"Roadside Cinema" university's spring film series

Road trips are the themes of this spring's film festival at Texas A&M International University, "Roadside Cinema." All entries in the university's Spring Film Series will be shown on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. in Bob Bullock Hall, room 101. Showings are free and open to the public.
Feb. 14, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) follows the travels of one transsexual and two drag queens as they trek through Australia. This amusing, outrageous comedy, directed by Stephan Elliott, won an Oscar for best costume design. Rated R.
Feb. 21, Guantanamera (1994), directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío. Shown in Spanish, with English subtitles, the journey of a casket and funeral procession from Guantanamera to Havana, Cuba. The halting progress of the casket is a subtle metaphor for Cuba under Castro. While the countryside slides past the camera, the road encourages a love story. The film is not rated.
Feb. 28, Central Station (1998), directed by Walter Salles. The road trip continues by train, leaving from Central do Brasil where a letter-writer for the illiterate helps a young boy seek his unknown father in remote Brazil. Fernanda Montenegro gives an unsentimental but exceptionally fine performance as Dora, the prickly, emotionally-isolated older woman. The film is in Portuguese with English subtitles and is rated R.
Mar. 7, Smoke Signals (1998), directed by Chris Eyre. Another journey triggered by death involves two Native Americans traveling from their Idaho reservation to Phoenix to retrieve a father's remains. The film offers fresh insight into the Native American experience and is rated PG-13 for some intense images.
Mar. 21, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García (1974), directed by Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah, nicknamed "Bloody Sam," is known for his gory, violent, and dark westerns. The journey in Bring Me the Head takes place in Mexico and involves an American piano-player, two nasty bounty hunters, and of course, a head. Rated R.
Mar. 28, El Norte (1983), directed by Gregory Nava. The quest to find a better life leads two Guatemalans to El Norte. Leonard Maltin calls this "a compassionate, heart-rending, unforgettable film." Rated R and shown in English and Spanish.
Apr. 4, Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989), directed by Aki Kaurismäki. Leningrad Cowboys is a dreadful band from Finland that travels to the U.S. and journeys through small-town America on the way to Mexico. It is a surreal comedy, where the dead bass player travels with the band packed in ice, and elf shoes for all. In English and Finnish, with English subtitles, it is rated PG-13.
Apr. 11, Airbag (1997) directed by Juanma Bajo Ulloa. Trying to retrieve an expensive wedding ring lost during the bachelor's party leads several friends on a bizarre, amusing trip through the Spanish countryside. In Spanish with English subtitles, this film not rated but is for mature audiences.
Apr. 18, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam. Hunter S. Thompson's story about a trip through Nevada and a trip through the drug-impaired mind might leave one exhausted and ready to pull over at a rest stop. It features an all-star cast with Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke and Benicio Del Toro as Oscar Zeta Acosta. Rated R.
After each film, there will be 15 to 30 minutes of commentary and questions and answers, led by Dr. Sean M. Chadwell and Dr. William J. Nichols II, both assistant professors in the College of Arts and Humanities and creators of the series.
Last year's film series, focusing on films that included some relation to food, proved quite popular with students and community members.
For more information on the "Roadside Cinema: The Spring 2002 Film Festival," contact either Drs. Chadwell or Nichols by phone, 326-2471, 326-2610, visit offices in the Killam Library, room 418C, room 421B, or e-mail schadwell@tamiu.edu, wnichols@tamiu.edu, or visit the website at www.tamiu.edu/~wnichols/road.htm.