Mao’s last dancer (Australia)
Opening April 28
Drama. Directed by Bruce Beresford. A drama based on an autobiography by Li Cunxin. Eleven-year-old Li (Chi Cao) from a poor Chinese village is taken to Beijing by Madame Mao’s cultural delegate to study ballet. A few years later, Li is invited to perform with the Houston Ballet by its director. As the first Asian to be invited, Li soon becomes a star of the ballet company with his powerful and dramatic dancing and falls in love with an American woman, Elizabeth (Amanda Schull). As he adjusts to America where he is free to dance and worry about nothing else, his promised return date approaches. Li wishes to stay in America with Elizabeth, but the Chinese government demands that he return.
Water For Elephants (U.S)
Opening May 4
Drama. Directed by Francis Lawrence. After his parents are killed, veterinary student Jacob (Robert Pattinson) abandons his study and hops on a random train which turns out to be owned by the Benzini Brothers, a travelling circus. Jacob is seen as an intruder at first, but his knowledge about animals comes in handy, and he consequently gets hired to take care of the animals. Jacob meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), the beautiful equestrian star married to August (Christoph Waltz), the charismatic but twisted animal trainer, and they fall in love. As their affection for each other is revealed, Jacob soon has to deal with August’s furious temper and violence.
Sunny (Korea)
Opening May 4
Comedy, Drama. Directed by Kang Hyeong-cheol. Back in the 1980s, as her family moved to Seoul from Beolgyo, South Jeolla Province, Na-mi (Sim Eun-kyeong) transferred to Jin-deok All Girl’s High School. She quickly makes new friends and becomes a member of Jin-deok All Girl’s Highschool’s “Sunny,” a group of seven girls. “Seven princesses” of “Sunny” are: leader Choon-hwa (Kang So-ra), Na-mi, Queen bee Soo-ji (Min Hyo-rin), Ugly Jang-mi (Kim Min-yeong) who is desperate to get double eyelid surgery, Bok-hee (Kim Bo-mi) whose dream is to become Miss Korea, Jin-hee (Park Jin-joo) who swears a lot, and Geum-ok (Nam Bo-ra) whose dream is to become a best-selling writer. Years later, the girls have lost touch with each other. Na-mi, in her 40s, runs into Choon-hwa who only has a few months to live due to cancer. To make her friend’s last wish come true, Na-mi searches for her old friends.
Source Code (U.S.)
Opening May 4
Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Directed by Duncan Jones. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal,) an American Army helicopter pilot, wakes up in an unknown man’s body on a Chicago commuter train. A woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan) talks to him as if she knows him, but he has no idea who she is. As he tries to figure out what has happened, the train blows up, and he finds himself in a pod surrounded by scraps of metal. He finds out that he is sent to experience the last eight minutes of one of the victims in order to find out more about the bomber, using a classified system called “Source Code.” As he fails to identify the bomber, he continues to be sent back. He finds himself in love with Christina, and tries to save her from the bombing even though he is warned that he cannot change what has already happened.
Inside Job
Opening May 19
Documentary, Crime. Directed by Charles Ferguson. An Oscar-winning documentary film providing a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008. The film talks about corruption in the U.S. financial system and its consequences. As Lehman Brothers and AIG Insurance filed for bankruptcy, millions of people lost their jobs and homes and the world faced financial collapse. Who is responsible for this? Did they know this could have happened? Have they been punished for their wrongdoings? The film features extensive research and interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics to answer these questions.
