When The Social Network was announced back in July as the opening night film for this year's New York Film Festival, I though it might be a sign that the festival would be embracing the mainstream a bit more this year, presenting strong American independent films or foreign films from familiar directors, rather than relying once again on a line-up of obscure foreign offerings, many of which would never be seen again by American audiences. As I said at the time, I love that the Film Society of Lincoln Center shows off worthy films that might never make it to these shores otherwise, but I also wouldn't mind my hometown festival getting in on the fall season buzz a bit more.
Today the Film Society has announced this year's lineup, and well, it's pretty much what we've come to expect-- a lot of obscure foreign films, a handful of Cannes competitors, plus whatever Clint Eastwood has to offer. In 2008 Changeling was the festival's centerpiece, and this year Hereafter, Eastwood's ensemble piece about the meaning of death, will close things out. In addition to the already announced Social Network and centerpiece film The Tempest, notable titles include Cannes contenders Mike Leigh's Another Year, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Olivier Assayas' five-and-a-half-hour Carlos, and Charles Ferguson's documentary Inside Job. I'll also be looking forward to the new film from Wendy and Lucy director Kelly Reichardt, titled Meek's Cutoff, plus two Romanian films, Aurora and Tuesday After Christmas. I'm also naturally intrigued by Lennon NYC, a documentary about the last few years of the Beatle's life that's already slated to air on PBS this fall.
Take a look at the full lineup below. I'll be covering NYFF to the best of my abilities this year, so prepare for reviews of a lot of films you've never heard of, and my desperate attempts to get you guys to care about the good ones.
Opening NightTHE SOCIAL NETWORK, David Fincher, 2010, USA, 120 minCenterpieceTHE TEMPEST, Julie Taymor, 2010, USA, 110 minClosing NightHEREAFTER, Clint Eastwood, 2010, USA, 126 minANOTHER YEAR, Mike Leigh, 2010, UK, 129 minAURORA, Cristi Puiu, 2010, Romania, 181 minBLACK VENUS, (Venus noire), Abdellatif Kechiche, France, 166 minCARLOS, Olivier Assayas, 2010, France, 319 minCERTIFIED COPY (Copie conformé), Abbas Kiarostami, 2010, France/Italy, 106 minFILM SOCIALISME, Jean-Luc Godard, 2010, Switzerland, 101 minINSIDE JOB, Charles Ferguson, 2010, USA, 120 minLE QUATTRO VOLTE, Michelangelo Frammartino, 2010, Italy, 88 minLENNON NYC, Michael Epstein, 2010, USA, 115 minMEEK'S CUTOFF, Kelly Reichardt, 2010, USA, 104 minMY JOY (Schastye moe), Sergei Loznitsa, 2010, Ukraine/Germany, 127 minMYSTERIES OF LISBON (Misterios de Lisboa), Raul Ruiz, Portugal/France, 272 minOF GODS AND MEN (Des homes et des dieux), Xavier Beauvois, 2010, France, 120 minOKI'S MOVIE (Ok hui ui yeonghwa), Hong Sang-soo, 2010, South Korea, 80 minOLD CATS (Gatos viejos), Sebastian Silva, 2010, Chile, 88 minPOETRY (Shi), Lee Chang-dong, 2010, South Korea, 139 minPOST MORTEM, Pablo Larrain, 2010, Chile/Mexico/Germany, 98 minREVOLUCION, Mariana Chenillo, Fernando Embecke, Amat Escalante, Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo Garcia, Diego Luna, Gerardo Naranjo, Rodrigo Plá, Carlos Reygadas, Patricia Riggen, 2010, Mexico, 110 minTHE ROBBER (Der Räuber), Benjamin Heisenberg, Austria/Germany, 90 minROBINSON IN RUINS, Patrick Keiller, 2010, UK, 101 minSILENT SOULS (Ovsyanki), Alexei Fedorchenko, Russia, 75 minTHE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA (O estranho caso de Angélica), Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal, 97 minTUESDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS (Marti, dupa craciun), Radu Muntean, Romania, 99 minUNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL PAST LIVES (Lung Boonmee raluek chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010, UK/Thailand, 113 minWE ARE WHAT WE ARE (Somos lo que hay), Jorge Michel Grau, Mexico, 90 min
