Cornell Cinema presents the Ithaca premieres of Swedish, Iranian films

Cornell Cinema continues to bring the best new international cinema to Ithaca with the premiere of two foreign films, one from Sweden and the other from Iran.

Cornell Cinema and the Department of Near Eastern Studies present the Ithaca premiere of the new Iranian film "Djomeh" on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:15 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 23, at 5 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m., all screenings in Willard Straight Theatre.

Admission to evening screenings is $5 general/$4 students and seniors. Matinee admission is $3.50. All screenings are in Willard Straight Theatre. See four foreign films and get a free admission to a film of your choice if you use the Cornell Cinema Passport. Copies of the passport are available at the theaters and office.

British director Colin Nutley moved to Sweden 11 years ago and began making Swedish-language movies with his wife, Helena Bergstrom, and their latest collaboration, "Under the Sun," may be their best.

Based on a short story by H.E. Bates and set in 1956, "Under the Sun" tells the story of the unlikely courtship between Olof, an illiterate bachelor farmer (Rolf Lassgård), and Ellen (Bergstrom), a mysterious city woman who answers his ad for a housekeeper. Olof's best friend, a fast-talker who claims to be the only person in Sweden who has met Elvis Presley, fears that Ellen will make it harder for him to bilk Olof of his money and tries to stop the tentative romance.

Shot in the beautiful Swedish countryside, the story may seem simple. "What is not simple is the performance by Bergstrom, so carefully modulated that by the end we are hanging on every word and gesture ... sly and masterful," said Roger Ebert. "Under the Sun" will be shown Friday, Feb. 15, at 7:15 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 18, at 9:15 p.m.; and Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7:15 p.m.

Cornell Cinema also presents the Ithaca premiere of the new Iranian film "Djomeh." Djomeh is an outgoing young Afghan man who works on a small dairy farm in the remote Iranian countryside. When he wants to marry a local girl, the potential crossing of cultural boundaries creates a bittersweet story about the difficulty faced by foreigners living in Iran.

"At first glance 'Djomeh,' which won the Camera d'Or (for best first feature) at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, is a simple, almost anecdotal story embedded in the daily rhythms of rural life. But on reflection it proves to be an investigation, at once lucid and enigmatic, of exile, loneliness and the fragile possibility of friendship," said The New York Times.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Studies, "Djomeh" will be shown Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:15 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 23, at 5 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m.