The Pursuit of Happyness
Special thanks to Paulette & Mel Blumenthal
USA, 116 min
Gabriele Muccino directs.
Will Smith, Thandie Newton star.

Based on the true story of Chris Gardner, who grappled with homelessness, dead-end jobs, and single fatherhood as he pursued the American Dream, this rag-to-riches story movingly depicts the bond between parent and child. Will Smith stars as Chris, a bright and talented but marginally employed salesman struggling to keep his family afloat in 1980s San Francisco. When his son's mother (Thandie Newton) leaves and Chris and the five-year old (played by Smith's real-life son) are evicted from their apartment, a downward spiral that would have broken most people begins. Despite overwhelming hardships, Chris continues to honor his commitment as a loving, caring father, relying on his son's trust and affection as an impetus to surmount the obstacles he faces. (USA, 116 min. PG-13. Print courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

Babel
Special thanks to Ellen & Bill Hunt
USA, 142 min.
Alejandro González Iñárritu directs.
Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett star.

In this stunning conclusion to the trilogy that began with Amores Perros and 21 Grams, director Alejandro González Iñárritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga create a series of overlapping stories - this time across three continents - bound by a single act. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett play an American couple vacationing in Morocco, where two young goat herders try out their new weapon. In California a nanny tries to find temporary childcare so she can attend her son's wedding. In Tokyo a widowed father struggles to understand his troubled deaf-mute teenager. Masterfully interweaving seemingly unrelated stories, Iñárritu gradually reveals the effects of an apparently random act on a far-flung web of interconnection. (USA, 142 min. R. Print courtesy of Paramount Vantage)

The Queen
Special thanks to The Little Nell
UK, 103 min.
Stephen Frears directs.
Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen star.

Venice Film Festival winner Helen Mirren stars as HM Elizabeth II in The Queen. Director Stephen Frears' (Dirty Pretty Things) latest offers an intimate, revealing and often acidly funny portrait of the British royal family during the dramatic days immediately following the death of Princess Diana. Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) is newly elected as Britain’s new Prime Minister and the first crisis he negotiates is not an international incident, but one much closer to home. This fictionalized account explores the behind-closed-doors interaction between the royals and the new PM as they struggle to reach a compromise that honors privacy for a personal family tragedy and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning. (UK, 103 min. PG-13. Print courtesy of Miramax Films)

Marie Antoinette
Special thanks to The Danny Kaye & Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation
USA, 118 min.
Sofia Coppola directs.
Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman star.

After her enormous success with Lost in Translation, director Sofia Coppola returns with another unconventional and slyly beguiling feature. Kirsten Dunst stars as Marie Antoinette, the adolescent Viennese princess given in marriage to France's Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman). Coppola captures the lavishness of Versailles and the hallucinatory texture of her subject’s inner life through breathtaking costumes and settings, underscored by deliberately anachronistic 1980s pop songs. With its commentary on contemporary celebrity, the film's moral center lives as much in the 21st century as it does in the 18th. The rich and famous indulge their every desire and embrace every faddist philosophy, blissfully oblivious to outside reality. (USA, 118 min. PG-13. Print courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

Home of the Brave
USA, 106 min.
Irwin Winkler directs.
Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel star.

From Academy Award-winner Irwin Winkler comes this timely story of contemporary war and its aftermath. The film follows four American soldiers nearing the end of their tour of duty in Iraq. Shortly before returning home, they are assigned to a humanitarian mission. While on duty, their unit is violently ambushed and sustains heavy losses. As they return to the U.S. and to their civilian lives, the surviving troops must face haunting memories of the past as they try to look toward the future. Home of the Brave is about hope and courage and the lingering impact of war on both the individuals who fight and the people close to them. Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, rap artist Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Brian Presley star. (USA, 106 min. R. Print courtesy of MGM)

The Illusionist
Special thanks to Lenny
USA, 109 min.
Neil Burger directs.
Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti star.

Eisenheim (Edward Norton) is a masterful magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna, mesmerizing audiences with seemingly extraordinary powers. But is magic enough to win back his first love (Jessica Biel) when she unexpectedly reappears? This stunning romantic thriller from Neil Burger involves an ambitious police inspector (Paul Giamatti) and a threatened crown prince (Rufus Sewell), both anxious to debunk Eisenheim's talents. At its heart, the film is about social position and the will to challenge it. With its glowing amber palette, nuanced performances, and Philip Glass' suitably haunting score, this magical story exposes the illusory aspects of power, politics and love. (USA, 109 min. PG-13. Print courtesy of Yari Film Group Releasing)

Days of Glory
France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium, 120 min.
Rachid Bouchareb directs.
Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri star.

A gripping war film with a powerful message, Days of Glory recounts the largely forgotten story of the Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian recruits who bravely fought for France during WWII. Valiant soldiers, they were treated as second-class citizens by their "Mother" country, denied the leave, food rations and feminine companionship their French counterparts enjoyed. Sweeping in scope, Days of Glory pays overdue tribute to the heroism and humanity of its subjects as it focuses on a quartet of North African soldiers and their sergeant in their campaign across Sicily, Italy and France. Winner of the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Rachid Bouchareb's film is the Algerian entry for Best Foreign Language Film. (France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium, 120 min. R. Print courtesy of MGM and The Weinstein Company)

Shut Up and Sing
Special thanks to The Aspen Times
USA, 93 min.
Barbara Kopple & Cecilia Peck direct.
With the Dixie Chicks.

This unusually intimate documentary follows the Dixie Chicks after lead singer Natalie Maines made her now infamous political comment at a March 2003 concert. As a result, the trio was bombarded with right-wing outrage - boycotts, CD burnings, even death threats. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple and co-director Cecilia Peck profile the spunky Maines and bandmates Emily Robison and Martie Maguire as they plot a comeback. They followed the Chicks for three years, serving up a no-holds-barred look at their reactions to the vehement attacks, as well as challenges like new motherhood and artistic reinvention. Whether or not you're a fan, you'll gain respect for these gutsy women who continue to sing but refuse to "shut up." Voted Audience Favorite Documentary, Aspen Filmfest 2006. (USA, 93 min. R. Print courtesy of The Weinstein Company)

Avenue Montaigne
France, 105 min.
Danièle Thompson directs.
Cecile de France stars.
An Aspen Film & Wheeler Film Society Presentation
Movies at the Wheeler:
France's official Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film and not due for U.S. release until later this winter, Avenue Montaigne is a comedy that tackles the big themes of Life and Art in that most stylish of cities, Paris. Director and co-writer Danièle Thompson's entertaining and bittersweet feature centers around Jessica, a beautiful young woman from the provinces who comes to Paris and lands a job waiting tables at a chic bistro on fabled Avenue Montaigne, the city's nexus for art, music, theater and fashion. Jessica's customers include a popular TV actress (Valérie Lemercier) who is courting a major Hollywood director (Sydney Pollack) for her first serious film role; a wealthy art collector (Claude Brasseur) who is about to liquidate a lifetime's worth of treasures; and an illustrious classical pianist (Albert Dupontel) who is at professional crossroads with his manager/wife (Laura Morante). Precisely because she doesn't know how celebrated these people are, Jessica's guileless and completely unintimidated engagement in their lives has a transforming effect on them - and ultimately her. (France, 105 min. Not yet rated. Print courtesy of THINKFilms)

Letters From Iwo Jima
USA, 101 min.
Clint Eastwood directs.
An Aspen Film & Wheeler Film Society Presentation
Movies at the Wheeler:
Director Clint Eastwood delves into a key chapter of World War II history with an unprecedented dual film project that offers dramatically different perspectives of the battle of Iwo Jima: Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. Sixty-one years ago, U.S. and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters were unearthed from that stark island's soil, giving voices to the men who fought there and the extraordinary general who led them. Letters from Iwo Jima recounts the story as experienced by the Japanese soldiers who were sent to defend the island knowing they would likely not return home. Their commanding general is portrayed by the brilliant Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai). With Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, one of our finest filmmakers pays tribute to soldiers on both side of the conflict and reveals a new way of looking at this profoundly affecting moment in our shared history. (USA, 101 min. R Print courtesy of Warner Bros)

Bobby
Special thanks to Men's Journal
USA, 111 min.
Emilio Estevez directs.
Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macy, Sharon Stone star.

Los Angeles, 1968. The legendary Ambassador Hotel. Senator Robert F. Kennedy has just arrived for a victory rally after winning a crucial presidential primary. By evening's end he will become the victim of an assassin's bullet. Emilio Estevez's brilliantly conceived political epic revisits that night, intertwining newsreel footage with fictional stories of 22 guests and workers gathered at the hotel. Estevez has assembled a remarkable cast - Harry Belafonte, Anthony Hopkins, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, to name a few - that crystallizes the collective state-of-consciousness of the time. Bobby compellingly presents the issues - racism, class tension, gender inequality, Vietnam - that encapsulated the zeitgeist of this turbulent era while maintaining faith in the power of hope. (USA, 111 min. R. Print courtesy of MGM and The Weinstein Company)

Volver
Special thanks to Adam Lewis
Spain, 111 min.
Pedro Almodóvar directs.
Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura star.

Acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar and his muse Penélope Cruz reunite for this portrayal of three generations of strong-willed women that's signature Almodóvar - a blend of tears and laughter in a wonderfully supernatural tale of murder, adultery and family happiness. Cruz stars as Raimunda, a working-class mother in Madrid dealing with a disaffected teenage daughter, a troublesome sister, and a deadbeat husband. Raimunda's life takes an even more complicated twist when her dead mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), returns from the grave seeking to redress some lingering wrongs. For their transcendental roles as women who face challenges with resilience and inventiveness, the female cast won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Spain's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film. (Spain, 111 min. R. Print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)

The Good German
Special thanks to Sentient Jet Membership
Steven Soderbergh directs.
Cate Blanchett, George Clooney star.

Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean's Eleven) delivers this post-WWII thriller filled with intrigue, corruption and betrayal. The story takes place amid the ruins of Berlin, where U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismar (George Clooney) seeks out Lena Brant (Cate Blanchett), a former lover whose missing husband is being pursued by American and Russian intelligence forces. As Jake tries to unearth the secrets Lena may be hiding, a larger threat arises via the black-market connections of Tully (Tobey Maguire), an American army driver assigned to Jake. The Good German presents a chilling portrait of war's psychological aftermath, as Jake discovers the difficulty of uncovering truth from people still reeling from war. (USA, 105 min. R. Print courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

Curse of the Golden Flower
Special thanks to Esther Pearlstone
China, 114 min.
Zhang Yimou directs.
Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li star.

An old Chinese saying maintains, "Gold and jade on the outside, rot and decay on the inside." Set during the Later Tang Dynasty, one of China's most ostentatious eras, this richly evocative epic from Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers), featuring two Asian superstars, exposes the scandalous secrets of a fictional imperial family. As the royals publicly celebrate the annual Chong Yang Festival, a volatile internal power struggle pits the Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) against both the Empress (Gong Li) and his three sons. As a result, juicy details of illicit liaisons, evil cunning, and long-sought revenge bubble to the surface, leading to a climax of breathtaking scope and scale. With its elaborate costumes and sumptuous sets, the film is a grand feast for the senses. China's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film. (China, 114 min. R. Print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)

Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood directs.
AT THE WHEELER OPERA HOUSE:
An Aspen Film & Wheeler Film Society Presentation
Movies at the Wheeler:
"Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" is one of the 20th century's most memorable photographs. And one of the most iconograhic images of American heroics. It serves as director Clint Eastwood's point of entry for his powerful and unflinching look at one of WWII's most pivotal battles and its aftermath. Created as the companion film to his Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers is a human drama of friendship and love, sacrifice and manipulation by American soldiers. Eastwood focuses equally on the war and home, crosscutting between the viciousness of the battle and the manufactured propaganda campaign involving the photograph and flag raisers that ensued - issues that remain relevant today. As Flags of Our Fathers shows how the photograph became the very beginning of celebrity worship, the film questions our need to create and celebrate heroes, sometimes at a cost. (USA, 131 min. R. Print courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

The Last King of Scotland
Special thanks to Aspen Film's Media Sponsors
UK, 121 min.
Kevin Macdonald directs.
Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy star.

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was one of recent history's great monsters, at times irresistibly charismatic, at others appallingly evil. In Kevin Macdonald's gripping first feature, Forest Whitaker doesn't so much play Idi Amin as slip into his skin. He incites dread even as he radiates charm. Against Whitaker's volcanic performance, talented newcomer James McAvoy (The Chronicles of Narnia, Starter for Ten) holds his own as a callow young Scottish doctor who becomes Amin's physician and confidant, seduced by a glittering lifestyle and proximity to power. A blend of fact and fiction, the film navigates some tricky - and intense - territory. Macdonald's tale sums up the price of political and youthful naiveté, even as it puts a human face on a tyrant. (UK, 121 min. R. Print courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Little Children
Special thanks to Aspen Film's Volunteers
USA, 137 min.
Todd Field directs.
Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson star.

This emotionally acute examination of the cracks in middle-class American family life comes from Academy Award-nominated director Todd Field (In the Bedroom). Adapted from the novel by Tom Perrotta, this sharply written story of unfulfilled longing and disappointing choices focuses on Sarah (Kate Winslet) and Brad (Patrick Wilson), two stay-at-home parents of toddlers, who eventually begin an affair after meeting at the local playground. As if that isn't enough to set off the small-town gossips, a convicted sex offender (Jackie Earle Haley) returns home, becoming a scapegoat for the community's underlying anxiety. With dark humor and provocative insight, Field captures the mood of suburban malaise. (USA, 137 min. R. Print courtesy of New Line Cinema)

The Painted Veil
Special thanks to Melva Bucksbaum & Raymond Learsy
USA, 123 min.
John Curran directs.
Edward Norton, Naomi Watts star.

W. Somerset Maugham's classic 1925 novel comes to life in this compelling screen adaptation written by Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia). Edward Nortonstars as Walter, a middle-class doctor in an uneasy marriage with Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class socialite. When the young couple relocates from London to Shanghai, Kitty begins an affair with a fellow Brit (Liev Schreiber). Walter discovers her infidelity and, in an act of vengeance, accepts a job in a remote Chinese village, forcing Kitty to accompany him. In this isolated and beautiful place, the couple is obliged to confront their relationship, embarking on an emotional and spiritual quest for understanding and redemption. (USA, 123 min. Not yet rated.* Print courtesy of Warner Independent Pictures)

Pan's Labyrinth
Spain/Mexico, 129 min.
Guillermo del Toro directs.
Sergi López, Maribel Verdú star.

Mexico's Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy) has crafted a decidedly adult fairy tale, blending myth and reality with the violence of Spain's post-civil-war regime. In this sinister spin on a little girl’s (Alice in Wonderland-like journey, young Ofelia travels to join her pregnant mother’s new husband, the monstrous fascist Captain Vidal, at his sprawling old house in the dark forests of northern Spain. Seeking refuge from her new life, Ofelia stumbles upon an intricate garden labyrinth, ruled by an intimidating faunlike keeper, Pan, who gives her dangerous tasks to complete. In an era of cut-rate fantasizing, del Toro's eye-popping movie gives us something virtually unprecedented: a world of wonders, where the historical, political and mythological become one. Mexico's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film. (Spain/Mexico, 129 min. R. Print courtesy of Picturehouse)

Breaking and Entering
Special thanks to Marty Flug
UK, 119 min.
Anthony Minghella directs.
Jude Law, Juliette Binoche star.

Are crime and indifference the only things that connect people in urban environments? In his first original screenplay in 15 years, award-winning director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) examines this question against the backdrop of London's revitalization. Will (Jude Law) has a deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend, Liv (Robin Wright Penn), but a thriving landscape architecture business in King's Cross. After thieves break into his trendy office more than once, Will follows one of the culprits to the apartment he shares with his mother, Amira (Juliette Binoche), a Bosnian refugee. Will embarks on a passionate - and ultimately liberating - journey that blurs boundaries of class, culture and privilege. (UK, 119 min. R. Print courtesy of MGM and The Weinstein Company)

Notes on a Scandal
Special thanks to Marcy & Howard Gross
UK, 98 min.
Richard Eyre directs.
Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett star.

Two women caught up in a sticky web of need and betrayal are at the heart of this psychological drama punctuated by wickedly delicious dialogue. Based on Zoe Heller's novel, the story focuses on Barbara (Judi Dench), a domineering and solitary teacher at a secondary school in London. When the new art teacher, Sheba (Cate Blanchett), arrives, Barbara senses in her the kindred spirit and loyal friend she has always sought. Their relationship takes an ominous turn, however, as Barbara discovers an unsavory part of Sheba's life; in turn, her own secrets and dark obsessions come tumbling to the fore. A knot of deception unravels for both women, resulting in a journey rife with sinister twists and turns. (UK, 98 min. R. Print courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Arthur and the Invisibles
Special thanks to Marcia & Gregory Abbott
USA/France, 93 min.
Luc Besson directs.
Freddie Highmore, Mia Farrow star.

What child doesn't dream of discovering a magical fantasyland? In this larger-than-life adventure, 10-year-old Arthur comes across clues to a hidden treasure. Based on the children's bestseller Arthur and the Minimoys, this tale for all ages combines live action and 3D-animation to depict Arthur's journey through a spectacular hidden world inhabited by people so tiny they're considered invisible. Arthur (Freddie Highmore, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) must enlist the help of these diminutive underground dwellers to help confront an evil wizard. In addition to discovering a wondrous realm, Arthur uncovers the real meaning of courage, learning that sometimes the smallest heroes can make the biggest difference. Starring Mia Farrow. Voices by Madonna, Snoop Dogg and David Bowie. (USA/France, 93 min. PG. Print courtesy of MGM and The Weinstein Company)

Venus
Special thanks to Pamela Levy & Rick Crandall
UK, 95 min.
Roger Michell directs.
Peter O'Toole, Vanessa Redgrave star.

When his buddy's grand-niece arrives in London, Maurice (Peter O'Toole), an aging actor in questionable health, finds himself enchanted by the cheekily irreverent 19-year-old (newcomer Jodie Whittaker). The two form an unlikely friendship, as Maurice introduces Jessie to the city's cultural attractions and she takes him to nightclubs. As Maurice becomes completely taken with her, he is surprised to discover how very little he knows about himself. Director Roger Michell (Notting Hill) teases out the deeper threads of this newly formed relationship between two people at different life stages. O'Toole gives a beautifully gauged performance - funny, charming, acerbic and achingly sad - while Vanessa Redgrave poignantly portrays his long-suffering ex-wife. (UK, 95 min. R. Print courtesy of Miramax Films)

God Grew Tired of Us
Special thanks to Karen & Bayard Hollins
USA, 86 min.
Christopher Quinn directs.

God Grew Tired of Us follows three unforgettable young men on their odyssey in a strange New World. In the late 1980s, 27,000 Sudanese boys marched across thousands of miles of desert, fleeing a brutal civil war and settling in a Kenyan refugee camp. Recently the U.S. invited some of them to settle in America. This mind-expanding documentary paints a stirring portrait of culture shock and gradual adaptation. It's fascinating to witness the young men's wonder at Western customs and monitor their spiritual temperatures. For the first time, these immigrants find themselves well fed, yet painfully isolated from the brotherly fellowship that once enabled their survival. John, Daniel and Panther - each radiantly charismatic and thoughtful - meet their challenges, fueled by a desire to help others. (USA, 86 min. Not yet rated.* Print courtesy of Newmarket Films)

Miss Potter
Special thanks to Juliet Shield-Taylor and J. David Taylor
Chris Noonan directs.
Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor star.

Many of us discovered Beatrix Potter during childhood, making the acquaintance of enchanting characters like Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten and Mrs. Tiggy-winkle. From director Chris Noonan (Babe) comes this revealing adult drama about the talented writer and illustrator herself. Renee Zellweger stars as Potter, whose passion for nature, writing and drawing enabled her to live creatively on her own terms, despite the strictures of Victorian society. A sheltered young woman, Potter fell in love with her publisher (Ewan McGregor), entering into a relationship that would change her life forever. An artist whose life was marked by incredible professional success and unimaginable personal grief, Beatrix Potter survived to become one of the most beloved authors of all time. Emily Watson also stars. (UK/USA, 92 min. Not yet rated.* Print courtesy of MGM and The Weinstein Company)

The Golden Door
Special thanks to Susan & Neil Karbank
Italy/France, 117 min.
Emanuele Crialese directs.
Charlotte Gainsbourg stars.

The captivating story of immigration - hope for a better future, unavoidable risks, reinvention of identity - inspired Emanuele Crialese's beautifully conceived new feature. Winner of the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion, this sweeping Italian epic follows a Sicilian family as they set out for the New World in 1913, chasing the promise of a new beginning. The voyage presents the Mancusos with not only physical hardships, but also the challenge of thinking in new ways, as each family member confronts his or her hopes and fears. In this absorbing tale of endurance and dreams - a microcosm of all the stoic travelers who left their homelands in search of a better life - the unanswered questions only continue once the boat reaches Ellis Island. Italy's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film. (Italy/France, 117 min. Not yet rated.* Print courtesy of Miramax Films)