“Beatriz at Dinner,” a film that explores the widening gulf between the world’s haves and have-nots, opens June 29 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center.
Also continuing to show is Eleanor Coppola’s “Paris Can Wait” and the award-winning “I, Daniel Blake.”
Directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Mike White, “Beatriz at Dinner” is set at an elegant dinner party in a swanky hilltop home where conversation between a soft-spoken holistic healer and a hard-nosed businessman explodes into a bitter clash of cultures.
Beatriz (played by Selma Hayek), a self-effacing and spiritual immigrant from Mexico, has spent her adult life caring for the sick while neglecting herself. When her car breaks down, Beatriz’s well meaning employer, Kathy (Connie Britton), insists the healer stay the night and take part in a dinner party that same evening. During the intimate and sumptuous celebration, Beatriz is introduced to Doug Strutt (John Lithgow), a ruthless billionaire real estate developer.
Beatriz listens uncomfortably as Strutt brags about his aggressive business tactics. She reaches a breaking point and can no longer hold her tongue after the businessman boasts about shooting a rhino in Africa. Opposing worldviews collide over the dinner table as Beatriz’s pent up outrage spills out in a way that surprises even herself.
The film features fierce insight and unexpected humor, addressing contemporary controversies ranging from economic inequality to the necessity of simple human kindness.
“Beatriz at Dinner,” which is rated R for language and a scene of violence, shows at the Ross through July 13.
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, “I, Daniel Blake” is a tale about the impact one person can make. Gruff but goodhearted, Daniel Blake (played by Dave Johns) is a man out of time — a widowed woodworker who has never owned a computer, living according to his common sense moral code.
After a heart attack leaves Blake unable to work and the state welfare system fails him, the stubbornly self-reliant man must stand up and fight for his dignity. His battle leads to a one-man crusade for compassion that transforms the lives of a struggling single mother (Hayley Squires) and her children.
“I, Daniel Blake,” rated R for language, shows at the Ross through July 6.
“Paris Can Wait” is the feature film directorial debut of the 81-year-old Eleanor Coppola. The film stars Diane Lane as Anne, a Hollywood producer’s wife who unexpectedly takes a trip through France, which reawakens her enjoyment of life and ignites a love triangle.
Long married to a successfully driven but inattentive movie producer (played by Alec Baldwin), Anne takes a car trip from Cannes to Paris with a business associate of her husband (Arnaud Viard). What should be a seven-hour drive transforms into a journey of discovery involving mouthwatering meals, spectacular wines and picturesque sights.
“Pairs Can Wait” will show through July 6. The film is rated R for thematic elements, smoking and some language.
For more information on films at the Ross, including show times, click here or call 402-472-5353.
