Norwegian Wood
Opening April 21
Drama. Directed by Tran Anh Hung. Upon hearing The Beatles’ song “Norwegian Wood,” a Japanese businessman reminisces about the intense romance of his university days in Tokyo, set against the turbulent student riots of the late 1960s. Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama), an aloof university student at the time, had lost Kizuki -- his best friend in high school -- after he inexplicably committed suicide. He then entered a university in Japan’s capital, still deeply traumatized by Kizuki’s death. One day, he accidentally runs into Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), Kizuki’s ex-girlfriend. Sharing the death of Kizuki, the two become closer. Yet unable to cope with her ex-boyfriend’s death, beautiful and emotionally fragile Naoko decides to withdraw from the world and leave for a sanitarium in a remote forest setting near Tokyo.
In Love and the War (Korea)
Opening April 28
Drama. Comedy. Directed by Park Geon-yong. About two months ahead of the Korean War, a young communist military officer (Kim Joo-hyeok) and his soldiers arrive in a secluded country town in Chungcheong Province. Amid the intense political turmoil, the town, Seokjeong-ri, is peaceful. It is so remote that its people don’t even take the war rumor seriously. And when the soldiers arrive, the people openly accept them and let them stay as long as they want. Co-starring actor Kim Joo-hyeok and actress Jeong Ryeo-won, director Park Geon-yong’s upcoming film tells a tale of ideology-transcending friendship between communist soldiers and country farmers with caring hearts.
Jane Eyre (U.K.)
Opening April 21
Drama. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. Raised by her aunt Sarah (Sally Hawkins) after her parents die of typhus, young Jane Eyre (Amelia Clarkson) is later sent off to a boarding school, and suffers greatly at the hands of the cold, harshly strict administration. Upon turning 18 and completing her education, Jane (Mia Wasikowska) gets a job as a governess for Adele Varens (Romy Settbon Moore), the ward of Edward Fairfax Rochester (Michael Fassbender), master of Thornfield Hall. It doesn’t take long for the young Adele and charming Rochester to love their modest yet captivating governess. Later, Rochester ends his relationship with the beautiful Blanche Ingram (Imogen Poots) in favor of proposing to Jane. She happily accepts. On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, however, a horrific secret is revealed. The emotionally shattered governess decides to leave the love of her life, thinking it is the only choice she can make.
Antichrist (Poland, Germany, France)
Opened April 14
Horror. Directed by Lars Von Trier. While they make love in their apartment on a snowy winter afternoon, a husband and wife known only as “He” and “She” (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) fail to keep an eye on their young boy. In a horrific turn of events, the child wanders over to an open window, entranced by the snow cascading down, and falls to his death. Tormented by the tragic event, “She” gets hospitalized for over a month and receives psychiatric treatment. Once she gets released from the hospital, she starts to blame her husband for his apathy over the death of his own son. “He” takes her to a forest to provide a relaxing, soothing environment. Though she seemingly grows calmer in the beginning, “She” soon begins to completely lose her mind, to the degree that she physically tortures herself.
Mother and Child (U.S., Spain)
Opening April 28
Drama. Directed by Rodrigo Garcia. It’s been years since Karen (Annette Bening) gave her daughter, Elizabeth, up for adoption, and the decision to abandon her child has always haunted her. Upon meeting laid-back Paco (Jimmy Smits), Karen permits her anxiety to get the best of her. It appears that Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is none the worse for never knowing her biological mother; she’s grown into a successful lawyer who’s just landed a high-profile job at a firm fronted by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson). Beautiful and extremely independent, Elizabeth uses her sex appeal whenever she feels she does not have the upper hand to control her own life situations. Meanwhile, maternal-minded baker Lucy (Kerry Washington) longs to experience the joys of motherhood, eventually deciding that adoption is the best bet to start a family with her husband.
