“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”
(U.S., D.: Adam McKay, 2006)
Friday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m. $4
In the seer-like estimation of Film Series religious consultant Asher Jacob Schranz: “This movie is to Jesus as Anchorman was to Moses: a transcendent brother-at-spiritual-arms, a Will Ferrell laugh-a-thon capable of your salvation.”
In the post-election euphoria, former high-ranking Democrats came to us in a dream and offered their thoughts as well:
Forty-second U.S. President and Southern-fried womanizer Bill Clinton said: “It is the story of my life, plus race car scenes and hot wife, minus presidential glory and cold-hearted welfare reform. The fast food scenes and product placement made me long for the days when they served me KFC and Dominos on Air Force One. I don’t care what Schranz says about this film and your salvation, I’ll go one step further: it’s better than sex. I’d give up sexual relations altogether for but one taste of Ricky Bobby’s KFC-and-Nascar glory.”
Documentary film diva Al Gore also hopped on Talledega bandwagon: “I concur with Bill and Schranz. It’s the best way to start a bumpin’ Friday night since Strawberry Socials at the Nashville country club. It is better than a world without global warming. Shake and bake, y’all.”
“Notorious”
(U.S., D.: Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
Saturday, Nov. 11, 8 p.m. FREE!
“Notorious” tantalizes with Production Code-subverting innuendo and exhilarates with ingenious writing and stunning visuals. Ingrid Bergman plays a patriotic American named Alicia Huberman, whose father is a convicted Nazi spy. Alicia is known for drinking and apparent promiscuity, and is recruited by an agent named Devlin (Cary Grant) to fly to Rio and insinuate herself into the household of a spy ring. Bergman and Grant are 1940s star power on steroids in this movie, Claude Rains is utter joy as the head of the central spy ring, and the film’s last ten minutes are among the most masterful in Hitchcock’s illustrious career. A true classic.
“Half Nelson”
(U.S., D.: Ryan Fleck, 2006)
Wednesday, Nov. 15, 8 p.m. $4
“Half Nelson” is thoughtful, socially engaged American filmmaking that packs a powerful but remarkably subtle emotional punch. Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a dedicated history teacher at a junior high school in Brooklyn who’s also a crack addict: a premise that might seem sensational and unrealistic in a lesser film, but is here rendered believable and emotionally truthful. Dan forms an unlikely friendship with Drey (gifted newcomer Shareeka Epps), a thirteen-year-old student who discovers his habit. They offer each other support as they confront the overwhelmingly destructive forces that define their troubled lives.
At the risk of sounding preachy or moralistic, it’s important to emphasize that “Half Nelson” could not be more relevant to Wesleyan students living in a community marked by stark extremes of privilege and poverty. Director Fleck and writer Anna Boden navigate questions of race, class and education with an acute eye for both the divisions and potential paths of reconciliation that define modern America. It’s a tribute to their vision and the extraordinary work of the actors that such issues emerge as neither insoluble nor easily solved, given the complexity and careful attention they fully deserve. Bursting with extraordinary young talent, “Half Nelson” is one of the most exciting and critically acclaimed American independent films in recent memory.
“L’Enfant: (Belgium, D.: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, 2005)
Thursday, Nov. 16, 8 p.m. FREE!
If ”Half Nelson“ deserves consideration as the best American film of 2006, this film by Belgian masters Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne is hands down the best foreign release to grace the shores of North America this year. The members of the Film Board will collectively wager their first born children on it. If you see the film, the story of a feckless hustler who sells his newborn son on the black market, you’ll appreciate the emotional and ethical stakes involved in such a terrifying deed. You’ll also find yourself entranced as young Bruno undergoes a subtly moving quest for redemption. The Dardenne brothers represent the pinnacle of contemporary filmmaking, forging moving and incisive portraits of life among the socio-economic casualties of modern industrial society. Watching their films is a sobering, often unforgettable experience, and the Palme-d’Or-winning ”L’Enfant“ is no exception.
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