FILM
CINEMATIC STAPLE CU’s International Film Series returns for another semester BY MICHAEL J. CASEY
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his weekend, you could celebrate the 70th anniversary of Seven Samurai — “one of the most thrilling movie epics of all time,” according to esteemed film critic, Roger Ebert. Next week, it could be a quiet but powerful drama starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn (Daddio). And next month, it’s two of the greatest movies ever made, one of which is celebrating its 50th anniversary (The Tokyo Story screens Oct. 10 as part of the Godfather: Part II). International Film Series at CU Boulder. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what day or week Courtesy: Sotheby’s it is when you read this: CU’s International Film Series is back in session, and there’s always something good to watch. Locally programmed since 1941, IFS is a cinematic staple of new, old and underground programming. The Sundance announces top finalists semester kicked off Sept. 5 with a 35 mm screening of Alex Cox’s Repo Man — one of the titles projecting on to host famed film festival reel-to-reel 35 mm this semester: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Oct. 3), Tokyo Story (Oct. 10), Kung Fu And then there were three. Hustle (Oct. 16), Evil Dead II (Oct. 30), My Uncle (Nov. 2) In a Sept. 12 press release, the Sundance and Léon: The Professional (Dec. 9). Institute announced the top three candidates to All are worth your time, but for this critic, the movie that host the future of the Sundance Film Festival. begs to be seen again and again is Yasujirō Ozu’s masterBoulder made the cut. The other two candidates piece, Tokyo Story. The plot is simple: two aging parents are Cincinnati, Ohio, and Salt Lake City/Park City, travel to the city to visit their children. But the children are Utah. now adults and too busy with their own lives and families The announcement marks the final phase of the to pay their folks any mind. So the pair return home, and selection process, which began earlier this year on the trip, the mother grows ill and dies. Now, the children when Sundance launched the Request for return home to pay their respects and voice their regrets Proposal process to host the festival for 10 years for all the things left unsaid. Where did all the time go, they starting in 2027. wonder. They always thought there would be more. The future location of the Sundance Film Festival It might be impossible to leave Tokyo Story the same will be announced after the 2025 film festival, which person you were before. The Japanese have a saying for will take place Jan. 23 through Feb. 2 in Utah. it: “mono no aware” or “a bittersweet passing of things.” That’s a sentiment you could apply to Daddio, Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams (Sept. 30) or The Double Life of Véronique (Dec. 7). Each is a powerhouse. Hell, the whole lineup is a powerhouse: Wicked Little Letters (Oct. 5), Possession (Oct. 28), About Dry Grasses (Nov. 3), The Shawshank Redemption (Dec. 8), the list goes on and on.
BOULDER MAKES THE CUT
ON SCREEN: CU’s International Film Series, Sept. 5 through Dec. 12, CU Boulder, 1905 Colorado Ave. Pricing and full schedule at internationalfilmseries.com. 16
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Could Boulder be the future home of Sundance? Courtesy: Sundance Institute
I Am Not Your Negro screens Sept. 27 as part of TCM’s Making Change series. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
CHANGE MAKERS Survive election season with ‘the most significant political films of all time’ Politics and entertainment have always been entangled. Sometimes, it’s mockery with a message (Charlie Chaplin clowning on Adolph Hitler in The Great Dictator). Other times, it’s an attempt to expose a local cause to a larger public (the striking miners of Salt of the Earth). And sometimes, it’s a creation so close to reality that the lines become blurred (the guerrilla fighters in The Battle of Algiers). And for the next seven Fridays on TCM, host Ben Mankiewicz welcomes a variety of artists and politicians to discuss some of the most significant political films of all time for the new series, Making Change. Every Friday, TCM screens titles taken from the New Republic’s list of the same name, many of which will be accompanied by a discussion between Mankiewicz and a guest (Spike Lee, Stacey Abrams, Robert Gates, etc.) to see how politics influence movies and vice versa. All 50 titles are worth your time, but make sure not to miss: Born in Flames (Sept. 20), I Am Not Your Negro (Sept. 27), A Face in the Crowd (Oc. 4), Citizen Kane (Oct. 25) and Weekend (Nov. 1).
ON SCREEN: TCM’s Making Change: The Most Significant Political Films of All Time, Fridays through Nov. 1.
BOULDER WEEKLY