Bangkok Screening Room is hosting a film event Director's Focus to celebrate masterpieces by some of the world's most famous directors. The event features 14 movies from seven directors screening on the weekends of September. Tickets are B300. Get yours at Bangkok Screening Room. Check out what's on the program here.
Baz Luhrmann
September 7
- Romeo + Juliet (1996) at 15:30 Baz Lurhmann's dazzling and unconventional adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic love story is spellbinding. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes portray Romeo and Juliet, the youthful star-crossed lovers of the past. But the setting has been moved from its Elizabethan origins to the futuristic urban backdrop of Verona Beach.
- The Great Gatsby (2013) at 18:30 The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Wes Anderson
September 8
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) at 18:30 The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest confection of a love affair – all against the backdrop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007) at 20:30 A year after their father’s death, three American brothers, Francis, Peter and Jack – who haven’t spoken since the funeral – embark on a soul-searching journey across India on board the titular train. The brothers, who don’t get along very well, use the time to get to know each other better and begin to ponder questions like why they don’t like each other, and why their mother didn’t attend the funeral. Francis, whose face is completely bandaged due to a recent motorcycle accident, reveals that their mother has entered a convent in India, and the real reason for organizing the trip was to find her.
Their "spiritual quest", however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray), and they eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. At this moment, a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins.
Quentin Tarantino
September 14
- Pulp Fiction (1994) at 15:15 The star-studded motion picture that redefined cinema in the 20th century. Writer/director Quentin Tarantino delivers an unforgettable cast of characters – including a pair of low-rent hitmen, their boss’s sexy wife and a desperate prizefighter – in a wildly entertaining and exhilarating motion picture that both thrills and amuses.
- Jackie Brown (1997) at 18.15 A sexy stewardess, a gun runner, a lonely bail bondsman, a shifty ex-con, a federal agent, and a stoned-out beach bunny are six players on the trail of half a million dollars in cash. But who’s going to get played…and who’s going to make the big score?
Paul Thomas Anderson
September 15
- Magnolia (1999) at 14:30 An intriguing and entertaining study in characters going through varying levels of crisis and introspection. This psychological drama leads you in several different directions, weaving and intersecting various subplots and characters, from a brilliant Tom Cruise (who was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe), as a self-proclaimed pied-piper, to a child forced to go on a TV game show and the pressures he faces from a ruthless father.
- Boogie Nights (1997) at 18:15 In this dark, comic drama, a gullible teenager takes a turbulent journey through the worlds of pornography, disco and fleeting stardom in the '70s, when drugs were in vogue, fashion was in flux and the party never seemed to stop.
Steven Soderbergh
September 21
- Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1988) at 15:30 A selfish, successful lawyer--whose wife has turned frigid and whose sister-in-law has become his lover--welcomes an old college friend for a visit, little dreaming the effect this friend will have on all of them...
- Solaris (2002) at 18:00 A psychologist investigates mysterious happenings aboard a space station in this remake of the Russian sci-fi classic.
Darren Aronofsky
September 22
- The Fountain (2006) at 15:30 As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.
- Black Swan (2010) at 18:30 A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City Ballet, Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company (Mila Kunis). Black Swan takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect.
Ang Lee
September 28
- Sense and Sensibility (1995) at 15:45 The Jane Austen classic tells the story of two sisters, one pragmatic, the other overly emotional. They both fall in love with men who they learn are promised to others. As they each struggle to get the man of their dreams, one learns to allow herself to express her emotions and the other gain more "sense" about life.
- Life of Pi (2012) at 18.30 Based on the novel by Yann Martel, Director Ang Lee creates an all-audience movie event about a young man on a fateful voyage who, after a spectacular disaster, is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. He becomes marooned on a lifeboat he must share with the ship’s only other survivor, a fearsome Bengal tiger with whom he makes an amazing and unexpected connection.