-7172, www.nwtca.org.

MAY 10 THU 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
PORTLAND PREMIERE
CARAVAN
NEPAL/FRANCE 1999
DIRECTOR: ERIC VALLI One of last year’s submissions for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, CARAVAN is a spectacular mythic journey. Set in the Mountains of Nepal and Tibet in a timeless past, a small band of villagers must cross the highest mountains on earth to trade salt for their year’s supply of grain. Needing to beat the first storms of winter and negotiate the treacherous passes, the journey requires the steady, almost mystical powers of an experienced leader to guide the expedition to safety. When the son, and successor, of the village’s former trek leader falls from the mountain, the old chief is called on to guide the caravan. Now elderly and perhaps too weak, a younger, inexperienced man challenges his ability to lead. In who shall the villagers put their faith? Though he hasn’t the strength of his rival, the old chief can better read the skies and mountains, but can he make the crossing? A vivid, richly costumed portrait of centuries-old life at the top of the world, CARAVAN is a gripping drama and breathtaking journey. (110 mins.)
Special thanks to KINO International and Cinema 21 for this premiere screening. Special Admission: $8.
FOLLOWED BY
CARAVAN: THE MAKING OF
NEPAL/FRANCE 2000
DIRECTOR: DEBRA KELLNER Making CARAVAN, high in the Himalayas, was almost as daring a struggle with nature as the story it depicted. Kellner and producer Eric Valli take us behind the (stunning) scenes. (30mins.) Tonight’s film is co-sponsored by the Oregon Consortium of Asian Studies, which will lead a post-film discussion, supported by the ford foundation.

MAY 11 FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
PORTLAND PREMIERE
IN SEARCH OF KUNDUN
US 1998
DIRECTOR: MICHAEL WILSON Wilson’s (A PERSONAL JOURNEY WITH MARTIN SCORSESE) illuminating film provides revealing glimpses of two very different personalities: Martin Scorsese, the passionate, detail focused director of KUNDUN and the somewhat more meditative Dalai Lama, on whose boyhood life the film was based. In addition to inter cutting Scorsese on location with his Tibetan cast (in Morocco, where the film was shot) with the Dalai Lama reminiscing about the events of his youth being depicted, we see footage of pre-exile Tibet, the Dalai Lama’s historic visit with Chairman Mao and scenes from older cinematic depictions of Himalayan culture such as STORM OVER TIBET (1952). At once a portrait of the rich culture of Tibet and the complications of translating a moving story into film, IN SEARCH OF KUNDUN provides an eloquent plea for a culture in danger of extinction and testimony to the profound spiritual power of the Dalai Lama. (84 mins.)
PRECEDED BY
TASHI JONG
US 1999
DIRECTOR: BARBARA GREEN India is home to many Tibetan refugee communities keeping alive their culture for the day they might return home. Tashi Kong was one of the first, established by the renowned spiritual teacher the 8th Khamtrul Rinpoche. Interweaving the everyday rhythms and activities at Tashi Jong with elaborate monastic rituals and sacred lama dancing, Green captures the indomitable spirit of a community in exile and in hope. (45 mins.)

MAY 12 SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
THE CUP
BHUTAN 1999
DIRECTOR: KHYENTSE NORBU This gentle, captivating film about World Cup soccer fever among Tibetan boy monks has an equally marvelous offscreen story: it's based in fact, feature a cast of real-life monks and marks the debut of a Bhutanese director recognized as the reincarnated lama of Tibetan Buddhism. Two young refugees from Chinese-occupied Tibet arrive at a Tibetan monastery-in-exile in the Indian foothills of the Himalayas. There they fall in with a group of soccer-mad monks, led by the intrepid 14-year-old Orgyen whose worship is decidedly for Brazilian star forward Ronaldo. As the clock ticks away—what will the boys do to be able to watch the World Cup final on TV?—the film irreverently touches upon some serious questions about exile, cultural identity and spiritual renewal, scoring as a Buddhist parable for modern times. Norbu's film, made after apprenticing with Bernardo Bertolucci on Little Buddah was Bhutan's was submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. In Tibetan. (93 mins.)
Preceded by
SATYA: A PRAYER
FOR THE ENEMY
US 1993
DIRECTOR: ELLEN BRUNO As poetic as it is thoughtful, Ellen Bruno’s SATYA explores the plight of Tibetan refugees forced into exile by China since 1949. First-person accounts by Buddhist nuns combine with one captivating image after another to contrast the peaceful customs and traditions of a people that face unwarranted hardships. Besides indoctrination through books and propaganda films, imprisonment, forced sterilization and disappearances are a few of the civil rights violations facing those who call for freedom and independence. The personal testimonies and arresting images Bruno has recorded will leave no one unmoved. (28 mins.)

MAY 13 SUN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
THE REINCARNATION
OF KHENSUR RINPOCHE
BRITAIN 1991
DIRECTORS: TENZING SONAM, RITU SARIN "When he comes, he'll be a child and have to be looked after," muses Choenzey Samdub about the reincarnation of his mentor, Khensur Rinpoche, a revered Tibetan monk who died in exile in Southern India. Samdub, having devoted himself to Khensur Rinpoche in life, following his death searches and waits for signs of his reincarnation. When a three-year-old boy in Tibet reportedly shows extraordinary qualities, Samdub consults with the Dalai Lama and embarks on a daring trip into Chinese-occupied Tibet to bring the boy out. Thus begins a tender relationship between Samdub and the boy who was once a father to him. A fascinating and warm look at a life of devotion and the continuity of Tibetan culture in exile. (62 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

SUN 8:15 P.M.
HORSE THIEF
CHINA 1986
DIRECTOR: TIAN ZUANGZHUANG Zuangzhuang’s (THE BLUE KITE, YELLOW EARTH) HORSE THIEF is an evocative and dazzling journey into mystical Tibetan customs and rituals. Set in 1923, the story, unfolding almost without dialogue, follows Norbu, a poor shepherd struggling to support a wife and son. Driven to petty crimes, he ultimately steals one of the temple’s horses and is banished from his tribe into the harsh landscape. He repents, but the bitter Tibetan winter drives him to steal again. “A dazzling visual feast, ablaze with the brilliant color of Buddhist rituals.”—Judy Stone, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. “The Best Film of the Decade.”—Martin Scorsese. (88 mins.)

TO TOP

VISITING ARTISTS + SPECIAL SCREENINGS

MARCH 17 FRI 7:30 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
NW TRACKING —VISITING ARTISTS
LOVE & LOATHING IN VANCOUVER B.C.—QUEER VIDEOS ABOUT LOVE
& OTHER PAINS
CANADA1976-2000
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS Tonight we join forces with Sensory Perceptions (producer of Portland’s Gay & Lesbian Film Festival) for an evening of shorts selected by Wayne Yung. Exploring issues on the cutting edge of gender theory, these videos reflect a diversity of queer experience that includes addictions, obsessions, alienation, racism, romance, friends, family, idealism, and defiance. More than just entertaining and challenging, these works inspire new voices to tell their own stories, whatever they may be. Included in the program are works by Gordon Wong, Terra Poirier, Velveeta Krisp, Karen Earl, Wayne Yung, Thirza Cuthand, Nikola Marin, Paul Wong and Winston Xin, all of whom will be in attendance. Admission limited to those 18 or over. (2 hrs.)

APRIL 1 SUN PART I 4:30 PART II 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
WARNER BROTHERS CARTOON CLASSICS
Today we welcome Portland cartoon aficionados Ivan, John and Matt Gold for a two-part celebration of classic cartoons from the Warner Brothers studios. “In 1930, with staff that had left Walt Disney, Leon Schlesinger started a cartoon studio and produced “Looney Tunes” cartoons for Warner Brothers. Most were insipid copies of Disney’s work, primarily “fill-in” between double features. But, Fred “Tex” Avery went to work for Warner, who assigned him to Schlesinger. Starting with the first production, “Gold Diggers of ’49,” (1936) Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Frits Freling, Bob Clampett and the other animators, directors, and composers produced new, definitively American, funny cartoons. Fifty years later, the best are still great.” Part I, (4:30-6 pm) features the three greats: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. Part II (7 p.m.) focuses on the “oddball” stars: Spike; Madison J. Frog; Foghorn Leghorn; the Tasmanian Devil and more.

APRIL 11 12 WED 7:30 P.M., THU 7:30 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
BEST OF THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL
ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2000
Founded in 1976, the OIAF is, with the Annecy Animation Festival, one of the two most prestigious animation showcases in the world. Featuring cutting edge work by the masters of the form, each Festival offers up a treasure trove of work in all styles and techniques—from the auteurs to burning new talents. Festival director Chris Robinson has assembled this hand-picked program of prize winners and critical favorites from this past September’s event, a special treat for animation lovers of all persuasions. The program includes: YOUR CHOICE, Koji Yamamura; RING OF FIRE, Andreas Hykade (Grand Prize); FATHER AND DAUGHTER, Michael Dudok De Wit (Audience Prize); FISHING (David Gainey); FLYING NANSEN, (Igor Kovalyov); ON THE POSSIBILITY OF LOVE, Janno Poldma; GRACE, Lorelei Pepi; THE PERIWIG MAKER, Steffan Schaeffler; DRAWN FROM MEMORY, Paul Fierlinger; ROMANOV, Chris Lanier; THE MESSAGE, Raimud Krumme; THE HAT, Michele Cournyer; THE MAN WITH THE BEAUTIFUL EYES, Jonathan Hodgson; and JUBILEE, Koji Yamamura. (100 mins.)

APRIL 13 FRI 7:30 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
VISITING ARTIST
AN EVENING WITH
ELISABETH SUBRIN
Elisabeth Subrin’s provocative work examines the intersections of history and subjectivity within female biography. Engaging conventions of documentary and personal narrative, her works strategicly undermine their own forms, shifting historical periods, genres and identifications to explore the residual impact of feminism and the hazy boundaries between fiction and nonfiction. Tonight she will screen SWALLOW (1995), a mixed media collage which in often humorous fashion examines the possibility that depression and anorexia are language disorders, SHULIE (1997), a fictional “remake” of a documentary portrait made in 1967 of a then unknown young woman (Shulamith Firestone) who later emerged as author of the ground-breaking text “The Dialectic of sex: the Case for Feminist Revolution;” and THE FANCY (2000), a speculative visual essay that explores the life of artist Francesca Woodman (1958 -1981) as evoked in the published catalogues of and about her photographs. (2 hrs)

APRIL 17 TUE 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
2000 STUDENT ACADEMY
AWARDS JURYING
Tonight the Film Center hosts the regional finals of the 28th Annual Student Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Cheer and jeer (quietly of course) alongside the jurors as they view the top entries from film school students in nine western states, selecting the best animation, documentary, dramatic and alternative films, which will be forwarded to Los Angeles for the final national competition in May.
Free Admission.

APRIL 20 FRI 8 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
NW TRACKING —VISITING ARTIST
CHIEF SEATTLE
US 2001
DIRECTOR: B.J. BULLERT CHIEF SEATTLE brings to life a mysterious figure—half myth, half reality—the legendary native leader who welcomed the Americans to settle on the land that now bears his name. Recounting a remarkable life of spiritual, military and political leadership, Bullert’s journey traces Seattle’s era (1780’s-1866), a period of cataclysmic change for the First people of Puget Sound. Seattle’s story serves as a window into a hidden history of the Duwamish people — from decimating epidemics to devastating displacement. Incorporating excerpts from his speeches, remarks recorded by explorers and Indian agents of the time and vintage photographs, a fascinating and moving chapter of regional history comes to life.
(60 mins.) B.J. Bullert in attendance.

APRIL 21 SAT 7:30 p.m.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
VISITING ARTIST
WOMEN OF MYSTERY:
THREE WRITERS WHO FOREVER CHANGED DETECTIVE FICTION
US 2000
DIRECTOR: PAMELA BEERE BRIGGS “Briggs’ documentary is anchored by the personal perspectives of three of detective fiction’s leading female novelists: Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller and Sara Paretsky. Each delivers an absorbing look into their individual methods of research, inspiration and even a few cathartic hobbies. The authors are candid and revealing on issues of truthfulness and use the emotions of their characters to stir readers into reflecting on their own fears and instincts. Briggs also includes a well-charted history of women and women’s roles in the genre, beginning with the passive, victimized heroines of the 18th and 19th century gothic novels and moving forward to their antitheses, the powerful, scheming firebrands of sensational fiction who would thwart the restrictions of society at any cost. And we mustn’t forget preternaturally perfect gumshoe Nancy Drew.”—Nicole Campos, LA WEEKLY. (53 mins.) Pamela Briggs in attendance.

APRIL 26 THU 7:30 p.m.
GUILD THEATRE
OPEN SCREENING
Regional film and video makers are invited to bring or send work for open screening. Admission is free and there is no charge to show work. To confirm a place in the program and insure we have the equipment you require, please call (503) 276-4259.
Free admission.PLEASE HAVE YOUR WORKS DELIVERED TO THE FILM CENTER by APRIL 20.

APRIL 27 FRI 8 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE — VISITING ARTIST
ASTRIA SUPAREK PRESENTS
THE NEW ROMANTICS/T.V.SOUNDS
Tonight we welcome New York City independent curator Astria Suparek with a program of new experimental film, video and audio compositions programmed for this year’s New York Independent Film Festival. Surveying the terrain between body/performance art and minimalism, Suparek posits: “Choose one: A.) Gary Numan, B.) Barnett Newman, or C.) Bruce Nauman. Can you turn me on, with your mundanity, blurry eyes, Midwestern thighs? You are lo fi and all flesh, a flurry of dispassion and slow jams. Where are your emotions, your tai chi, my climax? Modern Love is Automatic, baby.” Featuring work by Cheryl Weaver, Kirsten Stolmann, Zakery Weiss, Karen Yasinsky, Tony Conrad, Guy Sherwin, Seth Price, Stephanie Barber, Naomi Uman and Brian Fry. (90 mins.) ASTRIA SUPAREK in attendance

MAY 4 FRI 7:30 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
NW TRACKING —VISITING ARTIST
AN EVENING WITH BRUCE BICKFORD
Seattle animator Bruce Bickford’s surreal vision has emerged in a singular body of personal films produced since the early 1970s. Ranging from collaborative projects with musician/ filmmaker Frank Zappa (Bickford’s work is the highlight of BABY SNAKES, 1979) to his classic PROMETHEUS GARDEN (1988), a Bosch-like nightmare set in the Garden of Eden, to his most recent BOAR’S HEAD (2000), a highlight of this year’s 27th Northwest Film & Video Festival, Bickford infuses his projects with a frenzied energy that is truly unique. Tonight Bickford will screen selections of his amazing clay animations, more recent drawn animation experiments and show slides of an animation studio unlike any other. (90 mins.)

MAY 5 SAT 7:30 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
VISITING ARTIST
THE CONEY ISLAND OF LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI
US 1996
DIRECTOR: CHRIS FELVER Tonight we welcome San Francisco Filmmaker and photographer Chris Felver for a screening of a sampling of his engaging winning films celebrating the spirit of the avant garde and artists who in Felver’s words have “taken a stand.” His portrait of poet, painter and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti opens with the ineffable anarchist cycling through San Francisco to his famous City Lights Bookstore. We follow him on the road to his Big Sur retreat and studio, on to a New York opening and back home for his 75th birthday. (58 mins.) WITH: JOHN CAGE TALKS ABOUT COWS (1987), in which Cage discusses his art and music; HUM BOM (1999), a short collage of Allen Ginsberg’s reading of his poem; and TIMING IS EVERYTHING (2000), a split screen juxtaposition of the musical expressionism of Cecil Taylor and the zen like concentration of Tiger Woods, mediated by the devoted Violet.

MAY 18 19 FRI 8 P.M., SAT 8 p.m.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
THE 39th ANNUAL
ANN ARBOR FILM
FESTIVAL TOUR
The Film Center is pleased to present the best of the 39TH ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL, one of the oldest and most respected festivals celebrating American and international independent and experimental cinema. From animation to the avant garde, the ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL is the only festival in the nation devoted solely to short works originating in 16mm. This year’s winners are still being decided as we go to press, but the tour promises to boast a diverse selection of the celebrated and the unknown. (2 hrs.)

MAY 19 SAT 7:30 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
NW TRACKING—VISITING ARTIST
ON AND OFF THE RES’ W/CHARLIE HILL
US 2000
DIRECTOR: SANDY OSAWA Tonight we welcome Seattle filmmaker Sandy Osawa (PEPPER’S POW WOW, LIGHTING THE 7TH FIRE, IN THE HEART OF BIG MOUNTAIN) for a screening of her wonderful new portrait of America’s foremost Native American comedian. Charlie Hill, an Oneida from Wisconsin, has used his piercing satirical humor to debunk stereotypes of Native Americans and offer wry and insightful commentary on America’s history of racism and oppression of minorities. Drawing on a range of influences, from Sioux author and scholar Vine Deloria, Jr., and Native American humorist Will Rogers, to comedian Richard Pryor, Hill’s art is testament to the power of humor to inspire thought as well as laughter. (57 mins.) Sandy Osawa in attendance.

MAY 24 THU 8 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
NW TRACKING —VISITING ARTIST
AN EVENING WITH MATT MCCORMICK
Portland filmmaker Matt McCormick’s periodic “Peripheral Produce” screenings have introduced a whole new audience in Portland to experimental film and video while showcasing a diverse range of emerging artists from throughout the country. Somewhat obscured in his lively curating is his own growing body of work, which combines found and original sounds an images to fashion abstract and witty observations of contemporary culture. Tonight McCormick will screen a selection of his multi-award-winning work, including THE SUBCONSCIOUS ART OF GRAFFITI REMOVAL (2001), a keen observation of how the process of destroying one art unwittingly creates another; SINCERELY, JOE P. BEAR (1999), a mixed-media ode to a Polar Bear with a broken heart; THE VYROTONIN DECISION…(1999), a hand-made post-modern disaster epic than mocks the pretension of mass entertainment(s); and various surprises old and new. (80 mins.)

COMING MAY 25-27:
AGNES VARDA’S
THE GLEANERS AND I

TO TOP
 
 

MARCH 16 17 FRI 7 P.M., SAT 7 P.M.
FRI: GUILD THEATRE SAT: WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MORAL TALES I & II
THE GIRL FROM THE MONCEAU BAKERY
FRANCE 1962
SUZANNE’S CAREER
FRANCE 1963
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Rohmer’s “Moral Tales” series began with these two shorts. Both are stories of choices, made or not, narrated by young men who spend a lot of time pondering what to do about the women in their lives, only to find that all their pondering is pointless. Theses charming black-and-white films (shot on 16mm) serve as miniature precursors of Rohmer's later classics and show that his signature style was already formed by the early 60's. (26 mins. and 52 mins.)
DOUBLE FEATURE
FRI 8:30 P.M., SAT 8:30 P.M.
MORAL TALE III
MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S
FRANCE 1969
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER “Voted the best foreign film of the Seventies by an international poll of film critics, MY NIGHT AT MAUD’S is the centerpiece of Rohmer's 'Moral Tales' and the film that catapulted him to international fame. Over the Christmas season, a deeply committed Catholic is torn between a blonde woman he sees at church and the vivacious, intellectual (and dark) Maud— a choice that for him becomes a test of Pascal's theory of free will and chance. Jean-Louis Trintignant's night at Maud's features one of the most engrossing conversations in all cinema. A witty, literate transformation of erotic possibility into spiritual quandary, the film also stars Marie-Chrisine Barrault and Franciose Fabian."—James Quandt, Cinematheque Ontario. (105 mins.)

MARCH 17 FRI 7:30 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
NW TRACKING —VISITING ARTISTS
LOVE & LOATHING IN VANCOUVER B.C.—QUEER VIDEOS ABOUT LOVE
& OTHER PAINS
CANADA1976-2000
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS Tonight we join forces with Sensory Perceptions (producer of Portland’s Gay & Lesbian Film Festival) for an evening of shorts selected by Wayne Yung. Exploring issues on the cutting edge of gender theory, these videos reflect a diversity of queer experience that includes addictions, obsessions, alienation, racism, romance, friends, family, idealism, and defiance. More than just entertaining and challenging, these works inspire new voices to tell their own stories, whatever they may be. Included in the program are works by Gordon Wong, Terra Poirier, Velveeta Krisp, Karen Earl, Wayne Yung, Thirza Cuthand, Nikola Marin, Paul Wong and Winston Xin, all of whom will be in attendance. Admission limited to those 18 or over. (2 hrs.)

MARCH 18 19 SUN 7 P.M., MON 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
MORAL TALE IV
LA COLLECTIONEUSE
FRANCE 1967
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER "Summer at a villa near Saint Tropez, and nymphet Haydee adds a new item to her 'collection' every night, including non-painting painter Daniel Pommereulle. But, sometime antique dealer Patrick Bachau is wary of becoming another notch on the gun. Rohmer's first work in color features shimmering summertime photography by Nestor Almendros."—Michael Jeck, AFI. “A classic menage a trios, Rohmer delivers equal doses of eroticism and morality in a work reminiscent of DANGEROUS LIASONS and the writings of Nabokov…wryly and delightfully witty." — TIME OUT. (88 mins.)

MARCH 22 23 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
ERIC ROHMER
MORAL TALE V
CLAIRE'S KNEE
FRANCE 1970
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Tending to deal less with what people actually do, but more with what goes on in their minds, Rohmer's fifth "Moral Tale" is an exquisitely constructed film on sensual obsession. The soon-to-be-married Jerome (Jean-Claude Brialy), a French diplomat vacationing without his fiancée at a lakeside resort near the Swiss border, becomes enamoured with two teenage girls and fixates on his yearning to caress the knee of the cool, blond Claire (16-year-old Beatrice Romand). Raising sensuality to a near spiritual quest, Rohmer's study in temptation is told with great charm and ravishing cinematography by Nestor Almendros. "So funny and so moving, so immaculately realized, that almost any ordinary attempt to describe it must, I think, in some way diminish it." -Vincent Canby, THE NEW YORK TIMES. Voted Best Picture of the Year — National Society of Film Critics. (103 mins.)
MARCH 23 FRI 7 & 9 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
BLACK LIZARD
Japan 1967
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    Shy, stubborn detective Akechi (Isao Kimura) descends down a rabbit hole of psychedelic depravity in his quest for super female jewel thief Black Lizard (played by famous drag star Akihiro Maruyama). A swirling comic book miasma of decadent happenings and modern fairytale tableaux, with a brief appearance by legendary novelist Yukio Mishima. With Ko Nishimura, Kikko Matsuoka, Yusuke Kawazu.   (87 mins.)

MARCH 24  SAT 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
BATTLES WITHOUT
HONOR AND HUMANITY
Japan 1973
Director: Kinji Fukasaku     Forget  RESERVOIR DOGS, forget A BETTER TOMORROW and every other ultra-violent gangster flick you've ever seen. BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR & HUMANITY is an absolute chaos of beatings, shootings and stabbings, set amongst the post-war yakuza mobs in Hiroshima - Bunta Sugawara stars as the film's homicidal hero, a yakuza thug with an extremely short temper. A 1990 Japanese critics' poll voted this one of the 20 Best Japanese Movies of All Time. With Tatsuo Umemiya, Hiroki  Matsukata.
 

MARCH 24 25 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
ERIC ROHMER
MORAL TALE VI
CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON
FRANCE 1972
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The last of Rohmer's "Moral Tales" follows Frederic (Bernard Verley), a Parisian businessman whose suburban lifestyle is about to unravel. "Once a roue, the hero is now happily married, though tormented by his insatiable desire for women around him. (In a famous dream sequence, the women from the previous 'Moral Tales' appear to tempt him away from martial fidelity.) The squeamish husband meets his match in Chloe (Zouzou), the former mistress of a friend. Promiscuous, volatile, charmingly unconventional, Chloe threatens to destroy his marriage. Celebrated for its stinging insights into bourgeois propriety and for cinematographer Nestor Almendros' rapturous portrait of Paris."—James Quandt. (97 mins.)

MARCH 29 30 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
THE MARQUISE OF O
FRANCE/GERMANY 1974
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The conflict between passions and principles is an underlying theme that runs throughout Rohmer's work and in this comedy of manners the ever-present struggle is played out with delicious wit and irony. As an Italian citadel falls during the Napoleonic wars, the governor's daughter (Edith Clever) is saved from rape by a Russian officer (Bruno Ganz), but she still finds herself pregnant. Rohmer's only film in another language, first period work, and first adaptation (from Heinrich von Kleist's 1808 novella) is a major change of pace following the conclusion of the 'Moral Tales.' "It wasn't simply the action I was drawn to, but the text. I didn't want to merely translate it into images. I wanted to use the text as if Kleist himself had put it on the screen."— Eric Rohmer. Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival. (102 mins.)

MARCH 30   FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
UNDER THE FLUTTERING
MILITARY FLAG aka
UNDER THE FLAG OF THE RISING SUN
JAPAN 1972
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    World War II widow Sachiko Hidari pieces together the Rashomon-style puzzle of her soldier husband Tetsuro Tanba's fate through a maze of bureaucracy and the contradictory recollections of his surviving comrades. What emerges is a Catch- 22 struggle against madness, as she discovers that Tanba had been executed for killing his insanely violent commanding officer (Shinjiro Ebara). This scathing anti-war indictment was co-written by Kaneto Shindo (ONI BABA) and is one of Fukasaku's personal favorites.    (96 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

FRI 8:50 P.M.
MODERN YAKUZA - OUTLAW KILLER
JAPAN 1972
DIRECTOR:KINJI FUKASAKU   Arrogant wannabe Bunta Sugawara tries to barnstorm his way out of the gutter into the bigger rackets, only to be beaten down by the established gang. Boss Noboru Ando, who remembers what it was like to be down-and-out, is fond of Sugawara despite his big mouth. But Sugawara's dissolute lifestyle, murderously jealous girl (Mayumi Nagisa in a bravura performance) and messed-up pals prove his undoing. Nothing can stop the death dealing that ensues in this gonzo classic, in what amounts to a dry run for GRAVEYARD OF HONOR & HUMANITY.   (90 mins.)
 

MARCH 31  SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
GRAVEYARD OF HONOR AND HUMANITY
JAPAN 1975
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU   If there's anything more insane and more perverse than BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY - this is it. Sociopathic loser Tetsuya Watari can't seem to get along with his yakuza pals (maybe it's those American sunglasses he's always wearing). His life becomes an uncontrollable spiral of mindless violence, heroin addiction, tuberculosis, sleazy sex and worse - climaxing with him eating his girlfriend's ashes! With Tatsuo Umemiya, Yumi Takigawa (SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEASTS), Noboru Ando.  (94 mins.)
DOUBLE FEATURE
SAT 8:50 P.M.
STATE POLICE VS. ORGANIZED
aka COPS VS. THUGS
JAPAN 1975
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUKASAKU   Live-and-let-live cop Bunta Sugawara has his friendship with yakuza drinking buddy Hiroki Matsukata destroyed by internecine gang warfare and the intervention of supervisor Tatsuo Umemiya, an anti-corruption crusader and former gangster. A searingly unsentimental, realistic dissection of the strange symbiosis of Japan's law enforcement and yakuza underworld.  (90 mins.)

MARCH 31 APRIL 1 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES AND PROVERBS I
THE AVIATOR’S WIFE
FRANCE 1980
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER One can't think of nothing. “The first of Rohmer's series of 'Comedies and Proverbs' is a return to the familiar territory of intimate human relationships after his excursions into history with THE MARQUISE OF O. Aggressively passive law student Philipe Marlaud, obsessed with a slightly older woman, spots her fly-boy lover exiting her apartment at 7 a.m. and trails him all over Paris as misconceptions multiply, eventually accompanied by playing-along-for-fun teenage Anne-Laure Meury.—Michael Jeck. "An exquisite toast to the dizzying uncertainties of romance." —David Denby, NEW YORK MAGAZINE. (104 mins.)

APRIL 1 SUN PART I 4:30 PART II 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
WARNER BROTHERS CARTOON CLASSICS
Today we welcome Portland cartoon aficionados Ivan, John and Matt Gold for a two-part celebration of classic cartoons from the Warner Brothers studios. “In 1930, with staff that had left Walt Disney, Leon Schlesinger started a cartoon studio and produced “Looney Tunes” cartoons for Warner Brothers. Most were insipid copies of Disney’s work, primarily “fill-in” between double features. But, Fred “Tex” Avery went to work for Warner, who assigned him to Schlesinger. Starting with the first production, “Gold Diggers of ’49,” (1936) Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Frits Freling, Bob Clampett and the other animators, directors, and composers produced new, definitively American, funny cartoons. Fifty years later, the best are still great.” Part I, (4:30-6 pm) features the three greats: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. Part II (7 p.m.) focuses on the “oddball” stars: Spike; Madison J. Frog; Foghorn Leghorn; the Tasmanian Devil and more.

APRIL 5 6 THU 7:30 P.M. FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
COMEDIES & PROVERBS II
LE BEAU MARRIAGE
FRANCE 1981
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Who wanders the countryside builds castles in Spain. Rohmer's astute comedy follows a young art student from the provinces (Beatrice Romand, the "ugly duckling" from Claire's Knee) who is obsessed with the pursuit of a middle-aged lawyer who doesn't love her. As the young woman shuttles between Le Mans and Paris, chattering relentlessly with her best friend (Arielle Dombasle) about the love of her life, the film turns into a mortifying examination of self-delusion. "Rohmer's sunniest, funniest, warmest and wisest film."—Jack Kroll, NEWSWEEK. (97 mins.)
APRIL 7  SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
WOLVES, PIGS AND PEOPLE
JAPAN 1964
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    One of the first yakuza films by Fukasaku to receive critical acclaim. Legendary tough guy Takakura plays a lone-wolf hood who convinces his younger sibling (Kinya Kitaoji) to join his youth gang to help rob elder brother Rentaro Mikuni's mob. Fukasaku's gritty noir-tragedy moves like a runaway freight train.   (95 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

SAT 8:50 P.M.
HIGH NOON FOR GANGSTERS aka
VILLAINS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
JAPAN 1961
DIRECTOR: KINJI  FUKASAKU    Gangster maverick Tetsuro Tanba enlisits a motley crew including a Korean, two Americans (one black, one white) and three women to rob a U.S. Army base payroll. Unfortunately there's another gang with the same idea, and things go awry when they begin squabbling amongst themselves. Believed lost until just last year, this is one Fukasaku's earliest films and has all of the trademarks of unnerving violence, social realism and unsentimental narrative that we've grown to love.   (82 mins.)

APRIL 7 8 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES & PROVERBS III
PAULINE AT THE BEACH
FRANCE 1982
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER A wagging tongue bites itself. As close as Rohmer comes to the structure of classic French farce, PAULINE AT THE BEACH sets into motion a roundelay of lovers who spend late summer in a Normandy resort misunderstanding each other's desires and motives. The Pauline of the title is a pubescent girl who gains a sentimental and sexual education by watching the seductions of the sextet of adults around her, including her glamorous cousin who wants to “burn of love.” The algebraic precision with which Rohmer charts their flirtations, betrayals and disputes it offset by the film's eroticism and its halcyon summer setting. "A refreshingly cool entertainment, rigorous, controlled, yet also profoundly passionate."—Andrew Sarris, THE VILLAGE VOICE. (95 mins.)

APRIL 11 12 WED 7:30 P.M., THU 7:30 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
BEST OF THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL
ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2000
Founded in 1976, the OIAF is, with the Annecy Animation Festival, one of the two most prestigious animation showcases in the world. Featuring cutting edge work by the masters of the form, each Festival offers up a treasure trove of work in all styles and techniques—from the auteurs to burning new talents. Festival director Chris Robinson has assembled this hand-picked program of prize winners and critical favorites from this past September’s event, a special treat for animation lovers of all persuasions. The program includes: YOUR CHOICE, Koji Yamamura; RING OF FIRE, Andreas Hykade (Grand Prize); FATHER AND DAUGHTER, Michael Dudok De Wit (Audience Prize); FISHING (David Gainey); FLYING NANSEN, (Igor Kovalyov); ON THE POSSIBILITY OF LOVE, Janno Poldma; GRACE, Lorelei Pepi; THE PERIWIG MAKER, Steffan Schaeffler; DRAWN FROM MEMORY, Paul Fierlinger; ROMANOV, Chris Lanier; THE MESSAGE, Raimud Krumme; THE HAT, Michele Cournyer; THE MAN WITH THE BEAUTIFUL EYES, Jonathan Hodgson; and JUBILEE, Koji Yamamura. (100 mins.)

APRIL 13 FRI 7:30 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
VISITING ARTIST
AN EVENING WITH
ELISABETH SUBRIN
Elisabeth Subrin’s provocative work examines the intersections of history and subjectivity within female biography. Engaging conventions of documentary and personal narrative, her works strategicly undermine their own forms, shifting historical periods, genres and identifications to explore the residual impact of feminism and the hazy boundaries between fiction and nonfiction. Tonight she will screen SWALLOW (1995), a mixed media collage which in often humorous fashion examines the possibility that depression and anorexia are language disorders, SHULIE (1997), a fictional “remake” of a documentary portrait made in 1967 of a then unknown young woman (Shulamith Firestone) who later emerged as author of the ground-breaking text “The Dialectic of sex: the Case for Feminist Revolution;” and THE FANCY (2000), a speculative visual essay that explores the life of artist Francesca Woodman (1958 -1981) as evoked in the published catalogues of and about her photographs. (2 hrs)

APRIL 12 13 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES & PROVERBS IV
FULL MOON IN PARIS
FRANCE 1984
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER He who has two women loses his soul. He who has two houses loses his mind. A young designer (Pascal Ogier, winner of the Best Actress Award, Venice Film Festival for her performance) is in a quagmire. She's living with her boyfriend in the suburbs, but seeks a more exciting life. Finding a small apartment in Paris proper is one way to ward off the daily boredom of her relationship, but the results prove disastrous. Rohmer, again capturing the little moments, which comprise a life, has created a detailed and revealing portrait of a woman who wants it all. "A comedie du bonheur, acute, but delicate like a Mozart sonata." —Claude Baigners, LE FIGARO. (102 mins.)

APRIL 14  SAT 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
JAPAN'S VIOLENT GANGS - BOSS aka  SYMPATHY FOR THE UNDERDOG
JAPAN 1969
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUKASAKU  Koji Tsuruta returns from jail to assume control of his gang, but he's in for a rude awakening courtesy of the newly allied corporate yakuza. Tsuruta was a traditional actor of chivalrous roles, and Fukasaku uses this to heighten the already white-hot tension between the dwindling numbers of ethical outlaws and the emerging faceless, dog-eat-dog gangs. Moral dilemmas are punctuated with slam-bang action and prodigious bloodshed. With Noboru Ando  (THE WOLVES), Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF AND CUB series), Bunta Sugawara.    (96 mins.)

DOUBLE FEATURE

SAT 9 P.M.
GAMBLER - FOREIGN OPPOSITION aka  GAMBLERS IN OKINAWA  aka  YAKUZA COMBAT FORCES
JAPAN 1971
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUYKASAKU   Sunglasses-wearing Koji Tsuruta is banished by mainland yakuza to Okinawa, where he ends up allied with old pal Noboru Ando and young Tsunehiko Watase. They go head-to-head with not only the local rival gang led by scarred, crazed Tomisaburo Wakayama, but American gangsters as well. Their new hard-earned gains are threatened when the corporate mainland boss arrives at the climax with his gangster army. Brutally unrepentant with a subtle sense of humor (Tsuruta keeps his sunglasses on even in bed with his girl!).   (93 mins.)

APRIL 14 15 SAT 7 P.M., sun 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
COMEDIES & PROVERBS V
SUMMER
FRANCE 1985
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Ah! That times come where hearts fall in love. Shot in the Swiss Alps, Biarritz and the Canary Islands, SUMMER is one of the series’ most illuminating chapters. The story of Delphine (Marie Riviere), a bright and vulnerable young Parisian secretary whose vacation plans go awry after her girlfriend decides not to go, is a richly textured exploration of the search for romance. Rohmer captures each nuance of the self-absorbed Delphine, whose yearnings have difficulty surfacing. A bittersweet comedy, this personal odyssey moves from loneliness and desperation to one of the cinema's most magical experiences as Delphine sees the fabled ‘rayon vert’?the green ray at sunset?referred to in a Jules Verne tale. “Exquisite...a movie of uncommon sensitivity and emotional reserves” - Vincent Canby, THE NEW YORK TIMES. (96 mins.)

APRIL 17 TUE 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
2000 STUDENT ACADEMY
AWARDS JURYING
Tonight the Film Center hosts the regional finals of the 28th Annual Student Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Cheer and jeer (quietly of course) alongside the jurors as they view the top entries from film school students in nine western states, selecting the best animation, documentary, dramatic and alternative films, which will be forwarded to Los Angeles for the final national competition in May.
Free Admission.

APRIL 19  THU  7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
SHOGUN'S SAMURAI aka  YAGYU CLAN CONSPIRACY
JAPAN 1978
DIRECTOR: KINJI FUKASAKU     Fanatical, power-obsessed Lord Yagyu (Kinnosuke Yorozuya Nakamura) will do anything to keep disfigured, going-mad Shogun Hiroki Matsukata in office - including  genocide and warring with his own son, one-eyed Jubei (Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba), in this all-star, big-budget samurai action spectacular. This is the feature length film version of another phenomenally popular seventies Japanese TV show, "Yagyu Clan Conspiracy."  With Yoshio Harada, Etsuko "Sue" Shiomi, Hiroyuki Sanada.   (130 mins.)

APRIL 19 20 THU 8 P.M., FRI 8 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
COMEDIES & PROVERBS VI
BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS
FRANCE 1987
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER The friends of my friends are my friends. “Charming and disarming, this elegant romantic comedy focuses on a quartet of attractive young people — a civil servant, a computer programmer, a sports designer, and civil engineer-—who live in the Cergy-Pontoise suburb of Paris, a pristine housing development of Mondrian minimalism. As is usual with Rohmer's late explorations of romantic preoccupation, the four do an elaborate minuet of misunderstanding, their affections and allegiances constantly shifting until each ends up with the 'right' partner. Filled with enchanting cafe conversations about affairs of the heart and with great jokes about architecture and ensembles of color-coded clothing, BOYFRIENDS AND is as rigorous as it is gossamer.” —James Quandt. “Utterly charming...one of the most blissfully relaxed romantic comedies ever made.”—THE WASHINGTON POST. (102 mins.)

APRIL 20 FRI 8 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
NW TRACKING —VISITING ARTIST
CHIEF SEATTLE
US 2001
DIRECTOR: B.J. BULLERT CHIEF SEATTLE brings to life a mysterious figure—half myth, half reality—the legendary native leader who welcomed the Americans to settle on the land that now bears his name. Recounting a remarkable life of spiritual, military and political leadership, Bullert’s journey traces Seattle’s era (1780’s-1866), a period of cataclysmic change for the First people of Puget Sound. Seattle’s story serves as a window into a hidden history of the Duwamish people — from decimating epidemics to devastating displacement. Incorporating excerpts from his speeches, remarks recorded by explorers and Indian agents of the time and vintage photographs, a fascinating and moving chapter of regional history comes to life.
(60 mins.) B.J. Bullert in attendance.

APRIL 21 SAT 7:30 p.m.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
VISITING ARTIST
WOMEN OF MYSTERY:
THREE WRITERS WHO FOREVER CHANGED DETECTIVE FICTION
US 2000
DIRECTOR: PAMELA BEERE BRIGGS “Briggs’ documentary is anchored by the personal perspectives of three of detective fiction’s leading female novelists: Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller and Sara Paretsky. Each delivers an absorbing look into their individual methods of research, inspiration and even a few cathartic hobbies. The authors are candid and revealing on issues of truthfulness and use the emotions of their characters to stir readers into reflecting on their own fears and instincts. Briggs also includes a well-charted history of women and women’s roles in the genre, beginning with the passive, victimized heroines of the 18th and 19th century gothic novels and moving forward to their antitheses, the powerful, scheming firebrands of sensational fiction who would thwart the restrictions of society at any cost. And we mustn’t forget preternaturally perfect gumshoe Nancy Drew.”—Nicole Campos, LA WEEKLY. (53 mins.) Pamela Briggs in attendance.

APRIL 21 22 SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
FOUR ADVENTURES OF REINETTE AND MIRABELLE
FRANCE 1987
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER Imbued with youthful energy, Rohmer’s improvisational quartet of stories follows Mirabelle (Jessica Forde), a student of ethnology at the Sorbonne, and her growing friendship with Reinette (Joelle Miquel), a country girl of certain virture. Becoming roommates in Paris, the two are involved in a series of escapades that grow more comical as they take on a snotty waiter, shoplifters, beggars and the hustling of art. Told with a slice-of-life quality and featuring two excellent performances, Rohmer succeeds in his goal “to return to my roots and to the tone of the first short films that we shot, Rivette, Truffaut, Godard and myself.” “ It’s all inescapably French (in the best sense) and concerned with the joys of not only good conversation but of seeing.”—TIME OUT (96mins.)

APRIL 26 27 THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 p.m.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS I
A TALE OF SPRINGTIME
FRANCE 1989
DIRECTOR: ERIC ROHMER "Inaugurating Rohmer’s newest cycle of films, A TALE OF SPRINGTIME follows Natacha, an 18-year-old pianist who has talent for music but not for life. She decides that her father, on whom she dotes, should drop his current mistress for another woman, Jeanne, a philosophy teacher whom Natacha adores. The domineering and capricious teenager plots to convince her father that he really belongs with Jeanne,