In touch

The 2012 Academy Awards ceremony was marked by a distinctly nostalgic tone both from the ceremony, hosted by  old-timer Billy Crystal, and the awards, such as  for Christopher Plummer, after 50 years as an actor, for Beginners and 76 year old Woody Allen, for Midnight in Paris. Capping the evening was the best picture Oscar for The Artist, the first “non-talkie” to win since Wings at the first Academy Awards in 1929.  Meanwhile, back in France, the distinctly mainstream The Intouchables was released.  The Artist  was a hit both at home and abroad earning $133 million worldwide.  The Intouchables was the cultural event of the year in France according to one poll, becoming the highest grossing french film in history and earning over $364 million worldwide.

The popular appeal of The Intouchables does not come from the originality of the script.  An immigrant, street hustler, Driss, played by Omar Sy, brings life, spontaneity, and pop music to the life of stodgy up-tight millionaire Phillipe, played by Francois Cluzet.  Change the accents and the story is familiar.  Popularity did not come from brilliant insight  into French race relations.  Critics decried the simplistic viewpoint of the film.  If things were this easy, things would be much better.  The joy of The Intouchables comes from the details of the story, based on an actual relationship, and, overwhelmingly, from the performances of the two lead actors.  Newly arrived in The Library, check out The Intouchables and see why Omar Sy won the Cesar award for best actor beating Jean Dujardin of The Artist.  While you’re at it, check out The Artist, Beginners, and Midnight in Paris, all part of the Library collection.

Wong Kar-Wai collection added to Library at Watkins

Harold is happy to let you know that the Library at Watkins has added acclaimed Chinese director Wong Kar-Wai’s (or Kar Wai Wong) films to the collection. He is the director with the most films (six) among the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures, selected by the Hong Kong Film Awards. Harold has noticed several of these on professors’ reserve shelves, so they must be good, right??

The Films:

2046: He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future, but it was really the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while. Everyone who went there had the same intention – to recapture their lost memories. It was said that in 2046, nothing ever changed. Nobody knew for sure if it was true, because nobody who went there had ever come back except for one. He was there. He chose to leave. He wanted to change.

As Tears Go By: Two parallel stories of Wah caught in the midst of a love affair with his beloved cousin Ngor and his relationship with his brother Fly, who seems to never be too far from trouble.

Chungking Express: Two stories, two lovelorn cops, two objects of desire: one a big-time heroin dealer in deep trouble with her boss after the cargo disappears, the other a seriously flaky take-out waitress who inadvertently gets hold of the keys to her admirer’s apartment.

Days of Being Wild: Set in 1960, the film centers on Yuddy, who learns from the ex-prostitute who raised him that she is not his real mother, and refuses to divulge his mother’s name with the hopes of holding on to him. The revelation shakes Yuddy to his core, unleashing a cascade of conflicting emotions.

Fallen Angels: A disillusioned killer embarks on his last hit but first he has to overcome his affections for his cool, detached partner. He sets out to find a surrogate for his affections. Set in contemporary Hong Kong, he crosses paths with a strange drifter looking for her mysterious ex-boyfriend and an amusing mute trying to get the world’s attention in his own unconventional ways.

In the Mood for Love: A man and a woman move into neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities.

David Cronenberg collection new to the Library at Watkins!

Harold is happy to tell you that the Library at Watkins now house nine films from “body horror” master David Cronenberg. With fall and Halloween season just around the corner, a Cronenberg film is perfect for a late-night movie (if you have a strong stomach). Harold only watches Cronenberg with a large group of friends, too.

About David Cronenberg

Cronenberg was born in Toronto to a musician mother and writer/editor father – not exactly what you would expect from the man who has perfected psychological and physiological terror on the big screen. He originally entered college as a science student but changed his course of study to literature and language after his first year at the University of Toronto. Cronenberg eventually graduated at the top of his class in 1970.

Cronenberg continues to live in Toronto. He has been married twice and has three children. In 2002, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2006 was given the Cannes Film Festival’s lifetime achievement award. His most recent high honor came earlier this year when he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

About the Films

Shivers or They Came From Within (1975): The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others by the slightest sexual contact.

Rabid (1977): A young woman develops a taste for human blood after undergoing experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into rabid, blood-thirsty zombies who proceed to infect others, which turns into a city-wide epidemic.

The Brood (1979): A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist’s therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, while a series of brutal attacks committed by a brood of mutant children coincided with the husband’s investigation.

Scanners (1981): A scientist sends a man with extraordinary psychic powers to hunt others like him.

Videodrome (1983): A sleazy cable-tv programmer begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station.

The Fly (1986): A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.

Dead Ringers (1988): Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.

Naked Lunch (1991): After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally murders his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in an Islamic port town in Africa.

eXistenZ (1999): A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

“General” Interest

Copyright Altamura Films

For this week only, a DVD copy of visiting artist Natalia Almada’s Sundance “Directing Award”-winning documentary EL GENERAL will be available for viewing in the library. harold highly recommends taking advantage of this opportunity while you have the chance. Almada will be attending Thursday’s screening of her latest film, EL VELADOR, after which she will be in conversation with Assistant Professor Tom Williams. Catch up on her groundbreaking work and better engage with the question and answer session that will follow.

Read a synopsis of the film here, an in-depth background of  Almada’s process through the Sundance Lab here, or the Variety review here.

Tune in, Turn on…

harold wants to alert you: the Library at Watkins just received a large shipment of new DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, all from the well-loved Criterion Collection, replete with “liner notes” essays and special features for full contextual analyses. These are seminal works, films directed by some of the most highly respected auteurs in cinema history. Movies from 1940s England, 50s France, 60s Japan, 80s Australia, 90s Korea–this is a diverse set sure to inspire your independent spirit. Find a full list of what’s new after the jump.