CLC's fall international film series kicks off Sept. 7
Four highly acclaimed international films will be presented for free at 7 p.m. on Fridays by the College of Lake County Center for International Education. The Fall Semester films are: "Kekszakallu" Sept. 7, "Stalker" Oct. 5, "Faces Places" Nov. 2 and "On The Beach At Night Alone" Dec. 7.
Sept. 7: "Kekszakallu" (Argentina, 2016). A group of female teens luxuriate at a summer resort in Uruguay while idly pondering desultory ideas for their futures. When one grudgingly enters the job force, at a dehumanizing, near-abstract Styrofoam factory, she finds herself quite literally displaced. One of the most genuinely Avant-Garde films to screen in CLC's series, the film's title is Hungarian for "Bluebird"; Bela Bartok's Opera "Bluebird's Castle" is heard throughout, adding enigma and grandeur to the film's precisely composed photography. The AV Club website calls it "pure cinema … concentrate on director Gaston Solnicki's striking images … it works beautifully."
Oct. 5: "Stalker" (Russia, 1979). In a decaying Soviet future, an unexplained event has created an off-limits "Zone" guarded by the military. Yet an illicit guide - the Stalker - can navigate its psychological and metaphysical traps. A writer and a professor procure his services, seeking a room at the Zone's center, where it is said one can be granted their greatest wish. But how well do we know our desires? An enigmatic, allegorical masterpiece by Andrei Tarkovksy, the film evokes, and itself influenced, the work of Stanley Kubrick. This "haunting tale … offers visual splendor, as well as mysteries, portents and miracles," said the Wall Street Journal.
Nov. 2: "Faces Places" (France, 2017). This film is a joyous depiction of the artistic process and an intimate diary of its May-December collaborators: Agnes Varda, 89, icon of the French New Wave, and JR, 33, whose photography is both ephemeral and monumental. Together, they confront modernity, and mortality, with inclusive good humor. During a trip across rural France, (the original title is "Visages Villages"), they charm reticent locals into active participation as well. Oscar-nominated for Best Documentary, The New York Times called it "powerful, complex and radical ... just as (its) playful demeanor is the expression of a serious and demanding aesthetic commitment."
Dec. 7: "On The Beach at Night Alone" (South Korea, 2017). One of three films made last year by Hong Sang-Soo, "On the Beach at Night Alone" finds the director processing real-life scandal with his naturalistic, low-key whimsy. Kim Min-Hee ("The Handmaiden," "Right Now,
Wrong Then") stars as an actress hiding from her own reputation after an affair with a married filmmaker. Stifled by solitude in Berlin, she returns to her peers for increasingly heated (and inebriated) confrontations. The New Yorker said: "For all its intimacy, the drama has a vast scope, a fierce intensity … (and) the indelibly expressive spontaneity of Kim's performance." The drama won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival.
The films will be shown at the Grayslake Campus, 19351 W. Washington St. in Room A011 (A Wing Auditorium). Films have subtitles when necessary and include mature content.
For more information, contact Chris Cooling, CLC film instructor, at (847) 543-2623 or ccooling@clcillinois.edu. Or visit the series' Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CLCInternationalFilmSeries.
About College of Lake County:
College of Lake County is an innovative community college in Lake County, Ill. that transforms lives with its variety of accessible, quality education options. Offered at three campuses in Grayslake, Vernon Hills and Waukegan or online, College of Lake County provides affordable options in a state-of-the-art setting close to home. A large student network, with small class sizes, provides advantages to our students on a career-related program or a path toward a transfer degree. We're proud to serve the diverse needs of our community and student body. Connect to your future today at College of Lake County. For more information, visit www.clcillinois.edu.