It’s no cliché to say, “laughter is the best medicine.” So come and get your dose of comedies that have transcended each of their cultures to entertain audiences around the world.
LECTURES:
1. "Elling" (Norway, 2001)Two socially awkward men, released from a mental institution are given a government-sponsored apartment to help them reintegrate into society. Their attempts to navigate everyday life, from ordering food to socializing, showcase their endearing eccentricities and the universal struggle to find one's place. Running time: 89 min.
2. "Welcome to the Sticks" (France, 2008) A postal supervisor’s wife pushes him to get a transfer to a better town in the south of France. Instead, through a mishap, he winds up posted in the far north, imagining the worst. His preconceived notions are hilariously challenged leading to a comedic clash of regional stereotypes. Running time: 106 min.
3. "The White Sheik" (Italy, 1952) In Frederico Fellini’s classic comedy, a newlywed couple's honeymoon in Rome goes awry when the bride, a naive romantic, becomes obsessed with meeting her idol, a character from a popular photo-comic strip. Her escapades, lead to a series of farcical situations, satirizing the power of fantasy and the challenges of married life. Running time: 83 min.
4. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (Sweden, 2013) On his 100th birthday, Allan Karlsson decides to escape his nursing home and embarks on a wildly improbable adventure. While getting mixed up in a wild crime caper, his story is interspersed with flashbacks to his eventful life involved in some of the 20th century’s most significant events. Combining screwball, slapstick and absurdity, it’s one one wild ride. Running time: 114 min.
Live In-Person with Video Catch-up. Available 2-3 business days after the live lecture.
Shelly Isaacs, M.A., is the founder and host of Café Cinematheque International, a foreign language film program in South Florida, and launched Cinematheque at Sea, a film program available on luxury cruises worldwide, in 2009. A former advertising creative director, he holds a master’s degree in media ecology from NYU and has taught graduate-level cultural studies courses.
"These evenings of foreign masterpieces are the highlights of our week!" OLLI Patron
