The House of the Spirits
Monday. Oct 17
Plot: Blanca Trueba tells the story of her family. In
1926 her mother Clara fell for the young Esteban Trueba
when he came to ask for the hand of her sister Rosa in
marriage. But Rosa then died. Esteban brought an estate
with money earned gold mining but became a harsh and cruel
landlord. He returned to Clara, who had not spoken for
many years, preferring to live in the 'house of the spirits'
inside her head. She suddenly spoke and agreed to marry
him. Blanca was later born but as a teenager ran up against
her father's iron hand when he found her sneaking out
to see the peasant boy Pedro. But when the leftist People's
Party won at the elections and the militia conducted a
coup, Esteban, who had become a prominent conservative
politician, was left powerless and then hunted for his
life.
There is something undeniably autobiographical to Isabel
Allende's original 1986 novel that this film is based
on. Isabel was a daughter of Chile's ruling Allende family
who were overthrown in a revolution in the early 1970s.
On the other hand there is also something undeniably fictional
to the story's multi-generational romantic saga, told
as it is in the Latino style of Magical Realism, featuring
the likes of a precognitive Meryl Streep and appearances
from various ghosts. Exactly what is fiction and what
is not is hard to tell - the film, for instance, never
specifies which South American country the story is set
in.
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Devdas Monday,
Oct 24
Visually stunning, Devdas is full of
colors and breathtaking sets, which will keep your eyes
glued to the screen. Devdas (Shah Rukh Khan) and Parvati
(Aishwarya Rai) have shared a special bond since childhood
and is put to the test when Devdas is sent away to England
to further his studies. Parvati (or Paro) waits for him
and lights a diya signifying her undying love for Devdas.
When he finally returns Paro´s world lights up again.
Their love is fully supported by Paro´s mother Sumitra
(Kiron Kher) who is full of life and joy. However thanks
to a meddling sister-in-law (Ananya), the love story takes
an unfortunate turn after Devdas´ mother Kaushalya
(Smita Jaykar) insults Sumitra and refuses to accept Paro
as her daughter-in-law. The hurt Sumitra arranges Paro´s
wedding to Zamindar Bhuvan (Vijayendra Ghatge), a rich
widower. Hurt by the turn of events Devdas turns to his
college friend Chunni Babu (Jackie Shroff) who opens Devdas´
eyes to the world of alcohol and prostitutes. Enter Chandramukhi
(Madhuri Dixit) a popular tawaif, who falls in love with
the righteous Devdas. Sadly even her love cannot save
the doomed Devdas who quickly becomes an alcoholic. The
pain of his lost love can only be numbed by alcohol and
it is that alcohol which ultimately consumes Devdas´
life.
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The Razor's Edge Monday,
Oct 31
Based on William Somerset Maugham's
novel, THE RAZOR'S EDGE follows a young man's search for
identity. After experiencing WWI, veteran Larry Darrell
(Bill Murray) seeks spiritual peace and recovery. After
leaving his fiancée (Catherine Hicks), he travels
to war-torn Europe and finally to the mystic Himalayas,
and eventually finds what he's looking for in manual labor
and the wisdom of an Indian guru. However, Larry realizes
that he can no longer resume the life he left behind,
and that he must end his relationship with his fiancée
if he is to reach his goal. But he finds love with another
woman (Theresa Russell) and she causes new trouble for
Larry. A labor of love for Murray, he wrote the script
with director John Byrum and demonstrates previously unseen
dramatic strength.
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Siddhartha Monday,
Nov 7
A moving evocation of each person's
search for the divine within. Adapted from the famous
novel by Hermann Hesse, follows the spiritual quest of
Siddhartha (Shashi Kapoor), a restless young Brahmin of
India who leaves home to find inner peace. The son of
a wealthy family, Siddhartha first renounces his possessions
and wanders the country as a pilgrim, then indulges in
sexual pleasure (with lovely Simi Garewal) and material
success, but none of these things gives him what he yearns
for. Finally, working as a ferryman across a river, he
finds a way of being that calms his spirit.
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Water Crystals in Motion-
Messages From Water Monday, Nov14
See how spoken and written words change
the structure of water. This groundbreaking work from
Dr Masuro Emoto shows us that what we say, and feel and
well as what we listen to has an effect on water, and
because we are made up of water, it has an effect on us.
This film shows how the water crystals are formed and
the process used to capture the images of water as it
is exposed to written and spoken words as well as music.
This imagery was recently utilized in the movie What The
Bleep Do we Know.
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Miracle of Marcelino Monday,
Nov 21
The catalyst for the intense drama that
follows is this scene: One exasperated monk, trying to
instill discipline in a beloved orphan boy, conjures up
a rule. He exclaims, "You must NEVER climb this stairway!"
to the attic.
The monk, Brother Francisco, is the dominant parent-figure,
among the twelve Italian Franciscan monks, in an Hispanic
land, who have adopted the youngster, Marcelino, at infancy.
Marcelino, being a child, curious, mischievous, climbs
the stairs. In the attic, what he finds there, how he
responds, ultimately forces the humble, bewildered monks
to confront the mystical center, of their faith.
In many ways, this film subtly emanates the very spirit
of St. Francis of Assisi. It's as if I am glimpsing what
Francis must have been like as a joyous child, and as
a soul, early in life, opening to Love. The aptly named
Brother Francisco eagerly embraces the abandoned infant,
nurtures him, as Francis would do, for the varied creatures
of nature.
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Nova - The Elegant
Universe Monday,
Nov 28
One of the most ambitious and exciting a scientific theory
ever posed-one that may be the long-sought "Theory
of Everything"-gets a masterful and lavishly animated
explanation that will excite scientists and non-scientists
alike. Beginning with simple and clear explanations of
major concepts of physics, including gravity, electromagnetism,
and relativity, The Elegant Universe illuminates one of
the most revolutionary theories in physics today.
Known as string theory or superstring theory, this startling
idea proposes that the fundamental ingredients of nature
are inconceivably tiny strands of energy, whose different
modes of vibration underlie everything that happens in
the universe. The theory attempts to unite the laws of
the large-general relativity-and the laws of the small-quantum
mechanics-breaking a conceptual logjam that has frustrated
scientists for nearly a century.
If string theory proves correct, the universe we see obscures
a reality that is far richer and more complex than anyone
ever imagined-a universe with numerous hidden dimensions,
a universe in which the fabric of space can rip and tear,
a universe that may be but one of many parallel universes.
Join host Brian Greene, professor of physics and mathematics
at Columbia University and the best-selling author of
The Elegant Universe, for this exciting and in-depth exploration
of this groundbreaking new theory.
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The
Colour of Paradise Monday,
Dec 5
This film tells the story of a man who
is unable to accept his blind boy. Through this resistance
he gets himself deeper and deeper into misery and misfortune,
until he finally for the first time feels his heart for
his son... a film full of beauty and sadness
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The Joy Luck Club Monday,
Dec 12
Four mothers, four daughters, four families
whose histories shift with the four winds depending on
who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese
women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting
to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared
unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy
Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose
to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair
was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong
what was already unbearable."
Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse
themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.
It's fascinating and satisfying the way the diverse threads
are knitted together into a single tapestry. The Joy Luck
Club's message is one of hope -- that catharsis and emotional
fulfillment often come through tragedy. Sure, a lot of
bad things happen during the course of this film, but
at the end, the tears are of happiness and new beginnings,
not loss.
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The Straight Story
Monday,
Dec 19
The Straight Story is based on a real
event in the life of a real person - Alvin is not in the
best of health - he has a bad hip that requires him to
use two canes while walking and he has trouble with his
vision. One day, Alvin receives a phone call from a family
member informing him that his brother, Lyle (Harry Dean
Stanton), whom he has not spoken to in 10 years, has suffered
a stroke. Alvin decides that he must make the 320-mile
trek to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin, and the only means of transportation
available to him is his lawnmower. "I've got to go
see Lyle, and I've got to make the trip on my own,"
he remarks. So, hitching a home-made trailer to a John
Deere, he begins one of the most unusual road trips ever.
Lynch paces the film beautifully, allowing Alvin's character
to be developed in such away that the climactic scene
has a genuine emotional impact. The Straight Story moves
slowly - which is actually perfect for a motion picture
that concerns travel by lawnmower. Passing many types
of scenery with autumn leaves and cornfields ready to
be razed.
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The Shawshank Redemption
Monday,
Dec 26
The movie begins with Andy Dufresne
being wrongly convicted, despite persistent pleas of innocence,
for the murder of his wife and her lover. He is sent to
the fictitious Shawshank to serve his sentence.
Andy not only undergoes normal living conditions of a
prison, but also injustice and mistreatment by the guards,
and repeated rapes at the hands of fellow prisoners.
However, Andy brings a sense of civility to his prison
life through his hobby of working with rocks, treating
others with civility, and continually defying authorities
through simple acts of decency.
It's there he meets "Red".
He first sees Andy as he's lead into the prison and predicts
that he won't last long inside the prison walls. Over
time though, he's surprised that the young man is able
to survive and soon, the two become friends with respect
for each other. Andy had demonstrated him through his
stay at Shawshank - that there is a place inside yourself
and outside the prison that isn't made of stone. There
are things to hope for - things greater than prison will
lead you to believe.
A movie so elegant and emotional that
is perfect in its way of storytelling. A movie that is
about how hope can never die.
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