Well, after a wonderful six weeks of cinema, it seems we’re reaching the end of our first calendar of the year! We can’t believe how the time flew by, but we’re eager to show you our new lineup of films for October and November. All will be revealed very soon, but in the meantime we can tell you that we’ll have a special spooky selection scheduled around Halloween and plenty of exciting picks for the rest of the calendar. Still, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, and there are four glorious films left in calendar number one. We hope you enjoy this eclectic and delightful mix.

We start the week off on Wednesday with the final selection in our Contemporary Hispanic Film Series: Columbian documentary “Señorita María, La Falda de la Montaña.” Then on Thursday we move to another (very different) true story as Julia Roberts plays the titular heroine in “Erin Brockovich,” the tale of a mother of three who gets involved in a history-making lawsuit. As we move into the weekend, the films take a new turn into the realm of the absurd. If you missed “Sorry To Bother You” in theaters or just want to see it again, come to the Goldsmith on Friday. To end the week we are lucky to have a 35mm print of the Japanese thriller “The Face of Another!”

 

“Señorita María, La Falda de la Montaña”

2017. Columbia. Dir: Rubén Mendoza. With María Luisa Fuentes. Documentary. 90 min.

Wednesday, Oct. 10. 8 p.m. Free.

Join us this Wednesday for the final installment in our annual Contemporary Hispanic Film Series with “Señorita María, La Falda de la Montaña,” director Ruben Mendoza’s fifth feature film. This documentary centers around Maria Luisa, a trans woman living in a rural Columbian town, where her gender and solitary way of life are questioned, ridiculed and ignored. Despite the trials and tribulations of her sometimes lonely existence, she manages to thrive and revel in what life has to offer through careful observation of nature’s beauty, communing with God and the animals who share her surroundings and through the strength of her own spirit. Watch this documentary and marvel at a truly divine and powerful soul navigating the constraints of Catholicism while practicing her own spiritual devotion.

“Erin Brockovich”

2000. USA. Dir: Steven Soderbergh. With Julia Roberts. 131 min.

Thursday, Oct. 11. 8 p.m. Free.

A true story about firebrand single mom Erin Brockovich, who’s desperate seeking a job to provide for her three kids when an unlikely chain of events lands a potentially history-making lawsuit in her lap, one that demands her unique set of skills. Brockovich is a trailblazing female protagonist with wit, passion and determination like no other. She’s played to perfection by Julia Roberts in an Oscar-winning turn that’s as striking and powerful to this day as it was in 1996. Director Steven Soderbergh delivers big time with a perfect screenplay and a stellar cast. This smart, heartfelt and impeccably paced movie will be a fond favorite of yours for years to come.

 

“Sorry To Bother You”

2018. USA. Dir: Boots Riley. With Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson. 111 min.

Friday, Oct. 12. 8 p.m. $5.

This dark comedy follows a young African-American telemarketer in an alternate reality of present-day Oakland, California. Our protagonist uses his “white voice” to climb the ranks of the corporate ladder and soon finds himself promoted to Power Caller and enmeshed in a universe of greed. Though social commentary is certainly present in the film, it never feels preachy or overwhelms this thoroughly entertaining story. Writer-director Boots Riley proves that he is someone to watch with this scathingly funny, truly inventive debut feature.

 

“The Face of Another”

1966. Japan. Dir: Hiroshi Teshigahara. With Tatsuya Nakadai. 124 min. 35mm print.

Saturday, Oct. 13. 8 p.m. Free.

Based on a novel of the same name, this science-fiction thriller tells the story of Okuyama, a man who loses his face in a terrible industrial accident. Estranged from his family and friends, he secretly obtains a new face and re-enters the lives of those who knew him before unbeknownst to them. Soon it is clear that Okuyama’s mask is beginning to have effects on his personality, leading him to dark tendencies. Teshigahara explores themes of identity and alienation in this gripping tale to finish off our first calendar.

Beatrix Herriott O’Gorman can be reached at bherriottogo@wesleyan.edu.

Julia Levine can be reached at jjlevine@wesleyan.edu.