SPOTLIGHT FILMS

AND NOW . . . LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
FRANCE, 2002, 126 MIN, RATED PG-13
DIRECTED BY CLAUDE LELOUCH
US PREMIERE
IN FRENCH W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Saturday, March 8, 4:30 PM at Park 3
A musical comedy, a police thriller, a surrealistic adventure--why settle on one style when you can embrace them all? Claude Lelouch, one of France's greatest romantic directors (and Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film with 1966's A Man And a Woman), pulls out all the stops to deftly re-imagine the classic premise of a criminal on the run. Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune) stars as Valentin, a jewel thief who's robbed some of the biggest stores in the world using only two weapons--bluff and humor. In an attempt to flee his past, as well as the police, he buys a yacht and sets off on a solo cruise around the world. When the yacht crashes off the coast of Morocco, Valentin meets up with Jane (Patricia Kass), a burnt out jazz singer who's fled to this smarmy hotel gig after a betrayal by her lover. Bound by a mutual desire to forget their histories, the two set out on a pilgrimage of escape, but in the process find something much more significant--each other. Featured as the Closing Night Selection at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, And Now . . . Ladies And Gentlemen is a big, warm-hearted romantic film with a stand-out international cast that includes Thierry Lhermitte (The Dinner Game), Yvan Attal (My Wife Is An Actress) and the great Claudia Cardinale (Once Upon A Time In The West, Fellini's 8 1/2).

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COASTLINES
USA, 2001/2002, 109 MIN, DIRECTED BY VICTOR NUNEZ
Saturday, March 8, 6:15 PM at Enzian
Thursday, March 13, 7:00 PM at Loews
Esteemed filmmaker Victor Nunez has been a mainstay of Florida independent cinema for over twenty years. Consistent in his provocatively humanistic storytelling, all set within the state of Florida, Nunez's award-winning films have focused on varied topics such as the transition into adulthood (Ruby in Paradise) as well as stories of loss and redemption (Ulee's Gold). With Coastlines, the filmmaker tells the story of an ex-con named Sonny (Timothy Olyphant, Dreamcatcher) and his homecoming to a small Gulf Coast town. Looking to resolve lingering issues with his father, ex-girlfriend, and the gangsters for whom he took a fall, Sonny's attempts at retribution are met with equal amounts of joy and heartbreak. Through its vivid cinematography and brilliant ensemble performances from a cast that features Josh Brolin (TV's Mr. Sterling), Sarah Wynter (TV's 24), William Forsythe (The Technical Writer, FFF 2003), and Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama), Coastlines is a rich and evocative portrait that shows that you can never go home again.

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CONFIDENCE
USA, 2002, 98 MIN
DIRECTED BY JAMES FOLEY
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Friday, March 7, 7:00 PM
at Enzian Theater
Wednesday, March 12, 7:00 PM at Loews
Payback is a bitch. That's what Jake (Ed Burns, The Brothers McMullen) discovers in this grifter epic about triple crosses, eccentric crime bosses, and a complex financial scam that would make former Enron executives blush with pride. In a nod to Sunset Boulevard, Confidence opens with the image of Jake's body lying in a pool of blood on a Los Angeles street as his voice-over recounts the tale of how he got there. It all leads back to the scam of a rube who turns out to be the accountant of sinister baddie Winston King (Dustin Hoffman, in a fabulously finicky performance that's his best since Wag The Dog). When corpses start popping up, Jake knows it's only a matter of time until his number is called, so he approaches King and boldly offers to right the unintentional error by pulling off an even bigger con against a criminal banker/money launderer (Robert Forster). Good idea? Sure, until the moll shows up with freshly dyed red hair--a bad omen if ever there was one. Packed with eye-catching performances by Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Paul Giamatti, Luiz Guzman, and Donal Logue, Confidence reinvigorates the con genre with sinuous camerawork and rhythmic editing that relentlessly drives the story. Veteran director James Foley (Glengarry Glenn Ross, At Close Range, TV's Twin Peaks) keeps the action fast-paced in this smartly executed and stylish crime caper that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, never quite sure of who's doing what to whom, where, when, or why.

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THE HEART OF ME
UK, 2002, 95 MIN
DIRECTED BY THADDEUS O'SULLIVAN
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Saturday, March 15, 7:15 PM at Enzian
Sunday, March 16, 4:45 PM at Park 2
Ensconced in London's high society of in the 1930s, three people are living a lie. Debonair Rickie (Paul Bettany, A Beautiful Mind) is married to beautiful but chilly Madeleine (Olivia Williams, Rushmore). But Rickie's heart secretly belongs to Dinah (Helena Bonham Carter, A Room With A View), Olivia's flamboyant sister with whom Rickie has been having an affair of epic proportions for years. Rickie's sudden death leaves two widows, and years later, the sisters attempt a reconciliation, reliving more than a decade of passion, deception, and despair, with each believing the other has stolen her happiness. Crisply directly by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, The Heart Of Me perfectly captures the well-mannered-at-any-cost tone of the era but is at its best exploring the strained and complicated relationship of two very different sisters who loved the same man.

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LAUREL CANYON
USA, 2002, 103 MIN, RATED R
DIRECTED BY LISA CHOLODENKO
Sunday, March 9, 7:15 PM at Park 2
From acclaimed writer/director Lisa Cholodenko (High Art) comes this uncompromising film that details both the tumultuous and wonderful aspects of relationships and love. Laurel Canyon is a powerful character-driven story that follows two conservative Harvard graduates, Sam (Christian Bale) and his fiancé Alex (Kate Beckinsale) and their apprehensive reunion with Sam's mother, Jane (Frances McDormand), a fast-living record producer. As their lives intersect with Jane's enticing world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, the desires of both Sam and Alex become forever changed. Through its rich character development, stunning acting, and beautiful soundtrack (Folk Implosion), Laurel Canyon brilliantly combines elements of drama and humor to present a detailed portrait of the discord caused by human nature.

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LILYA 4-EVER
SWEDEN, 2002, 109 MIN
DIRECTED BY LUKAS MOODYSON
IN SWEDISH, RUSSIAN, GERMAN, AND ENGLISH W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Saturday, March 15, 9:30 PM at Park 2
An unflinching look at the inhabitants of the deteriorated haunts of the former Soviet Union, Lukas Moodyson's (Together, FFF 2001) Lilya 4-Ever provocatively captures the naïve hopes of a girl who is struggling to survive a harsh world. Young Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) goes on a series of misadventures filled with betrayal, glue sniffing, rape, poverty, prostitution, and death after being forced into a tragic existence when her mother abandons her and leaves for the United States. While prostituting at a nightclub, Lilya meets a man who promises her a new life in Sweden, which ultimately proves to be an even worse situation than her previous one. Courageous and inventive through its brilliant cinematography that evokes the hopelessness of its characters, Lilya 4-Ever is packed with unforgettable imagery and ultra-realistic performances from a stellar young cast. A remarkably authentic portrait of post-Cold War Eastern Europe, the film was nominated for Best Actress and Best Film at the recent 2002 European Film Awards.

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THE MAN ON THE TRAIN (L'HOMME DU TRAIN)
FRANCE, 2002, 90 MIN
DIRECTED BY PATRICE LECONTE
IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Sunday, March 9, 9:45 PM at Enzian
A mysterious man walks off a train in a small French town with little more than a world-weary attitude and a bag full of guns. He attracts the attention of a retired schoolteacher who lives in a rambling mansion. Upon discovering the town lacks a hotel, the mystery man accepts the teacher's offer of a room, launching an unusual and ultimately transcendent three-day friendship between two completely opposite men. Deftly helmed by acclaimed French director Patrice Leconte (Girl on the Bridge, FFF 2000), The Man on the Train borrows motifs from classic Westerns to craft a modern fable of crossed dreams--the criminal longs for a quiet life of fireplaces and slippers, while the teacher fantasizes about robbing a bank. But both men are in the twilight of their days, and such a change is not so easy. The film provides roles of a lifetime for two of France's most famous entertainers--renowned actor Jean Rochefort as Manesquier (the Teacher) and 1960s pop icon Johnny Hallyday (better known as The French Elvis) as Milan, the grizzled gangster. But it is Leconte's brilliant orchestration of music, color, and rhythm that elevates this film beyond simple entertainment to a deeply satisfying cinematic experience.

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MONDAYS IN THE SUN (LOS LUNES AL SOL)
SPAIN, 2002, 113 MIN
DIRECTED BY FERNANDO LEON DE ARANOA
IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Wednesday, March 12, 7:15 PM at Park 2
Sunday, March 16, 7:00 PM at Loews
Selected over Pedro Almodovar's Talk to Her as Spain's official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, Mondays in the Sun is the riveting story of six friends struggling to make ends meet in the wake of a shipyard closure several years earlier. The great Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) is superb as Santa, whose life collapses as he and his ex-workmates struggle to overcome their increasing sense of desperation. The excellent ensemble cast also includes Aida Floch as the precocious 15 year-old who watches and absorbs the fiery language exuded by the unemployed workers that frequent her father's bar. As the skillfully driven dialogue shifts from the retrospective to the witty, this social melodrama explodes with scenes that move from outright funny to downright sad. Mondays in the Sun, winner of the Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival and five Goya Awards (Spanish Oscars, including Best Picture, Actor, and Director), transcends the clichés of political accusations and lack of economic progress. It firmly establishes de Aranoa as one of the most gifted in a new generation of Spanish directors.

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STEVIE
USA, 2002, 140 MIN
DIRECTED BY STEVE JAMES
Sunday, March 9, 4:30 PM at Park 3
Friday, March 14, 7:00 PM at Loews
Before directing the award-winning, landmark documentary Hoop Dreams, filmmaker Steve James was a Big Brother in the mid 80s to an abused, neglected, 11 year-old Ritalin kid named Stevie. Ten years later, James returns only to find a troubled adult who has turned into what many would consider a monster. Stevie's family is mired in dysfunction, turning him into a bitter man who trusts no one. When he is charged with a more serious and disturbing crime than usual, the filmmaker discovers his worst fears are coming true. As the film progresses, James taps into crucial modern day issues--the eroding American family, ineffective social programs, and the grim socio-economic state of rural America--to reveal how all have played a contributing factor in shaping Stevie. The film offers no neat resolutions or answers, only a trail of what-if questions and the director's determination to maintain hope for his Little Brother. Recently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, Stevie is a brave new work with a personal touch that clearly demonstrates that real life is more compelling that any fiction.

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THE SWEATBOX
UK, 2002, 86 MIN
DIRECTED BY JOHN-PAUL DAVIDSON AND TRUDIE STYLER
SOUTHEAST PREMIERE/2ND US SHOWING
Saturday, March 15, 9:45 PM at Enzian
Sunday, March 16, 2:30 PM at Park 3
For the first time in history Disney allowed an outside film crew into their world to chronicle the blood, sweat, and tears of their animation process. In 1997, Sting was asked to write the music for the new animated feature, Kingdom of the Sun. Two years in, the bosses at Disney decide they don't like it. It's meltdown mode. Director Roger Allers (The Lion King) leaves the project, and all of Sting's songs are shelved and thousands of drawings shredded. A new film gradually emerges out of the wreckage, which is finally completed and released as The Emperor's New Groove. For Sting it was a lesson in collaboration that he often wished he hadn't embarked on. The Sweatbox not only reveals the arduous process necessary for the commercial success of the animation studio but also serves as an excellent fly-on-the-wall documentary that allows the audience to experience what five years in the Mouse House is really like.

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TOGETHER (HAN NI ZAI YIKI)
CHINA, 2002, 116 MIN, RATED PG
DIRECTED BY CHEN KAIGE
IN MANDARIN CHINESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
EAST COAST PREMIERE/2ND US SHOWING
Friday, March 14, 7:00 PM at Park 2
Saturday, March 15, 4:30 PM at Park 3
Regarded as a leading director of the "Fifth Generation" of Chinese cinema, Chen Kaige's distinguished body of work includes the Oscar nominated Farewell My Concubine (Best Foreign Feature, Best Cinematography), and the monumental epic, The Emperor and the Assassin. In Together, his trademark storytelling strength and elegant vision combine to create a beautiful coming of age film that touches the heart with the same harmony and intensity as a complex musical orchestration. The story is about Xiaochun, a shy, sensitive 13-year-old boy and extremely talented violinist, who uses music as a way of expressing his feelings. Xiaochun and his sweet natured father move to immense, metropolitan Beijing so that he can audition for a prestigious music school. There he meets new and demanding teachers, discovers true friendship, falls in love for the first time, learns how painful love can be, and comes to understand the true meaning of music. Based on a true story, Together is a touching and deceptively simple drama that explores the massive changes underway in contemporary China and their effects on ordinary lives.

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