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Movie Synopses
Departures(Japan,
2008)
Running Time:
131 Minutes
Freshly
unemployed,
young cellist
Daigo (Masahiro
Motoki) has an
epiphany in
which he
realizes he's
been heading
down the wrong
career path.
Retreating to
his hometown, he
trains for a new
professional
role as a
nakanshi, or
one who prepares
the dead for
burial. Tsutomu
Yamazaki
provides comic
relief as
Daigo's
eccentric mentor
in director
Yojiro Takita's
Oscar-winning,
richly detailed
-- if unlikely
-- drama about
finding your
bliss.
Gran Torino
(USA, 2008)
Running Time:
116 Minutes
Curmudgeonly
Korean War
veteran Walt
Kowalski (Clint
Eastwood, who
also directs)
must confront
his Hmong
immigrant
neighbors -- and
his own
long-held
prejudices --
when the
family's teenage
son, Thao (Bee
Vang), tries to
steal Walt's
beloved 1972
Gran Torino.
Walt soon
assumes the
unlikely role of
guardian angel
to young Thao
and his sister
Sue (Ahney Her),
both of whom are
vulnerable to
local gang
influences.
Bend It Like
Beckham
(United Kingdom, 2002)
Running Time:
112 Minutes
An ardent fan of
British soccer
sensation David
Beckham, Jess (Parminder
K. Nagra) wants
nothing more
than to be on
the field. But a
proper Indian
girl shouldn't
be spending her
time playing
soccer -- or at
least that's
what her family
thinks. Jess has
the talent to
play on a local
all-girl team,
but her parents
want her to be
like her older
sister, who
cooks chapati
like a pro and
wants a
traditional
Indian wedding.
Keira Knightley
co-stars.
In the Mood for
Love
(Hong Kong,
2000)
Running Time:
98 Minutes
In director Wong
Kar
Wai'sdelicately
mannered tale of
platonic romance
set in 1962 Hong
Kong,
neighboring
married
apartment-dwellers
Chow Mo-wan
(Tony Leung, who
won Best Actor
at the Cannes
Film Festival
for his role)
and Su Li-zhen
(Maggie Cheung)
discover that
their
often-absent
spouses are
having an
affair. The two
spend much of
their free time
together and
find they have
much in common,
but vow never to
behave like
their unfaithful
mates.
