This past week we shared a post about the upcoming Documentary Film Festival coming to Ohio Wesleyan University later this month.
As it turns out, that’s not the only film event hitting Delaware County this spring.
The Community Film Series returns to the Strand Theatre this year for seven weeks in March and April. The annual series is a collaboration between the historic movie theatre, 28 E. Winter St., Delaware, and the Ohio Wesleyan University Department of English and Film Studies Program.
All films will be screened at 9:30 PM Tuesdays and again at 7:30 PM. Wednesdays. Tickets are $7 for general admission; $6 for military personnel and Ohio Wesleyan students and employees, and $5 for senior citizens.
Films featured in the 2019 Community Film Series are:
“The Third Man” (Reed, 1949)
March 5 and March 6 – “The Third Man” (Reed, 1949)
Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten reprise their “Citizen Kane” roles as uncomfortable friends in this classic film scripted by Graham Greene, directed by Carol Reed, and photographed by Robert Krasker. A film noir set in postwar Vienna with a famously haunting zither score, this film has been named a top favorite by many critics, including David Ansen of Newsweek.
“Far from Heaven” (Haynes, 2002)
March 19 and March 20 – “Far from Heaven” (Haynes, 2002)
Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, and Viola Davis star in this Todd Haynes tribute to 1950s melodrama about a troubled marriage. In his update, Haynes covers topics taboo in the originals, such as interracial romance and homosexuality. It won Best Picture and Best Director awards from the Chicago and New York Film Critics Circle, among others.
“Brokeback Mountain” (Lee, 2005)
March 26 and March 27 – “Brokeback Mountain” (Lee, 2005)
Ang Lee’s adaptation of Annie Proulx’s novella won him an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Director and screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana Best Screenplay awards from the same organizations. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger star as lonely cowboys who fall in love. Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams also star as the men’s unhappy wives.
“Dheepan” (France, Audiard, 2015)
April 2 and April 3 – “Dheepan” (France, Audiard, 2015)
A famous Tamil freedom fighter in Sri Lanka who has lost his family is assigned a new “family” to help him attain asylum in France. The strangers struggle to create a relationship while coping with the drug-fueled violence in their new Paris home. Winner of the top prize at Cannes, the film is “as tightly coiled as a thriller,” Boston Globe critic Ty Burr writes. (Tamil and French with English subtitles)
“A Date for Mad Mary” (Ireland, Thornton, 2016)
April 9 and April 10 – “A Date for Mad Mary” (Ireland, Thornton, 2016)
Just out of prison for assault, Mary, who suffers from anger management issues, is just in time to act as her best friend’s maid of honor. And Mary is determined to prove that she can do what nobody believes she can – find a date for the wedding. The film was named Best Irish Film by the Dublin Film Critics and called “a delight” by Variety critic Jessica Kiang.
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile, Lelio, 2017)
April 16 and April 17 – “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile, Lelio, 2017)
Winner of Best Foreign Film awards in the U.S. and Brazil and the Best Film award at the Havana Film Festival. A transgender woman whose lover dies must face the hostility of the family and the humiliation of police investigation. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian calls the 2017 film “sublime,” and Adam Graham of The Detroit Free Press calls trans actor Daniela Vega’s performance “quietly shattering.” (Spanish with English subtitles)
“Wendy and Lucy” (Reichardt, 2008)
April 23 and April 24 – “Wendy and Lucy” (Reichardt, 2008)
Noted indie director Kelly Reichardt co-wrote and edited this story of a young woman, played by Michelle Williams, who loses and searches for her dog, Lucy. J.R. Jones of Chicago Reader described the film, named American Film Institute Movie of the Year, as “masterful,” and New Republic’s Stanley Kauffmann called it “a treat.” Lucy won the Palm Dog at Cannes.
