Few actors are diverse enough to have worked with Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen, and SCTV’s Mackenzie Brothers and Jackie Chan, but Max Von Sydow is no ordinary actor. A star of art-house masterpieces as well as Hollywood blockbusters, he invests roles both comic and tragic with dignity and truth. Join us for presentations of Von Sydow classics like THE SEVENTH SEAL and PELLE THE CONQUEROR as well as sneak previews of two of his latest films, EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC and THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY. Mr. Von Sydow will be in attendance for discussion following several of the screenings.

Thursday, November 8 – 7:30 PM

Sneak Preview:

EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC, 2007, Celluloid Dream, 99 min. The film explores the tragic toll war can have on its survivors — even decades later. Based on a book by Canadian writer Matt Cohen, the film stars Susan Sarandon as a survivor of a Jewish internment camp in France during WWII who has gone on to a quiet life with her husband David (Christopher Plummer) and son (Roy Dupuis) in Quebec's Eastern Townships. A flood of emotions and memories about her past confinement surface when she learns that the dissident who protected her in the camp (Max von Sydow) is still alive. She invites him to visit her, but is shocked when he is accompanied by another survivor of the camp: her first love (Gabriel Byrne). Discussion following with director Paolo Barzman and producer Anna Stratton.

PELLE THE CONQUEROR, 1987, 157 min. This unsentimental epic portrait of late 19th Century farm life claimed the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Arguably the pinnacle of Max Von Sydow's career is his portrayal of Lasse, an older man who escapes impoverished Sweden along with his son Pelle (Pelle Hvenegaard) to find work and wealth in Denmark. Their journey immediately suffers perils and painful setbacks though Pelle holds tight to a dream of a better life. Based on the works of Danish Nobel Prize winner Martin Anderson and gorgeously directed by Bille August (SMILA'S SENSE OF SNOW; GOODBYE BAFANA).

Saturday, November 10 – 7:30 PM

Sneak Preview:

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, 2007, Miramax, 111 min. From renowned artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, the Winner of the Best Director’s Award at Cannes 2007, Schnabel (BEFORE NIGHT FALLS) has crafted yet again a remarkable film that pays tribute to the spirit of the imagination and its ability to triumph over adversity. The moving true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke alters his life completely. While the physical challenges of Bauby's fate leave him with little hope for the future, he begins to discover how his life's passions, his rich memories and his newfound imagination can help him achieve a life without boundaries. Based on the highly lauded book by Bauby, which was adapted for the screen by Ronald Harwood, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY also stars Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais and Max von Sydow. Produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Kilik. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, a visual artist in his own right, magnificently evokes Bauby’s disorientation. Discussion following with actor Max von Sydow.

Sunday, November 11 – 7:30 PM

New 35mm Print! THE SEVENTH SEAL, 1957, Janus Films, 92 min. Dir. Ingmar Bergman. Arguably Bergman’s most iconic film and the movie that helped create the international arthouse cinema craze of the 1950’s. While the Black Plague rages all around, medieval knight Max von Sydow plays a game of chess with Death … but who will win? Often imitated and parodied but never equaled, THE SEVENTH SEAL is an astonishing, protean masterpiece: a film to storm the gates of Heaven with. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes. "Bergman's spiritual quest is at the center of the films he made in the middle of his career. THE SEVENTH SEAL opens that period, in which he asked, again and again, why God seemed absent from the world." – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times