December 01-04

Wednesday, December 1

In the Mood for Love

2000. Hong Kong. Dir: Wong Kar-Wai. With Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai. 98 min.

Two sets of neighbors. Two unfaithful spouses. Two spurned mates who discover each other through subtle interactions. One hauntingly romantic modern masterpiece. Wong elegantly knits together a delicate yet affecting depiction of emotional need and lost opportunity in a moody cascade of colors, textures, and music.

Thursday, December 2

Million Dollar Baby

2004. USA. Dir: Clint Eastwood. With Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank. 132 min.
An aging fight trainer reluctantly mentors a determined female boxer, and the two gradually bond as they endure the triumphs and blows that life has to offer. Joel Cox, the Oscar-nominated editor of this film (and prior Academy Award winner for UNFORGIVEN) will be on hand to discuss his craft, his career, and his longtime collaboration with Eastwood.

Friday, December 3

Inception

2010. USA. Dir: Christopher Nolan. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 148 min.
A plucky young stowaway and an aristocratic bride-to-be fall in love aboard the maiden voyage of the world’s largest and most infamous luxury liner. Oh wait, no, this is a different DiCaprio movie. The one about dreams.

Saturday, December 4

Playtime

1967. France/Italy. Dir: Jacques Tati. With Jacques Tati. 155 min.
If visual complexity and laugh-out-loud comedy seem like odd yet intriguing bedfellows, consider this symphony of simultaneous gags, a veritable live-action WHERE’S WALDO book. Amidst sets so convoluted and expensive that the film bankrupted the obsessive Tati, his beloved character Monsieur Hulot navigates Paris in all its frightening modernity.