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Second Multicultural Film Festival
4 interlocking stories all connected by a single gun all converge at the end and reveal a complex and tragic story of the lives of humanity around the world and how we truly aren't all that different. In Morocco, a troubled married couple are on vacation trying to work out their differences. Meanwhile, a Moroccan herder buys a rifle for his sons so they can keep the jackals away from his herd. A girl in Japan dealing with rejection, the death of her mother, the emotional distance of her father, her own self-consciousness, and a disability among many other issues, deals with modern life in the enormous metropolis of Tokyo, Japan. Then, on the opposite side of the world the married couple's Mexican nanny takes the couple's 2 children with her to her son's wedding in Mexico, only to come into trouble on the return trip. Combined, it provides a powerful story and an equally powerful looking glass into the lives of seemingly random people around the world and it shows just how connected we really are.
It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When it finally reached fruition in 1982, the 188-minute, Oscar-winning Gandhi was one of the most exhaustively thorough biopics ever made. The film begins in the early part of the 20th century, when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. In the horrendous "slaughter" sequence, more extras appear on screen than in any previous historical epic. The supporting cast includes Candice Bergen as photographer Margaret Bourke-White, Athol Fugard as General Smuts, John Gielgud as Lord Irwin, John Mills as the viceroy, Martin Sheen as Walker, Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield, and, in a tiny part as a street bully, star-to-be Daniel Day-Lewis.
The story begins in the year 1184 during the time of the Crusades for the city of Jerusalem. Balian, (Orlando Bloom), a peasant blacksmith in France is visited by Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson). Godfrey reveals to Balian that he is his father, and he asks Balian to come with him and fight in the Crusades. Balian tells his father that he is mourning his wife, who has just committed suicide after the death of their newborn. The village priest callously informs Balian that his late wife burns in hell for her actions, and enrages the grieving blacksmith to the point where he attacks and murders the holy man. Fleeing his native village, he joins up with Godrey and heads off to the Crusades. Before dying, Godfrey knights his bastard Son, and makes him Baron of Ibelin, a territory in the Holy Land. Balian hopes that he can reach Jerusalem and beg forgiveness for himself and his late wife. After being shipwrecked on the Levant coast, Balian is forced to fight for survival. He defeats an Arab "champion" and gains the respect of his Muslim opponents. He eventually presents himself to King Baldwin of Jerusalem (Edward Norton) and is confirmed as Baron of Ibelin. Balian finds Ibelin to be a remote desert oasis, but does his best to manage his new lands well. The various Christian knights and lords are constantly bickering, with some pleased with the status quo, while others seek wealth and glory by attacking Muslim caravans and trying to expand the Christian-controlled territories. Guy de Lusignan, a member of the Knight's Templar, is especially aggressive, and causes a rupture with the Muslims by attacking them ceaselessly. When King Baldwin dies, the truce with the Muslims is broken, and the Christians ride out to assault Saladin's (Ghassan Massoud) mighty army. They are quickly dispatched in the desert, and Saladin besieges Jerusalem. Balian and the people of Jerusalem fight for their lives as Saladin assault the city. They are badly outnumbered, however, and eventually have to capitulate. Saladin graciously allows them to leave the city, provided they leave all precious objects and gold behind. Balian returns to France, and is seen working as a smith again at the end of the film. He is approached by King Richard (of England) asking if he is Balian of Ibelin. Balian replies that he is a blacksmith, nothing more.
The pianist begins in Warsaw, Poland in 1939, first introducing Wladyslaw Szpilman as a pianist for the local radio. He is soon introduced to Dorota, who accompanies him around Warsaw to learn of the injustice Jewish people have to face. We soon see Vadysaw and his family, with one brother and two sisters and living parents, as a tightly nit jewish family with different opinions of the war. The father is concerned with it, as if he's an ex marine, the brother - a sarcastic man, has his own opinions. The movie moves foward as with the war, where soon enough the family has to move to the ghetto emplaced by Nazi rule; And soon his brother Henryk and sisters Helena and Regina are forced away to camp. They come back, but Henryk is thrown away again and saved by Wladyslaw. The next scene is the father aquiring working papers through a friend of Wadysaw, but ultimately that doesn't work and it's not long before the rest of the family, minus Wladyslaw, and nearly all the other people from his village are sent off on trains. Wladyslaw is saved by Itzak Heller, a Jewish man working as a police guard. He hides out, but apparently is recaptured and years have passed when you see him building a wall. He thinks he sees Dorota, but she passes quickly. While in the ghetto, with the help of friend (who was the friend that got his father working papers) Majorek, he escapes and finds Dorota and her brother to live with. He first stays with Schutzpolizei, and then has his own place. An accident involving him making a loud noise with dishes, he has to scurry out being chased by an angry German woman. He winds back at Dorota's who now is married, pregnant, and her brother dead. He then stays in another place, where there is a piano, in which he grows ill. Soon, Nazis start attacking the building and he has to flee, ultimately copping over a wall and hiding out in a small building on the other side of the ghetto, completely abandoned. He stays there without trouble until a Nazi Captain Wilm Hosenfeld finds him. But moved by his piano playing, he ends up helping Wladyslaw survive. The movie closes out with the war ending and the captain in a detainee's cage, and an attempt by Wladyslaw to help him. Although he can't, he goes back to piano playing.
Captain Wiesler is a wiretapping expert with the Stasi (East German Secret Police) in the mid-eighties, who becomes disillusioned with his career and life in general in the former socialist republic when his latest assignment, Georg Dreyman, a playwright with views against the totalitarian state, starts to challenge his beliefs through his overheard conversations.A musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands on the West Bank. David, an Israeli soldier, falls in love with Fatima, a beautiful Palestinian cashier, despite the animosity between their families' dueling restaurants. Can the couple's love withstand a 58-year-old conflict and their families' desire to control the future of the chick pea in the Middle East?
A fascinating and thought-provoking documentary that explores the human side of Canadian immigration. Featuring interviews with immigrants from Ethiopia, Syria, China, Guatemala, Peru, Egypt, Poland, and Guyana, the film takes the viewer deep into the hearts of Canadian immigrants as they share their hopes, dreams, and experiences. "Northern Choice" challenges the myths, prejudices and biases present in Canadian society, while inspiring viewers to recognize the value that immigrants bring to Canada. With the far-reaching social and political changes around the world, "Northern Choice" will resonate with the growing Canadian immigrant population, as well as those born in Canada. Back to Film Festivals |
