DVD Title: DEPARTURES
Director: Yojiro Takita
This story examines the rituals surrounding death in Japan with this tale of an out-of-work cellist who accepts a job as a "Nokanashi" or "encoffineer" (the Japanese equivalent of an undertaker) in order to provide for himself and his young wife. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a talented musician, but when his orchestra is abruptly disbanded, he suddenly finds himself without a source of steady income. Making the decision to move back to his small hometown, Daigo answers a classified ad for a company called "Departures," mistakenly assuming that he will be working for a travel agency. Upon discovering that he will actually be preparing the bodies of the recently deceased for their trip to the afterlife, Daigo accepts the position as gatekeeper between life and death and gradually gains a greater appreciation for life.
Director: Yojiro Takita
This story examines the rituals surrounding death in Japan with this tale of an out-of-work cellist who accepts a job as a "Nokanashi" or "encoffineer" (the Japanese equivalent of an undertaker) in order to provide for himself and his young wife. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a talented musician, but when his orchestra is abruptly disbanded, he suddenly finds himself without a source of steady income. Making the decision to move back to his small hometown, Daigo answers a classified ad for a company called "Departures," mistakenly assuming that he will be working for a travel agency. Upon discovering that he will actually be preparing the bodies of the recently deceased for their trip to the afterlife, Daigo accepts the position as gatekeeper between life and death and gradually gains a greater appreciation for life.
DVD Title: IF....
Director: Lindsay Anderson Rebellious students at an English private school plan a violent revolt against their repressive environment in this highly acclaimed but extremely controversial drama. Centering on a small group of non-conformists led by Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell), the film paints a distinctly negative picture of the British school system and, by extension, English society. Seeing the powers-that-be as humorless, bureaucratic, and needlessly restrictive, Mick and his cohorts indulge in small acts of rebellion, including sneaking into town to romance a local waitress. Their actions are discovered and punished with harsh beatings, leading the students to plot revenge. This effort culminates in the film's most famous sequence, a surrealistic depiction of a bloody uprising by the students against the adult world. Daring and unpredictable in content and form, If... mixes color and black-and-white cinematography as easily as it mingles satire with dark fantasy.
DVD Title: THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
Director: Walter Salles Jr.
Even without the subtext of Ernesto "Che" Guevara's political awakening, The Motorcycle Diaries would still be a rich road movie and vibrant window into the spirit of South America. Add in some of the pivotal episodes that spurred Guevara toward activism, and Walter Salles Jr.'s film seems darn close to a historical document. It should be noted that The Motorcycle Diaries is far from a sober outing -- it has a bawdy sense of humor, and its two protagonists engage in all manner of grifting and chicanery to remain on course.
Director: Lindsay Anderson Rebellious students at an English private school plan a violent revolt against their repressive environment in this highly acclaimed but extremely controversial drama. Centering on a small group of non-conformists led by Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell), the film paints a distinctly negative picture of the British school system and, by extension, English society. Seeing the powers-that-be as humorless, bureaucratic, and needlessly restrictive, Mick and his cohorts indulge in small acts of rebellion, including sneaking into town to romance a local waitress. Their actions are discovered and punished with harsh beatings, leading the students to plot revenge. This effort culminates in the film's most famous sequence, a surrealistic depiction of a bloody uprising by the students against the adult world. Daring and unpredictable in content and form, If... mixes color and black-and-white cinematography as easily as it mingles satire with dark fantasy.
DVD Title: THE LONG DAY CLOSES
Director: Terence Davies
Eleven-year-old Bud (a heartbreaking performance from Leigh McCormack) finds escape from the greyness of '50s Britain through trips to the cinema and in the warmth of family life. But as he gets older, the agonies of the adult world; the casual cruelty of bullying, the tyranny of school and the dread of religion, begin to invade his life.
Director: Terence Davies
Eleven-year-old Bud (a heartbreaking performance from Leigh McCormack) finds escape from the greyness of '50s Britain through trips to the cinema and in the warmth of family life. But as he gets older, the agonies of the adult world; the casual cruelty of bullying, the tyranny of school and the dread of religion, begin to invade his life.
DVD Title: THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
Director: Walter Salles Jr.
Even without the subtext of Ernesto "Che" Guevara's political awakening, The Motorcycle Diaries would still be a rich road movie and vibrant window into the spirit of South America. Add in some of the pivotal episodes that spurred Guevara toward activism, and Walter Salles Jr.'s film seems darn close to a historical document. It should be noted that The Motorcycle Diaries is far from a sober outing -- it has a bawdy sense of humor, and its two protagonists engage in all manner of grifting and chicanery to remain on course.
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