SIFF 2012 Festival Preview: European Film Picks, Part One

Vivian Hua — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:37:58 +0000

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SIFF 2012 Festival Preview: European Film Picks, Part One

The 2012 Seattle International Film Festival begins on May 17th, 2012! In the next few days, we will be providing film previews for our top SIFF picks of the year. Times and dates are subject to change, so please visit siff.net before heading to theatres, or see HERE for all film preview coverage, including film selections from other regions of the world.

BREATHING

Austria Directed by Karl Markovics

A jailed teenager finds a renewed sense of purpose after parole officer gives him a new job and new responsibilities. A film lauded for its day-to-day quality and appropriately posited scenes and shots, Breathing is less mind-blowing than it is simply a solid tale of what happens when life exerts pressure on an individual. May 20th @ 8:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown May 23rd @ 3:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown

BEL AMI

United Kingdom Directed by Declan Donnellan

A period piece about love, seduction, power, and deception, as a former soldier seduces Paris’ most influential women. Based off a book by Guy de Maupassant and featuring Robert Pattinson, Christina Ricci, and Uma Thurman, amongst others." May 20th @ 9:00pm, Egyptian Theatre May 27th @ Noon, SIFF Cinema Uptown

A CHECKOUT GIRL'S BIG ADVENTURES

France Directed by Pierre Rambaldi

A comedy and light romantic tale about the ups and downs of being a supermarket check-out girl, full of feminine humor. May 30th @ 4:00pm, Egyptian Theatre June 8th @ 7:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown June 9th @ 12:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown

COUSINHOOD

Spain Directed by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo

After his fiancé tells him she can’t marry him, Diego attempts to solve his problems in most unconventional and tragicomic of ways. May 24th @ 6:00pm, Harvard Exit May 28th @ 8:30pm, Harvard Exit May 26th @ 12:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown

CRACKS IN THE SHELL

Germany Directed by Christian Schwochow

Reserved drama student Josephine is chosen for a leading theatre role as a destructive temptress. As she attempts to understand the complexities of her character, Josephine herself takes on the character’s qualities, to her own dismay as well as enlightenment. May 18th @ 9:30pm, AMC Pacific Place 11 May 22nd @ 9:00pm, Egyptian Theatre May 25th @ 9:30pm, Everett Performing Arts Center

THE INTOUCHABLES

France Directed by Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache

France’s second-highest grossing film of all time follows the comedic and true story of an unlikely friendship between Philippe, a wealthy, quadriplegic millionaire, and his live-in caretaker Driss, a young Senegalese immigrant from the projects. Certainly a feel-good story. May 18th @ 6:30pm, Egyptian Theatre May 20th @ 4:00pm, Egyptian Theatre

KILL ME

Germany/France Directed by Emily Atef

Incapable of killing herself, an adolescent girl finds opportunity through an escaped and injured murderer hiding on the family farm. She offers to help him escape if he promises to kill her. As they flee and bond, she begins to have second thoughts. May 19th @ 6:30pm, Harvard Exit May 20th @ 3:00pm, Harvard Exit May 22nd @ 4:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown

KING CURLING

Norway Directed by Ole Endresen

A bizarre comedy in the vein of The Big Lebowski, disgraced curling champion mounts a comeback to pay for his former coaches medical costs. May 23rd @ 9:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown May 30th @ 4:30pm @ SIFF Cinema Uptown May 26th @ 9:45pm, Egyptian Theatre

MADRID, 1987

Spain Directed by David Trueba

A professor and student find themselves strangely trapped, naked, in the same bathroom, and forge a peculiar bond as a result. May 20th @ 1:30pm, AMC Pacific Place 11 May 22nd @ 6:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown May 30th @ 9:00pm, Harvard Exit

OSLO, 1931

Norway Directed by Joachim Trier

"Recovering addict Anders searches over 24 hours in Oslo for meaning in old haunts, broken connections, and new possibilities in this beautifully haunting exploration of what it takes to be a living person. A masterpiece." May 19th @ 9:30pm, Harvard Exit May 22nd @ 3:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown

POLISSE

France Directed by Maïwenn

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes, Polisse tells the story of the French Police’s Child Protective Unit through a sprawling narrative in this character-driven drama. May 18th @ 9:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown May 20th @ 2:30pm, Harvard Exit

ROSE

Poland Directed by Wojciech Smarzowski

A gripping love story centered around the WWII persecution of the Mazurians, an indigenous people in Poland. May 20th @ 1:30pm, Egyptian Theatre May 22nd @ 9:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown May 25th @ 8:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown

TEDDY BEAR

Denmark Directed by Mads Matthiesen

Bodybuilder Dennis has an impressive physique that masks his socially awkward nature. When his uncle marries a Thai girl, Dennis tries the same path in his search for love in this unlikely yet charming romantic adventure. May 18th @ 4:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown May 24th @ 9:00pm, Egyptian Theatre

THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH

United Kingdom/France Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski

Desire and deception abound in a fascinating connection between a novelist, played by Ethan Hawke, and a mysterious woman, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, whose role in his life he is to decide. May 18th @ 9:30pm, Harvard Exit May 21st @ 4:00pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown Ω