The Hope College Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland will continue its tradition of showing contemporary independent films through its 2010 fall film series from Monday, Sept. 20, through Friday, Nov. 12.
The four films being featured are "Tulpan," "Mid-August Lunch," "Get Low" and "Vision: The Life of Hildegard von Bingen." All films will be shown at 7:30 p.m.
The series will open with "Tulpan," running Monday, Sept. 20, and Wednesday-Saturday, Sept. 22-25. "Tulpan" tells of a family not only surviving but also relishing the harsh life of herding sheep and goats on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Asa lives in a yurt with his sister Samal, her herdsman husband Ondas, and their three children. Against this backdrop, Asa, a dreamer who's slight of build and recently finished with a stint in the Russian navy, tries to establish a life on the steppes, but before he can become a herdsman he must first marry - and so he calls on Tulpan, the only single girl in the area. The film is unrated, and is in Kazakh with English subtitles with a runtime of 100 minutes.
"Mid-August Lunch" will show on Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 11-13, and Friday-Saturday, Oct. 15-16. Despite the fact he is a middle-aged man, Gianni lives in an old house in the center of Rome with his mother, a woman of faded nobility who tyrannizes him and leaves him only enough free time to go to the tavern. On the eve of the Feast of the Assumption holiday, the apartment block manager--aware of Gianni's enforced "captivity"--suggests he look after his own mother for a couple of days, in return for the waiver of all the unpaid utility bills. When he turns up at his house also accompanied by his old aunt, Gianni feels rather ill. He therefore pays a visit to his doctor friend for a check-up, but even the latter leaves his old mother in Gianni's care for the Feast of the Assumption. The film is unrated, and is in Italian with English subtitles with a runtime of 75 minutes.
"Get Low" will be showing on Monday-Saturday, Nov. 1-6. Spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive, the film is a moving morality play about the steep price that guilt is capable of exacting on a tortured soul consumed with overwhelming regret. "Get Low" is rated PG-13 and is 100 minutes in length.
The series will end with "Vision: The Life of Hildegard von Bingen," showing Monday-Wednesday, Nov. 8-10, and Friday, Nov. 12. Hildegard von Bingen was a woman ahead of her time. The famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist. Shot in the original medieval cloisters of the fairytale-like German countryside and starring Barbara Sukowa, "Vision" portrays von Bingen's fierce determination to expand the responsibilities of women within the order, even as she fends off outrage from some in the church over the visions she claims to receive from God. The film is unrated, and is in German with English subtitles with a runtime of 110 minutes.
Tickets for all of the films are $6 for regular admission and $5 for senior citizens and children. Updated information may be obtained by calling the Knickerbocker Information Line at (616) 395-7403 or visiting www.hope.edu/arts/knick. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St.