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11:00 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Turtles Can Fly (2004 IRAN): Our monstrous enemies in Tehran continue to create some of the most moving, humanistic films imaginable. Turtles Can Fly is another Iranian film that tells its story through the eyes of children (all the better to avoid the intrusive scissors of the censorship board), and takes place in Iraqi Kurdistan on the eve of Operation Daddy's Boy's Revenge in 2003. Set in a refugee camp populated by war orphans, the film tells the story of Satellite, a feisty 13-year old who helps run the camp and also organizes teams of children to assist in disarming the numerous deadly land mines peppering the landscape. The refugees are anxiously awaiting news of the fall of Saddam, and the well-connected Satellite tries to break up the explosive monotony by trading some radios for a dish—all the better to see CNN with. Directed by Bahman Ghobadi, whose A Time For Drunken Horses also took place along the porous borders of an imagined Kurdistan, Turtles Can Fly is a beautiful and moving film that, given the chance, might just convince viewers that Iran might not deserve blowing up after all.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Face of Another (1966 JAP): I've been dreaming of seeing this film for years—and now, thanks to ever generous TCM, I'm finally getting my chance. Apparently a Japanese take on the Eyes Without A Face trope, The Face of Another stars legendary Tatsuya Nakadai as a laboratory worker horribly disfigured by a chemical explosion. It's based on a Kobo Abe novel, was director Hiroshi Teshigahara's follow-up project to Woman In the Dunes, and features a Toru Takemitsu score. How can it NOT be great?

Monday 12/04/06

11:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Under Eighteen (1932 USA): I had to include this one to acknowledge the recent death of star Marian Marsh, who passed away on November 9th at the tender age of 93. Marsh, all but forgotten today, was a wonderful, fresh-faced leading lady during the 1930s, earning a place on the marquee thanks to her riveting breakthrough performance as Trilby in 1931's Svengali. I haven't seen Under Eighteen before, but I'll be watching it and mourning the passing of another irreplaceable Golden Age star. RIP, Marian. (On a happier note, her co-star in this film—96-year old Anita Page—hasn't left us yet!)

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