THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG 1964
The angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner’s delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors, and told entirely through lilting songs by the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time.
Sunday, December 28
Director: Jacques Demy
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Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Verson
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Runtime: 92 min., France
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Language: French w/ English subtitles
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KWAIDAN 1965
After more than a decade of sober political dramas and socially minded period pieces, the great Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi shifted gears dramatically for this rapturously stylized quartet of ghost stories. Featuring colorfully surreal sets and luminous cinematography, these haunting tales of demonic comeuppance and spiritual trials, adapted from writer Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folklore, are existentially frightening and meticulously crafted.
Sunday, January 25
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
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Starring: Michiyo Aratama, Rentaro Mikuni, Misako Watanabe
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Runtime: 183 min., Japan
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Language: Japanese w/ English subtitles
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