Synopsis: Sally Fields won an Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of a Southern textile worker in the 1970s. Faced with problems and challenges both personal and at work, Norma Rae proves receptive to the message of a union organizer seeking to start a drive at her plant. The film is based on the real story of Crystal Lee Sutton and the ACTWU’s drive to organize JP Stevens’ plants in the South in the 1970s.
Cast: Charlize Theron, Jeremy Renner and Frances McDormand
Synopsis (IMDB): A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States — Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.
(NYT) Set in and around the iron mines of Northern Minnesota between 1989 and 1991, Niki Caro’s muscular and absorbing drama addresses workplace sexual harassment at its most primitive and bludgeoning. A dowdy Charlize Theron is Josey Aimes, a poor single mother and newly hired miner. Hated by the men and unprotected by the union, Josey and her peers are relentlessly groped and sadistically bullied — behavior that reflects a community riddled with regressive misogyny.
Driven by righteous anger and inspired by a spearheading real-life lawsuit, the movie rises above its fight-the-power formula with a fabulous cast — including Sissy Spacek, Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson — and a potent sense of place. In Chris Menges’s gorgeously smoky shots of blasted earth and gnashing machinery, spraying explosions and blackened pits, we see an oppressively alien landscape that’s hostile to man and woman alike. JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Synopsis (IMDB): In South Yorkshire, a small group of railway maintenance men discover that because of privatization, their lives will never be the same. When the trusty British Rail sign is replaced by one reading East Midland Infrastructure, it is clear that there will be the inevitable winners and losers as downsizing and efficiency become the new buzzwords. A cheery camaraderie is soon replaced by uncertainty and turmoil when their depot manager fills them in on the details of the new arrangement. Privatization means that the customer now comes first, something that is instilled into the men in new training sessions. But there are inconsistencies and shortsightedness to the new ways. Men used to working together now find themselves belonging to different, competing companies. Some even have to tender for their old jobs. Others decide to take the redundancy packages offered by the firm. As always, corners are cut in the interest of lowering costs, leading to a series of misadventures.
Contact: “From: Cary Jones cjones@firstlookmedia.com To: manderson@igc.org Subject: Date: Tue, May 7, 2002, 9:35 PM Dear Mr. Garlock: Jon Flanders sent me a copy of your inquiry regarding our film “The Navigators”. We do not have any plans to open the film until later in the fall at the very earliest. When we do open the film in the Rochester area, it might be possible to arrange a special premiere in conjunction with the opening. While I can’t tell you for sure where we will open the film, in the past we’ve often booked our films in the Little Theatre. You may want to contact them about your interest in the film. Thanks for your interest in the Navigators. Cary Jones Tiffany Naiman International Marketing Coordinator Overseas Filmgroup A Division of First Look Media 8000 Sunset Blvd., East Penthouse Los Angeles, CA 90046 Tel: 323.337.1000 Fax: 323.337.1078
Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori and Gabriella Giorgelli
Synopsis: Exploited textile factory workers in Turin, Italy at the turn of the century and the beginnings of their fight for better working conditions.
Writers: Mike Judge (Milton animated shorts), Mike Judge (screenplay)
Cast: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston and David Herman
Synopsis (IMDB): In the Initech office, the insecure Peter Gibbons hates his job and the abusive Division VP Bill Lunbergh that has just hired two consultants to downsize the company. His best friends are the software engineers Michael Bolton and Samir Nagheenanajar that also hate Initech, and his next door neighbor Lawrence. His girlfriend Annie is cheating on him but she convinces Peter to visit the hypnotherapist Dr. Swanson. Peter tells how miserable his life is and Dr. Swanson hypnotizes him and he goes into a state of ecstasy. However, Dr. Swanson dies immediately after giving the hypnotic suggestion to Peter. He dates the waitress Joanna and changes his attitude in the company, being promoted by the consultants. When he discovers that Michael and Samir will be fired, they decide to plant a virus in the account system to embezzle fraction of cents in each financial operation into Peter’s account..
Cast: Josh Hamilton, Ayesha Dharker and Asif Basra
Outsourced is a modern day comedy of cross-cultural conflict and romance. Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) spends his days managing a customer call center in Seattle until his job, along with those of the entire office, are outsourced to India. Adding insult to injury, Todd must travel to India to train his new replacement. As he navigates through the chaos of Bombay and an office paralyzed by constant cultural misunderstandings, Todd yearns to return to the comforts of home. But it is through his team of quirky yet likable Indian call center workers, including his friendly and motivated replacement, Puro (Asif Basra), and the charming, opinionated Asha (Ayesha Dharker), that Todd realizes that he too has a lot to learn – not only about India and America, but about himself. He soon discovers that being outsourced may be the best thing that ever happened to him. (Shadowcatcher Entertainment)
Synopsis: Fisherman Dutch marries cannery worker Hattie. After he is kicked out of his union and fired from his job he leaves Hattie who steals money for him and goes to jail. He gets a new job, foils a plot to dynamite the ship, and promises to wait for Hattie.
Synopsis: Michael Moore’s documentary about the decline of Flint, Michigan and the role of GM in the deindustrialization of a once-thriving industrial city.
Cast: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Hermann, Jerzy Kosinski, Maureen Stapelton, Gene Hackman
Synopsis: Reds is the epic biography of early 20th century U.S. communist author and activist Jack Reed and his stormy off-again, on-again love affair with free-thinker Louise Bryant. The film covers some of Reed’s time in the United States (including relationships with the IWW and the Socialist Party) and their time together in Russia during the Bolshevik revolution which led Reed to write the book Ten Days that Shook the World. The film also covers attempts to build a communist party in the U.S., the post-World War I “Red Scare” and the early years of the U.S.S.R. Maureen Stapelton won an Oscar for her portrayal of Emma Goldman and Beatty won for Best Director. Interspersed throughout the film are interviews with many of the people who knew Reed and Bryant. Long but highly recommended.
Click here to read Jon Garlock’s introduction to Reds at the Rochester (NY) Labor Film Series.
Synopsis: Biographical film about Karen Silkwood, a chemical technician at a Kerr-McGee nuclear power plant in Oklahoma. Silkwood became increasingly concerned about all manner of safety and health violations at the plant and worked with her union, the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers to try to address them. This led to escalating pressure from the company and eventually Silkwood’s death in a suspicious car accident.
126m; U.S.
96m; U.K.
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