Aida Foch and Jean Rochefort star in THE ARTIST AND THE MODEL, one of a series of recent foreign films screening for free, Mondays in November at Middletown Library.
The Movie Mondays series of free afternoon film screenings continues at Middletown Township Public Library, where the word for November isn’t spoken out loud, so much as it is subtitled — for it’s a set of recent foreign films that take the spotlight, beginning this Monday, November 3.
Set in Nazi-era occupied France — and sumptuously photographed in black and white — The Artist and the Model details the bond between a renowned (but aging and disillusioned) sculptor and the young muse who enters into his life: a Spanish war refugee, sought-after escapee and possible fighter for the Resistance. Jean Rochefort stars with Aida Foch (and Claudia Cardinale!) in the 2012 drama from director Fernando Trueba. Ages 18 and up only for this one, screening at 2:30 pm.
On November 10, the ever-engaging Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amélie) stars in another French-set period piece from 2012 — Thérèse, the final film by the late director Claude Miller. Adapted from the popular 1920s French novel Thérèse Desqueyroux, it’s a proper but twisty tale of arranged marriage, landed privilege, family “honor” and attempted murder — and it’s followed on November 17 by Julie, director Poornima Mohan’s 2006 Kannada-language remake of an oft-filmed Hindi musical (best known from a mid-70s international sensation), concerning the difficult life choices faced by a young Christian Indian woman.
The monthly movies go out on a comedic note on November 24, with Garibaldi’s Lovers, an ensemble exploration of modern problems, institutionalized corruption and eternal human foibles in contemporary Genoa, from director Silvio Soldini. All screenings occur at 2:30 pm, and there’s no reservation required (although selected offerings may be age-restricted).
