FOREIGN FILM SERIES' CONTINUE THIS MONTH
The foreign languages and literature department's Chinese and German film series, "The Contemporary China" and "From Berlin to Hollywood," continue this month with three screenings.
"To Live," a 1994 film directed by Zhang Yimou and winner of the 1994 Cannes Palme d'Or, will be shown at 2:15 p.m. Monday, March 12, in Room 345 of the Technology Building.
Yimou's daring political tale of modern China caused him major difficulties with the Chinese authorities. "To Live" follows a contemporary family across the turbulent face of modern China, from the Japanese invasion through Mao's Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. The powerful drama is is made all the more potent by a strong performance
from Gong Li.
The German film series offers two screenings this month, both of which begin at 7 p.m. in Room 104 of the Batten Arts and Letters Building. The 1928 movie "Pandora's Box" will be shown on Wednesday, March 14. G. W. Pabst's interpretation of Wedekind?s Lulu plays is an eerie depiction of erotic obsession and sexual abandon.
The action moves between Berlin and London, as Lulu (the American actress Louise Brooks), a beautiful, charismatic chorus girl, orchestrates a succession of casual affairs until her fateful encounter with Jack the Ripper. A silent movie with music track, "Pandora's Box" features Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer and Carl Goetz.
On Wednesday, March 21, a 1997 film, "The Harmonists," will be shown at 7 p.m. A dramatization of the rise and fall of a wildly popular German vocal group that was disbanded as the Nazi persecution of Jews escalated, it won five German film awards, including Outstanding Feature Film. It was directed by Joseph Vilsmaier.
The Comedian Harmonists were beloved for their comic and romantic songs performed in intricate harmony, and were on the brink of international superstardom when fate intervened.
All of the films will be shown with English subtitles.