Recent Acquisitions: New Directors/New Films
February 2, 3, 23, and 24, 2003

Each year, thanks to the generous support of The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, the Department of Film and Media acquires for its collection a print of a work that appeared in New Directors/New Films, the annual festival co-organized with the Film Society of Lincoln Center. This month, the Department presents four acquisitions: Unni Straume’s Norwegian drama, Thrane’s Method (1998); Jia Zhangke’s groundbreaking independent film from China, Xiao Wu (1997); Orlando Mesquita’s touching and clever public service announcement, The Ball (2001), from Mozambique; and Monteith McCollum’s witty and eccentric “corn” documentary, Hybrid (2000), from the United States.

Organized by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator; Jytte Jensen, Associate Curator; and Joshua Siegel, Assistant Curator, Department of Film and Media.

Thranes metode (Thrane’s Method). 1998. Norway. Written and directed by Unni Straume. With Bjørn Sundquist, Petronella Barker. After moving into his new apartment, the rootless Thrane notices his neighbor, an exceptionally beautiful married woman, and decides to stay around long enough to at least decorate his newly acquired apartment. Shifting from Thrane’s desire for love to his fear of happiness, Straume’s third feature reveals a cinematic delicacy of touch and an ability to sustain characters’ moods and motivations in unexpected ways. In Norwegian with English subtitles. 84 min.
Sunday, February 2, 6:00; Monday, February 24, 6:00

Xiao Wu. 1997. China. Written and directed by Jia Zhangke. With Hong Wei Wang, Hao Hongjian. In a provincial Chinese backwater, a petty thief leads a tentative existence. His soul is gradually revealed through various everyday encounters, and the film ends with an exceptional emotional power rarely achieved even by more experienced filmmakers. In Mandarin with English subtitles. 107 min.
Monday, February 3, 6:00

The Ball. 2001. Mozambique. Directed by Orlando Mesquita. An AIDS public service announcement produced by Steps for the Future. 6 min.
Hybrid. 2000. USA. Directed by Monteith McCollum. McCollum’s imaginative and highly original debut film traces the life and obsession of Iowa corn breeder Milford Beeghly, teasing out the laconic farmer’s passion for experimentation with hybrid corn, his love of song and verse, and his affection for women and the land he never wants to leave. Animation sequences of the mating habits of corncobs and 1950s commercials for Beeghly’s Best Hybrids are interspersed with family conversation. 92 min.
Monday, February 3, 8:15; Sunday, February 23, 7:00

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