香蕉秀

by Rod Jones

The 香蕉秀 University Film Institute鈥檚 series will continue its 34th year at 2 p.m. Oct. 18 with Kenji Mizoguchi鈥檚 鈥淯getsu鈥� in the Kerr McGee Auditorium of Meinders School of Business. The school is located at N.W. 27th Street and McKinley Avenue.

Admission to all films in the series is free. The series is supported in part by the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Endowment Fund and endowments through 香蕉秀 and the 香蕉秀 Community Foundation.

Based on two ghost stories set in the Samurai period of the Japanese Civil Wars of the 16th century, 鈥淯getsu,鈥漚 ghost story like no other, is the quintessential Mizoguchi film. His fame in rendering memorable female characters stands out in this story of two couples searching for meaning, illusory and real. His women, powerless to change the way of the world, acquiesce to its inequity, displaying grace as well as strength under pressure. A timely film for Halloween, the closing shot is considered by many to be the most mysterious and haunting in all of cinema.

The theme of this year鈥檚 season is based on Viktor Frankl鈥檚 classic book 鈥淢an鈥檚 Search for Meaning.鈥滺arbour Winn, director of the series, said the theme is intended to help participants come to understand the purpose of suffering.

鈥淭he films in this series stress the importance of an individual鈥檚 attitude to existence,鈥� Winn said. 鈥淓ven when life seems restricted by external forces, we can choose the attitude with which we live and make meaning, to find value.鈥�

A discussion session follows each film screening for those who wish to participate. The remaining dates and films in the series are:

* Nov. 1, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne鈥檚 鈥淭wo Days, One Night鈥�

* Jan. 24, Michelangelo Antonioni鈥檚 鈥淏low-Up鈥�

* Feb. 7, Ritesh Batra鈥檚 鈥淭he Lunchbox鈥�

* Feb. 21, Asghar Farhadi鈥檚 鈥淎bout Elly鈥�

* March 6, Andrey Zvyagintsev鈥檚 鈥淟eviathan鈥�

For more information about the series, call 405-208-5472 or visit .