2008 Program guide - Victoria Film Festival

WORLD PERSPECTIVE
32
VANAJA ADAM’S APPLES
DIRECTOR: RAJNESH DOMALPALLI
USA / INDIA
2007 111 MINUTES 35MM
PRODUCER: LATHA R. DOMALAPALLI
WRITER: RAJNESH DOMALPALLI
In rural Southern India, where social barriers stand stronger than fort
walls, Vanaja explores the chasm that still divides classes as a young girl
struggles to come of age.
Vanaja is the 14 year-old daughter of a poor fi sherman being crushed
by mounting debt. When a clairvoyant predicts that she will be a great
dancer, her father gets her work in the house of the local landlady,
Rama Devi, in the hopes of her learning Kuchipudi dance while still
earning him a keep.
Vanaja’s liveliness soon catches the landlady’s eye and she begins to
climb socially inside the house of Rama Devi. But it winds up being
the game board rather than the social ladder that secures her the
landlady’s mentorship for dance and music once and for all. Finally,
given the chance to sway on the dance fl oor for the fi rst time, Vanaja
quickly grows into her own with the art and seems to be dead set
for fame when Shekhar, Rama Devi’s 23 year old son returns home
unannounced. Shekhar is as ripe with insecurity from his unearned
entitlements as the teenage Vanaja is blooming with talents and
sexuality. Their lives quickly intertwine but not for the better.
Not your typical Bollywood blockbuster despite its musical moments,
Vanaja is instead a thoughtful piece of social drama that will move
you deeply.
Tuesday • February 5 • Odeon • 7:00 PM
(ADAM’S ÆBLER)
DIRECTOR: ANDERS THOMAS JENSEN
DENMARK
2006 89 MINUTES. 35MM
PRODUCER: TIVI MAGNUSSON
WRITER: ANDERS THOMAS JENSEN
BC Premiere
All neo-Nazi Adam (Ulrich Thomsen) wants to do is fi nish his
community service as soon as possible and get back to his job
terrorizing the Danish populace. But Ivan (Mads Mikkelsen), the
minister whose job it is to supervise his rehabilitation, insists that
Adam will have to pull his weight. When Adam jokingly suggests that
he bake a pie, Ivan puts him in charge of taking care of an apple tree
until the fruit is ripe for the baking. From that slim setup, a marvelous
black comedy from the pen of the great Anders Thomas Jensen
(Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself) arises.
Ivan’s goodness and his imperturbability drive Adam bonkers; the
whole set up in the rectory makes him crazy. He fi nds himself sharing
a house with the reverend; Gunnar, a fat and cheerful sex offender;
and most repugnant to him, Khalid, an Afghan thief given to holding
up gas stations. The situation is lunatic, and Adam gets angrier and
angrier as he realizes that he is the only one who sees it that way. His
plan is simply to bolt but when he discovers that Ivan has not been
strictly honest with him, he decides to embark on a new project and
break the man physically and emotionally.
Jensen has a real gift for black humour but he’s never simply
interested in getting laughs, and for all the black humour, he has a
warm heart. He is fond of these characters and wants to see them
redeemed, and not just the blackguard Adam, but the pious Ivan as
well who is almost spooky in his serene cheerfulness.
Saturday • February 2 • Capitol 6 - 6 • 9:00 PM
Sunday • February 3 • Capitol 6 - 6 • 4:30 PM