ARABIC MOVIE NIGHT
with Larry McLean

Captain Abu Raed
Directed by Amin Matalqa
Friday, July 9th 2010 at 7:00pm
Captain Abu Raed is a universal story of friendship, inspiration and heroism set in contemporary Jordan. Abu Raed is a lonely janitor at Amman's International Airport. Never having realized his dreams of seeing the world, he experiences it vicariously through books and brief encounters with travelers. Finding a discarded Captain's hat in the trash at work one day, he is followed by a neighborhood boy who spots him wearing it as he walks home. The next morning he wakes up to find a group of neighborhood children at his door, believing him to be an airline pilot. And thus the friendship begins. Happy for the company and attention, he takes the children to colorful places around the world through his fictional stories and inspires them to believe in their own ambitions. Murad, an angry outsider to the group, vindictively attacks Abu Raed and the sense of hope he instills in the children. In his quest to prove that Abu Raed is a liar and a fake, Murad begins to discover new possibilities in his life. Meanwhile, Abu Raed's friendship with Nour, a real female pilot, begins to grow as she deals with her own set of pressures from life in modern Amman. Captain Abu Raed is the story of everyday people intersecting across social boundaries. It is a story of dreams, friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

Enjoy a Friday Night at Seattle Language Academy watching a foreign film!
Admission is Free

SPANISH MOVIE NIGHT
with David Godfrey

El Orfanato ~ 2007
Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Produced by Guillermo del Toro
Friday, June 11, 2010 at 7:00pm
The former orphan Laura raises her adopted son Simón with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. Simón is HIV positive and tells Laura that he has five invisible friends, and she believes they are fruit of his imagination. Laura decides to reopen an orphanage for handicapped children in the location and during the opening party, Simón calls her to show the little cabin of his friend Tomás. The busy Laura does not gives much attention to her son; then she sees a mysterious masked boy and Simón vanishes. Laura feels the presence of other persons in the house and months later, the desperate Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery.

FRENCH MOVIE NIGHT
with David Godfrey

DELICATESSEN - 1991
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Genre: Black Comedy
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wkjouoGPkc
Friday, May 7th at 7:00pm
In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low supply. A young man new in town falls in love with the butcher's daughter, which causes conflicts in her family, who need the young man for other business-related purposes.

CHINESE MOVIE NIGHT
with teacher Frank Yang

TUI SHOU (Pushing Hands)1996
Directed by Ang Lee
Friday, April 2nd, 2010 at 7:00pm
Master Chu, a retired Chinese Tai-Chi master, moves to Westchester, New York to live with his son Alex, his American daughter-in-law Martha, and their son Jeremy. However, Martha's second novel is suffering from severe writers' block brought on by Chu's presence in the house. Alex must struggle to keep his family together as he battles an inner conflict between cultural tradition and his modern American lifestyle.

ITALIAN MOVIE NIGHT
with teacher Marc Mariani

PANE E CIOCCOLATA (Bread and Chocolate)
Directed by Franco Brusati
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 7:00PM
A hard-working Sicilian heads for Switzerland in search of a better life in this gentle, sweet-sour Italian comedy. Despite the poor fellow's best efforts to fit in with his neighbors, he never quite seems to make it. Of course his tragedy is the audience's delight.

SPANISH MOVIE NIGHT - HORROR SERIES!
with teacher Zach Bohnenkamp

Join us for a Spanish Wine Tasting at Cafe Babel before the film 5:00-7:00pm

El espinazo del diablo (2001)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro (El laberinto del fauno // Pan’s Laberynth)
Friday, March 13th, 2009
 A classic ghost story with a Spanish flare. It is 1939, toward the end of 3 years of civil war in Spain, and General Franco's right-wing Nationalists are poised to defeat the left-wing Republican forces. A ten-year-old boy named Carlos, the son of a fallen Republican war hero, is left by his tutor in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. The orphanage is run by a headmistress named Carmen and a kindly Professor Casares, both of whom are sympathetic to the Republican cause. The first thing Carlos finds upon entering the orphanage is a deactivated bomb in the main courtyard. Then he runs afoul of the caretaker Jacinto. Finally Carlos meets the resident ghost who warns him of eminent danger. The movie follows Carlos as he tries to discover who the ghost is and what he wants. Can Carlos unravel the mystery before its’ too late? Only one way to find out…

FRENCH MOVIE NIGHT
with teacher Sabine Friedman

Ne le dis a personne (2006)
Directed by Guillaume Canet
Friday, February 27th, 2009
The pediatrician Alexandre Beck misses his beloved wife Margot Beck, who was brutally murdered eight years ago when he was the prime suspect. When two bodies are found near where the corpse of Margot was dumped, the police reopen the case and Alex becomes suspect again. The mystery increases when Alex receives an e-mail showing Margot older and alive.

SPANISH MOVIE NIGHT
with teacher Patrick Sweet

El Libro de Piedra (1968)
Friday, February 13th, 2009
This might be the best of the few Mexican horror films. The story revolves around a statue of a boy that is found in the forest near the main character's house. Legend says that the statue is not really what it seems to be. As with most horror films prior to the 70's, this movie lacks gore or flashy effects but compensates with solid acting from the cast and a very creepy, uneasy atmosphere. This film will leave you looking twice over your shoulder or more carefully at the shadows in the corners even after repeated viewings.

ITALIAN MOVIE NIGHT

Join us for an Italian Wine Tasting at Cafe Babel before the film 5:00-7:00pm

Pane e Tulipani (2000)
Written and directed by Silvio Soldini
Friday, February 6th, 2009
Bored with her life, dutiful housewife Rosalba takes a sudden opportunity for freedom when she's unexpectedly separated from everyone during a family vacation. After a tour bus leaves without her, her husband and children don't notice until it is too late. Virtually penniless, she finds a place to stay in a cheap, run-down hotel and makes friends with a waiter who serves her cold food. Deciding to stay, Rosalba finds work with an elderly florist and moves in with the waiter. The beauty of Venice, together with her new-found freedom, lead her to romance and self-discovery while her husband hires an amateur detective to track her down.

Our Autumn 2008 Favorites!

Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas (Don't worry, I'm fine)
Friday, November 7th, 2008
The unexpected disappearance of her troubled brother causes a nineteen year-old girl intense emotional distress as French filmmaker Philippe Lioret collaborates with author Oliver Adam to adapt Adam's popular novel for the screen. Upon returning from Barcelona after spending the summer with new friends Lea (Alissa Maiga) and Thomas (Julien Boisselier), Lily (Melanie Lauret) discoves that her twin brother Loic (Mickael Trodoux) has fled the family home following a particularly intense confrontation with family patriarch Paul (Kad Merad). When Loic fails to return Lily's increasingly desperate calls and her parents continual failure to explain the reasoning behind her brother's flight, the troubled girl lapses into an alarming emotional malaise. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide.

Our Summer 2008 Favorite!