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Contemporary Brian Owens, Artistic Diretor – Nashville Festival

OLLI Winter 2015 Term Tuesday, January 13

Viewing Guide – The Cinema of

These suggested are some that will or may come up for discussion during the first course. If you go to Netflix, you can use hyperlinks to find further suggestions. The year listed is the year of theatrical release in the US. Some films (Ida for instance) may have had festival premieres in the year prior. VOD is “Video On Demand.” Note: It is not necessary to see any or all of the films, by any means. These simply serve as a guide for the discussion. You can also use IMDB.com (Internet Movie Database) to search for other works by these filmmakers. You can also keep this list for future viewing after the session, if that is what you prefer. Most of the films are Rated R – largely for language and brief nudity or sexual content. I’ve noted in bold the films that contain scenes that could be too extreme for some viewers. In the “Additional works” lines, those titles are noted by an asterisk.

Force Majeure Director: Ruben Östlund. 2014. . 118 minutes. Rated R. A family on a ski holiday in the French Alps find themselves staring down an avalanche during lunch. In the aftermath, their dynamic has been shaken to its core. Currently playing at the Belcourt. Also Available on VOD through most services and on Amazon Instant.

Ida Director: Pawel Pawlikowski. 2014. Poland. 82 minutes. Rated PG-13. A young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a dark family secret dating back to the years of the Nazi occupation. Available on Netflix streaming and DVD. Also Available on VOD through most cable systems and on Amazon Instant. Additional works by Pawlikowski: The Woman in the Fifth, My Summer of Love, Last Resort.

We Are the Best! Director: Lukas Moodysson. 2014. Sweden. 102 minutes. Not Rated. Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band -- despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead. Available on Netflix streaming and DVD. Also Available on VOD through most cable systems and on Amazon Instant. Additional works by Moodysson: Lilya 4-Ever, Together (Tillsammans), Show Me Love*.

Caché Director: . 2006. Austria / France. 118 minutes. Rated R. A wealthy French family receive threatening videotapes and phone calls that could ruin their relationship. Available on Netflix DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant. Contains brief but shocking violence. Additional works by Haneke: Amour, , Funny Games* (US remake), Time of the World, Teacher*, Code Unknown, Funny Games* (original Austrian version).

A Prophet Director: . 2009. France. 155 minutes. Rated R. After refusing to snitch, an 18-year-old Arab is thrown into a French prison, where the Corsican mafia rules with a firm fist. The obedient newcomer slowly rises through the organization's ranks but soon begins to double-cross his superiors. Contains violence. Available on Netflix DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant. Additional works by Audiard: , The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips.

Melancholia Director: . 2011. Denmark. 130 minutes. Rated R. Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth. Available on Netflix streaming and DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant. Additional works by von Trier: Nymphomaniac: Vols. I & II*, Antichrist*, Manderlay, , , .

In a Better World Director: . 2010. Denmark. 118 minutes. Rated R. With his father working abroad, bullied Elias finds solace in a budding friendship with a volatile new student. But the boys' shared revenge only seems to invite more violence in this drama about the interplay between two dysfunctional families. Available on Netflix DVD and Amazon Instant (for purchase only). Additional works by Bier: Serena (available on VOD, February 25), , After the Wedding, Brothers.

The Triplets of Belleville Director: Sylvain Chomet. 2003. France. 78 minutes. Rated PG-13. When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him. Animated. Available on Netflix streaming and DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant. Additional works by Chomet: The Thousand Miles (upcoming), Attila Marcel, The Illusionist.

Le Havre Director: Aki Kaurismaki. 2011. / France. 93 minutes. Not Rated. A young African immigrant boy arrives destitute in the French port of Le Havre, where he's eventually taken under the wing of a former Bohemian writer who now chooses to shine shoes for a living. Available on Netflix DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant. Additional works by Kaurismaki: Lights in the Dark, , Drifting Clouds, La Vie de Boheme, , Leningrad Cowboys Go America

The Kid with a Bike Directors: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne. 2011. . 87 minutes. PG-13. Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in a state-run youth farm. In a random act of kindness, the town hair-dresser agrees to foster him on week-ends. Available on Netflix streaming and DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant. Additional works by the : Two Days, One Night (opening at the Belcourt on January 30), The Silence of Lorna, L’Enfant, The Son, Rosetta, …and several others dating back to the late .

The Return Director: . 2003. Russia. 105 minutes. Not Rated. In the Russian wilderness, two brothers face a range of new, conflicting emotions when their father - a man they know only through a single photograph - resurfaces. Available on Netflix streaming and DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant. Additional works by Zvyagintsev: Leviathan (opening at the Belcourt March 6), Elena, .

Dogtooth Director: . 2010. . 94 minutes. Not Rated. Homeschooled siblings who grow up cut off from society create an idyllic alternate universe, which is shattered when their father lets in an outsider -- a female security officer brought home to satisfy his son's libido. Contains adult material, violence, and other disturbing content. Available on Netflix DVD . Also available on Amazon Instant.