In André Téchiné’s The Girl on the Train, two intertwining stories articulate an overwhelming desire to find connections, companionship and all enveloping love.

Chaotic. Crowded. Demeaning. Humiliating. These are the words that typically spring to mind when we think of immigration to the U.S. in the early 20th century. But director Emanuele Crialese brings something new to the table with his 2006 drama The Golden Door.

Daniel Ellsberg changed history when he leaked the Pentagon Papers. The film The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers succesfully shows the man behind the spectacle.

When Bob Dylan first plugged in his guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, he was met with boos and jeers. The audience could not understand how an artist could make folk music with the aid of an electronic amplifier. The “Electric Dylan Controversy,” as it came to be known, is a prime example of an artist’s need to express himself outside of the strict confines of folk music.

“Repentance for silence is better than repentance for speaking”. This Moorish proverb could be the tagline for the 2008 movie Disgrace, in which a man discovers just this. Unwilling to repent for his sins in public, the man withdraws into the South African countryside where in his silent musings he tries to redeem himself and discovers his “disgrace.”  

"A dancer is half nun, half boxer, capable of great dedication, endowed with physical strength, and energy. They are both. A dancer is both the racehorse and its jockey, the race car and it’s driver."

The Academy Awards — arguably the movie industry’s biggest event — has two categories for short films — animation and live. All 10 of the nominees this year are full of compassion, humor and meaning, with each introducing a unique element of comedy or drama to the category. Both the animated and live-action shorts are at Cornell Cinema throughout the weekend.

French Roast

Raise a glass and toast, as Cornell Cinema celebrates its 40th anniversary! Let’s hope that 40 really is the new 20, and that this birthday does not spawn the typical midlife crisis (I don’t know if I could handle a paint job touch-up that turns Willard Straight Theater’s walls bright yellow, or something of that sort), but instead is just the first of many age related celebrations.

Cornell Cinema’s 40th anniversary series, which features classic films of the 1970s, began this Monday with Mel Brooks’ 1974 film Young Frankenstein, a comedic take on Mary Shelley’s classic tale about life, death and everything in between.

Kitchen Theater’s Precious Nonsense

Wednesday & Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday & Saturday at 8:00 p.m.

An Encore to the 2005 musical by Rachel Lampert. Filled with juicy love triangles, cross-dressers and identity confusion run amuck in a Gilbert & Sullivan troupe.

Oscar Docs:

And the Nominees Are...

Willard Straight Hall