2/11
My Kid Could Paint That (USA;
2007; d. Amir Bar-Lev)
This documentary
by director Amir Bar-Lev chronicles the unlikely celebrity of a four year-old
Binghamton, New York girl named Marla Olmstead who became an overnight sensation
in the art world in 2004 for her paintings. Bar-Lev turns his camera not only
on Marla and her parents, but also on gallery owners, dealers, critics and national
media figures like Charlie Rose, all of whom are drawn into the story of a toddler
being hailed as a genius of abstract art, until doubts are raised. John Monaghan
of the Detroit Free Press writes that the film becomes "a priceless
examination of modern art, celebrity and what it means to be a kid."
(PG-13; 82 min.)
2/25
2
Days in Paris (France/Germany; 2007; d. Julie Delpy)
Julie Delpy writes,
directs, produces, and stars in this romantic comedy co-starring Adam Goldberg.
Marion and Jack stop in Paris after a less than idyllic vacation in Italy. Their
relationship is sorely tested when French-born Marion runs into a seemingly
endless line of former boyfriends, and Jack must deal with her parents. Critics
note that this is much more than a light-hearted comedy. New York Times
film critic Stephen Holden writes, "2 Days in Paris becomes
a meditation on the unknowable essence of another person, even an intimate partner.
Audacious as it is, the movie is also a little scary."
(R; 96 min.)
3/3
For the Bible Tells Me So
(USA; 2007; d. Daniel G. Karslake)***
Since its first
airing at the Sundance Film Festival, For the Bible Tells Me So has
been recognized as a strong response to scriptural interpretations that aim
to justify hatred of gay sexuality. Director Daniel Karslake focuses on the
stories of five strongly religious families, from several Christian denominations,
and their coming to terms - or not - with a gay or lesbian child. He also explores
the biblical interpretations of an array of religious leaders who argue that
the Bible ought never be used as an excuse for hate. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon
called this documentary "powerful - a brave and noble effort to heal a
gaping wound in our society."
(NR; 95 min.)
***Presented in conjunction with Out at the Movies, northern New York's LGBT
film festival, February 27-March 3
3/10
Om Shanti Om (India; 2007; d.
Farah Khan)
While often dealing with quite serious subject matters, such as the murder
and revenge that form the center of this film's plot, Bollywood films are perhaps
better known for their bright colors, absurdly elaborate song-and-dance numbers,
outlandish romantic plots, and somewhat manic storytelling. Tajpal Rathore of
the BBC calls Om Shanti Om "both an homage to and a parody of
Bollywood." As such, it offers audiences an introduction to one of the
world's most popular cinematic traditions and one of its biggest stars (Shah
Rukh "King" Khan) while also offering some sly winks and nods to those
more familiar with the style. Derek Elley of Variety writes that it
'has a wow factor unequalled by any Hindi film in memory."
(PG-13; 162 min.)
3/17
El Orfanato (Mexico/Spain; 2007;
d. Juan Antonio Bayona)
This "absorbing and ambitious ghostie" (Michael Phillips, Chicago
Tribune) is Spain's entry for the Foreign Language Oscar. Laura brings
her husband and their adopted son Simón back to the abandoned orphanage
where she herself was raised.
The plan is to turn the building in to a home for sick children. But soon Simón
is talking of imaginary friends, and then he disappears. Desson Thomson of The
Washington Post says El Orfanato "lures us in with extraordinary
subtlety." David Ansen of Newsweek calls the film "seriously
scary."
(R; 100
min.)
3/31
This is England (UK; 2007;
d. Shane Meadows)
Living in a nameless coastal town in the early 80s English Midlands, Shaun
is twelve years old, getting over the death of his father in the Falklands War,
lonely despite his mother's care, and bullied. He is befriended by a gang of
older, relatively benevolent skinheads (white and Jamaican); finally he is part
of a caring group. But when volatile, charismatic Combo, a former member, returns
from prison and urges them to join the neo-Nazi movement, the group is shaken.
Despite the dark themes, This is England "is anything but gloomy
to sit through" (Desson Thomson, The Washington Post.) Manohla
Dargis (The New York Times) says it is a "near-flawless gem."
(NR; 98 min.)
4/7
Honeydripper
(USA; 2007; d. John Sayles)
Roger
Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times calls John Sayles' latest film "rich
with characters and flowing with music." It tells the story of Tyrone "Pine
Top" Purvis (Danny Glover), the owner of a juke joint in rural Alabama
called The Honeydripper Lounge. Deeply in debt and struggling to compete with
a rival club, Purvis devises a plan to save the Honeydripper with a one-night-only
gig featuring the famous musician, Guitar Sam. But when Sam doesn't show, Purvis
must find someone in the small 1950s town with the talent to pass as a musical
legend. Kevin Crust of The Los Angeles Times says that Honeydripper
"evocatively charts a time and place where change has been a long time
coming and buoyantly imagines a turning point where, at least musically, anything
is possible."
(PG-13; 123 min.)
4/14
Woman on the Beach/Haebyonui
yoin (South Korea; 2006; d. Hong Sang-soo)
Joong-rae, a film director who can't finish his next script, goes to a resort
on the Korean coast, hoping the break will help. Along for the trip are his
colleague Chang-wook and Chang-wook's girlfriend Moon-sook--but Moon-sook says
she is just a friend, and soon Chang-wook is on the sidelines. Over a few days
the triangle evolves with flirtation and falling, advances and retreats, food
and drink, and another woman. "Wry and tender and delicately melancholic"
(Manohla Dargis, The New York Times), and several critics have compared
Hong's work to the films of Eric Rohmer. Jan Stuart of Newsday says
Woman on the Beach is "an elegant serving of comic Seoul food
. . .mapping the romantic traps we are all subject to."
(NR; 127 min.)
4/21
Promised
Paradise (Indonesia/Netherlands; 2006; d. Leonard Retel Helmrich)***
Leonard Retel Helmrich is a Dutch/Indonesian filmmaker who worked as a drama
director and cameraman in the Netherlands before going to Indonesia to make
a series of documentaries that have won awards world wide. Promised Paradise,
his most recent work, will be the focus of the evening. Banned in Indonesia,
Promised Paradise follows the quest of an Indonesian puppeteer to meet
three men convicted of the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali. Along the way, Helmrich
shows the puppeteer's unique method of exploring the issue of terrorism through
puppet shows, featuring, among other things, a dancing Osama Bin Laden doll
and a shadow-play attack on the World Trade Center.
(NR; 52 min.)
***Special Appearance by the Director
4/28
Persepolis (France; 2007; d. Vincent
Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi)
Based on the best-selling
graphic autobiography by Iranian artist/writer Marjane Satrapi, this animated
film opens with recollections of her childhood in Iran during the last years
of the Shah's rule. From there, the film parallels young Marjane's growing pains
alongside the political turmoil of the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq
War. As the war escalates, her parents send the adolescent Marjane to school
in Austria, where she plunges in to the subcultures of Vienna, but later returns
to war torn Teheran for university. A.O. Scott (The New York Times)
writes that Persepolis is "full of warmth and surprise, alive with humor
and a fierce independence of spirit."
(PG-13; 95 min.)
Cinema 10 is a non-profit, volunteer group which presents alternative film programming. We work to bring the best in American independent and foreign films to North Country audiences. If you have a suggestion or would like to get involved, please e-mail Holly Chambers. The Cinema 10 Board members are Chris Affre, Fran Bailey, Holly Chambers, Ed Clark, Viki Levitt, Anne Malone, Hilary Oak, Celine Philibert, Chris Robinson, Eric Schultze, David Sommerstein, Christino Tamon, and Donna Williamson.
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