Find schedule and brochure copy for the fall 2001 AEC/Bijou Independent
Film Series below.


August 31-September 6
Sexy Beast
Director: Jonathan Glazer
UK

Ben Kingsley, an Oscar-winner for his stunning portrayal of Gandhi, has been
receiving rave reviews for his performance as a "viciously comic" but
"seriously scary" gangster in British director Jonathan Glazer's new film,
Sexy Beast. Also being hailed is Ray Winstone, who plays a retired criminal
goaded into one more job by Kingsley's character, an ex-colleague. This film
was enthusiastically lauded by both the Toronto International Festival and
the Sundance Film Festival. And don't get to the theater late, or you might
miss the boulder/ swimming pool scene "that has to be seen to be believed.
It will surely go down as one of the most memorable sequences offered by any
movie to reach theaters in 2001".


September 7-13
With a Friend Like Harry
Director: Dominik Moll
French with English subtitles

Tired of the same old mainstream psychological thriller? Looking for a new
twist on this genre? Then With a Friend Like Harry is a film for you.
Compared to the great "master of suspense" himself - Alfred Hitchcock,
French director Dominik Moll shows us the family vacation from hell,
complete with gallows humor and top-notch acting. Impressing critics
everywhere, Moll brings a fresh perspective to this genre by respecting the
audience's intelligence. As one critic put it: "With a Friend Like Harry
boasts a smart script that isn't overwhelmed by needless contrivances and
implausible twists. This is the kind of motion picture that, if he was still
alive, Alfred Hitchcock would almost certainly have given his approval to."


September 14-20
The Closet
Director: Francis Veber
French with English subtitles

Another hilarious, lighthearted comedy from the director of The Dinner Game
which also stars four of France's most celebrated actors, Daniel Auteuil,
Gerard Depardieu, Michel Aumont and Jean Rochefort. This film begins with
François Pignon that is considered by everyone to be just really dull. So
dull, his wife left him, his son could care less and that he may lose his
job at the rubber factory after 20 years of loyal service. He contemplates
suicide until his new neighbor comes up with a plan which means that he
needs to have everyone at the factory think that he is gay which will cause
his boss to fear a sex discrimination lawsuit, thereby allowing him to keep
his job. The comedy shows how everyone suddenly, including the factory's
homophobic personnel director,  find him much more interesting...


September 21-27
The Princess and the Warrior
Director: Tom Tykwer
German with English subtitles

As a follow-up to his 1999 art house hit Run Lola Run, German director Tom
Tykwer presents his real-life girlfriend, "Lola's" amazing Franka Potente,
as a psychiatric hospital nurse whose life is changed by a chance encounter
with a small time crook. She feels love for him; her love offers hope to
this dismal man. As with "Lola", the way fate and coincidence affect us is a
dominant theme. One enthusiastic critic offered this intriguing comment:
"...for anyone who esteems the experience of participating in a movie rather
than being a passive observer, this film comes with a 'Do Not Miss' label.
It is the reason I review movies."


September 28 - October 4
Divided We Fall
Director: Jan Hrebejk
Czech/German with English subtitles

This film is a comedy/drama set during the latter part of the Second World
War in a small Czech town. A couple that has been able to keep the war at a
distance is suddenly approached by an old neighbor who is an escapee from a
Jewish concentration camp. They are forced reluctantly to shelter him in
their small apartment. This decision causes a series of unexpected
consequences which vary from the comical to the very serious of events. The
former family chaffeur is now a powerful Nazi collaborator and is constantly
dropping by the apartment at the most unexpected times to see the woman of
the house. This film was one of the five films nominated for an oscar in the
category of best foreign language.


October 5-11
The Deep End
Directors: Scott McGehee & David Siegel
USA

>From the directors of Suture, this suspense thriller is a remake of 1949
film noir, The Reckless Moment with Joan Bennett and James Mason which is
based on a novel, The Blank Wall. The story is about a Lake Tahoe housewife
(Tilda Swinton, Orlando) who finds her son's much older, sleazy, gay lover
is dead on the beach with an anchor in his chest. For fear that her son will
be suspected of the killing, she dumps the body at the bottom of the lake
and gets rid of his car in Reno. Unfortunately, the body is found and a
blackmailer (Goran Visnjic, the Croatian hearthrob from E.R.) shows up with
a sex tape of her son and demands $50,000 for it. He develops a romantic
attachment to her and becomes her ally. This film is filled with rich
characters and is well photographed.


October 12-18
Faithless
Director: Liv Ullmann
Sweden with English subtitles

This film revolves around an adulterous affair and how it alters the
destinies of four people. The story is told through an aging artist named
Bergman, (Erland Josephson) who recalls with Marianne (Lena Endre) on how
the traumatic events affected his life. Liv Ullmann adapted the story from a
screenplay by former director and husband, Ingmar Bergman. Together they
collaborated on eight films in the sixties and seventies. This film seems to
be reminiscent of other Bergman classics such as Scenes from a Marriage and
Cries and Whispers. The performance by Lena Endre in this film has been
compared to Ullmann's performances in her past films at her best.


October 19-25
Lumumba
Director: Raoul Peck
Congo/French with English subtitles

A "gripping political thriller" as well as a biograph-ical drama, Lumumba
provides a portrait of Patrice Lumumba, who in 1960 became prime minister of
the Congo when that African country finally reached its indepen-dence from
Belgium. His "hot and explosive" nature was brutally ended in 1961 by his
enemies. Jumping back and forth between the past and the present, director
Raoul Peck creates a mesmerizing film which "conveys... the urgent chaos of
revolution." Plus, the film might prompt the viewer to consider these
questions offered by film critic Roger Ebert after watching Lumumba: "Why
does the U.S. so often back the reactionary side in international disputes?
Why do we fight against liberation movements, and in favor of puppets who
make things comfy for multinational corporations?"


October 26-November 1
Greenfingers
Director: Joel Hershman
UK

This lighthearted British comedy is loosely based on a true story of prison
convicts that become prize-winning gardeners. Colin (Clive Owen, Croupier)
is given a chance to reform by going through a new type of prison where the
inmates are allowed minimum security as long as they abide by the rules and
do their work. Along with his roommate, Fergus (David Kelly, he was the
naked man on the motorcycle in Waking Ned Devine), they discover that Colin
has a knack for gardening which gives the warden an idea to start one. Under
the guidance of a horticulture expert, Georgina (Helen Mirren), the group of
prisoners go on to compete in the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The real
men that this story is based on are inmates at Her Majesty's Prison Leyhill.
They are currently maintaining a 1,000 acre botanical garden which is open
to the public, they grow and sell plants to surrounding towns and grow
organic vegetables to other prisons.


November 2-8
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
USA

This film was written, directed, and stars John Cam-eron Mitchell which is
adapted from his hit Off Broadway play of the same name. It is a story of a
german boy named Hansel that falls in love with an ameri-can soldier, has a
botched sex change operation and be-comes Hedwig, the "internationally
ignored" rock star. Hedwig and her neo-glitter rock band are struggling to
make ends meet by playing for a chain of seafood family restaurants and
follows behind the stadium tour of Hedwig's protégé and former lover, the
rock star Tommy Gnosis. She taught him everything he knows and he returned
the favor by taking her songs and performing them. Hedwig explodes onto the
screen and is likely to be one of the most entertaining rock operas ever
made. It is likely to be a cult classic film that is reminiscent of Caberet
and Rocky Horror Picture Show.


November 9-15
The Vertical Ray of the Sun
Director: Tran Anh Hung
Vietnam with English subtitles

>From the French-Vietnamese director and his wife, actress Tran Nu Yen Khe of
The Scent of Green Papaya, this film tells the story of three sisters and
their relationship problems in present day Hanoi. The film unfolds between
the anniversaries of their parents deaths. When someone questions the
possibility of their mother having an extramarital affair, the story is
setup to prepare the audience for the relationship secrets that later reveal
themselves, and through this, we see how they deal with each other and the
expectations of people to keep secrets to themselves. The film plays as a
lush, cinematic mood piece with an obvious organic sensuality. The
gorgeousness of the scenes are breathtaking. The simplest gestures in
everyday life are transformed onto the screen with such exquisite beauty.


November 16-20
The Turandot Project
Director: Allan Miller
Chinese, Italian and English with English subtitles

In 1997, the director began filming world-renowned conductor, Zubin Mehta
and Chinese film director, Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, Not
One Less) as they joined forces to produce Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot
in Italy. Later in the same year, they were able to obtain goverment
permission to bring their opera to the ancient Forbidden City in Beijing.
This documentary follows the preparation and rehearsals leading up to the
most ambitious production of Turandot that has ever been staged. Chinese,
Italian, English, French and German crew members and performers worked
together to make this happen - a true "east meets west" event. There are
western opera stars, chorus and orchestra members from all over the world.
Hundreds of soldiers from the Chinese army were cast as ancient Chinese
warriors. Two thousand people from rural China were hired to sew and
embroider 900 new costumes for the production. The director takes us in many
aspects of the production that also appeals to people who are not "opera
fans" by viewing it through the cultural barriers that exist on the screen.
A real treat for the eyes.