Daily-Ist Friday: Fantastic Asian Film

::Rice University's Second Annual Asian Film Festival::

Rice Cinema has put together an amazing lineup films this weekend to round out the end of its Second Annual Asian Film Festival. Houstonist would go to them all if we could. There's an erotic thriller, animation, documentary and a film based on the novel by Houston's own Bapsi Sidhwa. Go forth and prosper!

Friday, February 8, 7:30pm
Lust, Caution
Ang Lee’s lush spy thriller set in war-torn Shanghai; the title is not misleading. (Hong Kong, 2007, 157 min) Trailer

Saturday, February 9, 3:30pm
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring
A gorgeous movie about a young boy who lives in a small floating temple on a lake with an elderly master who teaches him the ways of the Buddha. When a girl comes to the temple to be healed by the master, their lives are upturned. (Korea, 2003, 108 min) Trailer

Saturday, February 9, 7:30pm
Daughter from Danang
This Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning documentary follows Heide Bub, one of the thousands of children of Operation Babylift in the closing days of the Vietnam war, as she returns in search of her birth mother. Director Gail Dolgin will discuss the film. (Vietnam/USA, 2002, 83 min)

Sunday, February 10, 3:30pm
My Neighbor Totoro
In this animated classic, two young sisters spend a summer in the Japanese countryside with their father. The woods turn out to be filled with exotic creatures and woodland spirits only the children can see. Director Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. (Japan, 1988, 86 min)

Sunday, February 10, 6:00pm
Earth
Deepa Mehta’s adaptation of Bapsi Sidhwa’s autobiographical novel Cracking India follows eight year old Lenny Sethna and her experiences during the religious and civil wars in India and Pakistan in the 1947 battle for independence from the British. (India/Canada, 1998, 110 min)

Date: Friday, February 8th to Sunday February 10th
Time: various
Location: Rice University - Rice Media Center
6100 Main Street, MS-549, Houston, TX 77005, Info Phone: 713-348-3138
Price: Tickets: $6 admission ($5 for students and Rice Faculty)
Link: Rice Cinema