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Film Society of Lincoln Center Presents 46th Annual Festival
Restored classics, panel discussions with hot directors and cutting-edge international cinema
Esmeralda Ouertani as Sandra [left] and Rachel Regulier as Khoumba in The Class/Entre Les Murs (Photo: GPierre Milon; Sony Pictures Classics)
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Every year the New York Film Festival premieres the latest in the art of filmmaking from around the globe, and, as usual, the 46th annual fest is much more than a series of screenings—it’s an event that caters to true cinephiles. Special offerings include panel discussions like “Film Criticism in Crisis,” with the editor of Cahiers du cinema; screenings of restored classics such as Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, introduced by Martin Scorsese (Full Listing of Special Events); and dialogues with some of today’s prominent directors (Listing of Directors Dialogues).
And, of course, there are the films themselves. The following are must-see selections from the festival’s “Main Slate”:
The Class
Fri Sep 26 at 8 p.m.
A real-life Parisian junior high school teacher wrote the memoirs upon which this movie is based. The memoirist and his students play themselves, and the result is an uncompromised portrait of the New France.
24 City
Sat Sep 27 at 3 p.m.
Jia Zhangke’s honest tale of a symbol of Mao’s China, a closed munitions plant, being converted into luxury apartments to meet the demands of China’s modern urban economy.
Happy-Go-Lucky
Sat Sep 27 at 6:15 p.m.
Sun Sep 28 at noon
Winner of this year’s Berlin Film Festival Best Actress Award, Sally Hawkins portrays the unrelentingly positive Poppy in the latest from Mike Leigh.
I’m Gonna Explode/Voy a explotar
Sun Sep 28 at 9 p.m.
Mon Sep 29 at 6 p.m.
A young man attempts to hang himself onstage for his school’s talent show. He doesn’t succeed, but bonds with the only audience member who clapped for the macabre performance. Youthful, riotous adventures ensue. This film is more proof that Mexico is the new head of global youth culture.
Tony Manero
Mon Sep 29 at 9:15 p.m.
Tue Sep 30 at 6 p.m.
What did disco and Pinochet’s Chilean regime have in common? Timing. Tony Manero is a disco devotee attempting to live his version of the American dream, set to The Bee Gees, during the Pinochet police state. (It’s equal parts dark comedy, dance musical and political meditation.)
Waltz with Bashir
Wed Oct 1 at 9:15 p.m.
Thu Oct 2 at 6 p.m.
In this anime documentary, a former soldier relives the nightmares of war, creating a new mode for the remembrance of things past: a visual account of recalled trauma.
Gomorrah/Gomorra
Fri Oct 3 at 6 p.m.
Sun Oct 5 at 9 p.m.
The menacing streets of Naples set the stage for this murderous mob movie. Based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling 2006 book about the Italian organized crime empire, Camorra, the filmmakers did not skimp on authenticity (i.e., brutality).
Changeling
Sat Oct 4 at 9:15 p.m.
Sun Oct 5 at 11:15 a.m.
The already acclaimed new film from director Clint Eastwood stars Angelina Jolie as a mother whose missing child is returned to her, only to then assert that the child is not in fact hers. This true-crime thriller is being compared to Chinatown.
Che
Tue Oct 7 at 6 p.m.
Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour meditation on guerilla warfare and the success of the Cuban Revolution, starring Benicio Del Toro, is worth seeing for its skillful filmmaking and ambitious scope (not to mention the novelty of a 30-minute intermission).
A Christmas Tale/Un conte de Noël
Fri Oct 10 at 6 p.m.
Sat Oct 11 at 11:15 a.m.
Acclaimed French director of Kings and Queens, Arnaud Desplechin, ups the ante of ensemble comedies generated around a newly diagnosed illness, and accurately mirrors the human circus that is most pronounced when family comes together for a major holiday.
Bullet in the Head
Sun Oct 12 at 2:30 p.m.
Catalan director Jaime Rosales’s mystery film is told in a narrative that could be called third person limited. The scenes are compiled like brilliant detective work that challenges the audience until the pieces finally fall into place.
The Wrestler
Sun Oct 12 at 8:30 p.m.
This film realizes two long-wished for but seemingly impossible events: Mickey Rourke’s comeback and a strong film narrative built around the pro-wrestling circuit.
See a full listing of the NY Film Fest’s Main Slate.
For tickets and more information visit The New York Film Festival’s website.