TUK to screen European cinema

Mandy Marahimin, Contributor, Jakarta

Each year, more than 100 films are given an award.

However, only a few awards are considered highly credible or prestigious. Each of these represents a particular viewpoint -- and this is what usually makes each interesting.

However, in the last few years we have witnessed how these awards have somehow moved toward the same objective and adapted to the same "taste" in assessing movies.

We see increasing similarities between selections, which takes all the fun out of guessing what film will win what category.

Thankfully, in Dec. 2004, the European Film Awards gave some alternative films the attention they deserved. The audacious choices of the European Film Award jury will make you raise your eyebrows, not just for the style of the filmmaking or storytelling, but more for the societal issues the films convey.

These are the films that Teater Utan Kayu (TUK), will screen this weekend, and you shouldn't miss them.

Fair warning should be given, though: some of these films may not suit your personal or moral taste, but they are still interesting to watch.

A discussion with screenwriter Prima Rusdi is scheduled on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m., and will discuss the bold issues today's European filmmakers have raised via their films.

Gegen die Wand (Fatih Akin, Germany)

Fatih Akin is considered the latest genius in German cinema, and this film will show you why, without doubt. It captures the fatalistic life of two Turkish immigrants in Germany.

They meet by chance and impulsively decide to get married because they think it will be their ticket to freedom.

Later on, they find out that it only traps them in a vicious circle from which they cannot escape.

It was declared Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival, and became the first German Film to get an award for 18 years. This is also the film that received the nod for Best Picture at the 2004 European Film Awards.

(Screens on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m.)

The Sea Inside (Alejandro Amenabar, Spain)

An inspiring story that tells of the bravery of one man who fought for the right to choose his own death. It is based on the life of Ramon Sampedro, and discusses the highly sensitive issue of euthanasia.

It's a cry reaching out for human compassion, to understand other people's emotions, and it forces us to contemplate the meaning of the word, "life".

Amenabar previously directed Open Your Eyes (the original version of Hollywood's Vanilla Sky) and The Others. In The Sea Inside, he didn't only direct it, but also coproduced, cowrote and edited it, and composed the music score.

(Screens on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m.)

Vera Drake (Mike Leigh, UK)

Made by a veteran director with a reputation for improvisation, Vera Drake is a film that raises the delicate issue of abortion.

The eponymous character is an elderly woman who is cheerful and always helpful. It just happens that she helps a lot of women to abort their unborn fetuses.

The film certainly poses complex questions and portrays the ambiguities in the subject matter it presents, especially for prolife supporters.

But what will shock you most is its honesty. During the making of the film, none of the actors (except for Imelda Staunton, who plays Vera Drake) knew that the film was about abortion until their characters found out.

(Screens on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m.)

A Hole in My Heart (Lukas Moodysson, Sweden)

This will be particularly hard to digest. It tells a story of a relationship between a father, his son, his friend and a woman.

In the film, these four people are in one house together. Three of them are making a cheap porn film, while one (the son) stays in his own room, philosophizing about life.

It's a very shocking (if not disappointing) attempt from Moodysson, whose last films included the tragic Lilya-4-Ever, the warm hearted Together, and the smart F**king Amal.

(Screens on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.)

5 X 2 (Francois Ozon, France)

This film consists of five segments, each of which shows a phase of a relationship between a man and a woman. It's the same old story, but it's told backwards.

This approach has been used before in Memento and Irreversible, but it is a very effective device to make us aware of the small loopholes in every relationship that might not be as clear if it were told in a usual chronological form.

Although avid Ozon fans have dubbed this film the most un-Ozon film to date, it still bear traces of the director's cinematic hallmarks.

(Screens on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 3 p.m.)

Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar, Spain)

This is not filled with Almodovar's usual comical flair, but may be his most personal film yet. Instead of showing us the bitter reality of outcasts in society (as he usually does in his previous films), the story feels more like a folktale your parents wouldn't tell you.

The film tells the story of two boys abused by their priest and schoolteacher. As the story evolves, we discover the real background behind each character.

Unlike Almodovar's other films, Bad Education doesn't make you feel sympathetic about the extreme characters, but it still gives you that raw feeling you would get from all his films.

Just because it is made by Almodovar is enough reason to see this film.

(Screens on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m.)

TUK is at Jl. Uta Kayu 68, East Jakarta