Everybody's feeling it -- the freshmen at college, the princes who find themselves paupers, even the girls who realize they're not in Kansas anymore.
Tragic heroes such as these, thrown out of their elements and left to fend for themselves, are the focus of the Dartmouth Film Society's (DFS) fall series, "A Fish Out of Water."
The series, which opened yesterday with a double feature of "Something Wild" and "Breakdown," will feature 28 movies throughout the term -- from "Memento" to the 1934 classic "Tarzan and His Mate" -- that focus on people living outside their comfort zones.
"If something were to happen to you, and your regular life totally ended," said Sydney Stowe, manager of Hopkins Center Film, "would this [change] do you a favor?"
Such a question provided Stowe with the inspiration for developing the series, which she planned nearly two terms ago.Film selection for each DFS series is an ongoing process. At the end of each term, members of the DFS -- which consists of students, townspeople and paid workers like Stowe -- submit lists of about 60 movies united by a common theme. Each series must include at least one documentary and one silent film and a good number of foreign films.
"As much as we like to play 'American Pie 2' every week, our mission is to educate," said Stowe. "The series must be pretty well-rounded."
After all new series ideas are proposed, the DFS Directorate votes anonymously on a winner and narrows the list down to about 20 films.
The films ultimately selected depend, among other criteria, on how easily the DFS can obtain them and on the Society's "four-year rule," which dictates that the DFS wait four years before replaying a movie.
In order to fit in as many films as possible, the DFS has scheduled seven double features. "Some films are stronger as a double than alone," said Stowe, who noted the October 3 pairing of "Divided We Fall," a Czech film, with the German import "Aimee & Jaguar."
Stowe describes "Divided We Fall" as a story about "being brave when all you are is afraid" and "Aimee & Jaguar" as a love story between women. Both films take place during World War II and are based on true stories.
Other notable films that will be featured in the series include "Speedy," a 1928 silent film that will be accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra; "Sullivan's Travels," the 1942 film on which the Coen Brothers' "O Brother, Where Art Thou" is based; "Ma Vie en Rose," a French comedy about a boy who thinks he's a girl; and the risqu "Tarzan and His Mate," which was the last movie made before the 1934 Production Codes enforced strict censors on the entertainment industry.
The series also features a diverse selection of movies released this summer including "A.I.," "Planet of the Apes," "Legally Blonde" and "Shrek."
"It's a very user-friendly, fun series," said DFS director Jean Simeon '02. "It's playing everything big this summer you may have missed, but also cool things you may not have had a chance to see, like 'Humanit' and 'The King is Alive.'"
"We always load opening week with accessible, fun stuff because students have less homework," added Stowe. "The series gets more esoteric towards the end of the term."
The DFS will show four movies a week -- Wednesdays, Sundays and Fridays -- in Spaulding Auditorium.
Tickets are $6 for the public and $5 for those with a Dartmouth ID; a membership pass costs $16 for the public and $12 for those with a Dartmouth ID.
To purchase tickets, call 646-2422, order online at hop.dartmouth.edu, or stop by the box office next to The Courtyard Caf before the show.
UPCOMING FILMS:
September 26:
Memento, Directed by Christopher Nolan, USA, 2001.
Showtimes: 6:45, 9:15 p.m.
September 28:
Planet of the Apes, Directed by Tim Burton, USA, 2001.
Showtimes: 6:45, 9:15 p.m.
September 30:
A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Directed by Steven Spielberg, USA, 2001.
Showtimes: 6:45, 9:30 p.m.
