(France/UK/USA, 2002)
  The latest adaptation of Oscar Wilde is written and directed by Oliver Parker (Othello, An Ideal Husband). This is a tale of two dashing young aristocrats in 1890s England who decide to embellish the details of their personal lives in order to more easily court women. With a cast that includes Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband, Gosford Park) Reese Witherspoon (Pleasantville), Frances O'Connor (Mansfield Park), Colin Firth and the ever-popular Judi Dench. Roger Ebert despairs at the lost art of such films: How can people recognize wit who begin with only a half-measure of it?

"Makes elegant farce out of mistaken identities, the class system, mannerisms, egos, rivalries, sexual warfare and verbal playfulness.... 'The Importance of Being Earnest' is above all an exercise in wit.... I despair. How can people recognize wit who begin with only a half-measure of it?" * * * -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

(Canada, 2001, Inuktitut with English subtitles)
  A film festival hit and award winner around the world, this Canadian masterpiece is the first feature screenplay written in the Inuktitut language. This brilliant and astonishing glimpse into life in the Arctic is like nothing you've ever seen before.

"Passion, filtered through ritual and memory." * * * * -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

(Canada, 2001)

  The debut feature for director Gaurav Seth was inspired by a short story by Russian writer Yuri Nagibin. In it we see Omi, an eight-year-old boy, arrive in Ottawa from India to live with his cousin due to his mother's illness. Omi's looking for a hero but ends up finding something much more meaningful - himself. A charming and heartfelt look at Canada's cultural mosaic as seen through the eyes of a young boy.

"A low-budget Canadian indie ... a comedy of cultural assimilation along the lines of East is East, but with a lyrical sensibility that recalls early François Truffaut." * * * * -- Adam Nayman, eye WEEKLY

(China, 2000, Mandarin with English Subtitles)
  This film from the renowned, award-winning, iconic Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern) stars newcomer Dong Jie, who was chosen from over 40,000 young women to play Ding, a blind girl. With her expressive face and vivid personality lighting up the screen, it's easy to see why she got the part. Happy Times completes Shang's trilogy about 'little people' (following Not One Less and The Road Home).

"Provides a sharp picture of how life is lived in today's rapidly Westernizing China. Simultaneously poignant, engagingly funny and bittersweet, it mixes its elements in a way that is completely its own." -- Kenneth Turan, LA Times

"Worth watching for Dong Jie's performance -- and for the way it documents a culture in the throes of rapid change." -- Jonathan Foreman, New York Post

(USA, 2001)
  This Toronto International Film Festival hit was written and directed by acclaimed young filmmaker Nicole Holofcener (Walking and Talking). Starring Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich) and Brenda Blethyn (Saving Grace), this witty and clever comedy explores the intricacies of evolving relationships with a delightful satirical edge.

"All of these women are smart, which is important in a story like this. The mistakes they make come through trying too hard and feeling too insecure. They're not based on dumb plot points. They're the kinds of things real people do. And thank God they have a sense of humor about their lives, and a certain zest: They aren't victims but participants. They're even mean sometimes.." * * * * -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

(USA/Canada, 2002)
NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

  Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.

"A flat-out brilliant cinematic essay on the issue of guns and violence in American society." -- Kirk Honeycutt

"Moore provides an invaluable service by sparking debate and encouraging thought. Better still, he does all of this, and more, while remaining one of the most savagely hilarious social critics this side of Jonathan Swift." -- Joe Leydon, San Francisco Examiner

(USA/France, 2002)

NOMINATED FOR FOUR ACADEMY AWARDS, INCLUDING:
  BEST ACTRESS, JULIANNE MOORE
  BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
  BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
  AND BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY, TODD HAYNES

  Director Todd Haynes' (Velvet Goldmine, Safe) 'nearly flawless' drama pays loving homage to the 1950s melodramas, especially Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows. Mounting racial tensions, social class and sexuality in 1950s Connecticut swirl around a housewife's (Julianne Moore) marital crisis with her husband (Dennis Quaid).

"Far From Heaven would easily have been one of the year's best films, based solely on its exquisite cinematography and production design. Add an Oscar-worthy performance from Julianne Moore, and writer-director Todd Haynes's script, and you have a movie that's nearly flawless." * * * * -- Christy Lemire, The Associated Press

(Canada, 2002)
WINNER OF A GENIE AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  A refreshing and delightful departure for acclaimed and sometimes controversial Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta (Fire, Earth). Set in Toronto, her latest offering is a colourful, riotous extravaganza of music, dance and melodrama that perfectly blends contemporary Western storytelling with vibrant Eastern sensibilities.

"Mehta's effort has tons of charm, and the whimsy is in the mixture, the intoxicating masala of cultures and film genres." -- Bruce Kirkland

Wednesday, February 19, 7:00 pm
8 femmes (AA)

(France, 2002; English subtitles)
  Set in a snowbound country house in '50s France, the film finds eight women, including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Emmanuelle Beart, trying to discover which one of them murdered the family patriarch. Catch the film that's taking France by storm!

"Imagine Agatha Christie penning a screenplay for Douglas Sirk and you've nailed director Ozon's beguiling musical melodrama/murder mystery... Fans of chiffon, bitchy backstabbing and terrific lesbian subtext get in line now." * * * * -- Ingrid Randoja, eye WEEKLY