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Give Me Liberty
November 15, 2019 - December 1, 2019
Vic, a hapless young Russian-American, reluctantly agrees to ferry his grandfather and a dozen elderly Russians to a funeral. Kirill Mikhanovsky’s hilarious, heartbreaking debut feature draws from personal experience to create—with writer Alice Austen—a raw, inventive “day in the life” story about marginalized characters encountering literal and figurative roadblocks, the American dream nowhere to be found.
Give Me Liberty has a flavor of the Czech New Wave, using a supremely light touch, wry dissent, unscripted moments, and several amazing performances from nonprofessional actors.
2019 / in English and Russian with subtitles / 111 min
“Completely, DELIGHTFULLY UNPREDICTIBLE from scene to scene, it draws you in with its moving performances and blasts of broad comedy. Give Me Liberty is a jolt of a movie, at once kinetic and controlled. It’s an anarchic deadpan comedy that evolves into a romance just around the time the story explodes …. It’s moving and sincere, suffused with tenderness … IT’S IRRESISTIBLE.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
“BRILLLANT! Tenacious! Exuberant!” – Andrew Lapin, NPR
“My absolute favorite [at Sundance] … A GLORIOUS COMEDY of chaos, solidarity and unsung heroism.” – Jon Frosch, The Hollywood Reporter
“At once breakneck and tolerant, Give Me Liberty manages to be both rousingly Russian and touchingly all-American. THE COLD WAR IS OFFICIALLY OVER!” – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
“SUNDANCE 2019’s GREAT DISCOVERY.” – Mark Peranson, Cinemascope
“A JOYOUS, TENDER BLAST. The film has a crazily organic, quasi-experimental tone that’s entirely its own” – Jonathan Romney, Film Comment
“A PROFOUND STATEMENT that celebrates the connective tissue of humanity with honesty, sensitivity and an endearing heart.” – Kyle Kohner, The Playlist
Friday & Saturday, Nov 29 and 30
Duet for Cannibals – 6:15 – IU Fine Arts Theater – downstairs
His Girl Friday – 7pm – IU Fine Arts Theater – upstairs
Give Me Liberty – 7:45 – IU Fine Arts Theater – downstairs
Sunday, Dec 1 at Bear’s Place
Give Me Liberty – Last Chance!
His Girl Friday – 7:30