March 1, 2005
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Spring Cinema 2005:
10 evenings of film from around the globe
Summary Facts:
- UCSB Arts & Lectures Spring Cinema 2005
- Ten evenings of international films, including 5 Santa Barbara premieres
- Thursday, March 31 through Tuesday, May 24
- Series features a film and filmmaker evening with Thom Andersen and his film essay Los Angeles Plays Itself
- All screenings at 7:30 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall
- General public: $6 / UCSB students: $5; except for Los Angeles Plays Itself, which costs $8 for the general public and $6 for UCSB students
- Tickets may be purchased in advance at the UCSB Arts & Lectures Ticket Office and at the door, if available, beginning at 6:30 pm
- Charge by phone, (805) 893-3535, or by fax, (805) 893-8637
- For tickets and information, phone UCSB Arts & Lectures: (805) 893-3535
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Spring Cinema 2005, ten evenings of film, featuring five Santa Barbara area premieres. The films will bring everything from William Shakespeare to contemporary dance to the screen of UCSB Campbell Hall.
The series begins with Zhang Yimou’s smashing follow-up to Hero, the incredibly exciting House of Flying Daggers on Thursday, March 31. Set during the decline of the once mighty Tang Dynasty in 859 AD, the film tells the tale of a mysterious leader of a powerful rebel group. It stars the exquisite and beguiling Ziyi Zhang and the dashing Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau. The Wall Street Journal calls the film “an astonishing combination of spectacle, suspense, martial-arts flash, anti-gravity action and passionate intensity—before and after everything else, it’s a grand love story.” In Mandarin with English subtitles. (2004, 119 minutes)
Next the series will feature Head-On, the winner of the 2004 European Film Award, on Thursday, April 7. An uncompromising, emotion-packed love story about two troubled Turks inHamburg, Germany who arrange a marriage of convenience that changes both their lives, Head-On features explosive, raw performances by Birol Ünsel and Sibel Kekilli. The Los Angeles Times exults, “Impeccably made, uncompromising in its implacable vision of the deranging power of love, sex and controlled substances, this savage and staggering film knows how to take our breath away.” In German and Turkish with English subtitles. (Fatih Akin, 2004, 118 minutes)
On Thursday, April 14 Arts & Lectures presents Born into Brothels, winner of the 2004 Oscar for Best Documentary. This inspiring look at a group of extraordinary children in Calcutta’s red light district follows filmmaker Zana Briski’s efforts to teach them photography and sell their work to pay for boarding schools. The Boston Globe asserts, “This is the kind of film that reminds you of what movies, at their best, are capable of.” In English and Bengali with English subtitles, as necessary. (Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman, 2004, 85 minutes)
Amelia and The Cost of Living, a double bill showcasing the best of contemporary dance, screen on Monday, April 18. Amelia features precisely choreographed camera movement that captures the intricate and powerful dance of Monreal’s acclaimed La La La Human Steps. This amazing dance film is set to an original score by David Lang and includes lyrics by Lou Reed. The Cost of Living presents England’s celebrated DV8 Physical Theater in a tale of two street performers looking for work and love in a faded seaside town. (Édouard Lock, 2003, 60 minutes / Lloyd Newson, 2004, 34 minutes)
The series next features Distant, a Turkish film that the Chicago Tribune called “a Chekhovian tale of major artistic power,” on Thursday, April 28. Winner of the 2003 Grand Prix Award at Cannes, this film is a profound and often funny look at the distance between two lonely cousins—one a city-dwelling photographer, the other a young villager come to Istanbul looking for work—who are more alike than they think. Entertainment Weekly writes, “Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who also served as cinematographer, frames the affecting, unstudied performances in gorgeously chosen shots and nonevents that sometimes teeter on the edge of comedy before knocking us breathless with their emotional power.” In Turkish with English subtitles. (2003, 110 minutes)
On Monday, May 2, filmmaker Thom Andersen, who teaches at the California Institute of the Arts, will answer questions after the screening of Los Angeles Plays Itself. This truly one-of-a-kind film features close to 200 clips from films shot in or about Los Angeles, from Double Indemnity to Kiss Me Deadly to Chinatown to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The Village Voice calls the movie “heady and provocative,” claiming, “A manifesto as well as a monument, Los Angeles Plays Itself has its origins in a clip lecture that Andersen originally ‘intended for locals only,’ but as finished, it is an essay in film form with near-universal interest and a remarkable degree of synthesis.” (2003, 169 minutes)
The Take, screening on Monday, May 9, is a compelling documentary about Buenos Aires employees who takeover their shut-down factory, thereby pitting ordinary workers against the ruling elite and the powerful forces of global capitalism. A collaboration between director Avi Lewis, a well-known Canadian journalist, and writer Naomi Klein, author of the best-selling manifesto No Logo, The Take manages to be both an insightful economic critique and a powerful human drama. Calling the film “committed and compassionate,” the Washington Post writes, “What marks it as unique is its cheerful honesty and faith in the goodwill of men.” In English and Spanish with English subtitles, as necessary. (2004, 87 minutes)
On Monday, May 16 A&L presents the first English language version of The Merchant of Venice since the silent film era. Esteemed director Michael Radford (Il Postino) directly confronts questions of anti-Semitism in William Shakespeare’s most controversial comedy, establishing a context for the indignities of Jewish life in 16th century Venice. Starring a ferocious Al Pacino as Shylock, the film also includes brilliant turns by Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes and Lynn Collins. The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, “Collins and Pacino plumb the depths of acting, of Shakespeare, of the difference between law and justice. Radford brings the themes of the movie to life by highlighting Shakespeare’s language and his imagery.” (2004, 134 minutes)
The series shifts to modern day Budapest with a screening of Kontroll on Monday, May 23. A high-style, high-speed romantic thriller set in the labyrinthine netherworld of the Budapest subway system, this Hungarian black comedy was an award-winner at Cannes. Set to a pulsing electronic score by Neo, Kontroll mixes genres—serial killer film, surreal comedy, sci-fi, romance—with thrilling and witty aplomb. The BBC praises the film, claiming it has “the kind of vision and assurance you don’t often get in a debut.” In Hungarian with English subtitles. (Nimrod Antal, 2004, 111 minutes)
Arts & Lectures Spring Cinema concludes on Tuesday, May 24 with Travellers & Magicians, the latest film by Khyentse Norbu, one of Himalayan Buddhism’s most revered lamas and director of The Cup. The first feature film to be made in the pristine beauty of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and acted by a cast of non-professionals, Travellers & Magicians weaves parallel tales about two young men who seek to escape their mundane lives. The Washington Post asserts, “To watch this movie is to be moved not only by an affecting, warmly spirited yarn, but also by the wisdom that seems to waft to us directly from those snow-capped peaks.” In Dzongkha with English subtitles. (2004, 85 minutes)
All film screenings begin at 7:30 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall. Tickets for all films are available in advance at the UCSB Arts & Lectures Ticket Office (893-3535) and may be purchased in person or charged by phone. Tickets can also be bought at the door, if available, starting at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $5 for UCSB students, except for Los Angeles Plays Itself, for which admission is $8 for the general public and $6 for UCSB students.
The series is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by the Santa Barbara Independent, KCSB Radio 91.9 FM, Blue Agave and the Daily Nexus.
For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.
Editor: For photos, please call
George Yatchisin at (805) 893-3494.