ons stival . - California Film Institute

Margot at the Wedding US 2007 93 MINS
Saturday, October 13 6:30 pm SPOT13R Rafael $25
Director/Screenwriter Noah Baumbach Producer Scott Rudin Cinematographer Harris Savides Editor Carol Littleton Cast
Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro Print Source Paramount Vantage
SPOTLIGHT ON JENNIFER JASON LEIGH • In a truly inspired feat of casting, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer
Jason Leigh are estranged sisters with more in common than they’d care to admit. Simultaneously self-righteous
and self-loathing, Margot (Kidman) and Pauline (Leigh) bring a wickedly wry humor and a mass of insecurities to a
turbulent relationship that turns on a dime. After years apart, Margot decides to visit Pauline for Pauline’s impending
wedding to Malcolm (Jack Black, in fine disheveled form), an unemployed artist and musician of whom Margot
clearly disapproves. As the sisters spar and personal secrets unravel, a storybook wedding seems an unlikely
prospect. It doesn’t help that the nasty next-door neighbors demand they chop down the old tree under which they
plan to marry. As with The Squid and the Whale (MVFF 2005), writer-director Noah Baumbach paints an authentic,
sardonic portrait of a family falling apart and fighting to put itself back together again. —Joanne Parsont
• • • For Spotlight event information, see page 57.
• • •Sponsored by Kerner Optical
Michael Clayton US 2007 120 MINS
Wednesday, October 10 7:00 pm MICH10S Sequoia
Director/Screenwriter Tony Gilroy Producers Sydney Pollack, Steven Samuels Cinematographer Robert Elswit Editor John
Gilroy Cast George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack Print Source Warner Bros
Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At
the behest of the firm’s co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops,
takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work, cleaning up clients’ messes, from hit-and-runs and damaging
stories in the press to shoplifting wives and crooked politicians. At the agrochemical company U/North, the career
of in-house chief counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the settlement of the suit that Kenner, Bach &
Ledeen is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. When Kenner’s top litigator, the brilliant Arthur Edens (Tom
Wilkinson), has an apparent breakdown and tries to sabotage the entire case, Bach sends Clayton to tackle this
unprecedented disaster and, in doing so, Clayton comes face to face with the reality of who he has become.
• • •Sponsored by Maroevich, O’Shea & Coghlan
Mind the Gap (Se upp för därarna) SwedeN 2007 102 MINS
Thursday, October 11 9:30 pm MIND11R Rafael
Saturday, October 13 3:00 pm MIND13S Sequoia
Director Helena Bergström Producer Colin Nutley Screenwriters Helena Bergström, Denize Karabuda Cinematographer Olof
Johnson Editor Perry Schaffer Cast Rakel Wärmländer, Nina Zanjani Print Source Swedish Film Institute
In Swedish with English subtitles • A charming story about knowing yourself, knowing where you came from
and taking opportunities because you deserve them, Mind the Gap concerns two young women from different
backgrounds who become friends while training at the Swedish Police Academy. The rebellious daughter of a
famous criminologist, Elin has something to prove; Yasmín, a thoughtful Turkish immigrant whose family is falling
apart, is idealistic. As the two struggle to make the cut, their dreams, fears and lives become intertwined. Yasmín’s
father, a respected surgeon in his home country, can now only find work as a subway driver. Yasmín’s devotion to
her family simultaneously keeps her from and pushes her toward true maturity. Elin’s bold nature serves as a shield,
so that she doesn’t have to trust anyone. Together, they learn to mind the gaps along the path toward independence
and self-discovery. North American Premiere —Kristine Kolton
• • • Presented in association with the Consulate General of Sweden of San Francisco
• • •Sponsored by A Party Center
Miss Universe 1929 AUSTRIA/NeTheRLANdS 2006 70 MINS
Friday, October 5 6:30 pm MISS05T 142 Throckmorton
Saturday, October 6 6:00 pm MISS06R Rafael
Director/Screenwriter Péter Forgács Producers Cesar Messemaker, Georg Misch, Ralph Wieser Cinematographers Archiv
Material, Péter Forgács Editor Péter Sass Print Source Mischief-films
In English and Hungarian with English subtitles • Master of found-footage filmmaking Péter Forgács (El Perro
Negro, MVFF 2005) uses rare archival material and home movies to craft an intimate look at one woman’s journey
from fräulein to famous beauty. Lisl Goldarbeiter was just another pretty girl growing up in early 20th-century Vienna.
Her cousin, Marci Tenczer, had two interests: the cinema, and Lisl. After obsessively filming his objet d’amour,
the amateur auteur sent her photo to a beauty pageant committee; Lisl ended up being crowned Miss Universe,
the most gorgeous woman in the world. She also attracted the interest of Hollywood’s elite, married a gamblingaddicted
heir to a European necktie empire and subsequently watched war destroy almost everything she held dear.
In Forgács hands, Lisl’s story is a time capsule of the 20th century, a testament to the power of the seventh art and
a chronicle of infatuation with an unlikely happily-ever-after ending. —David Fear
online | mvff.com
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