Crimes and Misdemeanors

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 – 7:30pm
USA 1989. Director: Woody Allen Cast: Martin Landau, Woody Allen, Alan Alda, Mia Farrow,
Sam Waterston, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach

Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau), a successful ophthalmologist, is having a late-in-life extramarital affair with Dolores (Anjelica Huston), a high-strung stewardess who has begun to bore him. His attempt to end the relationship meets with strong resistance from Dolores, who threatens to expose both his infidelity and his involvement in some shady financial dealings. Desperate to be rid of her, Judah approaches his shady brother Jack (Jerry Orbach), who offers to have Dolores “taken care of.” Judah, his entire well-respected life hanging in the balance, reluctantly agrees. . . In a parallel (and more light-hearted) story, Cliff Stern (Woody Allen), a high-minded but unsuccessful documentary filmmaker whose one last shot at a career means selling out his vaunted principles to make a hagiography about a smarmy sit-com producer he despises. Both storylines inspire some heady philosophical and psychological soul-searching about guilt, morality, the nature of success, and the tenor of our times. Colour, 35mm. 107 mins.

Post-screening discussion with Dr Anton Scamvougeras, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of British Columbia who works with individuals with neurological illnesses that cause emotional, cognitive and behavioural challenges. Dr. Scamvougeras believes that film and other visual arts have the capacity to greatly enrich our lives.

Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Director of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia.

For more information, see the Pacific Cinémathèque Program Guide
http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/jul_aug_07/fom_jul_aug07.htm