Oakton’s Department of Modern Languages presents the Modern Language Film Festival, part of Oakton Celebrates Cultures Week. These films have been selected for their artistic and cinematic merits, as well as to showcase the language studies offered at Oakton. All films are presented in the original language with English subtitles. Screenings are free and open to the public.

Most foreign films are not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. Viewers should assume that the film may be appropriate for mature audiences only.

Cultures Week Home

Exhibits

Film Fest

Des Plaines Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Ray Hartstein Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

Directions

Halfouine: Boy of the Terrace (1995) Arabic
Set against the sensual backdrop of modern Tunisia, this film by renowned Arab critic-turned-filmmaker Ferid Boughedir paints a bittersweet portrait of Nora, an inquisitive 13-year-old whose eyes are opened to his own sexual desires when he visits a local bathhouse with his mother. Boughedir’s film offers a sensitive, comical look at the difficulty of growing up under the puritanical codes of Islam. (98 min.)

Rhapsody of Spring (1998) Chinese
The career of one of China’s most revered composers is dramatized in this sprawling, award-winning drama. Called Zhao Liming in the film, the character offers a thinly-veiled portrait of composer Shi Guangnan, who dedicated his life to preserving China’s musical heritage in the years following the Cultural Revolution and into the modern era. (120 min.)

La Vie en Rose (2007) French
Marion Cotillard soars in her role as Edith Piaf in Olivier Dahan’s musical biography of the legendary French songstress. Although Cotillard does not do her own singing, her possession of the dramatic sequences is astonishing. “One of the most devastating, inspired and breath-taking performances in film history,” writes critic Rex Reed. Nominated for the Golden Bear at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival. (141 min.)

The Lives of Others (2006) German
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck wrote and directed this expertly-plotted, richly-told depiction of life under the dominion of the Stasi, East Germany’s secret police agency. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, von Donnersmark’s film debut stands head and shoulders above the competition.
(106 min.)

Three Mothers (2006) Hebrew
Born more than 60 years ago in Alexandria, Egypt, triplets Rose, Flora, and Yasmin live together in an apartment in Israel. Flora recently has retired from her work as a midwife; Yasmin awaits a kidney transplant; and Rose, once a successful singer, is wrapped in silence following the death of her husband. In the film, directed by Dina Zvi-Riklis, the three sisters tell their life stories to Rucha, Rose’s only daughter. Hidden ghosts appear, forcing each to confront secrets and lies, and to seek forgiveness. (106 min.)

The Tiger and the Snow (2006) Italian
Soon after the start of hostilities in Iraq, love-struck poet and lecturer Attilio leaves Rome to travel to Baghdad. There he learns from his friend, Fuad, an Iraqi poet, that the woman he loves has been critically injured in a bomb explosion. Attilio does everything in his power to save her, risking his own life amidst
the chaos of war. (110 min.)

Hula Girls (2006) Japanese
Set in Iwaki, Japan, in 1965, this melodrama by director Lee Sang-il aspires to be The Full Monty in grass skirts. With the local coal industry in decline, the town elders hope to exploit international fascination with Polynesian culture by building a Hawaiian-theme resort as bait for Japanese tourists. They further plan to promote the venture by training local girls as hula dancers and sending them on a cross-country bus tour. Despite some gritty elements—including domestic violence, mining accidents, and serious discussions about sexual mores—the film offers an encyclopedia of cinematic clichés. (120 min.)

Beyond the Years (2007) Korean
In his 100th film since the start of his career in 1962, legendary South Korean director Im Kwon Taek offers a sequel to his 1993 classic, Sopyonje. Both films are based on the same novella by Lee Cheon Joon, with Oh Jung Hae reprising her role as a blind pansori singer and Cho Jae Hyun (Hanbando) as her lovelorn brother. This quietly epic and achingly beautiful portrait of love and yearning captures the changing seasons of life against an unchanging devotion to one’s heart. (106 min.)

Just Love Me (2006) Polish
This romantic comedy—a box office success that critics found lacking—revolves around Michal (Maciej Zakoscielny, the “Polish Brad Pitt”), a handsome, young architect who seemingly has it all. That is, until one day a young girl knocks on his door claiming to be his daughter. Michal’s world is turned upside down as he is forced to make difficult decisions concerning the women who share his “perfect” life. (98 min.)

The Italian (2005) Russian
Save for being adopted by wealthy foreigners, life is without hope for six-year-old Vanya and the other children living in a neglected Russian orphanage. As final arrangements are being made for Vanya to be adopted by an Italian couple, the mother of another child arrives to seek custody of her son. Vanya starts to wonder what would happen if his own mother arrived, and he had already moved to Italy. He escapes with help from some older children and travels across the country in search of his real mother. (90 min.)

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Spanish
Guillermo Del Toro’s critically-acclaimed fantasy, set in 1944 fascist Spain, follows the adventures of a young girl who—along with her pregnant mother—is sent to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless army captain. At night she encounters a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of a labyrinth. The faun tells her she is a princess, but must affirm her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will neither prove herself to be the true princess, nor ever again see her real father, the king. (125 min.)

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