Film Series Screens 'Stand By Me'
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 11, 2013) — The films showing this week at the Student Center take a turn from the recent comedy, fantasy and adventure tales. These movies -- “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls,” “Mud,” “Tsotsi” and “Stand By Me” -- instead invite a journey of inner discovery.
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” will be shown at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13. Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” retells Homer’s Odyssey through three men who seek a buried horde of money from a previous bank robbery. Sprung from the prison chain gang, they set off across the land, but encounter many more problems than they bargained for. (106 min. Rated PG-13).
“Nefarious: Merchant of Souls” delves into the perverse world of international slave trafficking. This third film of the semester’s Connection Cinema series, presented in part by the VIP Center, will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14. The sex trade is still very much alive, as explored in the immersive documentary that follows enslaved girls as they are kidnapped, sold and thrust into a world of terrible despair. The film reveals that the sex slave business is not limited to underdeveloped countries. (93 min. Not Rated).
“Nefarious” will be followed by the Late Night Film Series’ screening of “Mud” at 10 p.m. In “Mud,” two 14-year-old boys in rural Arkansas discover a boat stuck in a tree only to find evidence of a recent inhabitant. Returning to their boat, they meet Mud, a mysterious man who needs their help. Wishing to be reunited with his love, Mud must evade the bounty hunters who are relentlessly pursuing him. (130 min. Rated PG-13).
On Friday, Nov. 15, the Late Night Film Series screens “Tsotsi” at 7 p.m. and “Stand By Me” at 10 p.m. “Tsotsi” is the third film of this semester’s Hidden Narratives series, featuring thought-provoking, socially-engaging films from around the globe.
“Tsotsi” is a teenaged, small-time South African criminal who never expected to find a baby in the back of a car he decided to steal. Not knowing what to do, he takes the baby back home with him to the slum, only to see his entire life transformed over the course of the following days. (94 min. Rated R).
Hearing of a dead local teenager being discovered, four boys set off on an adventure to find the body in “Stand By Me.” Nearly defeated by demanding physical challenges, the boys must also avoid a gang of older guys willing to do anything to claim the body first. (89 min. Rated R).
All films will be shown in Worsham Theater, located on the first floor of the UK Student Center Addition. All Late Night Film Series screenings are free to students, staff, faculty and guests. For more information, contact scfilmseries@gmail.com. All screenings are sponsored by the Student Center Director’s Office.