Arts&Entertainment
Photos courtesy of Mary Riempa Ross Film Theater j
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Sean Penn and director J
Woody Allen on the set of “Sweet and Lowdown,” 1
Emilia Dequenne in “Rosetta,” Jackie, Lynn and Sue fl
at age 14 in the documentary film “42 Up,” Miriam
Frost, Mark Borchardt, Robert Richard Jorge, Sherri m
Beaupre and Tom Schimmels in “American Movie,” ■
and Nandita Das and Aamir Khan in “Earth.” ■
Foreign films dominate season at Ross Theater
ByJoshKrauter
Staff writer
Question: What do a pregnant nun, a German
rock band, an inept horror film director, a self
obsessed jazz musician, Gilbert and Sullivan, a
Japanese forest god and a killer carp have in com
mon?
Answer They are all characters in films show
ing at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater this
semester.
Dan Ladely, director of the Ross Theater, said
the spring lineup is an especially good one.
“This particular season is one of the strongest
we’ve had in a while,” he said. “I know I probably
say that every time, but I can back it up.”
The season kicks off tonight with the latest
film from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, “All
About My Mother.” Almodovar (“Women on the
Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”) is one of many
established directors in the lineup. Others include:
■ Woody Allen. Allen’s “Sweet and
Lowdown,” the story of a self-centered yet inse
cure jazz musician (Sean Penn) whose only
moments of grace occur when he’s playing his
music, opens Feb. 17.
■ Mike Leigh. ‘Topsy-Turvy” is the story of a
strained period in the working relationship of
musical playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan. Sullivan
wants to write serious work, while Gilbert is con
tent to chum out the same old stuff. The pair finds
a happy medium in “The Mikado.” The film, a
slight departure for Leigh (“Secrets and Lies”),
opens on March 16.
■ Michael Apted. “42 Up” is the latest install
ment in a series of documentaries involving the
same people. British director Apted documents his
subjects in seven-year increments and then turns
those seven years into one film. “42 Up” opens
March 30.
New and lesser-known directors also have a
place on the roster. Chris Smith’s debut film,
“American Movie,” opens Feb. 3. The film is a doc
umentary about a local Wisconsin filmmaker who
makes up in ambition what he lacks in talent.
Gavin O’Connor’s ‘Tumbleweeds” is the story
of a woman (Janet McTeer) who moves from one
Southern location to the next, taking her daughter
(Kimberly J. Brown) with her.
The latest film from the controversial and out
spoken Harmony Korine, “julien donkey-boy,”
opens April 6. Korine, who wrote “Kids” and
directed “Gummo,” returns with the story of a
schizophrenic (Ewen Bremner), his strict and stem
father (legendary German director Werner
Herzog) and his pregnant sister (Chloe Sevigny).
“Julien donkey-boy” is the first American film
to be endorsed by the Danish Dogma group, a
coalition of filmmakers whose philosophies
include using absolutely no special effects, making
no films longer than about 90 minutes and using
no music unless the characters are actually playing
it or listening to it
Besides directors old and new, die Ross lineup
also features several unusual events this spring.
Japanese anime, live music, a local feature film
night and an Iranian film festival are all making
Ross Theater debuts.
“Princess Mononoke,” the animated Japanese
film directed by anime vet Hayao Miyazaki, will
open April 27. This version is dubbed, and it fea
tures the voices of Minnie Driver, Claire Danes,
Billy Bob Thornton and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Musician Leslie Nuchow will be performing a
free concert Feb. 8. Nuchow was offered a record
contract by a company owned by Phillip Morris,
and she turned it down. The concert is part of her
activism efforts against tobacco companies.
Another free event takes place Feb. 10-11. Two
local films, “Carpula” and “The Dean’s Boys,” will
be screened, with an additional three or four local
short films on the schedule as well. The directors of
“Carpula” and “The Dean’s Boys,” Ross Brockley
and Daniel B. Iske respectively, will be in the audi
ence to answer questions about the films.
“We’re really happy to be able to do this,”
Ladely said. ‘We want to promote and encourage
local filmmakers as much as possible.”
Ladely said he is especially excited about the
Iranian fihn festival.
‘Tor me, what’s really going to be the highlight
is the retrospective of Iranian cinema,” he said.
“Iranians have made a huge impact on cinema in
the last few years.”
Ladely said it was amazing Iranian films exist
ed at all.
“Just to make a film in Iran, you have to jump
through hoops,” he said.
Ladely said the Iranian government enforces
strict censorship and reviews all scripts.
The films being shown still manage to criticize
the Iranian government in subtle ways, he said. A
number of films made by women also will be
included. The festival begins April 13.
Other foreign films will be screened through
out the season, sponsored by the University
Program Council. The UPC International Film
Series Committee picks the lineup for the foreign
film schedule with a little help from Ladely, said
UPC member Tom St. Germain.
He said the committee has three members and
a chairman and picks the films based on reviews,
articles and schedules sent by film companies.
St. Germain said the committee tries to include
a variety of countries, but sometimes it isn’t possi
ble.
“We try and pick the ones with good reviews,
but we can’t spread it too thin,” he said.
Foreign films on the schedule include: Katja
von Gamier’s “Bandits,” the story of a rock band;
Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardenne’s “Rosetta;” Wu
Tianming’s “The King of Masks;” “Same Old
Song,” from French director Alain Resnais;
“Eternity and a Day,” a Greek film; and “Earth,” a
political film from Lidia.
'
Winter/Spring 2000 Schedule
Admission: $6.50 general, $4.50 students
