Calling all cinephiles! See the Museum of Modern Art’s annual exhibition of "The Contenders," MOMA's choice of the past year's most influential and innovative films from around the world. UCLA Hammer Museum screens the films in the Billy Wilder Theater Jan. 6-20. Each film will be followed by an intimate discussion with the director and actors.
The series opens with "Beasts of No Nation.” Carey Fukunaga’s visually rich film premiered on Netflix, but the Hammer Museum shows the film the way the director intended -- on the big screen. Based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, “Beasts of No Nation” depicts a civil war in an unnamed African nation through the eyes of a child. Young Agu’s life is shattered when his family is killed by a military junta that has overthrown the country’s government. The civil war forces him to retreat in the jungle, where he nearly dies of starvation. Agu is captured by a rebel faction that forces him to fight battles and commit brutal acts beyond his comprehension. A discussion with director Fukunaga will follow the screening.
On Jan. 8, betrayal and deception unravels in post-Civil War Wyoming in Quentin Tarantino's “The Hateful Eight," when bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) must travel to the town of Red Rock to deliver fugitive Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to her trial. Along the way they encounter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a fellow bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), supposedly the town’s new sheriff, who join them in their journey. A savage blizzard prevents them from traveling any farther and forces them to take refuge at Minnie's Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. To their dismay, the travelers are not greeted by the proprietor but by four strangers: Bob "The Mexican" (Demian Bichir), Oswaldo "The Little Man" Mobray (Tim Roth), Joe "The Cow Puncher" Gage (Michael Madsen) and ex-General Sanford "The Confederate" Smithers (Bruce Dern). Tension runs high as the eight travelers realize they may not make it out of the inn alive. A discussion with Tarantino follows the screening.
On Jan. 9, “Room” presents the story of Joy (Brie Larson) who at the age of 19 is kidnapped and imprisoned in a small room secluded from society. She gives birth to and raises a child, Jack (Jacob Tremblay), to whom she teaches that the outside world is dangerous and corrupted. On Jack's fifth birthday, Joy decides to enlist him in carrying out an escape plan. A discussion will follow with actors Larson and Tremblay, director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Emma Donoghue.
On Jan. 12, "Carol," set against the backdrop of 1950s Manhattan, tells the story of Carol (Cate Blanchett), a charming older woman who feels trapped in a loveless marriage, and Therese (Rooney Mara), a young working woman and aspiring photographer, who feel a forbidden attraction for each other. The film is based on Patricia Highsmith's novel, “The Price of Salt.” A discussion with director Todd Haynes will follow the screening.
“The Martian,” on Jan. 14, tells the story of an American astronaut who is accidentally left behind on Mars by his crew, who are convinced he’s dead. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) must summon all of his resourcefulness and courage to endure the seemingly impossible situation of surviving on Mars, all the while dealing with the loneliness that comes with being stranded. Watney puts his botany skills to work when he realizes that he can create a food supply by growing potatoes in an improvised greenhouse fertilized with the solid waste left behind by the rest of the crew. The well-researched script is based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir. A discussion with director Josh Oppenheimer follows the screening.
See the complete schedule and purchase tickets at The Contenders 2015.
