SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Divine ("El Evangelio de las Maravillas") (Mexico, 1998): This film (loosely based on a real cult from the '70s) studies the life of a religious sect in Mexico. The group's credo and dogma are gleaned from Hollywood biblical epics of the '50s; they faithfully watch the movies and reenact the rituals depicted. Director: Arturo Ripstein. Cast: Francisco Rabal, Katy Jurado, Carolina Papaleo. 1:52. Attended by members of the cast and crew plus the Mexican film and diplomatic community.
Drive: Toby Wong arrives in San Francisco on a freighter from Hong Kong and is ambushed. Toby grabs Malik Brody and forces him at gunpoint to drive to Los Angeles. The ultimate showdown challenges Toby to win his freedom and defeat his enemy. Director: Steve Wang. Cast: Mark Dacascos, Kadeem Hardison, John Pyper-Ferguson, Brittany Murphy, Tracey Walter, James Shigeta, Masaya Kato.
Easy Rider (U.S., 1969): Two drifters, motorcycling across the country, are confronted with violence and bigotry. Thirtieth-anniversary screening of the American counterculture classic, following the Ride fund-raiser Sunday. Director: Dennis Hopper. Cast: Peter Fonda, Hopper, Jack Nicholson. 1:34.
Enter the Dragon (U.S., 1973, digitally remastered director's cut with additional footage): Bruce Lee soared to international superstardom with this fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek kung fu film. Director: Robert Clouse. Cast: Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri, Yang Tse, Angela Mao. 97 minutes.
Falling Up Waking Down (Taiwan, 1998): Two lovers meet to commit suicide together. After several failed attempts, they decide to try sleeping pills. The man wakes to find that he alone has survived, so he goes out to buy more pills. Downstairs lives a woman who suffers from insomnia and forces her husband to stay up with her. The four characters become entwined with each others' stories of love and death. Director: Arthur Chyu. Cast: Lin, Jien-Hwa Chang, Feng-Shu Chang, Yung-Zheng. 1:40. World premiere. Attended by members of the cast and crew and Taiwanese dignitaries.
A Murder of Crows (U.S., 1999): The story of one man's struggle with his responsibilities as a lawyer and with his ego. Lawson Russell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a prominent New Orleans lawyer with the reputation of a man able to get some of Louisiana's most influential and affluent citizens out of trouble. He comes into possession of a manuscript, a thriller about a man who kills five lawyers who have been able to acquit clients of crimes. He publishes the book as his own and is an instant star. But the murders in the book are not fictitious after all. Lawson faces the greatest trial of his life--one upon which his own life hinges. Director: Rowdy Herrington. Cast: Gooding, Tom Berenger, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Marc Pellegrino, Eric Stoltz. 1:30.
Storm (U.S., 1999): An experimental weapons wing of the Air Force, headed by Gen. James Roberts (Martin Sheen), is testing a secret "weather weapon" off the Florida coast. The test goes horribly awry, spawning a killer storm named Hurricane Andrew. Nine years later, a young meteorologist professor (Luke Perry), while working on weather-control technology of his own, is recruited by Roberts. He learns of the weather weapon's devastating power and tries to prevent it from being used. Another attempt to stop the weapon backfires, and Southern California is in a deadly storm's path. Director: Harris Done. Cast: Perry, Sheen, Robert Knott, Alexandra Powers, Rene Estevez. 1:29. Done and members of the cast and crew will attend the screening.
Preceded by:
Script Doctor (U.S., 1998): Loosely modeled after a high-paced "ER" episode, the film takes a hilarious view of a screenplay in "critical condition." Directors: Adam Fields, Jordan Fields and Scott Fields.
Sworn to Justice: Psychologist Janna Dane walks in on a break-in at her home. Finding her sister and nephew dead, she battles the intruders. The deaths of her family members change her life, and she becomes a relentless avenger. Director: Paul Maslak. Cast: Cynthia Rothrock, Tony Lo Bianco, Kurt McKinney, Brad Dourif, Mako, Walter Koenig.
FESTIVAL DEL CINE
Bela Donna (Brazil, 1998): Donna hardly suspects what awaits her in the coastal village paradise of White Dunes. A sexy film based on a classic Brazilian novel. Director: Fabio Barreto. Cast: Natasha Henstridge, Andrew McCarthy, Eduardo Moscovis, Florinda Bolkan. 1:50. U.S. premiere.
Coyotes (Mexico/U.S., 1998): For Nora Dolan, 13, the only home she's ever known is an old Dodge convertible. Her father, Shep, dropped out of society long ago and can't find his way back in. Now Nora is torn by the love for this free-spirited drifter and the yearning of a stable life. Director: Kevin McCarey. Cast: Leo Gannon, Kirsten Carmody. 1:30. Attended by Kevin McCarey and members of the cast/crew.
