Time: 6.30pm

Date: 9^th, 10^th, 11^th Jan 2009

Venue: Ashirwad, St. Mark's Road

 

1. The vertical ray of sun

Dir: Tran Anh Hung

Duration: 1hr 50min

Countries: France / Germany / Vietnam

 

Synopsis

THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN is the third impressive feature from Tran Anh Hung, following THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA (winner of a Cesar for best first film and nominated for best foreign film at the Oscar's in 1994) and CYCLO.

Set in modern day Hanoi the film joins three sisters on the morning of the memorial for their mother's death. Suong (Nguyen Nhu Quynh) the eldest sister, owns the restaurant where the memorial dinner is to be held, where she is joined by her second sister Khanh (Le Khanh). The youngest sister, Lien (Tran Nu Yen Khe) lives with her 'big' brother Hai (Ngo Quang Hai), who is only moments older than her. The three sisters are close, sharing secrets and intimate thoughts.

However, each sister keeps a secret from the others. Suong is stifled by her marriage to a husband who travels with work and so turns to a new love. Khanh, happily married, keeps her pregnancy hidden from her siblings, whilst Lien holds a curious fascination for her brother and wishes passersby to think that they are a couple. As time goes on each sister will need to acknowledge and share their secret.

THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN is a truly luscious film, in style and content. Tran Anh Hung manages to convey a very real sense of intimacy between the characters, complimented by the beauty of the mise-en-scene - warm and tropical. With an intriguing soundtrack - from the Velvet Underground to Arab Strap - this film should turn some heads and please those who have already been won over by his style.

 

2. The Road Home

   Director: Zhang Yimou

   Dur: 1hr 29min

   Country: China

 

Synopsis

 Following on the heels of director Zhang Yimou's Not One Less (1999), which won the top prize at the 1999 Venice Film Festival, comes this sensitively-wrought portrait of a young woman's unshakable love. The film opens in the present, shot in gritty black and white, as businessman Luo Yusheng (Sun Honglei) returns to his hometown in the rural Hebei province to attend the funeral of his father. When Luo suggests that the coffin should be brought home from the hospital on a tractor, his aging mother Zhao Di (Zhao Yuelin) rebuffs him, insisting that they conform to custom and have it carried home by local men. Later, as Luo recalls his parent's courtship, the film switches to color and travels back in time about 40 years. A young, beautiful Zhao Di (Zhang Ziyi) find herself falling for the village's handsome new teacher Luo Changyu (Zheng Hao). As the males in the village join together to build a school for the burg, Zhao Di helps the other women prepare food, waiting patiently to meet the strapping educator. Just as their romance begins, Luo is suddenly ordered to leave by the Communist authorities. As Luo packs up and leaves the village, Zhao Di races hither and thither carrying his favorite steamed dumplings, hoping to catch him before he departs. Though the odds of reunion seem slim, Zhao Di steadfastly holds vigil for her lover until miraculously, Luo returns under the cover of the night only to be once again ordered to the city where he has been commanded to stay. The pair are forced to wait another two years until they can be together. This film won the prestigious Silver Bear at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival; the victories were all the more sweet for the director, as The Road Home was rejected outright from the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, prompting Zhang to angrily withdraw his Not One Less from competition.

Awards

2000 Golden Rooster Awards

Best Picture

Best Art Direction — Cao Juiping

Best Director — Zhang Yimou

2000 Hundred Flowers Awards

Best Actress — Zhang Ziyi

2000 Berlin International Film Festival

Silver Bear — Jury Grand Prix

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

Golden Bear (nominated)

2000 Ljubljana International Film Festival

Audience Award

2001 Bodil Awards

Best Non-American Film (nominated)

2001 Sundance Film Festival

Audience Appreciation Award

2001 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)

2001 Fajr Film Festival

Crystal Simorgh for Best Film, International Competition

2001 Florida Film Festival

Audience Award for Best International Feature Film

 

3.  The edge of heaven

   Director: Fatih Akin  

   Dur: 112mins

   Country: Turkry/Germany

 

Retired widower Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz) sees a solution to his loneliness when he meets prostitute Yeter (Nursel Köse), and he proposes that his fellow Turkish native live with him in exchange for a low rent. At first Ali's German Professor son Nejat (Baki Davrak) seems disapproving about his father's choice, but the young professor quickly grows fond of kind Yeter, especially upon discovering most of her hard-earned money is sent home to Turkey for her daughter's university studies.

The accidental death of Yeter further distances father and son, both emotionally and physically. Nejat then decides to travel to Istanbul to begin an organized search for Yeter's daughter Ayten. He decides to stay in Turkey and trades places with the owner of a German bookstore who goes home to Germany. What Nejat doesn't know is that 20-something political activist Ayten is already in Germany, having fled the Turkish police.

Alone and penniless, Ayten is befriended by German student Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska), who is immediately seduced by the young Turkish woman's charms and political situation. Lotte invites rebellious Ayten to stay in her home, a gesture not particularly pleasing to her conservative mother Susanne. However Ayten ends up arrested and confined for months while awaiting political asylum. When her plea is denied, Ayten is deported and imprisoned in Turkey.

Passionate Lotte decides to abandon everything to help Ayten and as the story develops she meets Nejat.

Awards:

Best Screenplay Award received at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival,

Lino Brocka Award in the International Cinema category at the 2007 Cinemanila International Film Festival in the Philippines.

Won five awards at Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (best director, editing, supporting actor, supporting actress and special jury award).

European Parliament awarded its newly established LUX prize for European cinema to Fatih Akin's film(2007).

Won the Critics Award at the European Cinema Festival, in Seville(2007,).

Won the best screenplay award at European Film Awards,

 

 

Please renew your membership for the year 2009 if you have not already done.

 

Admission to the screenings- Only for members

 

 

With Regards,

BFS Team