FRI 7 & 9 P.M., SAT 5 & 7:30 P.M., SUN 5 & 7:30 P.M., MON 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE - PIFF favorite
TO BE AND TO HAVE
FRANCE 2002
DIRECTOR: NICHOLAS PHILIBERT One of the hits of this year's Portland International Film Festival, Philibert's film is a valentine for anyone who treasures the importance of schools and education. In isolated communities throughout France, there still exist so-called "single class schools," bringing together children of all ages, in one class around one teacher. This moving and funny film quietly observes one such school in Auvergne, and the mutually dependent bond between teacher and pupils. Philibert spent months quietly observing the daily rituals, petty squabbles, furrowed brows, curiosity, petulance and hurt feelings that accompany the learning process. As the year passes, we come to know these children individually, and we experience through their small triumphs and frustrations the richness and wonder of their coming to know life. Few have the patience and wisdom of teacher Georges Lopez, but we share in his dedication, passion and joy just as surely as the 13 young minds that are learning "to be" and "to have." Winner of the award for Best Documentary at the 2002 European Film Awards. "Warm, incredibly effective and truly moving, this is one of the greatest documentaries to come out in a long while. Teachers and parents everywhere should study this film."-THE OREGONIAN. (104 mins.)
MARCH 27 28
THU 7 P.M., FRI 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
FACE
JAPAN 2000
DIRECTOR: JUNJI SAKAMOTO Masako is an awkward, withdrawn, middle-aged
woman who kills her sister in an explosion of pent-up humiliation and
rage. Despite her guilt, and with rape and extortion defining her past
encounters with men, she is driven to take charge of her own actions.
Masako flees to a small town, where she takes a job in a bar and falls
for a man as broken as she is. But her newfound happiness is not to last
and she must soon face her ultimate challenge. Masako's quest of the soul
reveals that even in the darkest of human circumstances, hope and humor
spring eternal. Sakamoto won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Director
for this original tale of an underdog. (105 mins.)
MARCH 29 30
SAT 7 P.M., SUN 7 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS
JAPAN 2001
DIRECTOR: TAKASHI MIIKE The self-stylized celluloid outlaw-genius of contemporary
Japanese Cinema, Miike's (AUDITION) new film wins as the world's wildest
horror-musical-comedy-drama. Not even ROCKY HORROR had the verve to merge
so much Pop Art histrionics, bad taste and high camp as this cinematic
avalanche of murder-most-foul, naked and dead sumo wrestlers, flying and
singing Navy officers, SOUND OF MUSIC spoofs, bizarre stop- motion animation,
rotting zombies, hilarious suicides and eye-wateringly funny song and
dance numbers. The story recounts the tale of an embittered husband and
father of two who loses his shoe-salesman job and invests in a run-down
bed and breakfast resort with his dysfunctional family. Unfortunately,
bad luck seems to befall the guests who check in, but through thick and
thin the bonds of family triumph. (113 mins.)
APRIL 3
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) 276-4264.
Free admission.
APRIL 11
FRI 10:30 P.M. VISITING ARTIST
GUILD THEATRE-PREVIEW SCREENING
SPUN
FRANCE/US 2002
DIRECTOR: JONAS ÂKERLUND Based on the truth. . . and lies, the genesis
of SPUN was a chance meeting in a bar outside Eugene. Writer Creighton
Vero was working on a documentary about the area's crystal meth scene
and wanted to interview the infamous local speed freak, William De Los
Santos. When the charismatic Santos recounted his hilarious misadventues
working as the personal driver for a methamphetamine manufacturer nick
named The Cook, Vero realized he had stumbled onto a great story. "Unleashing
a frenzied collection of hardcore speed-freaks, SPUN straps you to your
seat and hurtles you through the deteriorating veins of society and straight
into the raging, crystal meth-pumped heart of America. Simulating the
drug's sensation with jaw-dropping cinematography and editing, director
Jonas Åkerlund (who has already established his talent in the music-video
realm) paints an unapologetic, dark, and twisted portrait of a monster
three-day drug binge. Ross (Jason Schwartzman), a 20-something college
dropout who can't hold down a job, hangs out at local speed dealer Spider
Mike's (John Leguizamo) house, where he meets The Cook (Mickey Rourke)
and his crazy stripper girlfriend, Nikki (Brittany Murphy). Billy Corgan's
(Smashing Pumpkins) masterful soundtrack provides the lifeline of the
film, setting an ethereal tone, which, when juxtaposed with the frenetic
pace of the story, creates an almost hallucinatory feeling. A super-wide
angle, super-macro close-up view of meth-twisted consciousness."
2003 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. (101 mins.)
APRIL 5 6
SAT 7 P.M., SUN 2 P.M.
GUILD THEATRE
CHARLIE "BIRD" PARKER: 1920-1955
NORWAY 1989
DIRECTOR: JAN HORNE Produced by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation,
Jan Horne's four-part documentary series on the life of jazz saxophonist
Charlie Parker is the definitive chronicle of his remarkable life. Divided
into chronological chapters, each features film clips and interviews that
bring to life his brilliant career. Part 1, "Now's the Time,"
examines Parker's early years in Kansas City and his impact on fellow
musicians (Dizzy Gillespie, John Lewis, Flip Phillips) after he came to
New York in the 1940s. Part 2, "Just Friends," centers on the
New York years and his collaborations with Red Rodney, Max Roach, Roy
Haynes and others. Part 3, "What Is This Thing Called Love,"
follows Parker to the West Coast and his collaborations with Chet Baker,
Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. Part 4, "Autumn in New York,"
explores his broader artistic search with the help of composer Edgar Varèse
and painter Harvey Cropper and the overview of his life through the eyes
of Chan Parker and others. (3 hrs.)
APRIL 17
THU 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
2003 STUDENT ACADEMY AWARDS JURYING
Tonight the Film Center hosts the regional finals of the 30th 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 27
SUN 7 P.M.
WHITSELL AUDITORIUM- VISITING ARTIST
AN EVENING With MITCHELL ROSE
Dubbed by the New York Times as "the dance world's Woody Allen,"
Los Angeles filmmaker Mitchell Rose continues to delight both film and
dance audiences with his witty and sharply crafted collaborations with
Portland's Body Vox dance company. Tonight, we welcome Rose to Portland
for a screening of all six of his Body Vox pieces: CASE STUDIES FROM THE
GROAT CENTER FOR SLEEP DISORDERS (2002), LEARN TO SPEAK BODY: TAPE 5 (2001),
DEERE JOHN (2000), UNLEASHED (2000), TREADMILL SOFTLY (2000) and ISLANDS
IN THE SKY (2000), as well as such earlier films as ELEVATOR WORLD (1999),
MEREDITH MONK IN THE WORLD FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC (1999) and WEIGHTLESS
(1998), which also features Body Vox's Ashley Roland. Rose's work is in
the tradition of Chaplin, Keaton and Tati-funny and sad and more than
the sum of both." -THE WASHINGTON POST