The Unknown Woman
(La Sconosciuta)
Giuseppe Tornatore, Italy, 2006, 118 min., Italian
Friday, Nov. 14, 9:30 p.m., Frontenac
Saturday, Nov. 15, 6:45 p.m., Frontenac

In this Hitchcockian thriller – which Salon describes as a “delirious, semi-Gothic, overcooked melodrama” – the director of the much-loved “Cinema Paradiso” tells a haunting story of mystery and love. Irena (Xenia Rappoport), a Ukrainian woman, calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family, becoming the couple’s trusted maid and beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter. Like an intricately constructed jigsaw puzzle, the film reveals the mystery of Irena’s past piece by piece. “The Unknown Woman” nearly swept Italy’s Donatello Awards, earning honors for the film, actress, director, cinematography and music (by Ennio Morricone).
Sponsored by Bar Italia

Used Parts
(Partes Usadas)
Aarón Fernández Lesur, Mexico, 2007, 95 min., Spanish
Saturday, Nov. 22, 9:45 p.m., Frontenac

“Used Parts” explores the friendship between two Mexican teenagers who long for a better life. Ivan lives with his Uncle Jaime, a dealer of used car parts, and both dream of immigrating illegally to Chicago. To accumulate enough money for the border-crossing, Jamie introduces his nephew into the world of car-part theft, and Ivan proves a quick learner, recruiting best friend Efrain to help. Variety’s Robert Koehler describes “Used Parts” as “firmly grounded in Mexico City street realism yet steeped in the fluid rhythms and visually sensitive traditions of French cinema.”

Vanaja
Rajnesh Domalpalli, India, 2006, 111 min., Telugu
Friday, Nov. 14, 4:30 p.m., Frontenac
Monday, Nov. 17, 4:30 p.m., Frontenac

Set in rural South India, a place where social barriers are built stronger than ancient fort walls, “Vanaja” explores the chasm that still divides classes and movingly chronicles a young girl’s struggle to come of age. Vanaja, the 15-year-old daughter of a financially troubled fisherman, goes to work in a local landlady’s house in hopes of learning Kuchipudi dance. She excels, but when the landlady’s son returns from the U.S., what begins as innocent sexual chemistry turns ugly. Winner of more than a dozen awards at international film and children’s film fests, “Vanaja” – which the Austin Chronicle calls a “small miracle of a film” – began as the director’s thesis project at Columbia University.

War Eagle, Arkansas
Robert Milazzo, U.S., 2007, 94 min.
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m., Tivoli 1

A moving, character-driven drama, “War Eagle, Arkansas” is based on the true story of producer Vincent Insalaco’s son and his best friend. Enoch Cass has two gifts – baseball and an innate goodness – but he also suffers from a debilitating stutter. Enoch’s best friend, Samuel “Wheels” Macon, has been confined to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy since early childhood, but he has a spirit that knows no bounds. The two friends have relied on one another to make themselves one completely functional human being. Now, however, Enoch must decide whether to leave his family and best friend for a career in baseball or stay and redeem his struggling community. With writer/producer Vincent Insalaco.
Sponsored by Ken and Nancy Kranzberg

The Wedding Director
(Il Regista di matrimoni)
Marco Bellochio, Italy, 2006, 97 min., Italian
Thursday, Nov. 20, 7:15 p.m., Frontenac
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2:15 p.m., Frontenac

In this slyly satirical new work by one of Italy’s greatest directors, dissolute filmmaker Franco Elica (Sergio Castellito) slides into despair at the prospect of directing another remake and the news of a looming sexual-harassment scandal. Franco flees to Sicily, where he meets a host of colorful characters, including a cultured nobleman. The prince, a devoted fan of Franco’s work, commissions the director to shoot the wedding of his tempestuous daughter, with whom Franco falls impulsively and dangerously in love. The New York Times’ A.O. Scott observes: “Mr. Bellochio, like Franco, may be on the brink of despair when he contemplates his native land and his chosen art form, but he can’t help loving them both. And anyone who loves Italian movies — by which I mean anyone with eyes, ears and a libido — is likely to be seduced by ‘The Wedding Director.’”
Sponsored by J. Kim and Sharon Tucci

Wendy and Lucy
Kelly Reichardt, U.S., 2008, 80 min.
Monday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m., Tivoli 1

Down-at-heels Wendy, delicately played by Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain”), begins a road trip that’s intended to take her to a job in Alaska, but her car breaks down in the Pacific Northwest, touching off a cascading series of economic disasters the includes the impoundment of beloved dog Lucy. Directed by Kelly Reichardt, of the award-winning “Old Joy,” “Wendy and Lucy” premiered to rapturous reviews at Cannes and played at both the Toronto and New York film fests. Calling the film a “pitch-perfect triumph,” the New York Times’ Manohla Dargis writes: “With uninflected realism, an attentive camera and no weeping strings, Ms. Reichardt makes palpably, tragically real what it means to be struggling at the very edge of the economic abyss.”
Sponsored by Cynthia Prost and her dog, Bella

Wonderful Town
Aditya Assarat, Thailand, 2007, 92 min., Thai
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7:15 p.m., Frontenac

Ton, a soulful young architect, arrives at a Thai coastal town to supervise the construction of a beach resort adjacent to a site severely ravaged by the 2004 tsunami. When Ton rents a room in a small hotel owned by Na, they slowly fall into a secret love affair. The winner of the prestigious Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, “Wonderful Town” recalls the lyrical work of director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (“Tropical Malady”). Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir, who describes the film as “delicate, delightful and nearly note-perfect,” calls Assarad “a patient and a surprising director, alive to the most intimate details of everyday life – folding laundry, changing sheets, drinking coffee – and also to the dreams people hold closest to their hearts, the ones they can barely admit to themselves, let alone their lovers.”

The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky, U.S., 2008, 105 min.
Sunday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m., Tivoli 1

Back in the ’80s, professional wrester Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was at the top of his game, but 25 years later he’s reduced to fighting in grueling, untelevised matches in front of crowds screaming for carnage. Outside the ring, all Randy has to show for his life is a painful relationship with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) and a tentative romance with stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). Winner of the Golden Lion for best film at Venice, “The Wrestler” – the closing-night film at the New York Film Festival – marks a major return to form for director Aronofsky (“Pi,” “Requiem for a Dream”) and especially actor Rourke. “Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances,” writes Variety’s Todd McCarthy. “An elemental story simply and brilliantly told, Darren Aronofsky’s fourth feature is a winner from every possible angle.”
Sponsored by Sight and Sound Production Services

Yeast
Mary Bronstein, U.S., 2008, 78 min.
Friday, Nov. 14, 7:15 p.m., Tivoli 3

“Yeast” features director Bronstein (who co-starred in husband Ronald’s “Frownland”) in a bravely unsympathetic role as a maddeningly un-self-aware, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman engaged in toxic relationships with two exasperated friends (Greta Gerwig and Amy Judd). With a physical aggressiveness and emotional violence that is undeniably feminine in nature, “Yeast” explores the grinding mechanics of friendships that have run their course. Mostly improvised, the film follows a few days in the lives of three women struggling to keep friendship alive in the face of a huge challenge: They know each other too well. With director Bronstein.

Yesterday Was a Lie
James Kerwin, U.S., 2008, 89 min.
Saturday, Nov. 22, 9:30 p.m., Webster

A groundbreaking new noir shot in luminous black-and-white, “Yesterday Was a Lie” is a “fresh and stylish tale of intrigue and metaphysical darkness,” according to Ain’t It Cool News. Kipleigh Brown stars as Hoyle, a girl with a sharp mind and a weakness for bourbon who finds herself on the trail of a reclusive genius (John Newton). With a sexy lounge singer (Chase Masterson of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) and a loyal partner (Mik Scriba) as her only allies, Hoyle is plunged into a dark world of intrigue and earth-shattering cosmological secrets. Haunted by an ominous, ever-present shadow (Peter Mayhew), Hoyle discovers that the most powerful force in the universe — the power to bend reality, the power to know the truth — lies within the depths of the human heart. Film Threat says that award-winning writer-director Kerwin “offers up a magnetic force with endless repeat value” and Slice of SciFi declares that Brown “exudes Bacall.” With director and native St. Louisan Kerwin and co-star Masterson.
Sponsored by Star Clipper