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All films will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Room 62, Krannert Art Museum

Like the annual theme with which it is coordinated, the IPRH Film Series for 2007-08 spans a broad range of interpretations. The fall semester lineup (Vertigo, Truly Madly Deeply, Pennies from Heaven, and 13 Conversations about One Thing) considered ruptures of a personal nature – between people, and within the individual, too. The spring schedule, below, takes up rupture on a wider cultural level -- from the financial and cultural fissures of the Depression to the 1960s-era generation gap, and into a fractured, violent future.

All of these films investigate their subject matter in an interesting and provocative way. They bear watching (or re-watching) because of the theme, but also regardless of it. The series is free and open to the public; we hope to see you there.

February 7

Blow-Up (1966, dir. Michelangelo Antonioni; 111 min.)

starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll are front-and-center in the life of a trendy, disaffected London photographer (Hemmings) in Antonioni’s first British film: models and other mods cavort in his studio and in front of his lens. One day, looking at the negatives of photos he took in the park, he discovers something mysterious in the background. Did he unwittingly capture a murder on film?

This film is planned in conjunction with the Krannert Art Museum exhibit “Blown Away.” Please join us at 4:30 p.m., before the film, for a gallery tour of the exhibit led by curator Judith Hoos Fox.

March 6

Sullivan's Travels (1941, dir. Preston Sturges; 90 min.)

starring Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, William Demarest
John L. Sullivan (McCrea) is a successful director of comedies who longs to make an “important” film. He thus embarks on a journey into the heart of America to experience poverty and struggle, as research for his epic film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (the title was borrowed by the Coen brothers for their 2000 film, set against a similar backdrop). Along the way, Sullivan encounters chain gangs, violence, and an aspiring actress with great hair (Lake). One of the great Sturges’ greatest films, and one of Hollywood’s sharpest social commentaries.

April 3

Children of Men (2006, dir. Alfonso Cuarón; 108 min.)

starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor
The year is 2027, and London is a precarious police state in this dark, intensely violent vision of a world in which rule and order are replaced by explosions and surveillance. Most of the planet is uninhabitable or in ruins, and it has been eighteen years since a baby was born. Skilled director Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) creates a tense vision of the near future that is disturbing, visually arresting, and frighteningly possible.

April 24

The Graduate (1967, dir. Mike Nichols; 105 min.)

starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross
Here’s to you, class of 2008. Mike Nichols’ landmark film forever changed our notions of filmmaking, heroes, soundtracks (Simon and Garfunkel, as if you didn’t know), and the generation gap. Alienated by the pomp and circumstance of his upper-middle-class parents and their materialistic friends, recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock nevertheless turns his lonely eyes to the older, tragically needy, leopard-skin-clad Mrs. Robinson. Things get more complicated when her daughter Elaine comes home for the summer.