November4: Fahrenheit 451

On October 21st, we screened the documentary "Sicko" to an audience of around 23 people. Michael Moore shows the inadequacies of the US health system and its effects upon those from the lower-income groups, as well as those who had run-in's with the bureaucratic and profit-oriented medical insurance companies. He contrasts this with the healthcare systems of Canada, France, Britain, and Cuba.

We had several French citizens who were in the audience, who could present their opinion after the show. They did agree that some of the characteristics of France's healthcare system in the documentary were true. But they also felt that Moore painted a very rosy picture of the system, giving the impression that its faultless. Other audience members also gave their opinions/experiences/complaints of the healthcare systems of the countries they had lived in; notably Australia, Germany, the US, and yes... the Malaysian healthcare system too.

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This upcoming Sunday (Nov4), we'll be screening "Fahrenheit 451". Another dystopian movie, the film presents a future where anti-intellectualism is the order of the day, dissent is outlawed, and all printed material are marked for destruction. Our protagonist, Guy Montag, works for the government as a fireman. His job description? Find books... burn books.

At first all is well for Montag until he has a confrontation with a woman named Clarisse, which starts to jolt him from his worldview. Just like the protagonist in "Equilibrium", he begins questioning the regime and its policies that he works for...




Location: 4th Floor, 60 Weld Quay (see sidebar for map)

Time: 7PM, 4 November (Sunday)

Admission: FREE

New Movie: Michael Moore's "Sicko"

This Sunday's (Oct20) movie will be "Sicko", a Michael Moore film about the state of healthcare in the United States. From Moore's point of view, he details how the expensive costs of medicine, insurance, and healthcare is affecting lower-income US citizens, with many struggling to obtain the funds to get treatment.

Location: 60 Weld Quay, 4th floor

Time is 7PM.

Admission is FREE.

Review of past month's activities of the Penang Film Club

A quick recap of our activities in the past month or so…

Aug26: Screened Soylent Green (1973). Starring Charlton Heston (Ben Hur, Planet Of The Apes) as Robert Thom, a police detective working in an overpopulated New York City in an overpopulated Earth. Due to diminishing resources, the citizens are fed synthetic foods such as Soylent Red, Soylent Grey, …and the new Soylent Green. Heston discovers the true ingredients of this new product… giving a whole new meaning to the term “you are what you eat”.

Sep9: Brick (2005). Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Brendan, a high-school kid who infiltrates a drug gang to destroy it, and find out who murdered his ex-girlfriend. Influenced heavily by hardboiled film noir in terms of plot and dialogue, the film was found by many in the audience to be too slow, too confusing, and perhaps too pretentious. At the end, the audience of around 15 had diminished to just 4 people…

Sep21-23: Freedom Film Fest. On the last day, we screened the documentary we had made about the Penang Clan Jetties. Reception from the audience was very positive.

Oct7: Equilibrium (2002). Last Sunday, we screened to an audience of 12 people. This movie was about a civilization that had successfully eradicated hatred and war. The catch: the population has had their emotions and feelings suppressed with mandatory administration of a drug. Failure to take the medication to become an emotionless, harmless zombie could lead to arrest and execution. Christian Bale stars as a government agent tasked with enforcing the Government’s law and eradicating rebels who have refused the medication. Very close similarities could be found with movies like “The Matrix”, “V For Vendetta”, and George Orwell’s book “1984”.


Upcoming Schedules:

Last Sunday, we also discussed our schedule for the next two months. Below are the dates for future screenings:

October 21: “Sicko” (2007)

November 4: “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” (2006)

November 18: “Fahrenheit 451” (1966)

December 2 : “Brokeback Mountain” (2005)