This week in films:
CINEFRANCO FILM FESTIVAL ($7)
The CineFranco Film Festival is running all week with a great list of films and a student price of $7. We have a few film picks.
Thursday
BLADES OF GLORY (free)
Friday
KES (~$8)
THE WILD BUNCH and EL TOPO (free)
Read on for details.

CINEFRANCO FILM FESTIVAL

The CineFranco Film Festival runs till Sunday April 1st. It’s not only an exploration of French Language cinema, but also a great exploration of culture: from Moroccan to Lebanese. All screenings are at The Royal (608 College St). Student tickets are $7 and are available in person or online. Ticketing info here. Below are a few film picks. For a complete list, visit the festival website.

THE PASSENGER
Showtime: Monday, March 26, 2007 at 10:00 pm

Naoki Sando, the Yakuza boss, catches his daughter Hiroko in the embrace of Kohji, his adoptive son. Cast out of the family, Kohji seizes the opportunity to go to Canada to redeem himself. There, he has to kill Marc Tanner, who has stolen Sando’s dirty money. To track down his target, Kohji uses a woman who keeps her loneliness at bay with aerobics.

IF YOU LOVE ME, FOLLOW ME
Showtime: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at 6:00 pm

Thirty-five-year-old Max has it all: his career as a doctor and his marriage to Anna, a talented lawyer. But suddenly, Max loses it. He wants to pursue his teenage dream of becoming a guitarist in a rock band. From lies to little secrets, Max causes chaos in the lives of everyone who cares for him.

KOMMA
Showitme: Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 10:00 pm

A man left for dead after a heart attack finds himself in a body bag in the morgue. He manages to free himself, and assumes the identity of a Swedish businessman. After travelling around, he meets a woman who has lost her memory. He convinces her they have an intimate relationship. Games of hide-and-seek, a strange relationship and identity crises are pervasive in Martine Doyen’s debut film.

The characters are withdrawn, tense and taciturn. The atmosphere is mysterious and suspenseful, laced with anguish and silence. This film is as disorienting as a sucker punch

MAROK
Showtime: Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 11:00 am

Casablanca, 1997: For wealthy teens, life consists of partying, drag racing, clubbing and studying for their Baccalaureate exams. Rita, a young Muslim, falls for Youri, a Jewish lycée student. Their attraction will turn their lives upside down…

“(It’s)… my portrait of this group of young people, privileged but also kind of messed up and schizophrenic. They live according to Western ways but they’re still very attached to their country and traditions” (Laïla Marrakchi, Director of the film)

FALAFEL
Showtime: Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 1:00 pm

The nocturnal wanderings of Toufic, a Lebanese teen who is trying to get the most out of life and live a normal life in modern-day Beirut. Toufic is about to find out that in Lebanon, living a normal life is a luxury beyond his reach. After 20 years of war, a volcano is lying dormant on every street corner, a ticking bomb ready to go off. For Toufic, this night will be a turning-point.

REGULAR FILM FINDS SCREENINGS

BLADES OF GLORY
Paramount Pictures presents an advance screening of Blades of Glory. I still haven’t figured out how to get passes for these screenings. Since these are run by Paramount and not CINSSU, the passes aren’t being handed out by CINSSU apparently. If anyone knows how to get passes, please let us know.
When: Doors at 9:30pm, screening starts at 10pm.
Where: Innis College Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave
Cost: Free. Those without passes will be admitted space permitting.

KES
Cinematique screens a masterpiece of UK cinema: “no cinephile, can afford to miss KES, which compelled a young Roger Ebert to lament its limited release in the US and to hail it as “one of the best, the warmest, the most moving films of recent years. . . ” Read more here.
When: Friday, March 30, 2007 6:30 PM
Where: Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas St. W.)
Cost: Around $8, if I’m correct

THE WILD BUNCH and EL TOPO
CINSSU presents a Free Friday Film double bill screening: The Wild Bunch at 7pm and El Topo at 9:30pm.
When: Friday March 30, 7pm
Where: Innis College Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave
Cost: Free! As always.

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