FYS:  The Body in Art, Science, and Literature

• The Sea Inside; Mar Adentro (2004/I)

Life story of Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Film explores Ramón's relationships with two women: Julia, a lawyer who supports his cause, and Rosa, a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living. Through the gift of his love, these two women are inspired to accomplish things they never previously thought possible. Despite his wish to die, Ramón taught everyone he encountered the meaning, value and preciousness of life. Though he could not move himself, he had an uncanny ability to move others. http://imdb.com/title/tt0369702/
Sun 9/9  @ 7 pm;  Dolan Auditorium
Mon 9/10  @ 3:30 pm;  Dolan Auditorium

• Paragraph 175  (2000)

By the 1920's, Berlin had become known as a homosexual eden, where gay men and lesbians lived relatively open lives amidst an exciting subculture of artists and intellectuals. With the coming to power of the Nazis, all this changed. Between 1933 and 1945 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality under Paragraph 175, the sodomy provision of the German penal code dating back to 1871. Some were imprisoned, others were sent to concentration camps. Of the latter, only about 4,000 survived. Today, fewer than ten of these men are known to be living. Five of them have now come forward to tell their stories for the first time in this powerful new film. The Nazi persecution of homosexuals may be the last untold story of the Third Reich. Paragraph 175 fills a crucial gap in the historical record, and reveals the lasting consequences of this hidden chapter of 20th century history, as told through personal stories of men and women who lived through it: the half Jewish gay resistance fighter who spent the war helping refugees in Berlin; the Jewish lesbian who escaped to England with the help of a woman she had a crush on; the German Christian photographer who was arrested and imprisoned for homosexuality, then joined the army on his release because he "wanted to be with men"; the French Alsatian teenager who watched as his lover was tortured and murdered in the camps. These are stories of survivors -- sometimes bitter, but just as often filled with irony and humor; tortured by their memories, yet infused with a powerful will to endure. Their moving testimonies, rendered with evocative images of their lives and times, tell a haunting, compelling story of human resilience in the face of unspeakable cruelty. Intimate in its portrayals, sweeping in its implications, Paragraph 175 raises provocative questions about memory, history, and identity.  http://imdb.com/title/tt0236576/

Sun 9/16 @7pm;   A202-A203
Mon 9/17 @ 3:30pm;  Dolan Auditorium

• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

Hedwig, born a boy named Hansel in East Berlin, fell in love with an American G.I. and underwent a sex-change operation in order to marry him and flee to the West. Unfortunately, nothing worked out quite as it was supposed to - years later, Hedwig is leading her rock band on a tour of the U.S., telling her life story through a series of concerts at Bilgewater Inn seafood restaurants. Her tour dates coincide with those of arena-rock star Tommy Gnosis, a wide-eyed boy who once loved Hedwig... but then left with all her songs. http://imdb.com/title/tt0248845/

Sun 9/23 @7pm;   AD 258
Mon 9/24 @ 3:30pm  Dolan Auditorium 

• 21 Grams (2003) 

21 Grams is a seamless presentation of life or death. 21 Grams represents the weight we lose when we die, who knows if this is factual but it really doesn't matter. Everyday people thrown into harsh realities leading to death, addiction, and prison. A not so simple story is not easy to lay out to someone reading this review. Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) a College Professor has little time left with an ill heart condition. Christiana Peck(Naomi Watts) is a mother of two and a devoted wife. Her addiction arise when her family is involved in a tragic car accident. Jack Jordan an ex-convict has found the Christan faith but yet again slips and causes the tragic car accident. Three stories weaved perfectly together to make us question in something other than ourselves.

The editing is superior and adds to the dark story. The narrative is buried in interconnected and relevant pieces. For instance we see Paul with Christiana which is followed by a scene with Paul ill in a hospital. This adds an unknown and mystical attribute that would have been lost in a linear story. Viewing the film is like putting together a mental puzzle. If non-linear films are not your type please consider 21 Grams for outstanding performances.

Sean Penn perfectly showcases his ability as a weak, sick, and highly intelligent man. Penn's performance here highly surpassed his work in Mystic River, another one of his great roles. Why Penn did not get a nomination is a mystery to me. Female lead Watts shows the darker side of her spectrum. No longer is she the shrieking and squabbling reporter in the horror film The Ring, but a lady who represents our weakness and suffering. Like a lady Macbeth she pushes for vengeance and shows and scary and powerful women not to mess with. Her connection with Penn is particularly interesting in the way in certain scenes she takes control over him in subtle ways. The audience senses the anguish when she resorts back to drugs. Benicio Del Toro is the character we pity for the most. A man who reformed from his criminal life, but a convict past does not lead to a clean future. His difficulties are laid out when he is fired from a golf club because of his tattoos, in a disheartening scene where he pleads to cover up his tattoos to keep his terrible job as a Caddy. The poor man has two children and a wife to support. We make mistakes, life is imperfect, Benicio represents this to the fullest..

Without a doubt one of the best of 2003 for its gritty performances and look, a sharp screenplay, and excellent overall direction by Mexican Director, Alejandro González Iñárritu. (Nominated for 2 Academy awards including Best Actress: Naomi Watts and Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro) 

Sun 9/30  @7pm;  Dolan Auditorium
Mon 10/1 @ 3:30pm;  Dolan Auditorium

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

The disappearance of a magical jade sword spurs a breathtaking quest for the missing treasure. Li (Chow Yun-Fat) is embittered by the loss of his jade sword, and his unrequited pursuit of Yu (Michelle Yeoh) is further complicated by the mysterious intrusion of an assassin. The identity of the assassin is gradually unveiled as another poignant tale of love begins to ravel with that of Li and Yu against the backdrop of Western China's magnificent landscape. http://imdb.com/title/tt0190332/

Sun 10/21 @7pm;  Dolan Auditorium
Mon 10/22 @ 3:30pm;  Dolan Auditorium

• Artificial Intelligence:AI (2001)

In the not-so-far future the polar ice caps have melted and the resulting raise of the ocean waters has drowned all the coastal cities of the world. Withdrawn to the interior of the continents, the human race keeps advancing, reaching to the point of creating realistic robots (called mechas) to serve him. One of the mecha-producing companies builds David, an artificial kid which is the first to have real feelings, especially a never-ending love for his "mother", Monica. Monica is the woman who adopted him as a substitute for her real son, who remains in cryo-stasis, stricken by an incurable disease. David is living happily with Monica and her husband, but when their real son returns home after a cure is discovered, his life changes dramatically. A futuristic adaptation of the tale of Pinocchio, with David being the "fake" boy who desperately wants to become "real". http://imdb.com/title/tt0212720/

Sun 11/4 @7pm;  Dolan Auditorium
Mon 11/5 @ 3:30pm;  Dolan Auditorium

• Imitation of Life (1959) 

In 1947 at Coney Island, down-on-her-luck actress Lora Meredith and her young daughter Susie meet coloured Annie Johnson and her daughter Sarah Jane. Annie is desperate for a place to live and offers to work as Lora's maid for food and lodging. Lora's luck begins to change as a result of their meeting and their two stories unfold across the years. However, Annie's problems start when Sarah Jane tries to pass as white.

Sun 11/11 @7pm; Dolan Auditorium
Mon 11/12 @ 3:30pm; Dolan Auditorium 

• Crash (2004) 

Several stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles involving a collection of inter-related characters, a police detective with a drugged out mother and a thieving younger brother, two car thieves who are constantly theorizing on society and race, the white district attorney and his irritated and pampered wife, a racist white veteran cop (caring for a sick father at home) who disgusts his more idealistic younger partner, a successful Hollywood director and his wife who must deal with the racist cop, a Persian-immigrant father who buys a gun to protect his shop, a Hispanic locksmith and his young daughter who is afraid of  bullets, and more. http://imdb.com/title/tt0375679/

Sun 11/18 @7pm; Dolan Auditorium
Mon 11/19 @ 3:30pm; Dolan Auditorium 

• Babel

Richard and Susan are a couple from San Diego, California who are vacationing in Morocco while their two children are at home with their Mexican housekeeper, Amelia. A rifle finds its way into the hands of a local herdsman's young sons, who recklessly take a shot at a tour bus and hit Susan in the shoulder, causing her severe injury. The distraught Richard calls home to tell Amelia of the situation, who shortly departs for Mexico to attend her son's wedding, with Richard and Susan's children in tow. Disaster thus multiplies, with the situation in Morocco ascribed to terrorists in the media, while Amelia meets with trouble at the Mexican border when she attempts to return to San Diego with Richard and Susan's children. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, a widower tied to the rifle in question, a complex shift of ownership to which the audience is privy, attempts to deal with the memories of his recently deceased wife and his strained relationship with his deaf teenage daughter.  http://imdb.com/title/tt0449467/

Sunday, 12/2 @7pm, Dolan Auditorium
Monday, 12/3 @ 3:30 pm Dolan Auditorium