Amarcord
1 PM refreshments
1:30 PM screening
Discussion after
"...Federico Fellini's most marvelous film. It's an extravagantly funny, sometimes dreamlike evocation of a year in the life of a small Italian coastal town" - Vincent Canby, New York Times
In this carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the Fascist period, Federico Fellini’s most personal film satirizes his youth and turns daily life into a circus of social rituals, adolescent desires, male fantasies, and political subterfuge, all set to Nina Rota’s classic, nostalgia-tinged score. The Academy Award–winning Amarcord remains one of cinema’s enduring treasures.
Departures
1 PM refreshments
1:30 PM screening
Discussion after
This film has been so popular that we're bringing it back for a matinée screening.
"...the movie is uncommonly absorbing." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...a gentle film about a quiet man in conflict with his world, his father, himself. It is also about death and its rituals. Yet the film manages to be anything but dark; whimsy and sweet irony are laced throughout, a warmhearted blend that turned it into the surprise winner of 2008's Oscar for foreign-language film." - Betsy Sharkey, LA Times
When a small symphony orchestra in Tokyo disbands, cellist Daigo Kobyashi is suddenly unemployed. He moves back to his hometown an answers a Help Wanted ad for "Departures," which he assumes is a travel agency. Not asking the details of the job until after being hired, Daigo finds himself (and, well, finds himself) preparing bodies for cremation.
(Japan, 130 min) in Japanese with English subtitles
Hidden Fortress
1 PM refreshments
1:30 PM screening
Discussion after
A pair of misfit soldiers fleeing the enemy after a disastrous defeat fall in with a general in search of a huge cache of gold and a kidnapped princess in exile. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, the film was the basis for George Lucas's adaptation of Star Wars.
- Links coming soon!
The Seventh Seal
1 PM refreshments
1:30 PM screening
Discussion after
"Essentially intellectual, yet emotionally stimulating too, it is as tough – and rewarding – as the moviegoer has had to face this year." - Bosley Crowther, The New York Times
"This is an uncompromising film, regarding good and evil with the same simplicity and faith as its hero." -Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
After ten years fighting in the Crusades, a knight returns to his homeland, only to find it ravaged by plague. When Death comes to collect, the Knight challenges him to a game of chess so that he can buy enough time to gain insight into the meaning of life. Directed by Ingmar Bergman.
- Links coming soon!
Photo by Chion WolfWhere We Live @ Real Art Ways, LIVE
8 AM: reception with John Dankosky and the Where We Live production staff
9 AM: Live recording
Be a part of a live radio broadcast of WNPR's Where We Live. Topic: Hartford – where it's been and where it's going. Bring your stories, thoughts, questions and ideas to share on air.
Panel TBA.
Daytrip: Brooklyn Museum
Leave from Real Art Ways @ 8:30 AM
return to Real Art Ways @ 6:30 PM
$30 members/$35 non-members
We're taking a daytrip to the Brooklyn Museum. You should come, too. The Brooklyn museum is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country. Its world-renowned permanent collections range from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art. We won't have time to tour the whole space, so we're focusing this trip on the contemporary art collection. After the tour, you'll have time to explore some of the other areas of the museum and grounds, including the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.
Reserve a spot on the bus by calling or emailing Brandy Rollins: 860.232.1006 x 103 or brollins@realartways.org
The Lady Vanishes
1PM Light refreshments; 1:30PM Screening; Discussion to follow
Discussion after the screening with Joan Walden, Adjunct Professor of Film, Manchester Community College
In Alfred Hitchcock's most quick-witted and devilish comic thriller, the beautiful Margaret Lockwood, traveling across Europe by train, meets Dame May Whitty’s charming old spinster, who seemingly disappears into thin air.
The Third Man
1 pm light refreshments; 1:30 Pm screening; discussion to follow
Orson Welles is Harry Lime, an elusive fugitive in post WWII Vienna. Joseph Cotten plays Holly Martins, a broke writer of bad westerns with unfortunate timing. Directed by Carol Reed and scored by Anton Karas on zither.
- Links coming soon!
Written on the Wind
1 pm light refreshments; 1:30 Pm screening; discussion to follow
"This is a perverse and wickedly funny melodrama in which you can find the seeds of Dallas, Dynasty, and all the other prime-time soaps. Sirk is the one who established their tone, in which shocking behavior is treated with passionate solemnity, while parody burbles beneath." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Discussion after the film with Meghan Dahn, Real Art Ways Staff.
Mitch Wayne and Kyle Hadley are childhood best friends. Kyle's sister, Marylee, wants to marry Mitch. Mitch wants to marry Lucy, but so does Kyle. Kyle gets Lucy, Lucy gets pregnant...but Kyle is impotent! The circle of "friends" spiral out of control as accusations fly in this melodrama starring Lauren Bacall, Rock Hudson, and Robert Stack.
Pygmalion
1 pm light refreshments; 1:30 Pm screening; discussion to follow
"Pygmalion is good Shaw and a grand show." - Frank S. Nugent, New York Times (1938 review)
Discussion after the film with Helene Kvale, Professor, UConn's Department of Dramatic Arts.
George Bernard Shaw's modernization of the classical myth and the basis for My Fair Lady. Stars Leslie Howard as Henry Higgins.
- Links coming soon!
Shoot the Piano Player
1 pm light refreshments; 1:30 PM screening; discussion to follow
Discussion after the film with Deborah Gaudet – Curator of Film and Theater at Wadsworth Atheneum
François Truffaut is drunk on the possibilities of cinema in this, his most playful film. Part thriller, part comedy, part tragedy, Shoot the Piano Player relates the adventures of mild-mannered piano player Charlie (Charles Aznavour, in a triumph of hangdog deadpan) as he stumbles into the criminal underworld and a whirlwind love affair. Loaded with gags, guns, clowns, and thugs, this razor-sharp homage to the American gangster film is pure nouvelle vague.
Virtual JFK:
Vietnam if Kennedy had Lived
1 pm light refreshments; 1:30 PM screening; discussion with director to follow
"Elegantly constructed. The question: can an individual leader take a nation to, or keep it from, war? The conclusion: individual temperament matters, and John F. Kennedy's example proves it." - J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
Discussion after the film with director Koji Masutani
Virtual JFK investigates one of the most debated "what if" scenarios in the history of U.S. foreign policy: What would President John F. Kennedy have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963, and had he been re-elected in 1964?
from the director's statement:
"Virtual JFK is a relevant film that addresses these questions by looking at the way President Kennedy dealt with six deep foreign policy crises (Cuba to Vietnam) without going to war. Combining footage from numerous Kennedy press conferences, in-depth interviews and a close reading of the documentary record, the film argues that critical decisions about the use of restraint and coercive diplomacy often require greater acts of courage than the use of force, and that character matters greatly in Presidential leadership."
Day Trip:
MASS MoCA
$45/$40 members, students, and seniors
You’re invited to join Real Art Ways staff on a day trip to Mass MoCA in the Berkshires for a guided tour of the Sol LeWitt exhibition, A Wall Drawing Retrospective. Featuring 105 of LeWitt’s large-scale wall drawings spanning the artist’s career from 1969 to 2007, the exhibition occupies nearly an acre of specially-built interior walls that have been installed—per LeWitt’s own specifications—over three stories of a historic mill building.
Space is limited! Reserve your spot now by calling 860-232-1006 x103
M. Hulot's Holiday
1 PM refreshments
1:30 PM screening
discussion after
Discussion after the film with Lieve Keeney, St. Joseph’s College, Expertise in Belgium and France
"When has a film so subtly and yet so completely captured nostalgia for past happiness? The movie is about the simplest of human pleasures: The desire to get away for a few days, to play instead of work, to breathe in the sea air, and maybe meet someone nice." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Directed by and starring Jaques Tati. M. Hulot's Holiday is reminiscent of silent films from the 20's and 30's, with visual gags and wordless punch lines. The film follows the mishaps of M. Hulot as he attempts to relax while staying at a Brittany resort.
Sound of the Soul: The Fez Music Festival
1 PM refreshments
1:30 PM screening
Discussion after
Discussion after the film with Joan Walden, Adjunct professor of Film Appreciation at Manchester Community College
Every year, thousands of musicians and fans gather in Morocco, known for religious tolerance, for the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music. The musicians come from Muslim, Christian, and Jewish backgrounds, all connected through their artistry by profound expressions of love and longing. In a world increasingly polarized by religious conflicts and fundamentalist forces, Sound of the Soul is a timely and profound experiential journey.
- Links coming soon!
Obscene
1 pm light refreshments; 1:30 PM screening; discussion to follow
Discussion after the screening with Will K. Wilkins, Executive Director of Real Art Ways
Obscene is a look at the life of publisher Barney Rosset, who fought to publish some of the most important and controversial writers of the 20th century. Through Grove Press and the Evergreen Review, Rosset published the otherwise unpublishable. The names are now iconic: Samuel Beckett, Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Edward Albee, and more. Documentarians Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O'Connor assert that Rosset didn't just shape his times; he was also a product of them.
Beauty and the Beast
1 pm light refreshments; 1:30 pm screening; Discussion to follow
Directed by French poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, this classic adaptation of the fairy tale has enchanted audiences for more than fifty years. Jean Marais and Josette Day as the Beast and Belle give memorable performances.
Anita O'Day, Life of a Jazz Singer
1PM Light Refreshments; 1:30PM Screening; discussion to follow
Before her death in November 2006 at age 86, Anita O'Day, one of jazz's most complex and rhythmic vocalists, smiled on the music world for six decades. This film portrait captures all the magic that took this sly Chicago native, a girl who could hold her own against Billie and Ella, from Gene Krupa's bandstand to solo stardom. Film footage of Anita O'Day's appearance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, immortalized in the 1960 documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day and excerpted here, may be the defining moment of the post-bebop era.
After the screening, Nicki Mathis from The Many Colors of Women Inc. will lead a discussion.
(US, 2007, 90 min)
ICA/Boston Daytrip
We really enjoyed the trip that Real Art Ways staff members and supporters made to dia:beacon earlier this year. And we're insatiable! We want to go on more trips with you.
An influential forum for multi-disciplinary arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art has been at the leading edge of art in Boston for seventy years. Like its iconic building on Boston's waterfront, the ICA offers new ways of engaging with the world around us. Its exhibitions and programs provide access to contemporary art, artists, and the creative process, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the excitement of new art and ideas.
Tickets are $40/$30 for Real Art Ways Members, Seniors, and Students. Call 860-232-1006 x103 or email Trudi Lebron to reserve your spot.
Words and Music by Jerry Herman
Monday, November 3
1PM Light Lunch; 1:30PM Screening; Discussion (with Director Amber Edwards) to follow
Amber Edwards' documentary celebrates the life and talent of the gifted composer-lyricist who gave us Mame, Hello, Dolly!, and La Cage aux Folles. Rehersal sessions and never-before-seen archival footage of original Broadway performances create a warm and humorous portrait of a living theater legend.
Director Amber Edwards will join us for a post-film talk, with Real Art Ways film programmer John Morrison.
(2007, US)
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra: A Working Rehearsal
Rather than sit passively and let the music wash over you, you're invited to participate in an actual rehearsal. The Symphony's French Horn Quartet will sight-read a piece of music. You'll witness the speed bumps and errors that are all part of a real rehearsal. Come prepared to ask questions, offer suggestions, and make comments as the rehearsal progresses.
Tous les matins du monde
1PM Light refreshments; 1:30PM Screening; Discussion to follow
Racked with grief after his wife's untimely death, gifted viola da gamba player Monsieur de Sainte Colombe moves into a small house in his garden to keep himself and his two young daughters safe from the outside world. But their solitude is broken when a young musician comes calling in search of a lesson.
Daytime Programming
Our daytime programming takes several forms. Culture & Cocktails offers you the chance to experience compelling art and ideas within the context of a social hour. Matinée Movies are thought-provoking films and discussions presented by community and artistic leaders. Our Day Trips allow you to visit organizations that share Real Art Ways' sensibility with members of our staff.
Loony and Lunar
Eight kid-friendly short films from around the world, specially selected by our film programmer, John Morrison:
- Carrot (Partell Tall, Estonia); a snowman and rabbit compete for the same carrot;
- We've All Fallen from Mars (SAF Cakovech workshop, Croatia); fantasies from a kid's view;
- Flutterby (Cynthia Pepper, US); about dancing like butterflies;
- Puss and the Moon (Suzanne Tuyman, Netherlands); about a lunar cat;
- Jungle Beat—Born to Be Wild (Brent Dawes, Zimbabwe); about a nervous mother giraffe;
- Hard-Boiled Chicken (Arjan Wilschut, Netherlands) and Meany (Sarah Klein, US); about mean people;
- And finally, Moonman (Fritz Böhm, Germany); a fairy tale, luxuriously photographed by Tomi Ungerer.
(69 min)
Recommended for ages 6 and up.
The Stuntmen accompany Peter Pan
PERFORMANCES OF PETER PAN ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC THANKS TO THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE EVELYN W. PRESTON MEMORIAL TRUST FUND.
PETER PAN (1924)
One of the gems of the (silent) silver screen, this adapation of J. M. Barrie's classic delights children and adults as much
now as it did in 1924 (see the period New York Times review linked below, for a description of the 1924 audiences!). Directed by Herbert Brenon, this adaptation makes the Darlings and the Lost Boys come alive before your eyes.
We are pleased to be able to offer this classic film in the context it was meant to be seen - with live musical accompaniment.
THE STUNTMEN
Formed in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1992, the Stuntmen create at the forefront of Insurgent Country (sometimes called Alt Country). Drawing on such broad influences as American roots music, country, and indie rock, their music has been described as “a rollicking blast of earthy garage rock … [that fits] nicely alongside such similar exercises in musical cross pollination as Wilco’s A.M.” (by esteemed indie music producer Mike Flood).
In 2002, The Stuntmen began working collaboratively with the Young at Heart Chorus, a group of seniors who perform everything from Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin to Outkast. The performances with the Young at Heart Chorus were so successful that they gave rise to a DVD live concert release and a European tour.
The Stuntmen offer energized, honest Americana at its very best. The group has released three full-length albums and has earned critical acclaim from such sources as Time and No Depression.
Brief Encounter
Though he might be best remembered for sweeping epics such as DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, renowned British director David Lean began his film career with small-scale character studies based on the plays of Noel Coward. Lean's fourth film, BRIEF ENCOUNTER - which was also his fourth and final collaboration with Coward - adapts the playwright's heartbreaking tale of two ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary power of love.
Laura (Celia Johnson) is a seemingly happy, middle-class housewife who meets the equally married physician Alec (a young Trevor Howard in only his third screen role) when he removes a speck of dust from her eye at a London railway station. The pair soon find themselves drawn together through weekly meetings at the station cafe, their casual encounters blooming into a chaste love affair marked by intimate conversation, longing glances - and the tragic realization that neither of them will be able to break the bonds of social propriety that keep them wedded to other people.
Seen by some as quintessentially English, Lean's achingly lovely exploration of the conflicting demands of personal happiness and social responsibility remains nonetheless universal and timeless. Johnson and Howard's nuanced performances, Robert Krasker's shadowy cinematography, and a soundtrack of hauntingly romantic Rachmaninov piano concertos only add to the film's aura of quiet desperation.
(UK, 87 min.)
Culture & Conversation
Sam McKinniss and Corinne Beardsley
Meet Sam McKinniss and Corinne Rae Beardsley for a special conversation between these emerging New England artists. You will have a tour of our latest exhibitions from the artists themselves. This program includes a light lunch.
Matinée Movies
King of Masks
Real Art Ways screened this film years ago and audiences loved it. We're presenting it again, as a one-time screening, with a discussion following.
At the end of his life, The King of Masks (Chu Yuk), a master of an ancient and revered form of mask making, seeks to pass on his craft. However, tradition dictates that he can only teach the form to a male heir. Desperate to preserve his art, and in some sense himself, the heirless old man purchases a destitute child on the black market. When the boy reveals an unexpected secret, The King of Masks is torn between filial affection and ancient customs.
Outie or Innie
Outie and Innie is a selection of shorts from around the world that our film programmer organized to go together in a program for kids 8+. There's no particular theme, but some of the stand-out films are:
- The Boy Who Had No Story (Ireland)
- Mare Capoeira (Brazil)
- Charlie and Lola: That is My Book (UK)
- Where Stories Came From (Zimbabwe)
- A Great Big Robot Stole My Homework (Canada)
- Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot (US)
- and three 60-second films from John Izen called Black and White (Canada)
Mare Capoeira is in Portuguese with English subtitles. All other films are non-verbal or in English.
(78 min.)
- Links coming soon
Culture & Conversation
Jeanne Manzelli
Local muralist and painter Jeanne Manzelli will be setting up shop in our Real Room. Her paintings exhibit a gestural quality that's filled with movement and vitality. Learn about her art and her process while watching her work right before your eyes.
A Lecturer on Visual Arts at Tunxis Community College, Jeanne will host a guided tour of our exhibitions following her workshop. We're looking forward to hearing her perspective on the work!
Jeanne on her art: "At this point my imagination is caught by Hartford and the changes that
bring its past and present into balance. Murals, print, and folding screens are the art forms that this interest is taking."
Matinée Movies
Sense and Sensibility
Actress Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for and stars in this adaptation of Jane Austen's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY—a novel that perceptively examines the social manners and laws of early-19th-century Britain.
Set in the English countryside, the film follows the loves and heartaches of sisters Elinor (Thompson) and Marianne Dashwood (Kate Winslet). The two have extremely divergent approaches to life: Elinor represents "sense" and believes in behaving with propriety and thoughtfulness, while Marianne represents "sensibility" and basks in her own emotions. Both women, however, experience confusion when their lovers, seemingly on the verge of proposing marriage, spurn them.
For director Ang Lee, the film marks a break from his Father Knows Best trilogy, which examined the problems of the contemporary Taiwanese family. Many people questioned whether an Asian director could handle an English period film. Lee answered those questions with a gorgeous film that both captures the nuances of Austen's novel and proves that Lee is a first-rate director capable of tackling any material. Featuring Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, among others, the stellar cast inspired Lee to flatteringly exclaim, "Can everyone in England act?"
(United States, 136 minutes)
Day Trip to Dia:Beacon
Tickets are selling fast!
Join Real Art Ways staff members for a visit to the Dia Arts Foundation's renowned collection of art from the 1960s to the present, in beautiful Beacon, New York.
Tickets, on sale now, are: $35 for seniors/students/Real Art Ways members, and $45 for the general public.
Cost includes transportation from Real Art Ways to Dia:Beacon, museum admission, and docent tours. Lunch (not included) is available at the museum cafe, with light fare including coffee, pastries, sandwiches, salads and soups.
For more information and to save your spot, please contact Trudi Lebron at 860-232-1006 x103.
Strictly Ballroom
Matinée Movies
Scott Hastings is a champion-caliber ballroom dancer, but much to the chagrin of the Australian ballroom dance community, Scott believes in dancing "his own steps." Fran is a beginning dancer — and a bit of an ugly duckling — with the audacity to ask Scott to be her partner, after his unorthodox style causes his regular partner to dance out of his life. Together, these two misfits try to win the Australian Pan Pacific Championships and prove the Ballroom Confederation wrong when they say, "there are no new steps!"
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
(Austrailia, 94 min.)
Salsa performer and instructor extraordinaire David Polon will demonstrate his moves and facilitate an audience discussion about competitive ballroom dancing.
Talk by Connecticut Author Howard Layton
Culture & Cocktails
WWII Royal Air Force Navigator, electrical engineer, inventor, airplane pilot, entrepreneur, professional actor, and published author Howard Layton will be on hand for an afternoon of literature and laughs.
Music provided by a Hartt School of Music solo jazz keyboardist.
Music from the Inside Out
Matinée Movies
Music from the Inside Out is the result of a unique five-year collaboration between Oscar-nominated filmmaker Daniel Anker and the 105 musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The film explores the intersection of art and life through the stories, passions, and artistry of some of the finest musicians in the world.
Groundbreaking in style and approach, the main character of the film is music itself. Incorporating a blend of well-loved musical works including classical, jazz, bluegrass, salsa, and world music, the film features an eclectic, intoxicating soundtrack.
Jeff Krieger, Gene Bozzi and Rick Rozie from the Hartford Symphony will be on hand to discuss the film and their lives as professional musicians. In addition to performing with the symphony, Mr. Bozzi is Music Department Chair of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and Mr. Rozie is also an accomplished jazz musician.
The Red Shoes
Matinée Movies
Based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a pair of enchanted crimson ballet slippers, 'The Red Shoes' follows the beautiful Vicky Page (Moira Shearer), a young socialite who loves ballet, the rising composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring) whom she loves, and her dictatorial director, Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook).
The film will be preceded by a special discussion led by ballet dancer Hilda Morales. Currently a member of the dance faculty at the Hartt School, Morales began her career at the Ballet San Juan. She was a featured dancer in the movie The Turning Point. Ms. Morales will be on hand to answer questions about the dance and film industries and to chat.
Real Art Ways' daytime programs are made possible by support from:
