Movies
Pina
OSCAR NOMINEE, BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM From director Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, Buena Vista Social Club), this tribute to choreographer Pina Bausch (who died during production of the film) is an utterly transfixing, exhilarating spectacle (Austin Chronicle) that embodies Bauschs signature advice to dancers: Get crazier. English subtitles
People of a Feather
OTTAWA PREMIERE | VIFF 2011 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER Biologist Joel Heath spent seven harsh winters in Hudson Bays remote Belcher Islands documenting the effects of Québec hydroelectric dams on the Arctic environment, wildlife and the native Sanikiluaq people, and the result is a near mystical mix of time-lapse Arctic landscapes,
Monsieur Lazhar
2011 GENIE & JUTRA WINNER, BEST FILM AND BEST DIRECTOR When an Algerian immigrant takes over a Montréal elementary school class following the former teachers suicide, there are lessons to be learned all around in this transcendent film [that forms] a tapestry of fraught relationships, weaving issues of parental authority,
In Darkness
In the hands of Canadian screenwriter David Shamoon, this story based on the extraordinary true history of Leopold Soha, who hid Jews in the sewers of the occupied city of Lvov during WWII finds flawed humanity in all its characters and is suspenseful, horrifying and at times intensely
Girl Model
OTTAWA PREMIERE | OFFICIAL SELECTION, TIFF 2011 & SXSW 2011 Juxtaposing the experiences of 13-year-old modeling hopeful Nadya with those of former model and current talent scout Ashley, this quietly heartbreaking doc exposes the ugly side of the international beauty industry. [E]ssential, revelatory viewing that speaks volumes about the culture
The Flowers of War
GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE, BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Director Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern) shrinks the Nanjing Massacre during which Japanese soldiers killed more than 200,000 Chinese and raped an estimated 20,000 women to a comprehensible, but no less horrific, case-in-point in this story of a mortician (Christian Bale)
The Descendants
OSCAR WINNER, BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Why did George Clooney get nominated for best actor for this damn near perfect (Rolling Stone) film? Because in spite of the fact that hes George Clooney, he convincingly plays an average guy whose wife would cheat on him. See it to believe it!
Cat People
Pauline Kael said that Schraders grisly, erotic re-imagining of the 1942 classic about a woman who becomes a panther when shes aroused looks like a series of album covers for records youd never want to play. But who wouldnt spin a record with Nastassja Kinski on the cover especially
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
OTTAWA PREMIERE This intimate portrait of performance art and music pioneer Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle) and his wife Lady Jaye documents the incredible, sometimes surgical steps they took to come closer to one another, and tells a relatable, tragic love story Losier has made a quietly revolutionary work that treats
Albert Nobbs
NOMINATED FOR 3 OSCARS, INCLUDING BEST ACTRESS Downtown Abbey meets Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in this tale of a woman (Glenn Close) in 19th-century Dublin who poses as a man so she can find work, and financial security, as a butler. This is such a brave performance by Glenn