August Videos-Family Matters

(All synopses from Amazon Product descriptions)

Mother and Child, starring Naomi Watts, Annette Bening and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Rodrigo Garcia. Call Number: PN1995.5.M63M68 2010.

     Three women's lives share a common core of being profoundly affected by adoption. At age fourteen, Karen placed a baby for adoption, and has been haunted ever since by the daughter she never knew. Elizabeth grew up as an adopted child. Even though she is a bright and ambitious lawyer, she is a flinty loner in her personal life. Lucy and her husband are just embarking on the adoption odyssey, hoping for the opportunity to become parents.

  Beeswax, starring Tilly and Maggie Hatcher, directed by Andrew Bujalski.  Call Number: PN1995.9.S55B44 2010.

A marvelous film from Andrew Bujalski, Beeswax revolves around the personal and professional lives of twin sisters Jeannie and Lauren.  Jeannie co-owns a vintage clothing store with Amanda, a semi-estranged friend who may be ending their partnership. Lauren leads a looser, less tethered existence and is thinking of getting out of the country altogether. When Amanda threatens Jeannie with a lawsuit, she calls her law student ex-boyfriend for help. Eager for distraction from his own problems, he begins helping the sisters with theirs. Imbued with an innate charm, the film is a story about family, friends and lovers and those awkward moments that bring all of them together.

Eat, Pray, Love, starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem, dir. by Ryan Murphy. Call Number: PN1995.9.T728 E38 2010.

   Out of a bad marriage, and seeing her affair with an actor going comfortable, Liz Gilbert steps outside the zone and books passage to Italy, where she learns the joy of food while she experiences the unusual sense of being alone; India, where she learns the joys of meditation and prayer; and Bali, where she adds peace and the balance of love to her experiences. Along the way, she discovers she’s built a family of friends.