Ninth Chch film festival

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 10

Ninth Chch film festival

hans petrovic

The two-week Ninth Christchurch Film Festival begins at the Carlton tomorrow with another look at adolescence by America’s John Sayles, “Baby, It’s You,” and a stylish thriller, “Blood Simple.” Other highlights of the first week include Satyajit Ray’s “The Home and the World,” Bertrand Travenier’s “A Sunday in the Country,” F. W. Murnau’s 1927 classic, “Sunrise,” Werner Herzog’s “Where the Green Ants Dream,” and Alain Resnais’s “Life is a Novel.” The first week’s programme is: TOMORROW, 11.15 A.M. AND 8.15 P.M., “ENTRE NOUS,” DIRECTED BY DIANE KURYS, FRANCE: A study of feminine friendship in France during the 1950 s based on the story of the director’s parents and "the other woman” who changed their lives. TOMORROW, 5.50 P.M., “BABY IT’S YOU,” BY JOHN SAYLES, U.S.A.: A bracing 1960 s college movie where a young woman is struggling to make the transition from junior school to college. TOMORROW AND SATURDAY, 11 P.M., “BLOOD SIMPLE,” BY JOEL COEN, U.S.A.: A riveting, stylish private-eye thriller set in the mythical heart of Texas, and not for people who like their art genteel. SATURDAY, 11.30 A.M., “BACKSTAGE AT THE KIROV,” BY DEREK HART, U.S.A.: A feature film which mixes the images of a ballet rehearsal with a performance of “Swan Lake.” SATURDAY, 2 P.M., “THE HOME AND THE WORLD,” BY SATYAJIT RAY, INDIA: A personal triangle involving an enlightened, cultured Hindu, his young, emancipated wife, and his friend, a militant nationalist.

SATURDAY, 5.30 P.M., “HEART LIKE A WHEEL,” BY JONATHAN KAPLAN, U.S.A.: Based on the life of Shirley Muldowney, the woman who broke the sex barrier in big-time drag racing and became the only three-time winner in national hot-rod racing. SATURDAY, 8.15 P.M., “A SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY,” BY BERTRAND TRAVENIER, FRANCE: A forgotten traditionalist painter in the early years of this century is visited by young members of his family who get him to assess his life’s work. SUNDAY, 12.30 P.M., “NO TIME FOR TEARS,” BY HARK BOHM, WEST GERMANY: In 1981, Marianne Bachmeier shot a man who was on trial for the murder of her young daughter. SUNDAY, 3 P.M., “SUNRISE,” BY F. W. MURNAU, U.S.A.: An archives film from 1927 which has been described as “arguably the finest of the silent era.” SUNDAY, 5.30 P.M., “JAZZMEN,” BY KAREN SHAKHNAZAROVA, USSR: Trials of a 1920 s Soviet trad quartet and their picaresque search for some reward and acceptance. SUNDAY, 8.15 P.M., “WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM,” BY WERNER HERZOG, WEST GERMANY: An account of the conflict between Aboriginal land rights and white Australian uranium mining.

MONDAY, 11.15 A.M. AND 8.15 P.M., "CAL,” BY PAT O’CONNOR, U.Kj A Catholic widow of a Protestant policeman becomes attracted to Cal, a young terrorist who is hiding out on her farm. MONDAY, 5.30 P.M., “LIFE IS A NOVEL,” BY ALAIN RESNAIS, FRANCE: Three stories in three different periods which all take place in a fairytale castle and are interwoven with peoples’ attempts to create utopias. TUESDAY, 10.30 A.M. AND 8.15 P.M., “KAOS,” BY P. AND V. TAVIANI, ITALY: A masterpiece based on three Pirandello stories. For many this will be the most thrilling film in the festival. TUESDAY, 5.30 P.M., “STRANGER’S KISS,” BY MATTHEW CHAPMAN, U.S.A.: An engaging love story which follows the private lives and public careers of movie stars in 1950 s Hollywood. WEDNESDAY, 11.15 A.M. AND 8.15 P.M., “EL NORTE,” BY GREGORY NAVA, U.S.A.: The odyssey of two young Guatemalans, brother and sister, who flee from their village and head for Los Angeles. WEDNESDAY, 5.30 P.M., “EXPERIENCE PREFERRED,” BY PETER DUFFELL, U.K.: A deadpan, offbeat comedy about a young student working in a Welsh hotel who comes against a group of amiable eccentrics. THURSDAY, 11.15 A.M. AND 8.15 P.M., “LE BAL,” BY ETTORE SCOLA, FRANCE: A panorama of 50 years of French life expressed entirely in popular dance, music and mime. THURSDAY, 5.30 P.M., “LEGENT OF TIANYUN MOUNTAIN,” BY XIE JIN, CHINA: A drama of love and politics sweeping across two decades of turbulent Chinese history.