CINE EUROPA: A Gift of Free Movies to Cebuanos

CINE EUROPA comes to Cebu once again this year with select films from various countries belonging to the European Union. Running since 1998, the annual exhibition of critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies from Europe brings eleven films for free public showing at Onstage Theater, Ayala Center Cebu, on November 24, 25 and 26.

On November 24, Friday, the three-day screenings open with the film KARO AND THE LORD (Karo und der Liebe Gott), from Austria, at 2:30 p.m. It is a heartrending story of eight-year-old Karo during the separation of her parents. The little girl seeks the help of God, whom she contacts through her walkie-talkie while praying. The movie, directed by Daniel Proskar, depicts both the innocence and helplessness of a child and the power of raw survival spirit and infectious faith. The cast is headed by Peter Faerber, Petra Morze, Resi Reiner and Branko Samarovski.

The French film THE RUSSIAN DOLLS (Les Poupees Russes) follows at 5:30 p.m. It is the story of Xavier, who seems to be living out every young college graduate's dreams: working as a writer, having a stable romantic relationship and a supportive circle of friends. But somehow it's not enough - Xavier soon feels he wants something else. Cedric Klapish directs this film which stars Roamin Duris, Audrey Tauton, Cecile de France, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Bishop and Evguenya Obraztsova.

At 7:30 p.m., the film ONE WAY TICKET TO MOMBASA (Menolippu Mombasaan), from Finland. It's about Pete, a talented 17-year-old amateur guitarist from the school band who experiences a weird seizure in the middle of a gig and loses consiousness. Pete's plan to make a move on the girl of his dreams, Kata, will not happen that night. In an adverse twist of fate, Pete is diagnosed with cancer, and the doctor cannot promise for certain if Pete will live to see his 18th birthday.

In the hospital ward Pete meets Jusa, a young guy who has been brought up there. On the night of Jusa's 18th birthday, the boys, drunk with vodka, flee the hospital. Jusa, inspired by the song "Mombasa", is persistent on seeing the sunny beaches of Mombasa before his time may run out. Jusa's determination to make the trip stirs Pete to finally confess his feelings to Kata. And he has to do it before hitting the road to Mombasa. This film by Hannu Tuomainen is a casual type of survival story. It's about friendship and love - and the difficulty of making choices. The cast includes Antti Tarvainen, Joonas Saartamo and Johanna Ronnlof.

Concluding the first-day screenings is BREAKFAST ON PLUTO, from the United Kingdom, at 9:45 p.m. This film, by award-winning director Neil Jordan, is set in the 1940s. It follows the exploits of Patrick Braden, an endearing, witty, clever and deceptively tough young transvestite. Abandoned as a baby in his small Irish hometown, Patrick is aware from a very early age that he has been born into the wrong body. He survives this harsh environment with the aid of his wit and charm, plus a sweet refusal to let anyone and anything change who he is. With a burning desire to find his mother and reconcile with her, he moves to London, where a hilarious, memorable and emotional series of misadventures sees Patrick (or Kitten as he prefers to be called), finally finding the love and happiness he craves. The cast is led by Stephen Rhea, Liam Neeson, Cillian Mirphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ruth Negga and Gavin Friday.

The following day, November 25, Saturday, the screenings resume with WHEN THE SEA RISES (Quand La Mer Monte) at 12 noon. This Belgian film is about Irene, a plump, middle-aged theater comedienne who tours a one-woman act around stages along the provincial French-Belgian border. In between performances, she calls her husband and son back home, to check and keep in touch. But a long-distance family cannot quench the loneliness of a traveling entertainer. At some point, she strikes up a friendship with a scruffy younger guy in jeans, black leather jacket and red sneakers. Soon the friendship becomes a sweetly romance. The film is co-directed by Gilles Porte and Yolande Moreau. Moreau herself appears in the movie together with Wim Wollaert, Bouli Lanners, John Hammenecker, Vincent Mahieu and Jacky Berroyer.

At 2:30 p.m. is the film ZELARY, from the Czech Republic. It is set in the 1940s when Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Nazis. Young Eliska is unable to complete medical school because the Germans had closed the universities. She now works as a nurse in a city hospital, instead. She is also involved in the resistance movement along with her lover, the surgeon Richard, and their friend Dr. Chladek.

One night, a man from a rural mountain area is brought to the hospital with serious injuries and desperately needs transfusion. Eliska is the only one with the same blood type. Her blood saves his life and a connection is formed between the two that, in the course of the story, becomes an extraordinary strong relationship between the modern, cosmopolitan, and educated Elishka and Joza, the barbaric, salt-of-the-earth man with the soul of a child. Ondrej Trojan directs. The cast includes Ana Geislerova, Gyorgy Cserhalmi, Jaroslava Adamova, Miroslav Donutil, Jaroslav Dusek and Iva Bittova.

Then SIMON, from the Netherlands, follows at 5:30 p.m. It's the story of a timid gay student of dentistry, Camiel, who is run over by a jeep. Behind the wheel is Simon - a coarse Amsterdam hash dealer, the archetype of the heterosexual male. Simon takes Camiel to the emergency room, and an unusual, lifelong friendship begins. After treatment, Camiel joins Simon on a trip to Thailand, on a holiday that seriously puts their friendship to the test.

The two lose touch, but meet again - again accidentally - fourteen years later. Much has changed in their lives now. Simon is suffering from a serious illness, but treats this subject lightly, as he does of the incident that caused their separation years before. Camiel, now a society dentist and living with realtor Bram, is drawn to Simon once again. The film is directed by Eddy Terstall, with a cast consisting of Cees Geel, Marcel Henseman, Rofka Lodeozen, Nadja Hupscher, Daan Ekkel and Eva Duijvestein.

The last film on the second day's screenings list is THE REUNION (Klassfesten), from Sweden, at 7:30 p.m. Twenty years after Magnus Edkvist graduated from 9th grade in a grey suburb of Stockholm, he receives an invitation to his high school reunion. Notwithstanding his lots of achievements to brag about to his former classmates, he is not interested to go. He will not humiliate himself attending a reunion with phony speeches and awful flashbacks.

But the thought that his old high school sweetheart will be there changes his mind. He wants to find out whatever becomes of the girl he was supposed to run away and spend the rest of his life with. It's a crazy idea, but he just wants to know. The film is directed by Mans Herngren and Hannes Holm, and stars Bjorn Kjellman, Inday Ba, Cecilia Frode and Oscar Taxen.

The final day,

November 26, Sunday, begins at 2:30 p.m. with the German film THE MIRACLE OF BERN (Das Wunder von Bern). It's summer, 1954. The Soviet Union is sending its prisoners-of-war home. Among them is a father of a quiet, football-loving 11-year-old, Matthias, who lives with his mother, sister and brother in a West-German mining town. But the boy has already known another "father", the local football player Helmut. The return of the real father threatens the bond that had developed between the boy and his sports hero. His father does not believe in football, calling the sport as pointless.

When Helmut is chosen to play on the German team at the World Cup in Bern, Switzerland, Matthias insists to go with his idol. The boy's fighting spirit and passion for the game makes way for miracles-the rekindling of love in his father's cold heart and the final victory at the World Cup in Bern. Directed by Sonke Wortmann, the cast is led by Louis Klamroth, Peter Lohmeyer, Johanna Gastdorf, Mirko Lang, Birthie Wolter and Kathrina Wackernagel.

The Spanish film THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING (Cosas Que Hacen La Vida Valga La Pena), showing at 5:30 p.m., was nominated for Best Film at the Monte Carlo Comedy Film Festival, where Eduardo Fernandez and co-star Ana Belen also got their Best Actor and Best Actress Awards, respectively, for their performances in the film.

Fernandez plays Jorge, an unemployed divorcee and recovering alcoholic who believes in luck. Belen plays the lonely Hortensia, who has been deserted by her husband for a younger woman. The two meet at an employment agency. Jorge takes it as luck. But will Hortensia take a chance on this younger stranger? How far will Jorge go to convince her? And how will they interweave any future relationship into the complicated fabric of their individual lives? The film, which also garnered the Audience Award for Best Film at the Malaga Spanish Film Festival, is a splendid return to comedy by Director Manuel Gomez Pereira.

The film THE DAUPHIN (O Delfim) from Portugal, at 7:30 p.m., closes this year's CINEUROPA in Cebu. The story takes place at the end of the 60s in Portugal, near Lisbon. A young man, Tomas Palma Bravo, known as the Delfim, lives at the Gafeira with his wife and witnesses the end of the regime of Professor Salazar. The couple becomes deeply involved in a crime which is being investigated throughout the whole movie.

The film is based on the highly acclaimed book Delfim by Portuguese writer Jose Cardoso Pires, one of the most prestigious writers of the 20th century. Pires himself actively campaigned against the dictatorship of Professor Salazar, which sent him to long years in exile. Fernando Lopes directs. The cast is top-billed by leading Portuguese actors Rogelio Samora, Alexandra Lencastre, Rui Morrison, Isabel Ruth, Milton Lopes and Miguel Guilherme.

Admission to the film screenings is on a first-come-first-seated basis, up to maximum theater capacity. All films entered in the exhibition are passed by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). Movie ratings may be verified at the theater entrance. Films with an R rating require proof of a viewer's age, like an ID, for admission. Films in languages other than English have English subtitles.

The above-stated schedule is final, discounting any unavoidable circumstances that may require some changes. In the rare chance of changes occurring late enough for media publication, one may check with the Arts Council of Cebu office, phone number 233-0236.