Notice Board

誰も知らない (Dare mo shiranai) [Nobody Knows] (Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2004). Four children live with their mother in a Tokyo apartment; they have different fathers, no schooling and a simple, happy life. But gradually their mother abandons them, leaving 12-year-old Akira in charge. When food and money start to run out, the four siblings cling to their small and resilient world, determined to survive in the face of an indifferent adult universe.  (In Japanese with English subtitles).

Entre les murs [The Class] (France, Laurent Cantet, 2008). A teacher in a tough multi-ethnic Parisian neighbourhood finds his idealism challenged and his methods up-ended. Based on an autobiographical novel by teacher and writer François Bégaudeau (who plays the lead role), The Class avoids all the genre clichés, and is an honest, funny and enlightening look at how teacher and students learn from one anothe. Available in French with English subtitles.

Malabar Princess (France, Jean Becker, 2004). Eight-year-old Tom is left with his grandfather by his neglectful dad, in the French Alps not far from where a plane crash had killed Tom’s mother five years earlier. The hope is that Tom will at last make peace with the loss of his mother, but this in turn leads Tom on an unexpected adventure. Becker’s imaginative response to the real-life tragedy of the 1950 Air India crash.

Two viewings available:
Thursday, November 29
4:30 p.m.
D634
French with English subtitles

Modern Languages Film Series, film 5: Pixote: a Lei do Mais Franco [Pixote] (Brazil, Héctor Babenco, 1980). This documentary-style film tells the harsh story of Brazil’s delinquent youth, who are used as pawns by corrupt police and crime organisations alike. Director Héctor Babenco chose to cast non-actors in the main roles. The results is a harrowing and honest portrayal of how an 11-year-old boy, abandoned by family and society, becomes hopelessly entangled in a life of crime. Rated R. (In Portuguese with English subtitles). Wed. Nov.

Paloma de papel [Paper Dove] (Perú, Fabrizio Aguilar, 2003). Eleven-year-old Juan is living a kid’s life in the Peruvian Andes, unaware of the civil war that is raging at his doorstep. But when he discovers that his stepfather is a Marxists guerilla, Juan is kidnapped and taken to be indoctrinated and taught how to make weapons. Eventually the group holding him decides to attack his village, and Juan is faced with difficult choices.  (In Spanish with English subtitles).

One of the last Japanese silent film masterpieces by Yasujiro Ozu, a celebrated portraitist of childhood and of 1930s Japan.

El Espiritu de la colmena [The Spirit of the Beehive] (Spain, Victor Erice, 1973). Made during Franco’s dictatorship, this film follows the inner life and outer circumstances of six-year-old Ana. Her world is infused with the devastation of the brutal Spanish civil war, while her imaginary life is saturated with images of the 1931 movie Frankenstein. The horrible but misunderstood monster becomes a powerful metaphor for Spain’s lost innocence. (In Spanish with English subtitles)

Les Quatre cents coups [The 400 Blows] (France, François Truffaut, 1959). A film that defines both the French New Wave and the representation of childhood in cinema. Truffaut’s debut film is a tough, honest and sympathetic portrayal of a 12-year-old wild child, who gets into all kinds of trouble while navigating the choppy waters of neglectful parents, disciplinary teachers, intense friendships, and the universal challenges of growing up. Truffaut’s artful pacing and artistic construction make this film a must-see. (In French with English subtitles).

Children and childhood are a universal preoccupation in films, and not only in films for children. The Modern Languages Department is showing a series of films this Fall on the theme: "Childhood in Film". Each of the six films will be screened twice. Come out and cross the globe with us! Individual films will be promoted as the semester progresses.

ALL FILMS will be shown at 4:30 in D634.

Crime! Film 6: Le crime de Monsieur Lange [The Crime of Mr. Lange] (France, Jean Renoir, 1936). An early Renoir allegory of fighting injustice by any means, at the dawn of WWII. Mr. Lange is a day-dreaming writer of pulp Western fiction; when his unscrupulous boss absconds with their earnings he rallies his colleagues to continue their popular publishing venture. But the boss returns, and Mr. Lange is faced with a dire choice. Screenplay by poet Jacques Prévert. (In French with English subtitles)