2008 Season
READ CAREFULLY
sponsored by
Showing Days
and Times Vary
program subject to
unavoidable change
February - March
302 Third Ave. West
Downtown Warren
Presented by The Friends of the Library Theatre
(814) 723-7231
*see back
Golden Globe Nominee: Best Foreign Film. Oscar Nominee: Best Musical Score. Based on the international best seller by Khaled Hosseini
and directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland), this deeply moving film opens in 1978 in Kabul, Afghanistan where two young boys, Amir
(Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) are best friends. Hassan and his father, Ali (Nabi Tanha) work as servants for
Amir's well-to-do father, Baba (Homayoun Ershadi). The boys make an excellent team in kite competitions, with Hassan having a gift for running
down the loose kites. But during one contest, Assef (Elham Ehsas) the
neighborhood bully violates and disgraces Hassan as Amir watches,
hidden at a distance, and then runs
away. As the Russians and then
Sat., Feb. 9 - 8:00 pm
the Taliban take over Afghanistan,
Baba and Amir escape to America, Wed., Feb. 13 - 7:30 pm
where they make a new home in
San Francisco. He graduates from college and meets a beautiful young
woman, Soraya (Atossa Leoni) who is also from Kabul. But Amir (now played by Khalid Abdalla) is haunted by his former cowardice and seizes
an opportunity to try to make things right when it is offered by his father’s old friend Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub), even though it means returning
to Afghanistan and risking his life. It's "a film of exhilarating, redemptive humanity, conveying an enduring sense of hope." - Ann Hornaday,
Washington Post. "'The Kite Runner' is a compelling and uplifting tale that exposes the viewer to an unfamiliar, fascinating culture and a family
dynamic that is recognizable and nuanced." - Claudia Puig, USA Today. "This is a magnificent film! ★★★★" - Roger Ebert. (PG-13, 122 min.,
English subtitles when Dari is spoken) Paul's View: I wondered how the movie could possibly do the book justice. Well it does! And like the book,
it wears its heart on its sleeve. The jaded need not apply.
Golden Globe Winner: Best Dramatic Film. Oscar Nominee: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, 4 More. Director Joe Wright (Pride
and Prejudice) has translated Ian McEwan's best-selling roomantic novel into an elegantly forceful film. On a beautiful English country estate in
1935, privileged 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege. Robbie Turner (James
McAvoy), the educated son of the family’s housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony’s headstrong older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley). When on
a stiflingly hot summer day
Fri., Feb. 15 - 8:00 pm
their relationship blossoms,
Briony - who has had a
Sat., Feb. 16 - 8:00 pm
longstanding crush on
Robbie - reacts with hurtful
malice by accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit and he is subsequently arrested. We meet all three characters five years later in the thick
of World War II, as foot soldier Robbie prepares for the Dunkirk evacuation and the two estranged sisters train as nurses in London. "It's as good
a film as one could imagine having been made from a great work of contemporary fiction." - Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal. "It’s some kind
of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, 'Atonement' sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance." - Peter
Travers, Rolling Stone. "One of the year's best films! ★★★★" - Roger Ebert. (R sexuality, war violence, language, 130 min.)
Golden Globe Nominee: Best Film (comedy), Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress. Oscar Nominee: Best Supporting Actor. Director
Mike Nichols and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) have made a highly entertaining sharp-edged political comedy from George Crile’s
best-seller. It is the true story of how a playboy Texas congressman (Tom Hanks), a renegade CIA agent (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a beautiful
Houston socialite (Julia Roberts) joined forces to drive Soviet forces out of Afghanistan in 1989. It was the largest and most successful covert operation
in U.S. military
Fri., Mar. 14 - 8:00 pm
history, contributing
to the fall of the
Sat., Mar. 15 - 8:00 pm
Soviet Union and the
end of the Cold War,
with consequences that reverberate, for better or worse, throughout the world today. "'Charlie Wilson’s War' is that rare Hollywood commodity
these days: a smart, sophisticated entertainment for grownups." - Todd McCarthy, Variety. "It’s quite a yarn, and the filmmakers relate it with clarity
and verve." - A.O. Scott, NY Times. "So funny...so smart... it's a home run!" - Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper. (R sexuality, some language,
drug use, 97 min.) Paul's View: And to think that Ronald Reagan gets the credit for ending the Cold War. Who knew? Once again, truth proves
stranger then fiction.