F I L M

For many who avoided seeing yet another war film, “1917” breaks that mold to soar on cinematic glory! The film focuses entirely on the intimate, individual story of two young soldiers within the massive experience of WW1 – without gory violence. And it does so, following them on a mission to deliver a life-saving message, through trenches, across fields, a bombed out dreamstate landscape and down a rushing river in ONE CONTINUOUS SHOT – capturing their experience in what feels like real time. Superlatives won’t capture the brilliance of the filmmaking here. It’s astounding and resonates with great humanity.

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This film completely transcends its conception as the origin story of the “Joker” from the myth-films of Batman, taking true artistic risks to ascend into one of the best films of 2019, earning 11 Academy Award Nominations – more than any other film. With a mind-bending, gut wrenching, Oscar-winning performance by Joaquin Phoenix to its dark and brilliant cinematography, production design and heart-pulsing film score – this film grabs you by the lapels to take you on a journey into the darkest recesses of a mentally deranged human being. And it does so with electrifying, out-of-the-box artistry that is simply astounding.

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After directing the Godfather sagas, Francis Coppola found himself with the freedom to plumb the depths of America’s soul through his creation of an immersive, experiential film that explored Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to depict our adventure in Vietnam as a descent into primal madness. With indelible performances by Marlon Brando

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We are closing out our films for 2019 with Rob Reiner’s biting satire and spoof of the rock and roll scene that passes itself off as a “real” documentary about a “real” band – Spinal Tap. Reiner plays director Marty DeBergi, a filmmaker on a mission to capture the essential truth about the world’s loudest band, the English heavy metal group “Spinal Tap”. In their most outrageous screen performances to date, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean inhabit the band mates with a ferocity (and innocence) that drives this hilarious mockumentary that would influence a generation of filmmakers.

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Cabaret broke new ground as a musical that explored the dark underbelly of its time and place – Berlin in 1931. Bob Fosse pulled out all the stops to stage breathtaking numbers with choreography that was not only entirely original, but that revealed the rotting core of Berlin as it slipped into the maelstrom of Hitler’s dark dream – the nightmare that would soon envelop Europe. The film also broke new ground as the first popular entertainment that embraced gender and sexual expression in all its forms, with a loving acceptance that was uniquely ahead of its time.

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Martin Scorsese’s film of the life of Jesus is a uniquely brilliant exploration of what it might have been like for a human being to hear God talking through him – and to suddenly find himself with miraculous powers as the savior of mankind. This is a challenging and audacious film, written by Paul Schraeder (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and last year’s remarkable First Reformed) with stunning performances by Willem Dafoe as Jesus, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene and Harvey Keitel as Judas, it includes a remarkable and riveting film score by Peter Gabriel.

This is a cinematic tour-de-force, not to be confused with Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ”.

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In this moving and life affirming film, Ram Dass transmutes a debilitating stroke into an exhilarating opportunity for personal growth that is a resounding lesson and touchpoint for all of us as we journey down life’s path.

In 1997, the great spiritual teacher Ram Dass had a massive stroke that left him severely impaired. Undaunted, Ram Dass summoned everything he learned through decades of meditation and reflection to transform what most would consider a tragedy – into a joyful triumph of the human spirit. Mickey Lemle (“The Last Dalai Lama”) has created an incredibly important and uplifting film for all of us as we face the challenges that blindside us in our lives.

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Kenneth Branagh’s brilliant and touching exploration of the last years of Shakespeare’s life is a real treat for the mind, spirit and soul – beautifully filmed with indelible performances by Branagh, Dame Judi Dench and Ian McKellen.

Synopsis: The year is 1613. Shakespeare (Kenneth Branagh) is acknowledged as the greatest writer of the age. But disaster strikes when his renowned Globe Theatre burns to the ground. Devastated, Shakespeare returns to Stratford, where he must face a troubled past and a neglected family. Haunted by the death of his only son Hamnet, he struggles to mend the broken relationships with his wife (Dame Judi Dench) and daughters. In so doing, he is ruthlessly forced to examine his own failings as husband and father. His very personal search for the truth uncovers secrets and lies within a family at war.

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Milos Forman’s extravagantly beautiful and haunting film spins the tale of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - one of the world’s greatest artists – as revealed, layer by layer, through the tortured soul of his rival, Antonio Salieri.  One of the most decorated films of all time, winner of eight Academy Awards and countless international trophies, this 1984 classic is a stunning, insightful portrait of genius, talent and torment.

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Or… How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Stanley Kubrick’s masterful comedy / satire captured the zeitgeist of the day - our worst nuclear fears and the MADness of Mutually Assured Destruction. You all know the story – an insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a War Room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.

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Winner of the top four Academy Awards of 1978, Woody Allen’s comedic masterpiece is a brilliantly observed film about the intricacies and nuances of human love and relationships.   Annie Hall brought a level of sophistication and intelligence to the comedy genre that has rarely been seen.  Woody Allen expanded traditional storytelling to use a variety of techniques that broke traditions of narrative and style – to illuminate the foibles of human attraction, flirtation and romance – unlike any other film before or since.

I watched it last week for the first time in over 20 years and it still amazes me.

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Before his film, The Shape of Water broke new ground for fantasy films, Guillermo del Torro made Pan’s Labyrinth – a dark, brilliantly conceived fantasy that intertwines the real world of fascist Spain in the years following the Spanish Civil War with a mythical world centered in an overgrown, abandoned labyrinth deep in the forest.

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Within the current climate of our country and the whirling controversies, investigations and hearings that are dominating our consciousness, Francis Coppola’s stunning portrait of a crime family, descending into its shadow takes on new and vital relevance.

Nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winner of six – this film is one of the most perceptive, incisive explorations of human drive, power and greed and the lengths to which one man will go to protect and maintain his dynasty.

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Winner of the Palm d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Shoplifters is the new, hauntingly beautiful film by Hirokazu Kore-eda. It is Japan’s Foreign Language entry In the Academy Awards.

This remarkably observed film about a poor family and the simple magic they share is very similar to Roma, stylistically, and (in my humble opinion) equal to that film’s artistry. This is a work of great emotional delicacy by a master filmmaker in full command of his art. 

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Expanding the boundaries of our experience of pure cinema, we are running one of Ingmar Bergman’s masterpieces, Persona.
 
This psychological drama has been called the Mount Everest of cinematic analysis – the pinnacle of film’s exploration of the psyche.
 

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In 2017 IndieWire named this film the best romance of the 21st Century.  Mira Nair’s film of the romantic entanglements during a traditional Punjabi Hindu wedding in Delhi is a brilliantly colored feast for the senses.  It is one of those joyous films that leaps over national boundaries to celebrate universal human nature.   Balancing five love stories, “Monsoon Wedding” won the prestigious Golden Lion as the best film at Venice in 2001 (among many other awards) and is the kind of film where you meet characters you have never been within 10,000 miles of, and feel like you know them at once.

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Awarded the “best film of 2018” by most of the film critics in the U.S. (incl. New York, L.A., Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Kansas City, North Carolina, et. al.) – ROMA finds writer -director Alfonso Cuaron (“Y tu Mama Tambien”, “Gravity”) in complete, enthralling command of his visual craft – telling the most powerfully personal story of his career.

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In keeping with the Holidays, we are screening one of the most enchanting films ever made about the magical innocence of childhood – and how it enlivens our spirit into adulthood.   With brilliant performances by Peter O’Toole as author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harvey Keitel as Harry Houdini. This is a rare gem of a film and a gift for the holidays.

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