Saturday Film Forum Returns (We’re Back!)

Yes, it’s true and I wanted those who read this blog to be the first to know! The Saturday Film Forum will return to the Huntington Beach Public Library on March 20th. The detectives will be resurrected and finally given their due. The film program will be as follows:

March 20th - The Maltese Falcon: After the murder of his business partner, private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette, the jeweled Falcon of Malta.

April 10th - L.A. Confidential: 1950's Los Angeles is the seedy backdrop for this intricate noir tale of police corruption and Hollywood sleaze. Based on James Ellroy’s crime novel, the film follows three detectives that try to find the truth; each in their own way.

May 15th – Chinatown: In 1930 Los Angeles, private detective Jake Gittes, at the request of a beautiful bombshell, becomes entangled in a scandal of greed, depravity, and corruption surrounding L.A.’s water supply.

June 26th - Gone Baby, Gone: When a little girl is lost on the tough streets of Dorchester in Boston, two detectives must risk their sanity and even their lives to take on the case.

The program will be in the Library Theatre starting at 2pm. As before, we will start with a short talk about the film, then move on to the trivia quiz. There will be prizes for the quiz and candy for all! Three out of the four films are R rated so all patrons over the age of 17 are welcome!
Hope to meet all of you there!

Fabulous Foreign Film!

It’s about time! I have been waiting way too long to see last year’s winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Departures. This Japanese film shocked me by beating Waltz With Bashir in last year’s ceremony. It is finally available on DVD and, having seen it, I now get why it won.


Departures - Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life.

This film only had a very limited release here in southern California, but fortunately, you can now check it out from the HBPL Media Department. And check it out, you should! (Hmmmm I am sounding a bit like Yoda, but like Yoda, I am giving you very good advice!)