FRIDAY, NOV 25 – 8:45 PM
GERMANY
The Man who Jumped over Cars
(Der Mann, der über Autos sprang)
Germany 2010. Director: Nick Baker-Monteys
Cast: Robert Stadlober, Jessica Schwarz, Martin Feifel, Anna Schudt,
Mark Waschke
Nick Baker-Monteys’s debut feature won the screenplay prize at the annual Max Ophüls Festival, devoted to young German-language cinema. A stylish mash-up of modern-day fairytale and road movie, the film relates the oddball odyssey of Julian, who escapes from a Berlin psychiatric hospital determined to walk his way across Germany. Julian’s destination is the country’s south, where he plans to use his special "energy" to prevent a friend’s father from dying of a heart attack. He’s joined on his journey by Julianne, a doctor who almost runs him over, and Ruth, a young housewife, both seeking to escape the routine of their lives. Meanwhile, policeman Jan follows in pursuit of the fugitive patient. The Man who Jumped over Cars won the prizes for Best Film and Score at the Aubagne I.F.F. in France, an event dedicated to young cinema with a special focus on the creative use of music and sound. Colour, 35mm, in German with English subtitles. 105 mins.
Friday, Nov 25 – 6:30 pm POLAND
Little Rose
(Rózyczka)
Poland 2010. Director: Jan Kidawa-Błoński
Cast: Andrzej Seweryn, Magdalena Boczarska, Robert Więckiewicz,
Grażyna Szapołowska, Jan Frycz
Inspired by actual events, writer-director Jan Kidawa-Błoński’s espionage thriller won Best Film and Best Actress (Magdalena Boczarska) honours at the annual Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, and resembles a Polish version of The Lives of Others. In 1967, after Israel defeats Soviet allies Syria and Egypt in the Six Days War, a brutish secret policeman (Robert Więckiewicz) is pressured by his superiors to get the goods on a popular public intellectual (Andrzej Seweryn) suspected of subversive views (the authorities believe him to be a “camouflaged Zionist”). The agent enlists his blonde bombshell girlfriend, naïve secretary Kamila (Boczarska), and, assigning her the code name “Little Rose,” has her insinuate herself into the esteemed man’s life. But as Kamila comes to know her prey better, her loyalties, and her heart, start to shift. Kidawa-Błoński won the Best Director award at the 2010 Moscow International Film Festival. Colour, 35mm, in Polish with English subtitles. 118 mins.
Screenings restricted to 18+.
Pacific Cinémathèque
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