Valentine’s Day is here, and while your Classics major friends may be choosing to celebrate Hallmark Day by secretly marrying Christians and/or hating on Chaucer, the Film Series has put together a week of…well, how loosely do you define the term romantic? In all seriousness, though, this week at the Goldsmith there’s a ripe melodrama, a sexy thriller, a quirky comedy, and Dennis Hopper with an oxygen mask. Just because we love you.
1946. USA. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. With Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant.
8 p.m. Wednesday, February 15. $5.
Trying to come up with a succinct paragraph on how awesome “Notorious” is could be as difficult as explaining why US intelligence needs Ingrid Bergman to sex her way into a German spy ring. But here are additional reasons you should check it out:
“Notorious” is possibly the most beautiful movie that Alfred Hitchcock ever made.
Nazis in Rio are up to evil plots that, naturally, involve Claude Rains and vast amounts of champagne.
Grant carries Bergman down a staircase and into his car, if you know what I mean—and I think you do.
2010. Israel. Dir: Eran Riklis. With Mark Ivanir.
8 p.m. Thursday, February 16. FREE.
A road movie from Israel, a country that you could bike across in a day? Of course it’s a tragicomedy. “The Human Resources Manager” actually spends most of its time in Romania, where the titular, embittered HR man of a large Jerusalem bakery is forced to escort home the body of a foreign worker killed in a suicide bombing. The Manager’s journey—in vans, boats, and tanks—is by turns hilarious and hopeless, but very human. Rabbi Seth Haaz of Middletown Congregation Adeth Israel will also speak about the film.
1986. USA. Dir: David Lynch. With Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper.
8 p.m. Friday, February 17. $5.
“What are you doing in my closet, Jeffrey Beaumont? … You think I’m crazy, don’t you? … Do you like the way I feel? … Don’t hate me … I want you to stay … You put your disease in me. It helps me. It makes me strong.”
Look, I’ll be the first to admit that this David Lynch sexploration of American suburbia’s seedy underbelly is light on clarity and decidedly not for the faint of heart. But if nothing else, the raw, deep, and dark passion of Rossellini’s performance is worth seeing for yourself.
1959. Dir: Douglas Sirk. With Lana Turner, John Gavin.
8 p.m. Saturday, February 18. FREE.
It’s been said that Douglas Sirk is the father of the modern soap opera, and if you’re down for a good melodrama, look no further than “Imitation of Life.” But don’t let the sap fool you. This is, first and last, an absolutely gorgeous film, lush and absurd, full of color, perfect on the Goldsmith’s big screen. It’s also a smart, subversive look at American race relations and familial ideals of the 1950s. English/AFAM Professor Sarah Mahurin will speak beforehand about the film.