Category Archives: News & Events

MLES Cine-Club: La Grande Bellezza

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Please join us on Tuesday 7th October at 5 pm in HumSS 125 for the first film in the 2014-15 MLES Cine-Club
La Grande Bellezza (“The Great Beauty”)
Italy, 2013
By Paolo Sorrentino
Starring Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone and Sabrina Ferilli 

Original Version with English Subtitles
Presented by Dr Federico Faloppa

LA-GRANDE-BELLEZZA_ServilloJournalist Jep Gambardella (the dazzling Toni Servillo, Il divo and Gomorrah) has charmed and seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades. Since the legendary success of his one and only novel, he has been a permanent fixture in the city’s literary and social circles, but when his sixty-fifth birthday coincides with a shock from the past, Jep finds himself unexpectedly taking stock of his life, turning his cutting wit on himself and his contemporaries, and looking past the extravagant nightclubs, parties, and cafés to find Rome in all its glory: a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty. 
Winner of the Best Foreign Language Film a the Academy Awards, as well as the Golden Globe and the BAFTA award, The Great Beauty is a “swooning love letter to Roman decadence…, Paolo Sorrentino’s greatest film yet” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)

MLES Cine-club: La Règle du Jeu

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For the second film in the 2014/15 MLES Cine-club series, we’re featuring La Règle du Jeu, presented by Professor Catherine Leglu.

21 October 2014 from 5-7pm in HumSS 125

La Règle du JeuLa Règle du Jeu (1939) by Jean Renoir (who also stars in the film). This film is regularly cited among the ‘top ten films ever made’. It was banned almost as soon as it was released. A reconstructed version of the film was shown in 1959. The film is both a moving, intricate exploration of love, and a vivid, deeply critical picture of France on the eve of World War 2, what Renoir called “a society dancing on a volcano”.

Please join us on the evening of Tuesday 21 Oct. at 5pm in HumSS 125 for a screening and discussion of Renoir’s groundbreaking film.

Welcome to the new DMLES Blog

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Watch This SpaceThis is an exciting time in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies. Today is the final day of term but it’s the beginning of many new opportunities. Our 2013-2014 finalists will graduate next week: Watch this space for photos. We’re preparing for the arrival of the 2014-2015 freshers: Watch this space for information about Welcome Week.  We’re adding a new programme in Spanish in 2015: Watch this space for news about all the offerings in Spanish as well as the latest developments in European Studies, French, German, and Italian.

In short: Watch this space. The Blog of the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies will be the best place to learn about all of the latest developments at the University of Reading.

We’ll have a number of regular features. “News and Events,” of course, so that you can find out what’s been going on around the department. “Get to know a Reading module,” where we’ll fill you in on the innovative teaching and learning that goes on in Reading, from language and linguistics to cinema, history, literature, politics, and beyond. “Reading Researchers,” where our Lecturers can share their latest discoveries. “Meet a Reading Graduate,” where we’ll publish updates about our alumni and the places that their language degrees have taken them. “Reading Post-Graduates,” where you’ll learn about the outstanding work being done by our Masters and PhD candidates. “Reading Abroad,” where students on their Year Abroad can share their experiences in Europe and beyond. “Life of a Lecturer,” where Reading staff will reflect on what they do to make the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies such a vibrant place. And “Student Life,” where our talented undergraduates can fill you in on the latest from the Reading community.