CinemaAcross Cultures 59.374

COURSE DESCRIPTION
A cross-cultural study of contemporary European films with a specific focus on ethnicity. The following themes will be explored: the ethnicization of the colonial legacy, ethnicities at war, race and romance, undesirable "otherness".  Directors include: Hrebejk and Sverák (Czechoslovakia), the Dardenne brothers (Belgium),  Klapisch (France), O'Donnell (Ireland), Manchevski (Macedonia), Bodrov (Russia),  Koller (Switrzerland), Frears (UK). No knowledge of languages other than English is required (all films have English subtitles). Conducted in English.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
• To introduce students to the notion of viewing films critically and cinema both as a form of national cultural production and the provider one of the central sources of transnational images;
• To consider how cinema contributes to the formation of European identities;
• To illustrate ways in which the chosen themes are differently inflected in different national cinemas but can be illuminated by cross-national comparison ;
• To propose areas of debate, such as multiculturalism vs. cultural homogenization, and to suggest ways in which students can explore further the proposed themes of inquiry.

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION
Tentative list of the films to be screened:

Memories of War
• Kolya (1996) Sverác (Czechoslovakia)
• Divided We Fall (2001) (Czechoslovakia) Directed by Jan Hrebejk.  Written by Petr Jarchovsky
• Nowhere in Africa (2001) Caroline Link (Germany)
• Lamerica (1994) Gianni Amelio (Italy)

Ethnicities at War
• Before the Rain ( 1995)  Manchevski (Macedonia)
• No Man's Land (2001) Danish Tanovic (Bosnia)
• Prisoner of the Mountains (1996) Bodrov (Russia)

Race and Romance
• Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Germany)
• East is East  (1999) Damien O'Donnell  (Ireland)/UK
• Dirty Pretty Things (2003) Stephen Frears (UK)

Undesirable "Otherness"
• Letters from Alou (1990) Montxo Armendáriz (Spain)
• Journey of Hope (1990) Xavier Koller (Switzerland)
• Time of the Gypsies (1989) or Black Cat White Cat (1998)  Emir Kusturica (Montenegro)

 "Young Europe": The new melting pot
• L'auberge espagnole (2002) Cédric Klapisch (France)

N.B.: Students must be aware that moral and artistic criteria differ profoundly between Europe and the U.S. Some films have explicit sexual and violent content. They are shown with this warning and for educational purposes only.

TEXTS
All reading material is available in a course packet or posted on the course website:  http://faculty.uml.edu/jgarreau/59.374/material.htm

Supplementary
• European Cinema (2004) Edited by Elizabeth Ezra

GRADING POLICY
• a one-page minimum personal reaction paper, at times preceded by questions either posted on website or distributed before class, to be handed in (see schedule) after the screening of each film and graded as follows: 6 points for content, 2 for timeliness, 1 for accuracy of spelling (75%);
• a comprehensive final exam, based on the questions added to each film, taken on the scheduled day of final exams (25 %).

CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTOR
Joseph Garreau, Ph.D., Professor of French & Coordinator of Languages
Office Location: Coburn 113D
Please communicate by electronic mail as well as phone and office hours.
Hours: Monday 1:00 to 3:30 PM ; Tuesday 2:00 to 6:00 PM ; Thursday 2:00 to 3:30 PM
Voice mail: 978-934-4297 - Email: joseph_garreau@uml.edu