CULTURAL

AKIRA R

hharvey ACTION/THRILLER, ANIME/ANIMATION, CULTURAL, FOREIGN, JAPAN, R, SCIFI, THRILLER

Akira isn’t just a movie — it’s the genesis of a genre. Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark, cyberpunk classic obliterated the boundaries of animated film and forced the world to look into the future. Akira’s arrival shattered traditional thinking, creating space for movies like the Matrix to be dreamed into reality. Without Kaneda and Tetsuo, without espers and psionic assassins, without that iconic motorcycle — our world would be a far less exciting place.

The manga became the movie and the movie became a phenomenon. The world took notice. Now Akira is everywhere. If you can’t see it in the streets — if you can’t feel it crawling around inside your brain — then you have yet to be initiated.

THE LONGORIA AFFAIR

hharvey CULTURAL, DOCUMENTARY, IMMIGRATION, PG13, PREJUDICE, RACE/RACISM, SOCIAL ISSUES, SPANISH

THE LONGORIA AFFAIR tells the story of one key injustice – the refusal, by a small-town funeral home in Texas after World War II, to care for a dead Mexican American soldier’s body “because the whites wouldn’t like it” – and shows how the incident sparked outrage nationwide. Two stubborn and savvy leaders, newly-elected Senator Lyndon Johnson and veteran/activist Dr. Hector Garcia, formed an alliance over the incident. Over the next 15 years, their complex, sometimes contentious relationship would help Latinos become a national political force for the first time in American history, carry John Kennedy to the White House, and ultimately lead to Johnson’s signature on the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Find out more about THE LONGORIA AFFAIR: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lo… Learn more about “Independent Lens”: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens Watch “Independent Lens” films online:
http://video.pbs.org/program/1218239994/

The Other Side of Immigration

hharvey CULTURAL, DOCUMENTARY, G rated Not Rated, IMMIGRATION, PREJUDICE, RACE/RACISM, SPANISH


ABOUT THE FILM. Based on over 700 interviews in Mexican towns where about half the population has left to work in the United States, The Other Side of Immigration asks why so many Mexicans come to the U.S. and what happens to the families and communities they leave behind. Through an approach that is both subtle and thought-provoking, filmmaker Roy Germano provides a perspective on undocumented immigration rarely witnessed by American eyes, challenging audiences to imagine more creative and effective solutions to the problem.

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

hharvey CULTURAL, EASTWOOD, FOREIGN, JAPAN, MILITARY, R, WAR/REVOLUTION


Academy Award® winner* Clint Eastwood directs the untold story of Japanese soldiers defending their homeland against invading American forces during World War II. With little defense beyond sheer will and the terrain of Iwo Jima itself, the tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe of The Last Samurai) and his men transform what might have been swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic combat. Their sacrifices, struggles, courage and compassion live on in the taut, gripping film Rolling Stone calls “unique and unforgettable” and which won — among 4 Academy Award nominations* including Best Picture — the Oscar for Best Sound Editing (2006). MPAA Rating: R Rated “R” by the MPAA for graphic war violence.

DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE

hharvey CLASSICS, CULTURAL, FOREIGN, PG Rated, SATIRE, SOCIAL ISSUES, SOCIAL SATIRE, SURREALISM


In Luis Buñuel’s deliciously satiric masterpiece, an upper-class sextet sits down to dinner but never eats, their attempts continually thwarted by a vaudevillian mixture of events both actual and imagined. Fernando Rey, Stéphane Audran, Delphine Seyrig, and Jean-Pierre Cassel head the extraordinary cast of this 1972 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. Criterion is proud to present The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie in an exclusive double-disc special edition.

UMBRELLA’S OF CHERBOURG

hharvey CULTURAL, FOREIGN, FRENCH, G rated Not Rated, MUSIC, ROMANCE


Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo), a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery (Catherine Deneuve: Belle de Jour), an employee in her widowed mother’s chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, the pair share a passionate night. Geneviève becomes pregnant and then must choose between waiting for Guy’s return or accepting an attractive offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant (Marc Michel).