a Chinese Ghost Story

Come to the Seminar Room this Sunday 8th of November at 20:00 to see "A Chinese Ghost Story" (倩女幽魂) a classic blend of romantic comedy and fantasy that, despite its restricted production budget, far exceeds modern romantic comedies in quality and spirit (pardon the pun :-) Not to be missed!

The story is that of Ling Choi San , an innocent young man working as a tax collector. When his tax books are spoiled by the rain, he is left penniless and unable to afford a lodging. Instead, and despite the warning of the wacky taoist swordsman Yin Chik Ha, he decides to spend the night at the Lan Yeuk temple, long reputed to be enchanted by evil spirits. That night, the sound of the strings of a lute and an alluring voice lead him to Nip Siu Sihn, a young lady of unearthly beauty...

the Double Life of Véronique

Come to the Gatsby Room in Wolfson College's this Sunday the 23rd of August around 21:00 to see one of the masterpieces of director Krzysztof Kieslowski - "the Double Life of Véronique":

Weronika lives in Poland, Véronique in Paris. Their lives run as parallel as lives can do, yet they are bound by links that stretch beyond mere space. Alike as Doppelgängers, they also share a passion for music. Yet as alike as they are, fate has different plans for each of them. Their lives represent a battle between free will and the dark puppeteer that is destiny...

Tango

Come to the Gatsby Room in Wolfson College's this Sunday the 2nd of August around 22:00 to see an exploration of the classic Argentine dance by Spanish director Carlos Saura - "Tango":

The film's narrative follows director Mario Suarez, who embarks in an over-ambitious project about Tango after being abandoned by his muse and lover Laura. One evening he meets Elena, the girlfriend of his investor Angelo. Mario and Elena fall in love, but have to reckon with Angelo's fiery jealousy. If that were not enough, Mario's dark portrayal of the political repression and violence of Argentina's past don't prove very popular amongst the rest of his investors...

Viy

Come to the Gatsby Room in Wolfson College's this Sunday the 26th of August at 21:00 to see a classic of Russian cinema. "Viy" is Georgi Kropachyov and Konstantin Yershov's adaptation of a the eerie tale by Nikolai Gogol:

Three students travelling home from Kiev, get lost and stumble upon a country house where an old hag reluctantly allows them to stay. Khoma, the philosophy student, is visited by the hag, who straddles him by force. He soon find himself galloping high above the countryside, the witch on his back. Desperate, he starts madly praying, weakening her spell. As she lands, exhausted, he beats her to near death, only to find her transformed into a beautiful young woman. Horrified, he runs back to Kiev, unaware that his troubles have just begun...

Belle Epoque

Come to the Gatsby Room in Wolfson College's this Sunday the 19th at 21:00 to see a classic Spanish romantic (tragi-) comedy. Fernando Trueba's "Belle Époque" collects a host of wonderful Spanish actors in an Oscar winning satire of romantic films:

Fernando is a soldier in the Spanish civil war, but he deserts, since he's not a man of war, but "a man of love". As he flees, he meets Manolo, the owner of a large villa and father of four beautiful daughters. Fernando's pure feelings jump from one daughter to the next as each daughter romances him in turn...

Tesis

Come to the Gatsby Room in Wolfson College's this Sunday the 12th at 21:30 to see a modern classic of Spanish cinema. "Tesis" by Alejandro Amenabar is a thrilling commentary on the pretty façade of today's society and its underground currents, embodied in "Snuff":

Ángela, a film student in Madrid, is writing a thesis on violence in media. In her search for material, she befriends Chema, a reclusive student deeply interested in violent and pornographic films. But even Chema's extensive collection does not seem to have what interests Ángela: Snuff films, where real people are slowly tortured and killed. But her efforts are rewarded when she finds her professor dead, watching a real Snuff tape, which quickly draws her into a deadly game...

Matador

This Sunday 5th of July you are invited to see a classic black comedy by Pedro Almodovar, "Matador". The screening will be at 21:30 in the Wolfson College Seminar Room:

Diego is a bullfighter, forcibly retired by his occupational hazard, a bull. His existential crisis leads him to shift his aim from bulls to women, who he seduces, makes love to and then kills, as a substitute for the thrill of the Corrida. Angel, his apprentice bullfighter, increasingly frustrated with his sexuality, or lack thereof, he rapes Diego's girl, Eva. Angel attempts to redeem his guilt by giving himself over to the police but nobody believes him, so he admits a string of recent murders. Angel's attorney, Maria, is soon drawn to Diego, with whom she shares much in common...

Strangers on a Train

This Sunday at 22:00 in the Wolfson College Seminar Room, you are invited to see the epic classic "Strangers on a Train" by Alfred Hitchcock:

Guy and Bruno, two strangers, meet in a train. Bruno suggests an amusing idea: if two strangers met by chance, and each wanted to get rid of someone, they could swap murders, allowing the other to have an alibi. For instance, Bruno could kill Guy's unfaithful, leeching wife in exchange for the murder of his own authoritarian father... Guy, thinking the proposal a joke toasts to the plan not realizing that his companion is dead serious...

Battle Royale

Friends, let us meet this Saturday 6th of June at 19:00 to watch the film "Battle Royale".

The film is set in futuristic Japan where "at the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At fifteen percent unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act - AKA: The BR Act..." The story starts when a class of unsuspecting students on a school trip are drugged and wake up on a recluse island to find themselves in the Battle Royale program. They are then forced to kill one another until there is only one left, who will be the sole survivor. In these extreme circumstances, each acts according to their nature...



I will let you know where the film will be displayed - stay tuned!

an Ordinary Miracle

Here is an invitation to watch the Russian film "An Ordinary Miracle", by the same director as "That Very Munchhausen", which was such a success last week :-)

The film starts off with a bored wizard, who has decided to amuse himself by turning a bear into a man. His wife, outraged by his prank, asks him to reverse his curse, but things are not that simple... To will only reverse the magic when he meets his True Love and kisses her. The wizard casts down the cards and arranges both the bear and a Princess to meet beneath his roof, it could not be simpler, or could it?..



In principle, I had in mind to watch the film on Sunday around 21:30 in the Seminar Room of Wolfson College, after having had something to eat, so again, offerings and sacrifices are welcome!

If you'd like to come, please leave a comment (I need to know where to book depending on the size of the audience :-)

from formal to informal...

I've decided to dissolve the Wolfson Arts Film Society, or at least dissolve myself from it. I think this will make it easier to organise film nights that are not bounded by one particular day of the week and removes the element of excessive responsibility, since the film nights will be announced on a night-by-night basis.

Essentially, I'd like to use this as a way of organising our common and informal film nights :)

p.s. you will find in the archives the old films I showed at the Wolfson Arts Film Society...

in the Mood for Love

WAFS invites you this Friday 8th of May to see the screening of "In the Mood for Move" by Wong Kar Wai.

Synopsis:

Chow Mo-Wan, a journalist, and So Lai-Zhen move into adjacent rooms of an appartment. Their frequent aloneness draws them together, but their marriage bonds allow aught but friendship. As they confide in each other, they both admit their suspicions that their partners are cheating on them with each other. Chow suggests they act out their suspicions... but where does role-play end and love begin?


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Underground

WAFS invites you this Friday 1st of May to see the screening of "Underground" by Emir Kusturica.

Synopsis:

"Once upon a time there was a country..." This satire spans the history of Yugoslavia from World War II, passing through the Cold War, to the Balcan wars. The story evolves within an underground factory of weapons in Belgrade, whose dwellers are fooled for years that the War is going on. And how can they realise the truth if each time they decide to escape, they have the more reason to believe the lie?
Kusturica's black, yet heartful humour and Bregovic's music make this film a modern classic.

To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Days of Glory

WAFS invites you this Sunday 26th of April to see the screening of "Days of Glory" by Rachid Bouchareb.

Synopsis:

This film follows the fate of a handful of Algerian soldiers who have volunteered to liberate France from the hands of the Nazis. But Said, Yassir, Messaoud, Abdelkader and Martinez must fight not merely the Third Reich, but also the indignity of the French army, who sees them as cannon fodder rather than soldiers. As the tagline affirms, this is "the true story of World War II's forgotten heroes".


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

that Obscure Object of Desire

WAFS invites you this Sunday 29th of March to see the screening of "That Obscure Object of Desire" by Luis Buñuel.

Synopsis:

Mathieu, a rich, middle-aged Frenchman, arrives to the station and boards a train. After him arrives a young girl, her face bruised, searching each wagon with her eyes. Just as she reaches Mathieu's wagon, he emerges, a cube of water in hand and pours it over her head. Back in his cabin, he relates to his fellow passengers how young Conchita became his unfulfilled, obscure object of desire...


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Burnt by the Sun

WAFS invites you this Sunday 22nd of March to see the screening of Oscar winning "Burnt by the Sun" by Nikita Mikhalkov.

Synopsis:

1936, Russia.
General Sergei Kotov, his wife Marusia and their young daughter Nadia are spending the summer in their villa. The idyllic atmosphere abruptly changes with the arrival of "uncle Mitya", whose charming manners, games and piano virtuosity hold Marusia and Nadia spellbound. Between Sergei and Mitya, now an NKVD official, past vendettas and present duties will ripen into a bitter summer fruit. Has Sergei been flying too close to the Sun?..


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

the Celebration

WAFS invites you this Sunday 15th of March to see the screening of "The Celebration" by Thomas Vinterberg.

Synopsis:

Helge, a respected and esteemed patriarch, turns 60. To celebrate, he invites family and guests to his hotel. What should have been a time of celebration turns into a family feud, when Helge's son Christian accuses him of sexually abusing him and his late sister, Linda, who has recently committed suicide. Fair truth or vile lies? Skeletons tumble in heaps out of the family closet and onto the dining table...


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

the Seventh Seal

WAFS invites you this Sunday 8th of March to see the screening of "The Seventh Seal", the classic film that brought Ingmar Bergman international acclaim.

Synopsis:

A Knight returns from the Crusades to Sweden only to find it ravaged by the Plague. Not only this, but Death has come for him too. The Knight challenges Death to a game of Chess, which they play out during their trip back to the Knight's castle, where his wife awaits. As the battle of wits progresses, the Knight must come to terms with not only his mortality, but with his broken faith and existential crisis...


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the opening scene.

the Wave

WAFS invites you this Sunday 1st of March to see the screening of "The Wave" by Dennis Gansel.

Synopsis:

25 years after the fall of Hitler's Germany, no student believes that fascism could grip the world again. Rainer Wegner, a history teacher, decides to challenge his student's arrogance and boredom with a self-made experiment. Starting by instilling discipline into the classroom, Rainer's experiment, "The Wave", soon spirals down into the very heart of fascism itself and out of his very control...

Based on a true story.


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Dekalog (Sins 5 and 6)

WAFS invites you this Sunday 8th of February to see the screening of two episodes of the legendary "Dekalog" by Krzysztof Kieślowski.

Synopsis:

The premise of the Dekalog is to take the 10 commandments and narrate a short story based on each of them. Rather than plainly exploring the consequences of breaching each commandment, the stories explore the many aspects of the human condition with a humane eye.

The following episodes are based on the commandments: "Thou shalt not Kill" and "Thou shalt not commit Adultery". Both were made into feature films: "A short film about Killing" and "A short film about Love".


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer.

Black Cat, White Cat

WAFS invites you this Sunday 25 of January to see the screening of "Black Cat, White Cat", a film by Emir Kustrica. A heartful comedy about gipsies, love and shady deals, not to be missed!

Synopsis:

Matko is a middle-aged Roma always on the lookout for quick money. When the chance presents itself, he borrows money from local gangster Dadan and old mafiosi Grag Pitic, an old acquaintance of his own father, Zarije.

Meanwhile his son, young Zare, falls in love with feisty Ida, and all seems to go well until Matko botches his shady deal with Dadan. To repay the debt Dadan forces Matko to marry young Zare to his diminute sister, Ladybird...

Can love overcome crookery? What happens when two old cats meet again? Is there life after death? Come and find out! :-)


To help you make up your mind, here's a link to the trailer and our poster: