La Celestina – Film in Spanish with English subtitles For Adults Only

February 13, 2010 6:00 PM Director: Gerardo Vera

Duration: 109 mins.  Production: España, 1996

*Cast: Penélope Cruz, Juan Diego Botto, Terele Pávez, Jordi Mollà, Nancho Novo, Maribel Verdú, Candela Peña, Nathalie Seseña, Carlos Fuentes, Anna Lizarán, Sergio Villanueva

*Synopsis: Calisto is a young knight who has fallen madly in love with a beautiful maiden, Melibea. Failing in his endeavors to win her over, Calisto is prompted by his unscrupulous servant, Sempronio, to seek the help of Celestina. Calisto’s other servant Parmeno, tries to dissuade his master from resorting to the old witch who Parmeno knows all about from past experiences. But Calisto sees Celestina as his last hope for love and happiness and so he pays her to work her magic on Melibea, which she duly does. The young Knight and the beautiful maiden are soon happy lovers, but not for long…

Obaba- Film in Spanish with English subtitles

Date: February 20, 2010  Time: 6:00 PM

Director: Montxo Armendáriz  Duration: 100 mins.

Production: España, 2005

*Cast: Bárbara Lennie, Juan Diego Botto, Pilar López De Ayala, Eduard Fernández, Peter Lohmeyer, Mercedes Sampietro, Héctor Colomé, Pepa López, Txema Blasco, Juan Sanz, Iñake Irastorza, Lluís Homar, Ramón Barea

*Synopsis: A rural drama set in Obaba, a mythical region in northern Spain , where a young filmmaker struggled to capture the feel of the area, which in turn leads to a wealth of self-discovery. Twenty-five-year-old Lourdes  decides to travel with her video camera to Obaba, a small town in the Basque Country, to record the comings and goings of its residents as part of a class assignment. Lourdes begins to dig into the town’s past to try to understand its present. However, the more she digs, the more it seems that strange and magical things are happening in Obaba; things that may be related to the odd green lizards that plague the townspeople – and allegedly feed on their brains. She attempts to record the passage of time with her camera, but quickly learns that life’s mysteries are impossible to define or explain and that even attempts to capture them can get in the way of experiencing true wonder.

La flaqueza del Bolchevique-The Weakness of the Bolshevik – Film in Spanish with English subtitles

Date: February 27, 2010 Time: 6:00 PM

Venue: Instituto Cervantes Director: Manuel Martín Cuenca

Duration: 95 mins. Production: España, 2003

*Cast: Luis Tosar, María Valverde, Mar Regueras, Nathalie Poza, Manolo Solo, Jordi Dauder, Yolanda Serrano, Enriqueta Carballeira, Ángela Herrera, Rubén Ochandiano, Roberto Gago, Daniel Grau, José Antonio Izaguirre

*Synopsis: Based on a novel by Lorenzo Silva, this movie deals with the unusual and tragic relationship between a frustrated businessman and a 14-year-old student. After crashing into the rear of the car in front of him, Pablo Lopez starts arguing with the other driver, Sonsoles, who finally files for an injury claim against him. Therefore, the angry manager starts harassing her and observes her younger sister Maria in her schoolyard. When he gets to know the intelligent girl, his perception of life is changed totally, but their friendship leads into a tragedy…