Germany

FOUR MINUTES
(VIER MINUTEN)
2006, Chris Kraus, Germany, 112 min.
With Monica Bleibtreu, Hannah Herzsprung

On the verge of retirement, a piano teacher (Bleibtreu) at a women’s prison faces a final challenge in the form of a sociopathic young inmate (Herzsprung) with oodles of raw musical talent. She grooms the girl for the prestigious “Musical Youth” contest, but first she must get past hostile guards, bureaucratic roadblocks, the prodigy’s violent outbursts, and her own memories of a tragic wartime romance with another outcast girl. This rousing, powerhouse drama pulls out all the stops as it approaches the climactic contest, in which each contestant has just four minutes to show her stuff. The veteran Bleibtreu delivers a subtly moving performance as the repressed mentor, and Herzsprung (performing her own piano stunts) is simply sensational in her feature debut. In German with English subtitles. Preview courtesy of Wolfe Releasing. 35mm. (MR)

Note: No free passes or blue tickets will be valid for the opening night screening on Friday.

Closing night film!

Denmark

AFTER THE WEDDING
(EFTER BRYLLUPPET)
2006, Susanne Bier, Denmark, 122 min.
With Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babbett Knudsen, Rolf Lassgard

A 2007 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, AFTER THE WEDDING confirms Bier (BROTHERS, OPEN HEARTS) as one of the world’s top filmmakers, unsurpassed at creating rich, multilayered relationship dramas that combine personal and social dimensions. This powerful and affecting film stars the brilliant Mikkelsen (CASINO ROYALE) as Jacob, a dedicated social worker in India who reluctantly returns to Denmark to humor a rich donor (Lassgard) whose daughter is getting married. . . and whose wife (Knudsen) summons up ghosts from Jacob’s past. In Danish, Swedish, Hindi, and English with English subtitles. Preview courtesy of IFC Films. 35mm. (MR)

Immediately following the screening, the audience is invited to a closing night reception hosted by Whole Food Market.

Note: No free passes or blue tickets will be valid for the closing night film.