Novel Idea Movies at McMenamins
Posted By: Liz Goodrich
Date Posted: 4/8/2005
In support of A Novel Idea … Read Together community-reading project, McMenamins will be offering free screenings of movies on May 10 and 11. Movies will play at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on both nights. 21 and over please.
One of the films that will be shown is the first Afghan film to be made since the end of the Taliban regime. Directed by Siddiq Barmak, the movie delivers the emotional tale of a 12-year-old Afghan girl and her mother. Both lose their jobs when the Taliban closes the hospital where they work and with her father and brother dead, there is no one left to support the family. Without being able to leave the house, the mother is left with nowhere to turn. To protect the two of them, the mother disguises her daughter as a boy called Osama. The girl embarks on a terrifying and confusing journey as she tries to keep the Taliban from finding out her true identity.
The second film that will be shown is the epic adventure of two lovably roguish British soldiers based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling. The 1975 film, directed by John Huston and starring Michael Caine and Sean Connery, tells the rollicking tale of Danny and Peachy, two former soldiers in Her Majesties Army. When the Empire no longer needs their services, Danny and Peachy find themselves penniless and stranded in India. The two must choose between returning to Britain to menial jobs or remain in India, living as petty thieves. Not satisfied with either possibility, they hatch a plan to journey to a forgotten corner to make their fortunes by conning the locals of remote Kafiristan. Peachy and Daniel illustrate the pitfalls of Imperialism, and comically weave a cautionary tale that resonates as strongly today as it did in Kipling’s time.
During the months of April and May, the Library will be hosting a variety of events in support of the Novel Idea … Read Together project. The programs are designed to give residents of Deschutes County a glimpse into the culture, history and people of Afghanistan. Much of The Kite Runner, this year’s selected novel by Khaled Hoseini, is set in the author’s native country, Afghanistan. For a complete listing of Novel Idea programs, please visit www.dpls.us or call 312-1032.
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