Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Oscar-nominated Foreign Language Films at National Geographic

Again this year, National Geographic's Global Glimpses series will be screening the five films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The films will be shown, once each, from Friday, February 26 - Sunday, February 28. 

Tickets are on sale now. These films do sell out in advance. Every year I see a long line of people without tickets just sitting there hoping someone doesn’t show up. Don’t take a chance—get your tickets in advance. $8.00 each plus a few dollars service charge. Global Glimpses Home Page

Here are the films and their screening dates:

The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) (Argentina, 127 min)
February 26, 7 p.m.

Retired criminal prosecutor Benjamin Esposito plans to write a novel based on a 25-year-old rape and murder case. The resolution of that case has long haunted him, and he turns to his friends and former colleagues, the alcoholic Pablo and the beautiful Irene, now a chief justice, for help.

Ajami (Israel, 120 min)
February 27, 5 p.m.

In the city of Jaffa, Israel’s Arabs and Jews live in close—and sometimes volatile—proximity. When a young man is mistakenly shot in a gang-related revenge killing, his death has repercussions that echo through the lives and relationships of a wide cross-section of the region’s population.

The White Ribbon (Germany, 145 min) 

February 27, 8 p.m.

In pre-World War I Germany, a series of disturbing and violent incidents in a rural village hint at a dark reality beneath the community’s placid, repressive surface. The rigid espousal of both social and religious proprieties by their elders—and the hypocrisy it often hides—has begun to have a devastating effect on the village children. The White Ribbon is also nominated for Best Cinematography.

The Milk of Sorrow (Peru, 95 min)
February 28, 2:00 p.m.
In the aftermath of Peru’s violent and repressive former regime, many young women bear emotional scars that have been passed on to them by their victimized mothers. For the withdrawn Fausta, this legacy is a crippling burden that informs the most intimate aspects of her life.

The Prophet (Un Prophete) (France, 149 min)
Sunday, 2/28/10, 5:00 p.m
Petty criminal Malik begins a six-year prison term and finds himself trapped in a dangerous world of warring criminal factions. As the young man seeks his place in this violent society, its balance of power begins to shift from the old-style Corsican mobsters to the more recently formed French-Arab gangs.

All events are general admission. Event parking is free for all programs starting at 6pm or later on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. Enter garage on M Street, between 16th and 17th.

National Geographic is located less than 1/2 mile from Farragut North Metro station (red line) and Farragut West Metro station (orange and blue lines).