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The White Countess Thursday, Sept. 11th, 2:30 p.m., intro 2:15 p.m. Directed by James Ivory Starring Natasha Richardson, Ralph Fiennes, Hiroyuki Sanada Duration 135 min. "The more I thought about it the more I appreciated the artistry and the intelligence behind this film." - Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper James Ivory directed this historical drama of a man who has shut himself away from a world he cannot change. Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) is an American expatriate living in Shanghai in the late '30s. While Jackson was once an American diplomat who came to Shanghai with great optimism about China's future, the bitter political squabbling and military violence that are a part of daily life in China caused him to become bitterly disillusioned. Jackson also lost most of his sight, and he has retreated into Shanghai's decadent underworld of bars and brothels rather than face the world. When a wager on a horse race wins Jackson a small fortune, he decides to indulge a long-time fancy and build the perfect Shanghai bar, one that would ideally reflect that corrupt beauty of the city, and he is joined in his project by Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada), a Japanese man with a mysterious past and an appreciation for Shanghai's underbelly. While assembling his pet project, Jackson meets Sofia (Natasha Richardson), a Russian countess who fled her home during the revolution and now lives in Shanghai, supporting her family as a dance-hall girl and occasional prostitute. In Sofia, Jackson discovers a fusion of beauty and tragedy that fascinates him, and he asks her to become the hostess at his new bar. As Jackson becomes closer to Sofia, his cynicism begins to wear away and he develops a deep concern for Sofia and her family. (synopsis by Mark Deming from allmovie.com) |
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Remains of the Day Thursday, Oct. 2nd, 2:30 p.m., intro 2:15 p.m. Directed by James Ivory Starring Anthony Hopkins & Emma Thompson Duration 134 min. "All the meticulousness, intelligence, taste and superior acting that one expects from Merchant Ivory productions have been brought to bear." - Todd McCarthy, Variety Anthony Hopkins plays Stevens, the "perfect" butler to a prosperous British household of the 1930s. He is so unswervingly devoted to serving his master, a well-meaning but callow British lord (James Fox), that he shuts himself off from all emotions and familial relationships. New housekeeper Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) tries to warm him up and awaken his humanity. But when duty calls, Stevens won't even attend his own dying father's last moments on earth. The butler also refuses to acknowledge the fact that his master is showing signs of pro-Nazi sentiments. Disillusioned by Hitler's duplicity, the master dies an embittered man, and only then does Stevens come to realize how his own silence has helped bring about this sad situation. Years later, regretting his lost opportunities in life, he tries once more to make contact with Miss Kenton, the only person who'd ever cared enough to seek out the human being inside the butler's cold veneer. The movie is based o a book by Kazuo Ishiguro(synopsis by Hal Erickson from allmovie.com) |
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| This series will be on
hiatus during the renovation that is expected to take
place during late Fall 2008 and will return in early
Spring 2009. |
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