BULLY
(PG-13)
Documentary IDirected
by Sundance and Emmy-award winning
filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, Bully is a
beautifully cinematic, character-driven
documentary. At its heart are those with
huge stakes in this issue whose stories each
represent a different facet of America’s
bullying crisis. Bully follows five kids and
families over the course of a school year.
Stories include two families who have lost
children to suicide and a mother awaiting
the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has
been incarcerated after bringing a gun on
her school bus. With an intimate glimpse
into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and
principals’ offices, the film offers
insight into the often cruel world of the
lives of bullied children. As teachers,
administrators, kids and parents struggle to
find answers, The Bully Project
examines the dire consequences of bullying
through the testimony of strong and
courageous youth. Through the power of their
stories, the film aims to be a catalyst for
change in the way we deal with bullying as
parents, teachers, children and society as a
whole.
THE
LUCKY ONE (PG-13)
Drama,
Romance
Zac
Efron, Taylor Schilling Based
on Nicholas Sparks' bestseller The Lucky
One, Zac Efron stars alongside Taylor
Schilling and Blythe Danner in this romantic
drama directed by Academy Award(R)-nominated
writer/director Scott Hicks. U.S. Marine
Sergeant Logan Thibault (Efron) returns from
his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one
thing he credits with keeping him alive-a
photograph he found of a woman he doesn't
even know. Learning her name is Beth
(Schilling) and where she lives, he shows up
at her door, and ends up taking a job at her
family-run local kennel. Despite her initial
mistrust and the complications in her life,
a romance develops between them, giving
Logan hope that Beth could be much more than
his good luck charm.
MONSIEUR
LAZHAR (PG-13)
Drama,
Comedy
Best
Foreign Film Nominee; French w/ English
Subtitles In
Montreal, an elementary school teacher dies
abruptly. Having learned of the incident in
the newspaper, Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed
Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant,
goes to the school to offer his services as
a substitute teacher. Quickly hired to
replace the deceased, he finds himself in an
establishment in crisis, while going through
his own personal tragedy. The cultural gap
between Bachir and his class is made
immediately apparent when he gives them a
dictation exercise that is beyond their
reach. Little by little, Bachir learns to
better know this group of shaken but
endearing kids, among whom are Alice and
Simon, two charismatic pupils particularly
affected by their teacher's death. While the
class goes through the healing process,
nobody in the school is aware of Bachir's
painful past; nor do they suspect that he is
at risk of being deported at any moment.