"The Ugly American" Film Screening Sat. Oct. 20 3pm
Dear Friends,This Saturday October 20, we will be screening the
fourth film in our weekly human rights and social
justice film series at Pannasastra University.
We will be showing THE UGLY AMERICAN, a now rarely
seen political thriller, directed by George Englund
and starring the late great Marlon Brando.
Based on William Lederer and Eugene Burdick's 1958
best seller, the film is set in a fictional Southeast
Asian nation in the early 1960s. Ex-journalist and
liberal Democrat Harrison Carter McWhite (Brando)
becomes the new U.S. Ambassador to Sarkhan, a monarchy
supported by American aid and beset by internal
political strife and a Communist insurgency. McWhite
has a plan to show the existing government's
legitimacy by building a "Freedom Road" to the
country's northern border. While McWhite sees the road
as a symbol of American goodwill, the opposition party
sees the road as a symbol of American imperialism.
Although the film garnered mixed reviews upon its
release in 1963, with some critics calling it
"preachy" and "too political", many contemporary
critics now praise it as one of the most intelligent
and prescient Hollywood films of the 1960s,with many
of its themes having relevance today, particularly in
light of the history of the U.S. involvement in
Southeast Asia and the current war in Iraq.
Brando is outstanding in his role of the beleaguered
Ambassador McWhite. The supporting cast includes
Ejida Okada, the Japanese star of "Hiroshima Mon
Amour" and "The Yakuza", who plays Deong, McWhite's
old friend and the leader of the opposition party;
Jocelyn Brando (Marlon Brando's sister) who plays a
concerned NGO worker; and Kukrit Pramoj who steals the
show as Sarkhan's crafty prime minister. (Kukrit, a
non actor who also served as a consultant on the
project, later became a real life government minister
in Thailand).
Screening time is at 3pm, and the venue is Pannasastra
University Srey Dim Conference Hall, 184 Norodom
Boulevard,Phnom Penh.
The screen is large (by PP standards) and there is
comfortable seating and air con.
For further information please call 012 620 571.
Hope to see you then, and tell your friends!
Ray Leos
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posted by Jinja @ 4:58 PM
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