Woodstock Theatre to celebrate international film
Bored with the Hollywood blockbuster-type films at the local cineplex?
Head to Woodstock this weekend and immerse yourself in the creative world of foreign films.
The Woodstock Theatre, at 209 Main St., just off the historic square in downtown Woodstock, will present the sixth annual Woodstock International Film Festival Friday through Tuesday.
This year, the festival focuses on five of the most acclaimed films of the past two years, including Academy Award nominees and winners.
Featured are:
• "After the Wedding" [R] 120 minutes, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday in Danish, Swedish, Hindi, English.
Jacob, a dedicated social worker whose orphanage in India has caught the eye of a philanthropist named Jergen, is summoned to Copenhagen to discuss a large donation.
He makes a startling discovery when he is invited to the wedding of Jergen's adopted daughter. The bride's mother is his old girlfriend and the bride may be the daughter he never knew he had.
• "Days of Glory" [R], 123. minutes, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, in French, Arabic.
This ironic docudrama tells the story of the 7th Algerian Infantry Division, a battle unit composed of Arab Algerians mobilized, trained and led by French officers who took part in the invasion of Italy and southern France in 1944-45.
Their unequal, discriminatory treatment is a precursor of circumstances that led to the Algerian war of independence years later.
• "The Lives of Others" [R], 137 minutes, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday in German.
Winner of the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, the movie focuses on the horrifying, sometimes unintentionally funny system of observation in 1980s East Germany.
A successful dramatist and his longtime companion, an actress, are big intellectual stars who aren't always loyal to the party line.
The Minister of Culture becomes interested in the actress and sends a secret service agent to observe them.
• "Pan's Labryinth" [PG-13], 120 minutes, 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Monday in Spanish.
A young girl travels with her pregnant mother to live with her mother's new husband in a rural area in Northern Spain in 1944.
To escape the real world of Fascist repression, the girl lives in an imaginary world of her own creation -- a mysterious and enchanting world of fairies, fauns and giant frogs.
The film won three Academy Awards in 2006 for cinematography, makeup and art direction.
• "Water," [PG-13], 114 minutes, 5 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. In 1938 Gandhi has returned to help free India from British rule and to change some of the repressive Indian customs.
Chuyia, a preteen, just wants to return to her mother, and the beautiful Kalyani, who has fallen in love, wants to remarry.
The 2005 film was an Academy Award nominee.
For patrons interested in exploring these films in greater depth, there will be several opportunities to join a film discussion. These will be held on Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday, after the 7 p.m. shows, at La Petite Creperie, on the west side of the Square just around the corner from the Woodstock Theatre.
Guest speakers include Victor Aronovich of Prime Time Productions and Dean Rowe with Front Row Productions.
Single tickets for each feature are $7.50. Tickets for the series of all five films can be purchased in advance for $30.
Tickets are available at the Woodstock Theatre box office. Admission to the discussions is free.
The Woodstock International Film Festival offers movie lovers a rare opportunity to see five award-winning, provocative films on a big screen with great sound, in a fully-updated 1927 movie house.
As always, there are free refills on popcorn and soft drinks.
Classic Cinemas is a family-owned business that operates 12 theatres with 91 screens in suburban Chicago and the northern Illinois area.
For information on all Classic Cinemas theatres, visit the Web site at www.classiccinemas.com.