"In general, winter is a time filled with death and gloominess," Barile said. "Combined with all the doomsday predictions surrounding 2012, it seemed appropriate to have an apocalyptic-themed film series."
Indeed, the end of civilization is prominently depicted in several of the films in the series. For example, "The Sacrifice" (1986; playing Jan. 22) features a man finding religion before the threat of global annihilation by nuclear holocaust, and "A Boy and His Dog" (1975; Feb. 19) presents a comedic view of an Earth transformed into a nuclear wasteland. Another film, "Children of Men" (2006; Jan. 29), displays a future dystopia filled with despair.
The films do not all focus on the end of the world, however. "The Artist" (2011; March 7) shows the conclusion of the silent film era, while "Margin Call" (2011; Jan. 6) examines the abrupt end to the prosperous economic times preceding the 2008 financial crisis. The spy film "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011; Feb. 29) portrays the decline of international espionage methods.
"The thematic selection allows us to see characters in a perceptive psychological place," DFS Director Tien-Tien Jong '10 said. "This is actually one of the best series that we've run in a while."
Jong worked with both Bill Pence, director of films for the Hopkins Center for the Arts, as well as Sydney Stowe, film manager for the Hopkins Center, in order to reduce Barile's proposal of about 60 film titles into a coherent list of 20. They then contacted the films' distributors and negotiated with them for single evening bookings of the movies. After the DFS agrees to the terms with the Hopkins Center for screenings, according to Stowe, the film distributors send a print.
"The Hopkins Center pays for the film rights and the shipping," Stowe said. "Student film groups [at other colleges] often struggle because these costs are not cheap."
This year, "End of Times" will contain films from a variety of acclaimed directors, including Steven Spielberg, Lars von Trier, Tomas Alfredson, Michael Haneke and Howard Hawks, Barile said.
The large number of modern films in the series is unusual for a DFS series, according to Jong. The DFS mandates that a series must highlight a variety of films from different decades, but 11 of the 20 films in this series were released in the past five years, seven having been released in 2011. Because many recent films produced in the last few years have focused on themes dealing with "end and change," the film selection is logical, Barile said.
"This theme is displayed in films that are recently being made and talked about," Jong said.
A few recent films included in the series are "Toy Story 3" (2010; Jan. 15), which is about the end of childhood, and Spielberg's epic drama "War Horse" (2011; Feb. 22). The latter visualizes the destruction of World War I through the journey of a horse during the last major war fought with cavalry.
The series also includes some classics including "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969; Jan. 25), which illustrates the end of lawless society in the Old West, and "Battleship Potemkin" (1925; Feb. 8) about the beginning of turmoil in Russia that precipitated the overthrow of the czar.
The DFS is most excited about screening von Trier's "Melancholia" (2011; Jan. 11), according to Stowe, who said the recent film epitomizes the series' overall theme. The film centers on the relationship between two sisters played by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg who are faced with the impending destruction of Earth due to a collision with a rogue planet. The film, a critical success, has been heralded as one of von Trier's best works, winning Best Film at the European Film Awards, according to Barile.
Jong said she is also particularly thrilled about "The Last Circus" (2010; March 4), an allegory for fascist Spain in the twentieth century. While it won Best Director at the Venice Film Festival in 2010, the film has not been widely seen in the United States, Jong said. As the title states, "The Last Circus" perfectly fits the "End of Times" series and follows two clowns in their fight over a beautiful acrobat in the midst of Francisco Franco's reign, according to Jong.
The series will kick off with the famous "The Last Picture Show" (1971; Jan. 4), considered one of the best pictures of the 1970s, according to Stowe. Set in a town in Texas where the local movie theater is set to close, "The Last Picture Show" is a coming of age story that details the struggles of two high school students and the uncertainty of their futures. "The Artist" will close the DFS winter series, a film already hailed as an Oscar Best Picture frontrunner, according to Jong.
Films from the "End of Times" series will be shown every Wednesday and Sunday in addition to Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. throughout the Winter term in Spaulding Auditorium.
