The film "Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life," Werner Herzog's exploration of a triple homicide in Texas, opens today at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. The film will be featured in a Dec. 11 movie talk at the Ross. Also continuing for a second week is Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In."
In "Into the Abyss," Herzog explores why people kill and the death penalty. The film centers on a triple homicide case in Conroe, Texas. Herzog achieves what he describes as "a gaze into the abyss of the human soul" through interviews with death row inmate Michael Perry, the families of the victims, a state executioner and a pastor. Herzog interviewed the 28-year-old Perry just eight days before the inmate was scheduled to die.
At 2 p.m., Dec. 11, the Ross will hold an "Into the Abyss" movie talk in the Van Brunt Visitors Center. Panelists participating are: Fritz Hudson, a minister of the Unitarian Church of Lincoln; Amy Miller, legal director for ACLU Nebraska; Mario Scalora, an associate professor of psychology at UNL who also works with state and federal agencies dealing with threat management and counterterrorism issues; and Gerald Soucie, an attorney with the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy.
The movie talk is free and open to the public. Admission to the 12:15 p.m. screening of "Into the Abyss" is at regular Ross ticket prices.
"Into the Abyss," rated PG-13, plays through Dec. 15.
In "The Skin I Live In," Antonio Banderas plays Dr. Robert Ledgard, a plastic surgeon on a mission to create a new skin. Ledgard is driven to create the skin after his wife died from burns suffered in an automobile accident.
After 12 years, the doctor manages to cultivate a skin that works as a shield against every assault. In addition to years of study and experimentation, Ledgard needs three things to succeed — no scruples, an accomplice and a human guinea pig.
Scruples were never a problem. The accomplice is Marilia (Marisa Paredes), the woman who looked after Ledgard from the day he was born. And the guinea pig is a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to Ledgard's obsession.
"The Skin I Live In," rated R for disturbing violent content, including sexual assault, strong sexuality, graphic nudity, drug use and language, also shows through Dec. 15.
More details at: http://www.theross.org