Outttakes

The Wonders of Czech Cinema

Though certainly not the most commercial international fare to hit these shores, films from the former Czechoslovakia are certainly among the most disturbing and imaginative. In an effort to introduce local audiences to these pictures, Cinematheque Ontario is presenting A Week of Wonders: Czech Horror & Fantasy on Film from October 24 to November 2.
Among the features screened is Karel Kachyna's The Ear (Oct. 25), about a high-ranking party official and his wife who are targeted by their own government. The film was banned for 20 years in the country before it was rediscovered at the Cannes film festival in 1990.
Also playing is Jaromil Jires' Valerie and her Week of Wonders (Oct. 28), about a teenage girl who ends up in a world of hellish creatures; Zbynek Brynych's The Fifth Horseman is Fear (Oct. 30), about a Jewish doctor in World War II Prague searching for morphine to treat a Resistance fighter; Juraj Herz's The Cremator (Oct. 31), about a crematorium employee who goes over the edge during the Nazi occupation of his country; Herz's Morgiana (Nov. 1), about twin sisters out to kill each other; and Jiri Svoboda's Invisible (Nov. 2) about a man who visits his fiancee's demented family in their mansion.
All screenings take place at AGO's Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas St. W. For more information call 416.868.FILM.

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Famous Italian-Canadian artist Joseph Giunta is remembered in Pepita Ferrari's exquisite documentary Joseph Giunta: A Silent Triumph, airing on tvo October 30, at 10 p.m. The film follows the final months of the artist's life, who passed away at the age of 89, as he copes with his final works, an upcoming show, and his wife's advancing Alzheimer's. Revealing and engrossing, the film is a loving testament to a great artist.

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On October 28 at the John Spotton Cinema, the National Film Board of Canada is screening Marie Cadieux's documentary Sentenced to Life, which centres on prison inmate Diane Charron. The film takes a compassionate look at the Quebecois woman who was abused and neglected as a child, constantly raped and sent to psychiatric hospitals and who, at the age of 19, stabbed a man to death. Today she is serving a life sentence. Screening begins at 7p.m.

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Cinematheque Ontario is presenting Ontario Lecture Series featuring lectures by leading filmmakers, critics, scholars, preservationists, and industry professionals. On October 31, curator Irina Leimbacher will present Trajectories and Transformations: Germaine Dulac about the life and career of the feminist French filmmaker. She will also lead a post-screening discussion. Screening and lecture takes place at AGO's Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas St. W. For more information call 416-968-FILM.

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This week's video/DVD review is Disney's The Lizzie Maguire Movie, starring Hilary Duff as the teenager who finds adventure on a school trip to Rome. The DVD is a definite edition to any young fan's collection with deleted scenes, an alternate ending, a behind-the-scenes with Duff, a featurette on the making of Duff's first solo album, a Hilary Duff music video and scenes set to music.

Publication Date: 2003-10-26
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3287