Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
Bend It Like Beckham (United Kingdom, 2002) Running Time: 112 Minutes An ardent fan of British soccer sensation David Beckham, Jess (Parminder K. Nagra) wants nothing more than to be on the field. But a proper Indian girl shouldn’t be spending her time playing soccer — or at least that’s what her family thinks. Jess … Read more
Gran Torino (USA, 2008) Running Time: 116 Minutes Curmudgeonly Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood, who also directs) must confront his Hmong immigrant neighbors — and his own long-held prejudices — when the family’s teenage son, Thao (Bee Vang), tries to steal Walt’s beloved 1972 Gran Torino. Walt soon assumes the unlikely role of … Read more
Departures (Japan, 2008) Running Time: 131 Minutes Freshly unemployed, young cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) has an epiphany in which he realizes he’s been heading down the wrong career path. Retreating to his hometown, he trains for a new professional role as a nakanshi, or one who prepares the dead for burial. Tsutomu Yamazaki provides comic … Read more
Date: Fridays, July 10, 17, 24 & 31; August 7, 2009 Time: 5:30PM to 8:00PM Place: 25 West 43rd Street, Room 1000, between 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan Free Admission Seating is extremely limited, and we are only able to accommodate up to 30 attendees per session. Registration will only be accepted per session on … Read more
Summer Palace (China, 2006) Running Time: 140 Minutes Beijing students and lovers Yu Hong (Lei Hao) and Zhou Wei (Xiaodong Guo) are torn apart during student pro-democracy demonstrations, and Zhou flees to the country. Years later, haunted by the memory of Yu, Zhou returns to China to find his true love. But has their love … Read more
Mongol (Mongolia, 2007) Running Time: 125 Minutes In the 12th century, an orphaned young slave named Temudjin (Tadanobu Asano) escapes from his captors and begins the journey that will lead him to become one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known. Honglei Sun and Ying Bai co-star in this Oscar-nominated epic adventure from … Read more