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A THRILLING SUMMER

June 2010

The summer heat is building up in Kuwait, reaching 45 degrees very early. So why not make it thrilling enough and bid the good days farewell with a wide array of thrilling, funny and chilling films at Cinemagic? This might be your summer trip, a trip you didn’t have the chance to take.

For its part, Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in the art of filmmaking and appreciate it.

Please note that:

• Screenings will start as of 7 pm, every Thursday and Saturday. Entry Ticket 1 KD.

• Screenings will be canceled when confronted with very bad weather.

• Screenings will take place at our location in Old Salmiya, above LG Electronics.

WEEK 1

Thusrday, 3rd June, 2010

 Sita Sings the Blues, USA 2009

 Director: Nina Paley

 Genre: Animation | Musical | 82 min | English Subtitle

 Rated: PG 15

Utilizing a dazzling array of animation and narrative styles, the film incorporates Ramayana art traditions from Mughal paintings to Indonesian shadow puppets. Temple sculptures to comic books. Sita enacts her story in a series of Bubsy –Berkley –esque dance numbers set to American blues and torch songs by 1920’s vocalist Annette Hanshaw. Fabulous Indian fusion music rounds out the electric score, while a hilarious trio of unscripted shadow puppet provides narration and commentary.

 Saturday, 5th June, 2010

 Summer Hours, France 2008

 Director: Olivier Assayas

 Genre: Drama | 108 min | English Subtitle

 Rated: 15

French director Olivier Assayas subverts expectations with this empathetic drama about the fading relevance of objects as generations pass from one to the next. Helene has just turned 75 and is increasingly concerned about the particulars of leaving her estate behind when she dies. Unfortunately, the time comes when Adrienne Jeremie and Frederic must decide what to do with Helene’s house and the artwork left behind by her famous uncle.

WEEK 2

 Thursday, 10th June, 2010

 The Orphanage, Spain 2008

 Director: Juan Antonio Bayona

 Genre: Thriller | 105 min | English Subtitle

 Rated: PG 13  

It is the story of a woman, Laura, returning to the orphanage where she was raised as a child. Her plans are to look after sick children there, but it doesn’t take long for things to go awry. Without giving too much away, visions from her past and a threat to her own family are the starting points for a complex and quite haunting thriller, that stays in the mind long after the credits have rolled.

 Saturday, 12th June, 2010

 Three Monkeys, Turkey 2008

 Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

 Genre: Drama | 109 min | English Subtitle 

 Rated:  PG 15

Near the Bosporus, Eyüp and Hacer live in a modest flat with their son Ismail, in his twenties, who’s doing poorly in his studies. Few words pass between them, and a past family tragedy brings sorrow daily. On a rainy night, Eyüp’s boss Servet, a wealthy businessman who’s entering politics, hits a pedestrian on a lonely road. He drives off and offers money to Eyüp if Eyüp will take the fall - probably a six-month sentence. Eyüp agrees, and while he’s in prison, Ismail wants his mother to ask Servet for enough money to buy a car. Servet, in turn, desires Hacer. How can this play out?

WEEK 3

 Thursday, 17th June, 2010

 Jar City, Iceland 2006

 Director: Baltasar Kormákur

 Genre: Thriller | 93 min | English Subtitle    

 Rated: PG 15

It looks like nothing ever happens in Iceland and when a seemingly innocuous old man is brutally killed; the news is in someway amplified. Detective Erlendur Sveisson, fifty and living a life plagued by various forms of addiction, is appointed the apparently incomprehensible case. During his investigations of the murder, Erlendur discovers that the victim was anything but an innocent pensioner, his past filled with rape and violence. These findings lead Erlendur to connect the assassination to other unsolved homicides, revealing an unsettling and gory picture that spreads virtually over the entire country. An austere yet powerful and gripping detective story, Jar City has been very well received by demanding American audiences.

 Saturday, 19th June, 2010

 Festen, Denmark 1998

 Director: Thomas Vinterberg

 Genre: Drama | 105 min | English Subtitle

To celebrate his 60th birthday, family patriarch Helge Klingelfeldt throws a lavish dinner party for all his friends and family. After years of tense estrangement Helge is particularly anxious that his three children, Christian, Michael and Helene support the party’s festive mood by parading an impression of happy and loving family. When dusk falls and the master of ceremonies introduces himself to announce that dinner is served, Christian raises his glass to what all the guests believe to be a poignant toast to his father. However, the eldest son’s speech serves only to expose a secret that descends the celebration into a tragic and heartbreaking night that will never be forgotten.

WEEK 4

 Thursday, 24th June, 2010

 Tears Of The Black Tiger, Thailand 2001

 Director: Wisit Sasanatieng

 Genre: Action | Comedy | 110 min | English SubtitleRated: 15

In the countryside of Thailand, a gang of outlaws makes the region unsafe. Among them is the handsome gun hero Dum, who became unwillingly involved in the bandit life. Handsome Dum made a promise to his upper-crust lover Rumpoey: despite the class difference, they will get married. When the moment of reunion arrives, Dum gets involved in a firefight and cannot possibly reach Rumpoey in time. She is desperate: her father has married her off to a policeman. The taciturn Dum, called the ‘Black Tiger’ by his co-conspirators, has however not forgotten Rumpoey. He does everything in his power to reach her, but fate gets in the way: his gang leader suspects him of treachery and his blood brother turns into his greatest enemy.

 Friday, 26th June, 2010

The Unknown Woman, Italy 2008

 Director: Guiseppe Tornatore

 Genre: Drama | 118 min | English Subtitle

 Rated: 15

A thriller concerning a young Ukrainian prostitute-turned-cleaning woman named Irina (Kseniya Rappoport). Years ago, Irina was drawn into an international prostitution ring. Flash-forward to the present, and Irina is a humble cleaning woman in a building owned by jewelers. Though her appearance would suggest poverty, Irina always has a sizable wad of cash in her pocket and lives in a large apartment across the street from the dysfunctional Adacher family. Gradually, she works her way into the family home, befriending the parents (Claudia Gerini and Pierfrancesco Favino) and becoming a trusted confidante to their daughter Thea (Clara Dossena). As her relationship with the family deepens, her motivations for getting so close become frighteningly clear.