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Each series, we select a theme and then screen films that fit the theme. Think of it as an extended conversation, with each film adding a new voice. Quirky, controversial, heart-wrenching, or hilarious, our goal is to entertain and educate. And you can’t beat the price. Admission is free!
 
Current Theme: Mind Benders - Movies That Mess with Your Head
 
Most films invite you into a new world for an hour or two. These ten films entice you down the rabbit’s hole, like Alice, and then throw away the key. Profoundly disorienting, sometimes disturbing, and just plain bizarre, you’ll find yourself in unfamiliar territory. There are no easy answers in these films. No stock endings. No singular meaning. No formula to predictably unfold. They defy convention and category. They are filled with strange and wonderful moments that constantly beg the question: “what the *&@!” And they always, always leave you wanting more. They’ll stick with you, long after the last reel has run. Put simply, they mess with your head.

2006 Fall Film Series
 Mind Benders: Movies That Mess with Your Head
  
 Movies begin at 7:00 PM    Admission is FREE!
  
Films will be shown at two venues:
  
Laikin Auditorium, JCC 6701 Hoover Rd. (map; directions)
Big Car Art Gallery 1043 Virginia Ave., Suite 215 (map & directions)
  
For more information, contact: Stephen Conway
 
The Films

Aug. 1: Mulholland Dr. Aug. 16: Orlando
Sept. 5: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Sept. 20:  I ♥ Huckabees
Oct. 3: Cure Oct. 18: Dreams
Nov. 7: Donnie Darko Nov. 29: The Machinist
Dec. 5: Mirrormask Dec. 20: Triplets of Belleville

Mulholland Dr. - August 1
  
Conference Room A25, JCC 6701 Hoover Rd. (map)

 A wide-eyed young actress travels to Hollywood, only to be ensnared in a dream-like dark conspiracy involving a woman with amnesia who was nearly murdered.

2001  140 minutes Rated: R
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller

Orlando – August  16
  
Big Car Gallery 1043 Virginia Ave., Suite 215 (map & directions)
 
The melancholy poet Orlando is immortal. Spanning four centuries, Orlando lives many lives and, one day without warning, becomes a woman. Based on Virginia Woolf’s novel.
  
1992  93 minutes  Rated: R 
Director: Sally Potter
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Quentin Crisp, Billy Zane
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Sept. 5
 
 Laikin Auditorium, JCC 6701 Hoover Rd. (map)
 
Joel has a procedure to erase the memory of his ex-girlfriend, Clementine. He changes his mind mid-stream and struggles through a maze of mixed memories to save her.
 
2004  108 min.  Rated: R  Director: Michael Gondry
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood
I ♥ Huckabees – Sept. 20
  
Big Car Gallery 1043 Virginia Ave., Suite 215 Indianapolis, IN (map)
 
Determined to solve the coincidence of seeing the same stranger three times in a day, Albert the activist hires two existentialist detectives, who insist on spying on his everyday life.
  
2004  106 minutes    Rated: R
Director: David O. Russell  
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin
Cure – October 3
 
Laikin Auditorium JCC 6701 Hoover Rd. Indianapolis, IN 46260 (map)
 
A detective races against time and logic to solve a baffling string of gruesome, unexplained murders. An odd young amnesiac holds the key to unlocking the criminal mind in anyone.
 
1997 111 min. in Japanese with subtitles  Rated: R
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa  
Starring: Koji Yakusho

Dreams – October 18
 
Big Car Gallery 1043 Virginia Ave., Suite 215 Indianapolis, IN (map)
 
Eight short films based on Kurosawa’s actual dreams. Sometimes eerie and surreal, but always filled with lush imagery, Dreams is a meditation on nature, art, memory, and regret.
 
1990  119 min. in Japanese with subtitles  Rated: PG 
Director: Akira Kurosawa  
Starring: Akira Terao
Donnie Darko – November 7
 
Laikin Auditorium JCC 6701 Hoover Rd.  (map)
 
Troubled teen, Donnie Darko, has a vision that the world will end in 28 days. With the help of a 6 foot rabbit called Frank, he discovers every little thing he does counts on a cosmic scale.
 
2002  133 minutes  Rated: R
Director: Richard Kelly 
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore

The Machinist – November 29
 
Big Car Gallery 1043 Virginia Ave., Suite 215  (map)
 
Trevor is withering away to nothing. For reasons unknown, he hasn’t slept in a year. After a factory accident, he tracks a mysterious man who might provide answers to his confusion.
 
(2004) 102 minutes    Rated: R 
Director: Brad Anderson
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Mirrormask – December 5
 
Laikin Auditorium JCC 6701 Hoover Rd. Indianapolis, IN 46260 (map)

Born into a circus family, Helena longs for normal life. Before her mother’s major surgery, Helena wakes in a dream world whose fate hinges upon her actions. Written by Neil Gaiman.
 
2002 101 minutes    Rated: PG
Director: Dave McKean 
Starring: Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry
The Triplets of Belleville – December 20
 
Big Car Gallery 1043 Virginia Ave., Suite 215 Indianapolis, IN (map)
 
When her grandson, Champion, is kidnapped by the Mob during the Tour de France, Mdme. Souza teams up with the Belleville Sisters, a frog-eating Swing-era singing trio, to rescue him.
 
2003  80 min. in French with subtitles  Rated: PG-13
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Starring: Lina Broudreault, Mari-Lou Gauthier