Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
Slumdog Millionaire (United Kingdom, 2008) Running Time: 120 Minutes After coming within one question of winning 20 million rupees on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” 18-year-old Mumbai “slumdog” Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is arrested on suspicion of cheating. While in custody, Jamal regales a jaded police inspector (Irfan Khan) with … Read more
Iikiru (Japan, 1952) Running Time: 143 Minutes When a stoic government official (Takashi Shimura, with a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Actor) in post-war Japan learns he has terminal cancer, he realizes he has squandered his life on meaningless red tape and has no close family or friendships to lean on. He resolves to use … Read more
Better Luck Tomorrow (USA, 2003) Running Time: 99 Minutes Ah, the pressures of being young, rich and brilliant. Discontent with his current lifestyle of straight A’s and upper-middle-class monotony, overachieving high school student Ben Manibag (Parry Shen) seeks a lifestyle of excitement and danger. He finds it with help from a suburban gang of other … Read more
The Baruch College Asian and Asian American Studies Program and the Asian and Asian American Research Institute at CUNY (AAARI) present a series of new films celebrating Asia and Asian Americans. Sita Sings the Blues, presented courtesy of filmmaker Nina Paley, who will be present for a post-film question and answer.
This eight session workshop will guide viewers on a retrospective study through some of Asian American / Asian cinema’s most beloved and highly acclaimed films from the past decade.
My Blueberry Nights (Hong Kong/China/France, 2007) Running Time: 90 Minutes Elizabeth (Norah Jones), a restless young woman, travels cross-country working a variety of waitressing jobs and connecting with an odd assortment of characters along the way, including policeman Arnie (David Strathairn), his unfaithful wife, Sue Lynne (Rachel Weisz), and a flighty young gambler (Natalie Portman). … Read more