SINEMA OLD SCHOOL PRESENTS “˜TWENTY ONE’5 min read

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Films for the coming of age – Sinema Old School gives you access to restricted content, come end August.

Presenting a series of films rated for mature content (R21), Sinema will be screening four films – The Kids Are All Right (2010), The Housemaid (2010), I Love You Philip Morris (2009), Summer Palace (2006) – on selected dates from 27 August to 10 September.

Click here to book tickets online >>

In Summer Palace, two young lovers fall passionately in love against a volatile backdrop of political unrest. Things get a little twisted with The Housemaid, which tells of an adulterous love affair between an upper class housemaid and the master of the house.

I Love You Philip Morris is a dark comedic tale of a charismatic conman who finds love in the most unexpected situation. Finally, the award-winning film The Kids Are All Right wraps up the series with a funny, vibrant and richly drawn portrait of a modern family that redefines family ties.

 

Film synopses:

I Love You Philip Morris

John Requa, Glenn Fiquarra | 2010 | Comedy, Drama | USA | 100 mins

– Outstanding Film (Limited Release) – GLAAD Media Awards
– Nominated for Breakthrough Director Award – 2010 Gotham Awards
– Nominated for WGA Award (Screen) 2011

The improbable real-life story of a charismatic conman’s journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) is happily married to Debbie (Leslie Mann), and a member of the local police force when a car accident provokes a dramatic reassessment of his life.

Steven realizes he’s gay and decides to live his life to the fullest ““ even if it means breaking the law. Steven’s new, extravagant lifestyle involves cons and fraud and, eventually, a stay in the State Penitentiary where he meets sensitive, soft-spoken Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor).

His devotion to freeing Philip from jail and building the perfect life together prompts Steven to attempt ““ and often succeed at ““ one impossible con after another.Adapted from the true story told by crime reporter Steve McVicker in his book of the same title, I Love You Philip Morris is an oddball tale of what can happen when the legal system, a daredevil spirit, and undying love collide.

Official website: http://www.phillipmorrismovie.net/

 

Summer Palace
Lou Ye | 2007 | Drama, Romance | China | 140 mins

– Nominated for the Palme d’Or, 2006 Cannes Film Festival

China, 1989 – Two young lovers play out their complex, erotic, love/hate relationship against a volatile backdrop of political unrest.

Beautiful Yu Hong leaves her village, her family and her boyfriend to study in Beijing, where she discovers a world of intense sexual and emotional experimentation, and falls madly in love with fellow student Zhou Wei.

Their relationship becomes one of dangerous games, as all around them their fellow students begin to demonstrate, demanding democracy and freedom.The film reveals a portrait of a place and a generation – China and liberated Chinese youth – as never seen before in the West.

By turns lyrical and brutal, elegiac and erotic, Summer Palace depicts a passionate love story and the struggle for personal liberty jeopardized by history and fate.

 

The Housemaid
Sang-Soo Im | 2010 | Drama | South Korea | 107 mins

– Directors Week Best Film Award
– Manoel De Oliveira Award, 2011 (31st) Fantasporto International Film Festival
– Best Director, 2010 (12th) Cinemanila International Film Festival
– Best Art Direction, 2010 (31st) Blue Dragon Film Awards

Eun-yi (Do-yeon Jeon), a middle-aged divorcee, is hired as an upper class family housemaid. But soon enough, master of the house Hoon (Jung-Jae Lee) takes advantage of his social position by slipping into her sheets.

Hoon’s visits become frequent and Byung-sik (Yeo-jeong Yoon), an old housemaid, reports the affair to Hae-ra’s mother Mi-hee (Ji-Young Park), who plots to give Hae-ra (Seo Woo) the control over her husband.

Soon Eun-yi miraculously becomes pregnant and wants to keep the baby. This is discovered by the family and she’s forced to have an abortion by Mi-hee despite Eun-yi’s plea to let her keep the baby and leave the house.

Mi-hee’s plot backfires when Hoon scrutinizes her for terminating his child, even if that child is conceived illegitimately. Her forced abortion turns Eun-yi’s mental condition for the worst and she decides to take the matter into her own hands.

 

The Kids Are All Right
Lisa Cholodenko | 2010 | Comedy, Drama | USA | 107 mins

– Best Feature Film – Teddy Award, 2010 Berlin International Film Festival
– Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, 2011 Golden Globe Awards
– AFI Award, named one of the year’s 10 Best Films by the American Film Institute
– PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Award for National Outstanding Motion Picture
– Nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards

The most talked-about movie at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and the winner of the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, The Kids Are All Right is directed by Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon) from an original screenplay that she wrote with Stuart Blumberg (Keeping the Faith).

The movie combines comedic surprise with poignant emotional truth in a funny, vibrant, and richly drawn portrait of a modern family.  Nic and Jules (Julianne Moore) are married and share a cozy suburban Southern California home with their teenage children, Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson).

Nic and Jules gave birth to and raised their children, and built a family life for the four of them. As Joni prepares to leave for college, 15-year-old Laser presses her for a big favor. He wants Joni, now 18, to help him find their biological father; the two teenagers were conceived by artificial insemination.

Against her better judgment, Joni honors her brother’s request and manages to make contact with “bio-dad” Paul (Mark Ruffalo), an easygoing restaurateur. The kids find themselves drawn to the confirmed bachelor’s footloose style ““ especially in contrast to Nic, a principled doctor who has long established their house rules.

Jules, who has been looking to start a new career in landscaping, also strikes up a rapport with Paul. As Paul comes into the lives of the forthright four, an unexpected new chapter begins for them as family ties are defined, re-defined, and then re-redefined.

Official website: http://www.filminfocus.com/the_kids_are_all_right