[MOVIE GUIDE]Where the Heart Is etc.

Features

Published: 04 Jan. 2003, 19:29

[MOVIE GUIDE]Where the Heart Is etc.

Where the Heart Is
Dansungsa, Hanshin Core Cinema, Oct.12

Directed by Matt Williams, starring Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd and Joan Cusack

Natalie Portman, known to moviegoers as Matilda, the little girl from Luc Besson's "The Professional" comes of age in "Where the Heart Is.Ms. Portman plays Novalee Nation, a pregnant young woman who runs away to California with her boyfriend hoping to find her place under the sun.

But when he abandons her at an Oklahoma Wal-Mart, Novalee, left with no options, ends up settling down in a small town, waiting for the baby's arrival. As the years go by, life finds Novalee falling in love with a kind local librarian.

The Barber of Siberia
ZOOZ, Sinchon Art Hall, Joongang Cinema, Oct. 14

Directed by David Dobkin, Starring Julia Ormond, Richard Harris and Oleg Menchikov

Set at the turn-of-the-century Russia, this is the story of Jane Callaghan, a cadet at West Point military academy, and her journey to Russia.

In her travels, she meets two men who will change her life forever; a handsome young officer, Andrey Tolstoy, with whom she shares a devotion to opera, and the powerful General Radlov, who is obsessed with her beauty. A true epic that follows in the tradition of Anna Karenina.

Space Cowboy
MMC, Club EOE 4(Drive-in Theatre), Oct. 14

Directed by Clint Eastwood, Starring Clint Eastwood , Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland

A 60-year-old astronaut (Clint Eastwood) is sent on a mission to repair a broken satellite that threatens to wreak havoc Earth if it falls from its orbit. He insists that three of his friends, (Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland), former astronaut who missed out on space missions, accompany him. This high-tech, high-action drama, is reminiscent of Armaggedon, and was screened at the opening of this year's Venice Film Festival.

Music of the Heart
MMC, Joongang Cinema, Oct. 21

Directed by Wes Craven, Starring Meryl Streep, Gloria Estefan and Angela Bassett

This is the true story of Roberta Guaspari (Meryl Streep), a violin teacher who battled insurmountable odds to teach underprivileged children in East Harlem.

Roberta battles the school board system, arguing that music will help the children immensely.

Based on the documentary "Small Wonder," "The Music of the Heart" raises some interesting questions about budget cuts that are affecting music programs in American public schools.