By April 18, 2005
As part of Cornell Cinema’s usual presentation of foreign films, playing this week are two movies from Asia exploring diverse genres. A Korean film, A Tale of Two Sisters, delivers Stephen King-like spooks. Another film from Bhutan, Travellers and Magicians, explores one man finding and loosing himself simultaneously. A Tale of Two Sisters The Ring opened up the floodgates for horror movies from Asia and for the most part, the past few years of terror imports like The Grudge and its peers have been good. To join the neighborhood is Ji-woon Kim’s dark exploration into guilt and what skeletons a family decides to hid in its closet. Two very close sisters, Su-mi and Su-yeon return home after a period of hospitalization that is not explained to live with their father, who is distant and their new step-mother, who is a little too nice. Most of the tension comes from the fact that the audience knows that there is something terribly wrong in the household but we just don’t know exactly what it is. Don’t worry, you will find out (almost) and have plenty of scares along the way. Not only does Two Sisters provide moments that make you jump in your seat, it manages to sustain an overall creepiness much like Kubrick’s The Shining. It’s difficult to describe the film any further without taking away some of the surprise, of which is worth sticking around for. Just a little word of advice is to avoid any wardrobes you might run into (or get trapped in). Travelers and Magicians When the protagonist of this film tells another character that he is going to the United States she replies, “America. I heard they don’t even know where Bhutan is there.” I have to admit, after watching this movie I had to check out the World Factbook to find out a little more about this small country in the Himalayas. However Khyentse Norbu’s beautiful film ended up telling me much more about Bhutan than any list of statistics. The film’s protagonist is Dondup, a young long-haired man who is dying to get out of the rural village where his government job has left him. When an opportunity to get a visa to go to America arrives, he packs all his American CD’s and clothes and heads for the bus stop. However, he misses his bus and must hitchhike his way to the capital within two days to get his ticket out. Along the way, a traditional apple seller, a Buddhist monk and a paper maker and his daughter join him at various points in his travels. The monk, fully aware of Dondup’s infatuation with western culture tells a fable. This fable turns into a parallel storyline that follows the original plot. The second plot, which ends up being a lot like The Postman Always Rings Twice, ties into Dondup’s search for what the monk calls “dreamland.” Eventually Dondup starts to question his planned trip to America, especially since he shows a liking to the girl that he is now traveling with. Eventually the film revolves around whether Dondup will take a chance and go to the “dreamland” of the West or remain in his native country. All of this is set against the dramatic and beautiful landscape of Bhutan and filmed using soft colors.Archived article by Mark RiceSun Film Editor
By April 18, 2005
After a four game span in which the Cornell men’s lacrosse team averaged 15.5 goals per contest, tight defense and timely scoring was at a premium in the squad’s encounter against No. 11 Dartmouth on Saturday, as the No. 8 Red earned an 8-7 win over the Green in Hanover, N.H. While the Red never relinquished the lead throughout the entire game, the Green forced Cornell to make big plays on both ends on the field, with senior attackman Kevin Nee pacing the Red attack with three goals. “Dartmouth did a pretty good job of controlling the ball,” said Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni. “I don’t think we necessarily played well, [but] our coaching staff and our players were pleased that we won the game … Dartmouth is as good as it gets in the Ivy League.” In the first quarter, Cornell came out strong. While Nee was denied from close range early in the game by Dartmouth goaltender Andrew Goldstein, Cornell midfielder Casey Lewis found space in the middle of the field and found the back of the cage from 15 yards to give the sophomore his first career goal. The Red doubled its lead four minutes later when junior Joe Boulukos dodged past his defender before beating Goldstein for his 22nd tally of the season. With less than three minutes left in the quarter, junior Derek Haswell found Nee, whose shot zipped past Goldstein to give the Red a 3-0 advantage. The visitors again opened the scoring in the second period, when junior Dave Bush rushed by a pair of defenders before finding senior Sean Greenhalgh, who finished off the fast break to give the Red a 4-0 cushion. However, the Green started to claw back, as junior Ryan Danehy found the back of the cage with 4:10 left in the period before classmate Jamie Coffin brought Dartmouth within two less than a minute later with a goal of his own. And while Nee scored his second with 2:19 left in the period, the Green responded with a goal just three seconds before intermission, as senior Ben Grinnell hit the back of the cage from outside the crease. “After [we went up 4-0], you could tell there was a big drop of emotion [from our side],” Tambroni said. After halftime, both teams were unable to score until Dartmouth brought the Red’s lead down to one when Coffin scored his second goal of the game off a pass from Danehy. The Green subsequently tied the game off the opening faceoff in the fourth, when Brad Heritage made his way through the Cornell defense and beat Red sophomore goaltender Matt McMonagle from five yards out. But the Red soon regained the lead and its intensity according to Tambroni, less than three minutes later, when Haswell picked up a loose ball and shot past Goldstein. Cornell took advantage of a Dartmouth turnover three minutes later, as senior Justin Redd connected with Nee, who completed his hat trick, before Redd found Greenhalgh on the team’s next possession, who gave the Red a three goal lead. Tambroni cited Redd for his key role in Saturday’s win. “Justin Redd has done a great job this year,” Tambroni said. “I think he’s having a decent season statistically, but I think he’s having a better year on the field for us … I think our guys have been really pleased with how he has lead the team. He might not necessarily be the guy getting the goals, but he’s certainly our setup guy in getting to ball to our [other attackers].” However, the Green would stage a late comeback as Danehy and Coffin again added their names to the score sheet with less than two minutes to play. While Dartmouth won 10 of the game’s 19 faceoffs, the Red gathered a crucial one after Coffin’s goal before the Green regained possession after a save by Goldstein. But Dartmouth was unable to get another shot on goal, giving the visitors the win. Goldstein finished with 11 saves while McMonagle recorded 10.Archived article by Brian TsaoSun Assistant Sports Editor