Film Fest DC

Seventy-four foreign-language films! What an array of riches for the residents of DC! Andrea and I look forward to this international film fest every spring. This year we went to two films.

The first film we saw was the Iranian film, Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame. It is a very beautiful and moving film. It begins with the blowing up of the pair of 5th-century Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban in March of 2001. It then follows the story of an adorable little six-year-old Afghan girl who desperately wants to go to school but who has to overcome some serious obstacles to do so. One of the most terrifying obstacles is a group of young boys who kidnap her, put her "on trial," and threaten to stone her if she tries to go to school.

The second film was an Italian film, The Girl by the Lake. A young woman is murdered by a lake and the mystery must be solved. The action takes place in a small village in the Italian Dolomites. The scenery is breath-taking. This enthralling film is based on the Norwegian novel, Don't Look Back, by Karin Fossum. We met our friends Carlo and Betsy at the theater and watched the film together. We all gave it five stars out of five.