Coming Attractions, Memorial Day ’24
Back to Black, La Chimera & The Beast
MON MAY 27 - BACK to BLACK @ 1:45, 4:15 & LA CHIMERA @ 6:45
TUE MAY 28 - BACK to BLACK @ 4:15 (OCAP) & LA CHIMERA @ 6:45
WED MAY 29 - BACK to BLACK @ 4:15 & LA CHIMERA @ 6:45
THU MAY 30 - BACK to BLACK @ 4:15 & LA CHIMERA @ 6:45
FRI MAY 31 - THE BEAST @ 4 & 7
SAT & SUN JUNE 1&2 - THE BEAST @ 1,4,& 7
MON-THU JUNE 3-6 - THE BEAST @ 4 & 7
Alright, there are just the facts. My expanded exposition on them is another story altogether. Tossing brevity to the wind, we begin with a question: What do a British biopic, an Italian comedy/drama and a French time-travel sci-fi drama have in common? If you answered that they are all screening at the HLT next week you win a prize. But that you already knew, so how about imagining Winston Churchill, Benito Mussolini and Charles DeGaul gathered in a Malta vineyard sipping Chianti and listening to Amy Winehouse (who has traveled back in time to entertain them)? Better? That’s, almost, what we offer next week in the form of International cinema. Because, with a few notable exceptions, American film has become so predictable, pretentious and prissy that we may never go back after this wild Mediterranean sojourn. Or, we can use it as a stepping stone to greater appreciation of the art of story telling in film. Yes, let’s do that.
BACK TO BLACK. The sordid, sad and sizzling short life and times of Amy Winehouse. Serious kudos to Marisa Abela for taking command of a challenging role. It is not easy to portray addiction, intoxication and/or the personality disorders that accompany them without going off the deep end. Too much and you’re the buffoon and too little and you’re the bore. I am still on the fence with the ending. And Peter says she was lip-synching, contrary to publicity that she did her own singing. YBTJ*.
LA CHIMERA. I really like this Italian/English dramatic comedy. Writer and Director Alice Rohrwacher (Born in Northern Italy) gives us a masterful third film in her Italian trilogy. I am so glad she did. It is as refreshing as an off-shore breeze on a smoking hot summer day. As an example of her acumen, she studied film in both Turin and Lisbon, here is her top ten films of all-time list. I will call it an Introduction to Foreign Films 101. There was a tie for number one.
1) The Exterminating Angel - Luis Bunel
1) Viridana - Luis Bunel
3) Stromboli - Roberto Rossellini
4) Breathless - Jean Luc Goddard
5) Arabian Nights - Pier Paolo Pasolini
6) Le Harve - Ari Kaurismaki
7) Vagabond - Agnes Varda
8) A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes
9) Le Cienaga - Lucretia Martel
10) Tree of Wooden Clogs - Ermanno Olmi
11) An Angel at My Table - Jane Champion
THE BEAST. Lea Seydoux is all I need to know. Since her first scene in The Grand Budapest Hotel several years back, I feel a familiar ting whenever see gets a closeup. ScarJo and Ingrid Bergman are also in this elite category. Written and Directed by Bertrand Bonello and taken from a 1903 novella by Henry James (no less) it is a trip to the near future where AI is in control of everything. (James knew this in 1903?) In this dystopia human emotions are perceived as a threat. To correct this a procedure called DNA purification requires time-travel to revisit haunting and traumatic events and……..them. You can fill in the ellipsis with whatever you want. Erase, alter, change, eliminate, reverse….. All good. Friday can’t come soon enough. Runs 2:29 is rated R and, did I mention Lea?
And, of course, Chapter Three of ONCE AN ENEMY also drops today. Because without this story Memorial Day wouldn’t be nearly as monumental. Listen and see what I mean.
Thank you all. Love ya.
Kevin
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