To all our Film Society members and supporters,
Wow! SON OF RAMBOW is a favorite...our Exclusive engagement continues
this week! Don't be put off by the title SON OF RAMBOW. This is no
sequel, but a surprisingly charming British comedy that is only
tangentially associated with "Rambo."...USA Today
Adding to the week we bring THE FALL, an amazing visual film that stars
a little girl that will steal your heart. Some critics have been too
jaded to find the magic, but we're sure that you'll be inspired! Limited
and Exclusive engagement this week! "The Fall is a movie whose every
frame pulsates with the desire to be a transportive, transcendent work
of cinema. And each one of said frames is full of visual bedazzlement
and wonder." Premiere Magazine
FOREVER this week - limited 1 week run
Forever is a film about the power and vitality of art and a place where
love and death go hand in hand and beauty lives on: the Père-Lachaise
cemetery in Paris.
Held over!
YOUNG AT HEART
Promotional tickets still available.
If you haven't seen this delightful and inspiring film, now is the time!
Plus, the Choir is coming to SLC, June 10 - tickets available at Art tix
and anyone who buys a ticket to YOUNG AT HEART at the Broadway this week
can get a $5 off admission for the choir when they visit.
In addition! The Choir has promised to stop by on June 9th! Details to
come in next week's preview e-mail.
Held over!
THEN SHE FOUND ME-w/ Helen Hunt
MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS- from Wong Kar Wai
Ends Thursday...
COUNTERFEITERS
CARAMEL
LOVE SONGS
Buy a summer of midnights for $35 ( a $65 dollar value) for the young
film lover in your family! Tickets available June 2 at the Tower Theatre.
Our lineup:
June:
CRY-BABY
THE BIG LEBOWSKI (tbc)
EVIL DEAD 2
ORGAZMO
July:
CITY OF GOD
PULP FICTION
JAWS
THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY
August:
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
LABYRINTH
DR. STRANGELOVE
CLOCKWORK ORANGE (tbc)
GOONIES (tbc)
Plan B Theater Company presents....
June 2nd
7:00pm
Tower Theatre
June 2nd: FREE Screening of THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT'S
============================================================
QUICK LOOK at SHOWTIMES -
THIS WEEK:
Through Thursday May 29th
Broadway
Caramel 01:20, 7:00
Counterfeiters, The 04:15, 9:25
My Blueberry Nights 01:15, 4:05, 7:25*, 9:35 (* THU 5/29 NO 7:25)
Son of Rambow 01:00, 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15
Then She Found Me 01:00, 3:05, 5:10, 7:20, 9:35
The Visitor 12:55, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
Young at Heart 01:10, 4:00, 7:15, 9:30
Tower Theatre
Love Songs 4:30, 7:00, 9:15
NEXT WEEK
FRI 5/30 - THU 6/5
Broadway
My Blueberry Nights 01:05, 4:00, 7:00, 9:20
The Fall 01:20, 4:15, 7:00, 9:25
Son of Rambow 01:00, 3:00, 5:05, 7:10, 9:15
Then She Found Me 01:00, 3:05, 5:10, 7:20, 9:35
The Visitor 12:55, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:45
Young at Heart 01:10, 4:05, 7:15, 9:30
Tower Theatre
Forever (2:30* Fri thru Sun only), 4:30, 7:00, 9:00
*MON JUN 2 NO 7PM instead BOYS OF ST VINCENT presented by Plan B
MIDNIGHT FRI 5/30 and SAT 5/31 Spike and Mike's Animation Festival
=============================================================
TELL ME MORE...PLEASE!
(all star ratings are based on 4 star rating systems)
THE FALL
Starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, and Julian Bleach
Los Angeles, circa 1920s: A little immigrant girl finds herself in a
hospital recovering from a fall. She strikes up a friendship with a
bedridden man, who captivates her with a whimsical story that removes
her far from the hospital doldrums into the exotic landscapes of her
imagination. Making sure he keeps the girl interested in the story, he
interweaves her family and people she likes from the hospital into his
tale. (Roadside Attractions)
****The Onion
It's the most glorious, wonderful mess put onscreen since Terry
Gilliam's "Brazil."
FOREVER
Directed by Heddy Honigmann
The Pere-lachaise cemetary in Pari - one of the world's most famous and
beautifu- isthe final resting place of legendary writers, composers,
painters and other artists, rang9ing from Proust to Maria Callas, Simone
Signoret and Jim Morrison. People come from all over the world to visit
their graves.
In Heddy Honigmann's lustrous new film FOREVER Pere-Lanchaise comes
alive through the stories of its visitors. Not only a place to mourn the
loss of loved ones, this is also a unique place where the living connect
to the immortal power of art by remembering the artists buried there.
The graveyard gradually reveals itself not only as a resting place for
the dead, but also as a source of peace and inspiration for the living
The Black Row Manifesto
"A brilliantly witty and humane portrait of the Pere-Lachaise cemetery
and the people who visit the graves of its most famous inhabitants.
About the enduring power of art to transform lives and inspire devotion"
Variety
"Mesmerizing!"
SON OF RAMBOW
Written and directed by: Garth Jennings . Starring: Bill Milner, Will
Poulter, Jules Sitruk, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon, Anna Wing, Ed
Westwick, and Eric Sykes
Son of Rambow is a hilariously fresh and visually inventive take on
friendship, family, film heroes, and the death-defying adventures of
growing up in the video age. The story takes place in 1980s Britain,
where young Will Proudfoot is raised in isolation among The Brethren, a
puritanical religious sect in which music and TV are strictly forbidden.
When Will encounters his first movie, a pirated copy of Rambo: First
Blood, his imagination is blown wide open. Now, Will sets out to join
forces with the seemingly diabolical school bully, Lee Carter, to make
their own action epic, devising wildly creative, on-the-fly stunts, not
to mention equally elaborate schemes for creating a movie of total
commitment and nonstop thrills while hiding out from The Brethren. When
school popularity finally descends on Will and Lee in the form of, oui,
the supercool French exchange student, Didier Revol, their remarkable
new friendship and precious film are pushed, quite literally, to the
breaking point.
**** Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Perhaps the most ingeniously imaginative element in Son of Rambow, a
film exploding with imagination (some of it scrawled directly over the
film in animated expressions of Will's private world), is its very conceit.
*** TV Guide
A quirky charmer.
*** USA Today
Don't be put off by the title. This is no sequel, but a surprisingly
charming British comedy that is only tangentially associated with "Rambo."
LOVE SONGS
Written and directed by: Christophe Honoré . Starring: Louis Garrel,
Ludivine Sagnier, Chiara Mastroianni, Clotilde Hesme, and Gregoire
Leprince-Ringuet
Director Christophe Honoré pays homage to French cinema of the 1960s
with LOVE SONGS (LES CHANSONS D'AMOUR). Though it borrows its structure
from Jacques Demy's classic THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, this modern
musical paints its sad story in much darker colors than its predecessor.
LOVE SONGS begins with Parisian lovers Ismaël (Louis Garrel, THE
DREAMERS) and Julie (Ludivine Sagnier, SWIMMING POOL) adding a third
person to their relationship to add spice to their dying romance. Alice
(Clotilde Hesme, REGULAR LOVERS) works with Ismaël in his job at a
newspaper, and she shows instant chemistry with both partners. But
tragedy soon divides the lovers, and Ismaël is left to cope in the best
way he can: through love. While LOVE SONGS echoes the three-act format
of THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG--"the departure," "the absence," and "the
return"--Honoré's film is a much bleaker, more realistic offering. The
candy colors of Cherbourg are gone, replaced by a dreary looking Paris,
where it constantly rains and the characters are forever lacking
umbrellas. Even though Garrel, Saigner, Hesme, and the rest of the cast
burst into song, the film has far more in common with Honoré's other
dramas than with typical musicals. In his third collaboration with the
director after DANS PARIS and MA MERE, Garrel is a fascinating physical
and emotional presence. He ably leaps between Ismaël's sadness and the
lightness of physical comedy. Fans of French cinema may recognize costar
Chiara Mastroianni, who is the daughter of legend Catherine Deneuve, the
luminous star of THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG.
***1/2 Los Angeles Times
Whereas Umbrellas of Cherbourg has become timeless in its depiction of
romance, Love Songs strikes a strongly contemporary note in its calm
acceptance of the fluidity of desire and emotion.
***1/2 TV Guide
A bittersweet trifle one can conceivably fall in love with, and
[Christophe] Honore's best film so far.
MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS
Written and directed by: Wong Kar Wai . Starring: Jude Law, Norah Jones,
Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, and David Strathairn
In Wong Kar Wai's debut English-language feature, the internationally
acclaimed director takes his audience on a dramatic journey across the
distance between heartbreak and a new beginning. After a rough breakup,
Elizabeth sets out on a trip across America, leaving behind a life of
memories, a dream, and a soulful new friend, a cafe owner, all to search
for something to mend her broken heart. Waitressing her way through the
country, Elizabeth befriends others whose yearnings are greater than
hers, including a troubled cop, his estranged wife, and a down-on-her
luck gambler with a score to settle. Through these individuals,
Elizabeth witnesses the true depths of loneliness and emptiness, and
begins to understand that her own journey is part of a greater
exploration within herself.
*** TV Guide
...has the same dreamy, romantic melancholy that distinguishes Wong's
best films.
*** San Francisco Chronicle
Wildly romantic.
THEN SHE FOUND ME
Written and directed by: Helen Hunt . Starring: Helen Hunt, Bette
Midler, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick, and Ben Shankman
Adapted from Elinor Lipman’s novel of the same name, Helen Hunt makes
her feature directing debut with Then She Found Me, a touching story of
schoolteacher April Epner and her very unlikely path towards personal
fulfillment. Following the separation from her husband and the death of
her adopted mother, April is contacted by her apparent birth mother, who
turns out to be a local talk show host Bernice Graves. As Bernice tries
to become the mother to April that she was never able to be, April seems
to find solace in the arms of the parent of one of her students, only to
find that the mystery to life's questions cannot be solved by a simple
revelation.
**** Variety
A smart, subtle and seriously funny dramedy bound to find favor with
sophisticated audiences.
***1/2 New Yorker
Hunt adapted the story from a 1990 novel by Elinor Lipman, and has
turned the material into a fine, tense, unpredictable comedy of mixed-up
emotions and sudden illuminations.
ALEXANDRA
Written and directed by: Aleksandr Sokurov . Starring: Galina
Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov, and Raisa Gichaeva
In a desolate, sun-scorched corner of the world, an elderly woman has
come to see her beloved grandson, a young officer stationed at a remote
military outpost. With the enemy just beyond the compound, she wanders
the barracks, observing the routine of military life, before making a
sudden trip to the outlying countryside.
**** New York Times
A film of startling originality and beauty -- feels like a communiqué
from another time, another place, anywhere but here.
**** Variety
Featuring a performance of monumental depth by opera legend Galina
Vishnevskaya, the film presents war for what it is: brutal, crushing,
and ugly, and yet Sokurov doesn't lens any battles.
YOUNG AT HEART
Directed by: Stephen Walker
Prepare to be entertained by the inspiring individuals of Young atHeart,
a New England senior citizens' chorus that has delighted audiences
worldwide with their covers of songs by everyone from The Clash to
Coldplay. As Stephen Walker's documentary begins, the retirees, led by
their strict musical director, are rehearsing their new show, struggling
with a discordant Sonic Youth number and giving new meaning to James
Brown's "I Feel Good." What ultimately emerges is a funny and
unexpectedly moving testament to friendship, creative inspiration, and
reaching beyond expectations.
**** Entertainment Weekly
They make joyful music, communicated, both by the singers and their
playful, sensitive documentarian, with an authority that quite knocks
off socks.
**** Chicago Tribune
An exuberant, affectionate documentary.
**** USA Today
A heartening and poignant affirmation of the transformative power of music.
REDBELT
Written and directed by: David Mamet . Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alice
Braga, Tim Allen, Emily Mortimer, Rodrigo Santoro, Rebecca Pidgeon, and
Randy Couture
Set on the west side of the Los Angeles fight world, a world inhabited
by bouncers, cage fighters, cops, and special forces types, Redbelt is
the story of Mike Terry, a jujitsu teacher who has avoided the
prize-fighting circuit, choosing instead to pursue an honorable life by
operating a self-defense studio with a samurai's code. Terry and his
wife, Sondra, struggle to keep the business running to make ends meet.
On a dark, rainy night, an accident at the academy between an off-duty
officer and a distraught lawyer puts in motion a series of events that
will change Terry's life dramatically and introduce him to a world of
promoters and to movie star Chet Frank. Faced with this, in order to pay
off his debts and regain his honor, Terry must step into the ring for
the first time in his life.
***1/2 New York Times
A satisfying, unexpectedly involving B-movie that owes as much to old
Hollywood as to Greek tragedy.
***1/2 Los Angeles Times
Ejiofor brings a calm magnetism and a beautific serenity to his roles
that have the effect of knocking you flat -- there's something about
this guy that's messianic.
THE VISITOR
Written and directed by: Thomas McCarthy . Starring: Richard Jenkins,
Oliver Bokelberg, Hiam Abbass, and Maggie Moore
In a world of 6 billion people, it takes only one to change your life.
In actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his award-winning
directorial debut "The Station Agent," we get to know Walter Vale, a
disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed
by a chance encounter in New York City. Through newfound connections
with virtual strangers, Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.
**** Rolling Stone
A heartfelt human drama that sneaks up and floors you.
**** USA Today
It is one of the year's most intriguing dramas, with a quartet of
powerful performances.
**** New York Post
Best movie I've seen so far this year? Hands down, it's Tom McCarthy's
superb The Visitor, which turns Richard Jenkins, one of the best
character actors in the business, into a full-fledged star.
CARAMEL
Written and directed by: Nadine Labaki . Starring: Nadine Labaki,
Yasmine Elmasri, and Joanna Mkarzel
In Beirut, five women meet regularly in a beauty salon, a colorful and
sensual microcosm of the city where several generations come into
contact, talk and confide in each other. In the salon, their intimate
and liberated conversations revolve around men, sex and motherhood,
between haircuts and sugar waxing with caramel.
**** Film Threat
Caramel will likely be the Lebanese selection for Academy Award for Best
Foreign Film it's inconceivable to me that it won't win...and whoever
wins for Best Actress will be the second most deserving actress of 2007.
***1/2 Time
It may be a first film, but Labaki, employing a cast that is full of
non-professional actresses, is a slick and knowing filmmaker. Her
multiple plot lines are neatly braided and though her characters are
conventionalized they are also charming and capable of surprising us.
THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION
Written and directed by: Cao Hamburger . Michel Joelsas, Daniela
Piepszyk, and Liliana Castro
Set in the turbulent year of 1970, The Year My Parents Went on Vacation
is a poignant and humorous coming-of-age story. Mauro is a 12-year-old
boy thrust into a maelstrom of political and personal upheaval. When his
left-wing militant parents are forced to go underground, Mauro is left
in the care of his Jewish grandfather's neighbor in Sao Paulo. Suddenly
finding himself an exile in his own country, Mauro is forced to create
an ersatz family from the religiously diverse and colorful population of
his new neighborhood. Mauro befriends Hanna, a street-smart tomboy, and
develops a crush on Irene, a pretty waitress in a local bar. It is at
this local bar that everyone, including Mauro (an ardent soccer fan),
gathers to watch iconic star Pele in the 1970 World Cup championship,
which Mauro hopes to watch with his parents if they return to Brazil in
time.
**** Chicago Tribune
Pulls you into a well-observed world and its characters.
*** San Francisco
The filmmakers succeed with an unexpected ending. It's as fresh as
everything in the movie, which turns out to be about so much more than
one youngster's resilience.
THE COUNTERFEITERS
Written and Directed by: Stefan Ruzowitzky . Starring: Karl Markovics,
August Diehl, and Devid Striesow
The true story of Salomon Sorowitsch, counterfeiter extraordinaire and
bohemian who was in captured by the Nazis in 1944. He agrees to help the
Nazis in an organized counterfeiting operation set up to finance the war
effort. It was the biggest counterfeit-money scam of all time. Over 130
million pounds sterling were printed under conditions that couldn't have
been more tragic or spectacular. During the last years of the war, as
the German Reich saw that the end was near, the authorities decided to
produce their own banknotes in the currencies of their major war
enemies. They hoped to use the duds to flood the enemy economy and fill
the empty war coffers. At the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, two
barracks were separated from the rest of the camp and the outside world,
and transformed into a fully equipped counterfeiters workshop.
"Operation Bernhard" was born. Prisoners were brought to Sachsenhausen
from other camps to implement the plan, and professional printers,
fastidious bank officials, and simple craftsmen all became members of
the top-secret counterfeiter crew. They had a choice: If they cooperated
with the enemy, they had a chance to survive as first-class prisoners in
a "golden cage" with enough to eat and a bed to sleep in. If they
sabotaged the operation, a sure death awaited them. For the
counterfeiters, it was not only a question of saving their own lives,
but also about saving their conscience as well...
**** Baltimore Sun
The Counterfeiters is in its own smart, trim fashion "The Bridge on the
River Kwai" of concentration-camp sagas. Also based (like Kwai) on a
real-life story, this movie starts small but becomes a miniature epic of
overreach and moral drift.
**** Entertainment Weekly
Without doing anything so divisive as taking sides, The Counterfeiters
pays sympathetic attention to those who play their cards to win even
when the rules are terrible, not least because the remarkable Markovics,
an Austrian TV actor with a pugnacious anvil of a head, is so riveting
as an unsaintly survivor.
=============================================================
FILMS TO COME
In no particular release order
THE FALL
FOREVER
FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON
MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
GIRLS ROCK
THE DUCHESS OF LANGEAIS
BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER
PRICELESS
STUCK
And many more....
Our staff here at the Salt Lake Film Society thanks all our supporters.
SLFS takes great care in hiring a staff that has a film history or
knowledge, so feel free to talk with any staff member about up coming
releases and our video collection at the Tower Theatre. They are a
wealth of knowledge and I'm happy to take all e-mail correspondence.
If you would like to volunteer for the Film Society events and earn
passes, please contact Amy Beth Leber at 801-746-0037
We thank you for your continuing support.
Tori Baker
Executive Director
Salt Lake Film Society...film festival all year long!
We do not sell any personal lists or information to any third
party...ever! If you would like to be removed from this list, please
reply to this e-mail. If you could also let us know why we lost you, we
can better serve our community.
Salt Lake Film Society thanks Xmission for their donation of services.
--
Tori Baker
Executive Director
Salt Lake Film Society
tori_baker@???
(801) 364-1088
