Provost Film Series 2010

by Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University
(WEst Long Branch, NJ)

The Provost Film Series focuses on the turbulent lives and changing identity of Russians in Moscow in the past four decades. All films are free and open to the public.

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (not rated):
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
4:30 - 7:15 pm
Pollak Theatre
Panelists: Provost Thomas S. Pearson and Associate Professor Katherine Parkin
Moscow of the late 1950s is the initial setting for this movie of three young girls out for love - the upwardly mobile Lyuda (Irina Muravyova), the secure Tonya (Raisa Ryazanova) and the head-over-heels Katya (Vera Alentova). The film re-engages the trio 20 years later, focusing on their varied life changes. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears recieved the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1980.

Tycoon: A New Russian (not rated):
Monday, March 22, 2010
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Pollak Theatre
Panelists: Provost Thomas S. Pearson and Assistant Professor Kevin Dooley
Political intrique and total corruption within the so-called democratic Russia are brought to the forefront in Pavel Lungin's Tycoon. Beginning as an investigation into the assassination of one of the richest men in Russia, the story flashes back to Russia in the late 1980s, just after Perestroika has broken up the Soviet Union. Five intelligent Russian students, including one Platon Makovski (Vladimir Mashkov), abandon their academic careers in exchange for diving into the newly developing private business sector.

The Vanished Empire (not rated):
Monday, April 5, 2010
7:30 - 10:00 pm
Pollak Theatre with a reception to follow
Panelists: Provost Thoms S. Pearson and Dr. Andrei Kuteinikov
Love and youthful idealism are put to the test as the Soviet Union begins to crumble in this post-Soviet drama from director Karen Shakhnazarov, which nostalgically looks back on coming of age in a more stable and simple time. In the early 1970s, Sergei (Alexander Lyapin) is a Russian college student who proudly describes himself as a dissident, telling anyone who cares to listen that he wants to help bring democracy to the Soviet Union. Sergei's confident, outspoken manner has made him quie popular with the women on campus, much to the chagrin of his close friend Stepan (Yegor Baranovsky), who shares his political views but not his social skills.

For more information, contact:
Susan Shumard
sshumard@monmouth.edu
(732) 263-5619