It’s another wonderful week at the Wesleyan Film Series, and it may be our most varied week yet! We move from a documentary about flamenco dancing to a dark comedy set during WWII, from an animated tale about talking toys and friendship to a story about a dissatisfied housewife who decides to spend her afternoons as a prostitute. This round of screenings is also particularly international, with films from Spain/Mexico/Portugal/Senegal, China, and France/Italy. 

This week’s cinematic menu will make you laugh, make you think, pull at your heartstrings, and take you on a series of captivating journeys led by colorful characters. Don’t miss a single moment of these films and remember that our second and final 3D screening of the calendar is this Friday for “Toy Story 4.” See you there!

 

“Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories”

2016. Spain/Mexico/Portugal/Senegal. Dir: Miguel Ángel Rosales. Documentary. 72 min.

Wednesday, October 2. 8 p.m. Free.

Investigate the buried contributions to Spain’s most iconic dance, the flamenco, in this eye-opening account detailing the fundamental influence of Afro-Andalusians on the celebrated art form. Filled with vibrant guitar, intricate dancing, and key findings, the flamenco comes alive in a way it has never before.

“Devils on the Doorstep”

2000. China. Dir: Jiang Wen. With Jiang, Kagawa Teruyuki. 140 min.

Thursday, October 3. 8 p.m. Free.

Near midnight, a Chinese peasant is forced at gunpoint to hold captive a belligerent Japanese sergeant and an interpreter. Jiang sharpens his portrayals of “innocent” villagers to generate conflicted feelings among viewers, crafting a rare Chinese dark comedy about the Second Sino-Japanese War.

“Toy Story 4”

2019. USA. Dir: Josh Cooley. With Tom Hanks, Tim Allen. Animation. 90 min.

Friday, October 4. 8 p.m. $5.

The toys are back in a brand new adventure that reunites old friends and provides heartwarming (and tear-inducing) closure for everyone’s favorite cowboy. There’s also a load of lovable new characters, from a Canadian stunt toy voiced by Keanu Reeves to a plastic spork named Forky whose very existence asks profound questions about the nature of toy consciousness.

“Belle de Jour”

1967. France/Italy. Dir: Luis Buñuel. With Catherine Deneuve. 100 min.

Saturday, October 5. 8 p.m. Free.

A bored housewife, unable to fulfill her masochistic desires with her husband, begins working the afternoon shift at a high-end brothel until a jealous client makes her long for her old, everyday life. Cinematic surrealist Buñuel (“The Exterminating Angel”) plunges into the bourgeois subconscious with the help of the incomparable Deneuve.