Library Hosts 'Great Movies You Missed' Festival

The Stratford Library will present its fifth annual film festival of little-seen movies, “Great Movies You Missed”, beginning Monday, April 4 through Friday, April 8.  The program is a continuation of the library’s specialized film series, which attracts more than 1,000 patrons annually. 

The series is free and open to the public.

“Great Movies You Missed” will highlight five critically acclaimed films that – for whatever reason – did not reach a wide audience during their general release.  Two films slated to be shown were 2010 Oscar nominees while another won this year’s Academy Award for “Best Documentary”.   The library series will feature guest film critics Joe Meyers from the Connecticut Post and Tom Holehan of Elm City Newspapersfor commentary prior to the screenings.  

The complete schedule for “Great Movies You Missed” is:

April 4:  “The Disappearance of Alice Creed” (2009):  Thinking they've cooked up the perfect crime, Vic and Danny abduct young heiress Alice Creed, only to find their surefire plan unraveling as they attempt to negotiate a tidy ransom in director J. Blakeson's twisty thriller. As the steely Alice lies tethered to a bed, an escalating battle of wills -- and wits -- ensues when setbacks shift the balance of power.  Shown at noon. Rated R, 100 minutes.

April 5:  “Animal Kingdom” (2010): When his mother dies suddenly, a 17-year-old boy finds himself drawn into the clutches of a diabolical criminal family, until a good-hearted detective (Guy Pearce) makes a concerted effort to change the boy's fate.  Australian writer-director David Michôd's first feature-length drama won an Oscar nomination for Jackie Weaver, brilliant as the Machiavellian mother of the bad brood.    Shown at noon.  Rated R, 113 minutes.

April 7:  “Winter’s Bone” (2010):  In director Debra Granik's unflinching noir drama set deep in the Ozarks, resilient teen Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) goes on the trail of her missing, drug-dealing father when his absence jeopardizes the family's safety. Her deadbeat dad has a key court date pending and Ree is determined that he show up -- despite the objections of the insular Dolly clan. The film earned Oscar and Independent Spirit Award nods for Best Picture and for Lawrence’s impressive central performance.  Shown at noon.  Rated R, 100 minutes.

April 7:  “Inside Job” (2010):  Sobering, Oscar-winning documentary that presents in comprehensive yet cogent detail the pervasive and deep-rooted corruption that led to the global economic meltdown of 2008. Unflinching interviews with key financial insiders, politicos, journalists and academics paint a galling portrait of an unfettered financial system run amok and without accountability. Actor Matt Damon narrates. Connecticut Post arts critic Joe Meyers will introduce the film.  Shown at 7 pm.  Rated PG:13, 108 minutes.

April 8: “Mother” (2009):  A murder rocks a South Korean town and suspicion quickly falls on a reclusive, mentally challenged -- and alibi-free -- young man. When an inept public defender botches the boy's case, his mother sets out to prove her son's innocence.  Acclaimed Korean director Joon-ho Bong explores the lethal lengths a mother will go to protect her child in this atmospheric crime thriller.  Shown at noon.  Rated R, 129 minutes.

All movies will be shown uncut and in widescreen format.  The film festival, recommended for adult audiences, will be held in the library’s Lovell Room.  There is no film showing scheduled on April 6^th.  The Stratford Library’s film series will continue this summer with the 26^th Annual Film Classics Under the Starsfestival beginning Wednesday, July 6, 2011.

For further information, call the Stratford Library’s Public Relations and Programming Office at203.385.4162 or check its updated website at: www.stratfordlibrary.org