Screenings:

Thursday, April 5, 7pm (HIB 100)

Never Forever

Friday, April 6, 7pm (HIB 100)

Funny Games

Never Forever description:

Director/Writer Gina Kim to appear in person for a Q&A Session Introduction by Akira Mizuta Lippit, Professor of Critical Studies in the School of Cinematic Arts and Comparative Literature at USC, and former Director of the Film and Video Center. The FVC is proud to screen Never Forever, co-produced by FVC Director Kyung Hyun Kim and written and directed by Gina Kim. The film was one of the dramatic competition films at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Sophie (Vera Farmiga, star of the Oscar-winning The Departed) seems to have an idyllic life; she's the perfect Caucasian housewife for Andrew (David L. Mcinnis), her successful Asian American husband. Their relationship is put to the test, though, when she can't conceive a child. To save her marriage, Sophie does something desperate. She initiates a bold and clandestine venture with Jihah (Jung-woo Ha), an illegal immigrant from Korea. Sophie soon finds this new arrangement spiraling into a situation that may actually destroy what it was meant to liberate. In Never Forever, writer/director Gina Kim arranges every shot with a calculating eye, building a step-by-step urgency. Her story is rich and her filmmaking lean and precise. Kim creates the perfect tone, right down to a climate of extreme repression where the sexual energy is nearly combustible. The insightful art direction and costume design are marvelously refined for an independent film. And Vera Farmiga's incredible performance as Sophie is a true gift. Her ethereal beauty--crystal blue eyes and porcelain skin--gives her the appearance of a rare doll, which isn't too far from the pampered existence she represents. As the perfect counterpart to two gifted leading men, her mastery of Sophie's gradual transformation makes Never Forever an unforgettable cinematic experience. ‹ John Cooper, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival Gina Kim's works have generated critical acclaim in recent years. Cahiers du Cinema has called Invisible Light, "Šthe only truly radical discovery in a landscape [of recent Korean cinema]," that depicts "Šfeminine hardness and repressed anger." Film Comment wrote that, "Kim has a terrific eye, a gift for near-wordless storytelling, a knack for generating a tense gliding rhythm between images and sounds, shots and scenes, and for yielding a quality of radiance in her actors." Kim also teaches film production and film studies classes at Harvard University in the Visual and Environmental Studies Department. Directed by Gina Kim. 2007, South Korea/USA € 105 minutes € 35mm Co-sponsored by the Organizing Committee for the Graduate Student Conference in Comparative Literature UC Irvine, April 6-7 and Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles Korean Film Council

Funny Games description:

In Funny Games, Georg and Anna, with their son Georgie, are traveling to their lakeside summer home. Upon arrival, Georg and Georgie head off to the lake for sailing while Anna prepares dinner in the kitchen. The serenity is shattered by a young man named Peter, who knocks at the door asking to borrow some eggs. The unwanted visitor is joined by Paul, a brash, arrogant young man. It soon becomes clear the pair have no intention of leaving. When Georg returns and tries to throw them out, physical violence erupts, and the family is held captive. What ensues are highly disturbing and violent 'games' initiated by Paul and Peter with Georg, Anna and Georgie as the unwilling participants. "Funny Games is a firestarter for post-screening arguments, alight with ghastly images and actions, and essayed by a spot-on cast and storyline that flows seamlessly from one nightmarish incident to the next. It's an uncomfortable, distressing, and altogether provocative take on the global culture of media violence that not only draws in hapless viewers, but also forces them into fait-accompli acceptance, like it or not." ---Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle Directed by Michael Haneke. 1997, Austria € 108 minutes € 35mm German/French w/ English Subtitles Co-sponsored by the Organizing Committee for the Graduate Student Conference in Comparative Literature UC Irvine, April 6-7