SOUTH AMERICAN, French, Italian, and German films dominate the Galway Film Society’s autumn/winter season, with 11 films to be screened in the Town Hall Theatre from September 28 to December 7.
The popular Audrey Tautou stars in French film Priceless (2006 ), which will be screened on September 28. Tautou plays Irene, who likes hunting for sugar daddies on the French Riviera and is addicted to all things expensive and luxurious. What happens though when she take a shine to a man she mistakenly thinks is wealthy? Find out in this screwball comedy.
Italian film My Brother Is An Only Child (2007 ) is a lively, funny, and intelligent meditation on Italy’s Fascist inheritance. Manrico gets involved with the revolutionary left, while his brother, sharp-tongued Accio, is expelled from his seminary and falls under the influence of a band of thuggish Fascist ‘aristocrats’. See what happens to them on October 5.
XXY (2007 ) is an Argentinean film directed by one of the country’s leading novelists Lucia Puenzo. It tells the story of 15-year-old Alex, who struggles with normal teenage angst. Her family move to Uruguay and there the problems begin. Alex was born with a genital ambiguity that is only now becomes truly apparent. Alex and her parents must choose whether she will live as a boy or a girl. See it on October 12.
It’s back to France on October 18 for Summer Hours (2008 ). Helene is celebrating her 75th birthday with her two sons, Frederic and Jeremie, as well as their families. Helene is using the family gathering to decide about how to dispose of her artefacts after her death. Through the fine ensemble playing the film develops a subtle feel for the undercurrents that divide the siblings.
Germany is home to a large Turkish immigrant population - the subject of German film The Edge Of Heaven, which will be screened on November 2.
Nejat, a second generation Turk, is a university professor lecturing on Goethe. His father has offered cohabitation rights to the Turkish prostitute Yeter who is eager to escape bullying activists in the red-light district. Ayten has a relationship with Lotte and between them they want to revive the Baader-Meinhof gang. Expect a intriguing, complex, beautifully acted movie which won Best Screenplay, at Cannes 2007.
The Pope’s Toilet (2007 ) is a Brazilian and Uruguayan film set in Melo, on the border between the two countries. It’s a town which needs an economic boost so when news comes through that Pope John Paul II is visiting many seize the opportunity to capitalise on this once in a lifetime opportunity! Beto, for his part, builds a toilet to service the tourists during their time in the town. Se the fun and mayhem that ensues on November 9.
Emma is a sexually frustrated farmer whose farm is about to be repossessed by creditors. Max is a terminally ill car dealer who steals money from his employer and absconds only to crash his car through the fence surrounding Emma’s farmyard. Sparks fly and they take a shine to each other. This is the award winning Emma’s Bliss (Germany, 2006 ), which will be screened on November 16.
Couscous (2007 ) is a comedy-drama filmed in the southern French port of Sète, and centred on a North African dockside community.
Slimane Beiji is tired of a life of toil in a shipyard, and wants to realise his long-cherished dream, opening a floating restaurant specialising in fish-and-couscous dishes. Local dignitaries have to be persuaded that the venture has a future however - as does his family. Does Slimane succeed? Find out on November 23.
US film The Visitor (2007 ) is a tale of friendship which provides a much needed alternative to the prevailing political rhetoric that promotes fear of ‘enemies in our midst’.
Connecticut widower Walter Vale befriends Syrian drummer Tarek who teaches him how to play drums. Tarek’s mother Mouna visits from Detroit and an unlikely romance is sparked between the man, who just lost his wife, and the woman who fears losing her son.
The film won Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress at Method Festival 2008. See it on November 30.
Special screenings
Persepolis (2007 ) is a moving, perceptive and funny French film based on the two volumes of Marjane Satrapi’s comic-strip autobiography about growing up in Iran under the Shah and the ayatollahs. It is a tale of alienation, persecution, frustration and exile. Yet, it never gets sentimental or self-pitying. The film will be screened in association with Galway One World Centre on October 5 at 4pm.
Man On Wire (USA 2008 ), will be screened on October 12 at 4pm. Daredevil Philippe Petit walks on a high-wire across the Twin Towers in New York in 1974. This film, one of the most wildly entertaining documentaries of recent years, is structured in a movie-within-a-movie fashion, with the action of that day hurtling forward in segments, as Petit’s background and previous high-wire stunts is told chronologically, before culminating in his daring feat.
The season ends with a Christmas screening of Scrooge (1951 ) on December 7 at 4pm. There will also be carol singing, spot prizes, and light refreshments.
All films are screened on Sundays at 8.15pm except where noted. For tickets and booking contact the Town Hall Theatre on 091 - 569777.
