It goes without saying that in this final stage of classes, you’re all probably suffering from an outlandish and unreasonable volume of work that’ll only continue to pile up until it reaches its zenith during finals week. We have little good news in that department. However, we may have a few small consolation prizes for your weary souls. Take a break from worrying about your increasingly overcrowded schedule, because the Film Series is here to help keep your head above water all the way through pre-finals madness.
We are so grateful for your warmth and enthusiastic attendance of our screenings, and for the time we’ve been afforded to spend discussing films we’ve shown throughout the semester. We are naturally sad to say goodbye to this calendar, but tears are not in order, since we will be making a return next semester. In the meantime, you’ve still got several delectable movie meals to feast on. This week, four palatable offerings remain at the Goldsmith Family Cinema. The final portion of our schedule includes big names like Tim Burton and Amanda Palmer, and will take you everywhere from the stark deserts of Texas to the grotesque and glorious Halloween Town. Either way, we at Cinefiles HQ wish you the best of luck in your finals and a lovely winter break! We’ll see you all in January.
“Paris, Texas”
1984. W. Germany/France. Dir: Wim Wenders. With Harry Dean Stanton, Hunter Carson. 145 min.
Wednesday, December 6. 8 p.m. Free.
A personally stylized art piece and a foreign take on American modern lives,“Paris, Texas” features Wim Wenders’ thoughtful examination of Existentialism in the context of the 1980s United States. Right from the outset, the broad wilderness of the Texan desert finds its unique expression in Wenders’ adept use of simplistic cinematic language. Initially a rough old man who wanders through the desert and refuses to talk after his rescue, Travis, played by Harry Stanton, earns a second chance to reunite with his brother, his son, and his former wife. In the midst of a constant battle between estrangement and intimacy, Travis will have to offer definitive responses to himself and those he has hurt.
“The Nile Hilton Incident”
2017. Sweden. Dir: Tarik Saleh. With Fares Fares. 106 min.
Thursday, December 7. 8 p.m. Free.
Tarik Saleh, a Swedish television producer and filmmaker of Egyptian descent, delicately crafts a crime noir set against the backdrop of the Egyptian revolution in 2011. “The Nile Hilton Incident” begins with what seems like a murder of a prostitute in a local Hilton hotel but soon becomes much more complicated. Following the viewpoint of the detective on this case, the film unveils overarching aspects of the Egyptian society at the outburst of a series of popular protests. Featuring an Egypt far more profound than the usual imagery of pyramids and sphinxes, the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at 2017 Sundance manages to furnish a satisfying noir plot and smoothly embed it in the layered social issues of contemporary Egypt.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas”
1993. USA. Dir: Henry Selick. With Danny Elfman. Animated. 76 min.
Friday, December 8. 8 p.m. $5.
One of us at Cinefiles has been awaiting this day for a long time now, and she could not be more pleased to finally be able to promote this screening. Friends, we are here to tell you about a very special occasion indeed. On Friday, Dec. 8, we welcome you to delve headfirst into the lives of some very mischievous holiday creatures from the macabre mind of Tim Burton in “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” This film features perhaps Burton’s most distinctive and memorable characters getting up to various misadventures. With unforgettable music from long-time Burton collaborator Danny Elfman, this film will be sure to have you singing Jack’s Lament for the remainder of the 2017 calendar year. Not only are we screening this ghoulish delight on the big screen but we’re also offering it to you in mind-boggling 3D! That stop-motion animation is going to truly POP! Aren’t you scared? Well, that’s just fine. You would be hard-pressed to find a more exciting, festive existential crisis to witness this week than Jack Skellington’s musical search for meaning. Jack and Sally and Sandy Claws and the whole gang are eagerly anticipating your company. Now you’ve probably wondered where holidays come from, if you haven’t we’d say it’s time you begun!
Screening and Discussion with Amanda Palmer ’98, Michael Pope, and the students from “The Art of Doing”
Saturday, December 9. 8 p.m. Free.
Instead of a Saturday night closing feature for the calendar, Visiting Professors Amanda Palmer ’98 and Michael Pope will take to the stage to showcase the combined skill and talent of students from their co-taught class, “The Art of Doing.” The event will feature the class’ final project, a music video they conceptualized and created for a song Palmer wrote in response to conversations that took place within the class. Following the screening there will be a talkback with Palmer and Pope, preceded by a ukulele set by the maestro herself. We honestly couldn’t tell you what to expect from the evening, but we are confident that you will never see anything like it again. It promises to be full of fun, visual splendor and musical magic. The one and only spoiler we can give you is: look out for snake monsters…
Beatrix Herriott O’Gorman can be reached at bherriottogo@wesleyan.edu.