International Film Series Fall 2008

Im Juli

Daniel is a young teacher in-spe, who in contrast to everyone else plans to stay in Hamburg for the summer. Juli, a girl at the flea-market, wants to get to know Daniel and manages to sell him a Mayan ring with a sun on it, telling him that he will meet a girl with a sun. One day later Daniel is already on his way across Europe. It seems the prophecy came true somehow.

Blow-Up

A London fashion photographer frolics with young models, then meets the mysterious Jane. He takes a photo in a park. Back in his darkroom as he enlarges it, he sees a suggestion of something in the photo he never noticed while taking it. Has a crime occurred?

Based on the story by Cortázar.

Il Conformista (The Conformist)

This story opens in 1938 in Rome, where Marcello has just taken a job working for Mussollini and is courting a beautiful young woman who will make him even more of a conformist. Marcello is going to Paris on his honeymoon and his bosses have an assignment for him there: look up an old professor who fled Italy when the fascists came into power. At the border of Italy and France, where Marcello and his bride have to change trains, his bosses give him a gun with a silencer. In a flashback to 1917, we learn why sex and violence are linked in Marcello's mind.

Based on the hit anime of the same name, "Honey and Clover" deals with five college art students. While the premise may sound simple, it's quite the opposite; the characters struggle through school, work, and love. All within the confines of a university, "Honey and Clover" showcases the journey that everyone must take from being a young adult and following the long and challenging road to becoming a full fledged adult.

O Homem Que Copiava (The Man Who Copied)

The 20-year-old narrator André, relatively poor, falls in love with Silvia, a neighbor whom he spies on with a telescope. Becoming more and more attracted to her, he begins to follow her around the city and realizes she works in a clothing shop. He works in a Xerox place and makes a copy of a brand new 50 real bill in order to buy a dress from her store. This becomes a vice and he begins to photocopy more and more money, until it gets out of control. However, things begin to go wrong when he decides that photocopying is not the only way to make money...

Central Do Brasil

Dora, a dour old woman, works at a Rio de Janeiro central station, writing letters for customers and mailing them. She hates customers and calls them 'trash'. Josue is a 9-year-old boy who never met his father. His mother is sending letters to his father through Dora. When she dies in a car accident, Dora takes Josue and takes a trip with him to find his father.

(Spring on Zarechnaya Street)

In Russian with English subtitles. Tanya, a young school teacher working at a night school for working people, finds it hard to get used to grown-up men, all their constant attempts at flirting, and their off-color jokes and comments. She is especially irritated by one student in particular though, Sasha Savchenko. She continuously avoids his advances so one day he becomes so upset that he drops out of school. After a while though, Tanya acclimates, and realizes in her heart that she has an attraction to Sasha right in time for final exams.

I am Cuba

In Russian with English subtitles.