In honor of the Festival’s 30th birthday, we return to the downtown Mill Valley plaza for our Opening Night Gala. Join us for wine, fine food and song, with jazzsters Con Alma and deejayed tunes, and hors d’oeuvres from Ora, E&O Trading Co., Robin Scott Catering, Pizza Antica and Cocina Poblana. With a glass of Raymond or Peter Paul wine in one hand and something from Marin French Cheese Company or Judy’s Breadsticks in the other... or try some of the chocolate-covered fruit from “Take a Dip” Fondue Fountains and Edible Arrangements. Opening Night will please all your senses and set the mood for the next ten days!

 

Opening Night Gala Thursday, October 4 9:30 pm–12:00 am Lytton Plaza, Mill Valley
Lust, Caution CHINA/US 2007 158 MINS Thursday, October 4 6:30 pm Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center Invited guests: Ang Lee, James Schamus, Joan Chen, Tang Wei Director Ang Lee Producers Bill Kong, Ang Lee, James Schamus Screenwriters Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto Editor Tim Squyres Cast Joan Chen, Tony Leung, Tang Wei, Wang Lee Hom Print Source Focus Features 6:30 PM FILM AND GALA $125 6:30 PM FILM ONLY $25 <buy tickets>	The Savages US 2007 113 MINS Thursday, October 4 6:45 pm and 7:00 pm CinéArts@Sequoia Invited guests: Laura Linney, Tamara Jenkins Director/Screenwriter Tamara Jenkins Producers Ted Hope, Anne Carey Cinematographer Mott Hupfel Editor Brian A. Kates Cast Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco Print Source Fox Searchlight 6:45 PM FILM AND GALA $125 6:45 PM FILM ONLY $25 <buy tickets> 7:00 PM FILM AND GALA $125 7:00 PM FILM ONLY $25 <buy tickets>
Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain; The Ice Storm, MVFF 1997) proves once again that his filmmaking excels in any genre; this time he has chosen the erotic espionage thriller. Loyalties are spread thin in Shanghai during World War II, as political tension mounts between Chinese Nationalists and Japanese occupiers. For a young stage actress, Wong (Tang Wei in an explosive debut performance), this tension comes to a boil when she finds herself in a deadly game of espionage and sexual intrigue with Mr. yee (Tony Leung), a powerful political figure and Japanese collaborator. Wong goes deep undercover to expose yee, quickly earning the trust of his neglected wife (Joan Chen)—while becoming the man’s mistress. Based on a short story by acclaimed Chinese novelist Eileen Chang, Lust, Caution smolders on the screen, revealing layers of emotion and sexual desire in a thrilling tale that resonates deep within the human heart. —Josh Moore Note: This film is rated NC-17 and contains explicit sexual content. No one under 18 admitted.	Two exceptional actors navigate the bumpy terrain of shifting familial responsibility. Weighed down by family dysfunction and sibling rivalry, adult siblings Wendy Savage (Laura Linney, MVFF Spotlight 2003) and her brother, John (Philip Seymour Hoffman), become reluctant caretakers for a man neither has spoken to for years, when their estranged father is suddenly in need of long-term care. Options are limited, so John, a forty-something unmarried professor with a paunch and a passion for Bertolt Brecht, checks their parent into a nursing home. Wendy, a neurotic aspiring playwright who’s also single but sleeping with her older married neighbor, is guilt-ridden over institutionalizing Dad—even if they are taking better care of him than he ever did of them. From The Slums of Beverly Hills to the nursing homes of Buffalo, director Tamara Jenkins’ films dwell in the hot spots of family dramedy, where irony lives side by side with smisery. —Joanne Parsont