Films

April 18: The Earrings of Madame D... (1953)
French master Max Ophuls's most cherished work, The Earrings of Madame De... is an emotionally profound, cinematographically adventurous tale of false opulence and tragic romance.

April 25: Written on the Wind (1956)
European transplant director Douglas Sirk puts the opera back into soap opera in this exquisitely baroque melodrama, the epitome of Technicolor gloss. Rock Hudson and Lauren Bacall play stalwart examples of altruism, clean living, and good old American ambition, but Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone steal the film as white trash millionaire siblings stewing in self-pity.

May 2: The Lovers (1958)
After the lush Hollywood color of Written on the Wind, we turn to this cutting edge French, New Wave, location-filmed love story starring the spectacular Jeanne Moreau in her breakthrough role. Louis Malle unveiled the natural beauty of Moreau in his breakthrough film, Elevator to the Gallows. With his follow-up, the scandalous smash The Lovers (Les amants), he made her a star once and for all. Thanks to its frank sexuality, The Lovers caused quite a stir, being censored and attacked for obscenity around the world. If by now its shock has worn off, its glistening sensuality and seductive storytelling haven't aged a day.

May 9: American Gigolo (1980)
Our fourth film takes us away from the sexy world of Paris to the sexy world of Beverly Hills, as depicted by writer/director Paul Schrader. Richard Gere plays a high-priced prostitute, an immaculately dressed stud for hire who services the bored women of Beverly Hills without ever allowing himself to be touched emotionally. His affair with a politician's wife (Lauren Hutton) changes all that. Lauren Hutton gives the greatest performance of her film career as the woman who helps him find love.

May 16: Laurel Canyon (2002)
After roaming the French countryside and the plains of Texas we turn to the world of this fifth film (written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko), which takes us into one of the most fabulous and intriguing neighborhoods of LA: Laurel Canyon. Here we are drawn into the complexities of the life of record producer Jane (Frances McDormand) and her son Sam (Christian Bale). For those of us who admire Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading, Friends with Money, Something's Gotta Give, Almost Famous, Fargo, Raising Arizona, and many more), we may see this film performance as her richest, most complete character ever. Christian Bale is great too as her son--almost too close in looks and age to be the son, but that is exactly the point of the casting. Their scenes together are spectacular... very Freudian mother-son sexy which makes it all dangerous and exciting and brilliant.

May 23: Volver (2007)
From two-time Academy Award winner Pedro Almodovar (2003 Best Original Screenplay for Talk to Her; 2000 Best Foreign Language Film for All About My Mother) comes Volver, a comedic and compassionate tribute to women and their resilience in the face of life's most outrageous tribulations. A luminous Penelope Cruz leads an ensemble of gifted actresses. We will be showing the film in a brand new Blu-Ray version that is spectacularly beautiful.

Spend spring your Saturday evenings at the Institute's movie series: The Lovers!

Choose any three for $50 or come to all six for only $75. Or you can buy a "Ten Pix Tix" set for $150 that can be used for any 10 films, any time (no expiration date).

Doors open 6PM. Film at 7PM.

Call the office to register: (408) 864-4060, M-F 10AM- 6PM.