CARNAGE (R)  

Friday & Saturday, February 3rd & 4th at 7pm

Sunday, February 5th at 2:30pm

Monday & Tuesday, February 6th & 7th at 7pm

 

Starring Christoph Waltz, Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet

Directed by Roman Polanski            Run time: 79 mins

 

Set in contemporary Brooklyn, New York, Carnage centers on two pairs of parents one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos.

 

Philadelphia Inquirer: “Think "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," but then think fun.”

 

Los Angeles Times: “Not only is Polanski very much in his comfort zone with this material, he also has cast it impressively, staying away from any of the actors who played the parts in either its London or New York productions and finding players who match up well with Carnage's juicy dialogue.” 

 

 

Friday, February 10th & Sunday, February 12th

THE FIFTH ANNUAL CHINESE FILM FESTIVAL

Held in conjunction with the Hilo Chinese New Year Festival at Kalakaua Park on Saturday, February 11th.

There will be three films shown over two days. The schedule is as follows:

Fri Feb 10 at 7pm

"The Flowers of War"

 

Sun Feb 12 at 2:30pm

"Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame"

4:30pm - 5:30pm

Reception in the Palace Lobby with Onomea Tea Company providing tastes of 100% Hawaii grown and processed tea.                   -All are welcome! 

6pm

"City of Life and Death"

 

Fri Feb 10 at 7pm

THE FLOWERS OF WAR (Not Rated)             

Starring: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi
Directed by Yimou Zhang     Run time:  145 mins
In English, Mandarin, Chinese & Japanese

From internationally celebrated director Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, House Of Flying Daggers) comes a story of love and war - and a band of outcasts who emerge as unlikely heroes from the shadows of a city's occupation. At once lyrical and visceral, the film enters the apocalyptic world of Nanjing in 1937 only to find a vibrant human story about the invisible people of the city and a series of unexpected relationships that lead to a resonant act of sacrifice.

It begins when the danger in the streets of Nanjing throws together a group of opposites --a flock of shell-shocked school children, a dozen seductive courtesans, and a renegade American (Academy Award winner Christian Bale, The Fighter, The Dark Knight) posing as a priest to save his own skin, or so he thinks - all seeking safety behind a walled cathedral. Trapped by marauding soldiers, over the next few days the prejudices and divides between them will fall away as they unite around a last-ditch plan to protect the children from impending catastrophe.
 
Shot over 5 1/2 months in the most extensive production ever undertaken in China, the film recreates the reality of Nanjing after Japanese troops invaded the Chinese city, setting off one of the most shocking episodes of civilian suffering in the modern history of war. Yet THE FLOWERS OF WAR is not so much about the deadly battles in the street as it is about all the life that continues to go on behind the closed doors of a city in hiding.

New York Observer:  “It's a special film of sacrifice, redemption and hope in the shadow of a holocaust that packs an emotional wallop from which there is no escape. I can't get it out of my thoughts, and I recommend it highly”

Box Office Magazine:  “Ultimately an inspiring, stirring and unforgettable human drama in the face of a horrifying war. It is highly recommended.”

 

www.theflowersofwarthemovie.com/


Sunday, February 12th at 2:30pm
DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (PG13)      

Starring Andy Lau, Bingbing Li, Carina Lau
Directed by Hark Tsui     Run time:  119 mins
In Mandarin and Spanish with English subtitles

A bizarre murder mystery brings together the most powerful woman in China, the soon-to-be-Empress Wu Zetian, and a formerly exiled detective, Dee Renjie, at the infamous Imperial Palace.  Hoping that he will solve the crime before her coronation, Wu appoints Dee Chief Judge of the Empire and implores him to combine his indisputable wisdom with his unparalleled martial arts skills to save the future of her dynasty.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto):  “Detective Dee is the action flick of the year, a two-hour epic that blows the "Pirates of the Caribbean" to the Bermuda Triangle.”

Time:  “The movie is not just spectacle; it's got a tender, ultimately tragic love story and enough deadly political scheming to fill a Gaddafi playbook. Indeed, in its narrative cunning, luscious production design and martial-arts balletics, Detective Dee is up there with the first great kung-fu art film, King Hu's 1969 "A Touch of Zen." We'd call it "Crouching Tiger, Freakin' Masterpiece."

LA Times:  “It has opulent, stylized settings of elegance, grandeur and scope, flawless special effects, and awesome martial arts combat staged by the master, Sammo Hung. Yet bravura spectacle never overwhelms either the plot or the key characters. Chang Chia-lu's intricate script bristles with wit and suspense; the film from start to finish is a terrific entertainment.”

 

releasing.indomina.com/detective-dee
 

 

Sunday, February 12th at 6pm
CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH (R)
 

Starring Liu Ye, Fan Wei, Gao Yuanyuan
Directed by Chuan Lu               Run time:  132 mins
In English and Mandarin

In December 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to the Chinese capital of Nanking, killing as many as 300,000 citizens during a six-week reign of terror, the details of which Japan and China dispute to this day.  Shot in dazzling black-and-white Cinemascope, CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH is a visionary re-telling of one of the most horrific chapters in modern Asian history, and an unforgettable masterpiece of contemporary world cinema.

LA Times:  “Harrowing and unflinching, a savage nightmare so consuming and claustrophobic you will want to leave but fear to go, City of Life and Death is a cinematic experience unlike any you've had before. It's a film strong enough to change your life, if you can bear to watch it at all.”

San Francisco Chronicle:  “City of Life and Death, a stunning re-creation of the Japanese army's annihilation of Nanking in 1937, will make you flinch, even as you admire its brilliant black-and-white cinematography, breathtaking art design and unerring direction.”

 

www.kinolorber.com/film.php

Mahalo to the Big Island Film Office, Department of Research & Development, County of Hawaii for making this film festival possible.

 

A DANGEROUS METHOD (R)  

Friday & Saturday, February 17th & 18th at 7pm

Sunday, February 19th at 2:30pm

Monday & Tuesday, February 20th & 21st at 7pm

 

Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kiera Knightley, Michael Fassbender

Directed by David Cronenberg        Run time: 99 mins

 

On the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous Method takes a glimpse into the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the troubled but beautiful young woman who comes between them. Into the mix comes Otto Gross, a debauched patient who is determined to push the boundaries. In this exploration of sensuality, ambition and deceit set the scene for the pivotal moment when Jung, Freud and Sabina come together and split apart, forever changing the face of modern thought.

 

Village Voice: "Cronenberg's film is at once a lucid movie of ideas, a compelling narrative, and a splendidly acted love story."

Salon.com: "It's a handsome and stimulating film, noteworthy more for its terrific acting and provocative ideas than for any kind of dark Cronenbergundian genius."

 

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (R)

Friday & Saturday, February 24th & 25th at 7pm

Sunday, February 26th at 2:30pm

Monday & Tuesday, February 27th & 28th at 7pm

 

Starring Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi

Directed by Simon Curtis           

Run time: 99 mins

 

Oscar nomination for Michelle Williams for actress in a leading role!

Oscar nomination for Kenneth Branagh for actor in a supporting role

 

In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark, just down from Oxford and determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant on the set of 'The Prince and the Showgirl'. The film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Aurthur Miller. Nearly 40 years on, his diary account "The Prince, the Showgirl and Me" was published, but one week was missing and this was published some years later as My Week with Marilyn - this is the story of that week. When Arthur Miller leaves England, the coast is clear for Colin to introduce Marilyn to some of the pleasures of British life; an idyllic week in which he escorted a Monroe desperate to get away from her retinue of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work.

 

New York Observer: "What an extraordinary thrill to leave a movie exhilarated instead of drained, sated instead of empty, rejuvenated instead of depressed. It's a magical experience."

 

Rolling Stone: "The luminous Michelle Williams goes bone-deep here. Monroe's beauty was one of a kind. No one, not even Williams, can act it. What Williams does, with fierce artistry and feeling, is illuminate Monroe's insights and insecurities about herself at the height of her fame."