New foreign language movies (July 2008)

Over the past month, movies in various languages have been recorded from SBS & ABC channels. These movies are also available from the computers in the Self Study room (look under the Language folders) should you wish to view them.

What programmes do / don’t you enjoy watching? What type of foreign language programmes are you most interested in viewing? Do feel free to post a comment & let me know!

Enjoy this month’s viewings!

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English

Audrey Hepburn Season: Roman Holiday

ABC2 presents Roman Holiday, the first in a season of Audrey Hepburn classic films, and the film that marks her first starring role.

Released in 1953, Roman Holiday was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar for her portrayal of Princess Anne, a modern-day princess, rebelling against the royal obligations, and who explores Rome on her own.

She meets Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), an American newspaperman who, seeking an exclusive story, pretends ignorance of her true identity. But his plan falters when they fall in love. Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert) contributes to the fun as Joe’s carefree cameraman pal.

Stylishly directed by William Wyler, this romantic comedy ranks as one of the most enjoyable films of all times.

Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert

(1953)  English Director: William Wyler

G   Romantic comedy 115 mins:

Audrey Hepburn Season: Sabrina

Continuing this nostalgic presentation of Audrey Hepburn classics, ABC2 presents Sabrina, the original 1954 movie starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. The film scored an Oscar for ‘Best Costume Design’, plus various nominations and other industry awards.

Audrey Hepburn plays Sabrina Fairchild, the daughter of Thomas, chauffeur to the wealthy Larrabees on a vast Long Island estate. Sabrina has a hopeless crush on one of the Larrabee brothers, David (played by William Holden), but David’s only interests are fast cars and girls of his own social set. Because David doesn’t seem to notice her, Sabrina attempts suicide, but she is saved by Linus, David’s brother (played by Humphrey Bogart).

Sabrina is sent to Paris, where she meets a stylish, sophisticated baron who transforms the plain-looking girl into a woman of culture and fashion.

Her course of continental charm completed, Sabrina returns to the Long Island estate where David is completely dazzled by her new demeanour. While she was away however, David became engaged to the wealthy Elizabeth Tyson. Linus, hoping to keep wealth in the family, feigns romantic interest in Sabrina to keep David’s sights on his new wife. Linus then tricks Sabrina in going to Europe alone.

In the end, it’s Linus who really falls in love with Sabrina and David, amused by the whole thing, decides to go ahead and marry Elizabeth.

Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden

(1954)  English

G  Romantic comedy  110 mins.

French

The Giraffe’s Neck

From the 2005 French Film Festival comes a bittersweet tale of discovery and regret affecting three generations. Nine year-old Mathilde discovers a stash of letters, which unleashes a torrent of family secrets.

Sandrine Bonnaire, Claude Rich, Louisa Pili
(2004)  (France/French)  Director: Safy Nebbou
PG  Drama  90 mins  Repeat

German

Inspector Rex (weekly series, 7.35-8.30 Thursdays)

Hebrew

James’ Journey to Jerusalem

James leaves his remote village in Africa on a pilgrimage to Holy Jerusalem. But Israel is no longer the Holy Land that James and his people have envisioned. It is a product of any modern society driven by materialism and exploitation. At the airport, James is arrested on the suspicion that he is trying to illegally obtain work. He is jailed and awaits deportation. Inside the cell, as James prays to God to allow him to complete his journey, a miracle occurs: a mysterious stranger posts bail for him.

Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe, Arieh Elias
(2003)  (Israel/Hebrew, English, Zulu)  Director: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
PG  Drama  95 mins  Repeat

Italian

In The Light Of The Sun

(Alla Luce Del Sole) – A strong and unsettling drama, based on the tragic events that led to the assassination of Father Giuseppe Puglisi, a Catholic priest, on 15 September 1993 – a troubled time when the Mafia stepped up its aggression against the state with bomb attacks in Rome, Florence and Milan, and the murders of Palermo’s famous Mafia investigators Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. Father Giuseppe Puglisi agrees to be assigned to a parish in the area where he grew up – the now lawless Brancaccio district of Palermo, the capital city of Sicily. The crusading zeal that motivates his return is tempered by a practical, unsentimental understanding of the locals and their ways.

Luca Zingaretti, Alessia Goria

(2004) (Italy/Italian) Director: Roberto Faenza

M   Drama  125 mins

Cantonese / Mandarin

Blind Shaft

Song and Tang are two Chinese coal miners who have created the perfect scam – murder their fellow mine workers, make the death look like an accident, and extort money from the boss to keep the incident hushed up. At first everything seems to be running according to plan until they choose a naive teenager from a small village. As they prepare to carry out their plan, things start to get complicated. This film won the Silver Berlin Bear at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival and the New Director’s Award at the 2003 Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Li Yixiang, Wang Shuangbao, Baoqiang Wang
(2003)  (Hong Kong/Mandarin)  Director: Li Yang
M  L,S,V  Drama  95 mins  Repeat

Together

Liu Xiaochun is a musically talented young boy who starts playing the violin at the age of three. His father, Liu Chen, raises him alone in a small town until one day they receive a letter inviting Chun to take part in a violin contest in Beijing. Believing that Beijing will be the place where his son can achieve success, Liu Chen tries very hard to get Chun a tutor, Mr Jiang, of the Beijing Conservatorium of Music, so that they can stay in Beijing. Mr Jiang is an eccentric but great musician. He teaches Chun how to play the violin with his heart and mind, while Chun helps him get out of his dejected state.

Tang Yun, Liu Peiqi
(2002)  (China/Mandarin)  Director: Chen Kaige
G  Drama  120 mins  Repeat

Visible Secret

Both a creepy Chinese ghost story and a delicate and charming love story. When a loan shark is pushed onto a tram track and decapitated, his spirit begins to take revenge on the people he sees as being responsible for his demise.

Eason Chan, Shu Qi
(2001)  (Hong Kong/Cantonese)  Director: Ann Hui
MA  A,H  Horror  105 mins

Spanish

Km. 0

Combining a sprawling Altman-size cast, a touch of Almodovar camp and a Frank Capra sweetness, this film takes its name from Kilometre Zero, a landmark on Madrid’s Puerta del Sol from which all major arterial roads in Spain begin. One blistering August afternoon, 14 strangers have all arranged meetings at the famed spot but miss their connections. Sharing mistaken identities and comedies of errors are a struggling actress meeting an aspiring director to discuss a role, a barman whose girlfriend wants to marry him, a businessman looking for new sexual experiences, a gay flamenco dancer who uses the Internet to look for love and a gigolo frustrated by his own love life.

Concha Velasco, George Corraface
(2000)  (Spain/Spanish)  Director: Juan Luis Iborra
M  S,L,A  Comedy  105 mins  Repeat

Miscellaneous

All the Invisible Children

A collection of seven short films in five languages about children, from distinguished directors from around the world. Tanza, directed by Mehdi Charef: A band of rifle-toting boy guerrillas runs through the African countryside. When 12-year-old Tanza is sent to blow up a schoolroom, he’s overcome by sadness. Blue Gypsy, directed by Emir Kusturica: A gypsy boy just released from a reform school escapes from his awful parents by breaking back into it. Jesus Children of America, directed by Spike Lee: A black schoolgirl in the New York projects learns she’s received AIDS from her junkie parents. Bilu and Joao, directed by Katia Lund: Two street kids in the Rio favelas make money from recycling junk. Jonathon, directed by Jordan Scott and Ridley Scott: In the British countryside a war photographer copes with trauma by becoming a child again in his imagination. Ciro, directed by Stefano Veneruso: In Naples, two street kids rob a motorist, sell the goods and find a moment of real childhood at a fun fair. Song Song and Little Cat, directed by John Woo: In Beijing, a wealthy little girl from an unhappy family shares a doll with another girl who lives in misery.

Francisco Anawake, Vera Fernandez
(France/English, Mandarin, Portuguese, Serbian, Italian)  M  A,D  Drama  130 mins  *CC*

Downunder Grads

Part 1
Provides a snapshot of tertiary life through the eyes of 11 students. In poignant individual stories, the program takes viewers from house-hunting to sleep deprivation, and from affairs of the heart to telling parents final assessment results. In 2006 a group of new students were filmed during their first year at university. Downunder Grads tells the story of how going to university changed their lives.
(Australia/English, Chinese)  PG  Documentary  30 mins  Repeat  *CC*