The Sneaky Everyday Humour of the Surreal...

Curated by Ron Foley Macdonald, this film series presents seven feature films that subvert everyday reality through deadpan juxtapositions of off-beat incidents and odd observations. Beginning with two selections from the cinema's greatest surrealist, Luis Buñuel, the series samples more recent works by filmmakers such as Hal Hartley, Jim Jarmusch and Bill Robertson that, while not so obviously surreal, employ the genre in subtle and sneaky ways. 

10 October - The Exterminating Angel

Luis Buñuel, Mexico, 1962, 95 mins , B & W

Guests at an elegant dinner party are compelled to stay by some unstated force. As the days pass, the guests begin to lost their carefully civilized exteriors, exposing their well-hidden barbarity. Funny and disturbing, The Exterminating Angel utilizes a tautly balanced mix of realism, fantasy and surrealism. 

17 October - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Luis Buñuel, France, 1972, 100 mins, colour

Six characters attempting to sit down for a meal are continuously interrupted by the outside world, including visits from representatives of the church, the ruling class of wealthy socialites, and radical terrorists. Everyday social manners and morals melt down into a desperate race to consume some kind of sustenance. The Discreet Charm... won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film of 1972.

24 October - Down By Law

Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1986, 95 mins, B & W

Starring Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits and John Lurie as a trio of escaped convicts lost in the swamps of Louisiana, Down By Law looks at those strange moments in-between the usual dramatic incidents that drive big-time feature films. It is a loving examination of the fragility and joy of daily existence.

31 October - Night On Earth

Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1991, 125 mins, colour

In New York, Paris, Helsinki and Rome, characters embark on simultaneous taxi rides that begin strange adventures for both the drivers and the passengers. With an international cast that includes Gina Rowlands, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Winona Ryder, Rosie Perez, Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni, Night On Earth epitomizes the random encounter, producing unexpected humour and pathos. 

7 November - The Unbelievable Truth

Hal Hartley, USA, 1990, 100 mins, colour.

Normal life becomes a bizzare nightmare for an ex-con and his next-door-neighbour girlfriend who can't stop thinking about the apocalypse. Robert Burke and Adrien Shelley, star in New Yorker (of Newfoundland parentage) Hal Hartley's first feature. 

14 November - Trust

Hal Hartley, USA, 1991, 107 mins, colour

Hartley's second feature film pushes his deadpan cinematic manner to a stylistic limit. Featuring Martin Donovan as a computer genius and Adrien Shelley as a smart-mouthed suburban brat, Trust is a postmodern love story set in the blank canvas of everyday tedium. Tart, funny and almost completely unexpected, Trust is a film that draws poetry from the prosaic ruins of normality.

21 November - The Events Leading Up To My Death

Bill Robertson, Canada, 1990, 100 mins, colour

Once a resident of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Robertson uses the deadpan humour so prized by Buñuel, Jarmusch and Hartley, but adds a peculiarly Canadian dimensions of his own. The story revolves around an off-kilter family living in Don Mills (Canada's first planned suburb) and how they deal with various crises and catastrophes, including their father's lack of adequate golf etiquette, the son's inability to dance, and the death of the family's beloved dog.