NY TIMES CRITIC PICK
We walk all over it every day of our lives. We plow it, we dig it and we drill it; we cover it up with concrete. We map it and we measure it; we draw our borders onto it, and we imagine that it belongs to us. We live by what it produces and we bury our dead in it. We take its existence for granted; it seems invincible, indestructible. If we consider our planet to be an organism, its crust – just 40 kilometers thick – is its most delicate organ by far.
In a field that has historically embraced few women film critics, Kael was charismatic, controversial, witty, and discerning. Her decades-long berth at The New Yorker energized her fans (“Paulettes”) and infuriated her detractors on a weekly basis. Her turbo-charged prose famously championed the New Hollywood Cinema of the late 1960s and ‘70s (BONNIE AND CLYDE, NASHVILLE, CARRIE, TAXI DRIVER) and the work of major European directors (François Truffaut, Bernardo Bertolucci), while mercilessly panning some of the biggest studio hits (THE SOUND OF MUSIC, MIDNIGHT COWBOY, DIRTY HARRY).
As Europe erupts into World War II, 9-year-old Martin comes to love his new brother Dovidl, a highly gifted violin prodigy of the same age and recent Polish-Jewish refugee to London. But hours before Dovidl’s debut concert performance at the age of 21, he vanishes without a trace, causing shame and ruin for their family. A lifetime later, a young violinist shows a 56-year-old Martin a stylistic flourish that could only have been taught by Dovidl. This triggers Martin’s odyssey overseas in search of his lost brother, one that will lead to surprising revelations for both men and for Helen, the woman who stood between them.
OPENING FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020
Every year Real Art Ways brings the Oscar-Nominated Short Films to its cinema so you can enjoy some of the finest film making of the year. All three categories are offered – Animation, Live Action, and Documentary. This is your annual chance to see all of these nominees before the Academy Awards on Sunday, February 9 at 8 PM.
ANIMATED SHORTS (Running Time: 83 minutes)
Hair Love –Matthew A. Cherry, USA, 7 min.
Dcera (Daughter) –Daria Kashcheeva, Czech Republic, 15 min.
Memorable –Bruno Collet, France, 12 min.
Sister –Siqi Song, China/USA, 8 min.
Kitbull – Rosana Sullivan, USA, 9 min.
PLUS A SELECTION OF ADDITIONAL ANIMATED SHORTS:
Henrietta Bulkowski –USA, 16 min. (featuring the voices of Chris Cooper and Ann Dowd!)
The Bird and the Whale –Ireland, 6 min.
Hors Piste –France, 5 min.
Ratings guidelines:
Animated Shorts: PG-13. The themes tackled in this year’s Animated program are quite heavy – the death of a parent, Alzheimer’s, China’s one-child policy, and more. The program overall is rather melancholy, and while there’s nothing especially objectionable within, most of these shorts will not appeal to children under 12, at all. The films are all very good, but adult audiences will appreciate them much more than kids.
This new documentary explores a scientific discovery called CRISPR that gives people the power to change what it means to be human.
“Every ‘Oh wow’ in ‘Human Nature’ is matched by an ‘Oh no’ somewhere down the line. Together, these two competing emotions – excitement and unease – make for one pretty fascinating documentary.” – Ken Jaworowski, NY Times
Watch the film online anytime and join us for:
Led by Dr. Michael V. Wiles, Senior Director of Tech Evaluation and Development at The Jackson Laboratory.
Dr. Wiles will talk about his take and answer questions on what genetic engineering may mean to humankind – what is possible now, things to come (or not), and its power and limitations.
Register for the event HERE
Real Art Ways brings the world of science alive, pairing critically acclaimed films with discussions led by area scientists.
Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
6:30 | Lively discussion led by Dr. Adrian Salmon, Director of the Sleep Center at UConn Health
7:00 | Sleepwalk With Me
“I’m going to tell you a story, and it’s true…I always have to tell people that.” So asserts comedian-turned-playwright-turned-filmmaker, Mike Birbiglia, directly to the viewer at the outset of his autobiographically inspired, fictional feature debut.
We are thrust into the tale of a burgeoning stand-up comedian struggling with the stress of a stalled career, a stale relationship threatening to race out of his control, and the wild spurts of severe sleepwalking he is desperate to ignore. Based on the successful one-man show, Sleepwalk With Me engages in the kind of passionate and personal storytelling that transfigures intimate anguish into comic art.
Science on Screen® is a film series that features “creative pairings of classic, cult, and documentary films with lively introductions by notable figures from the world of science, technology, and medicine.”
Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Filmed in 2015 just after receiving his fatal diagnosis, Oliver Sacks opens up about his six decades of thinking and writing about the brain, his life, his work, and his abiding sense of wonder of the world.
“A portrait of the poetic neurologist of ‘Awakenings,’ shot at the end of his life, takes a tender and thrilling look at the sacred demons that drove him.” – Variety
Dr. Sacchetti, Director of M.S. Neurosciences at the University of Hartford, has studied neuron development in relation to Parkinson’s Disease, and the effects of dietary regimens on cognitive function. She will give an overview of Alzheimer’s disease, talk about the impact of a ketogenic diet, and probiotics on brain health and open it up to discussion.
Register HERE.
Real Art Ways brings the world of science alive, pairing critically acclaimed films with discussions led by area scientists.
Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, HARRIET tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
Ian McKellen as Roy Courtnay and Helen Mirren as Betty McLeish in New Line Cinema’s suspense thriller “The Good Liar.”(Chiabella James/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Career con artist Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren) online. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life.
Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer (Emmy winner Matthew Rhys) is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about kindness, love and forgiveness from America’s most beloved neighbor.
Anne, Bolex camera and giraffes. 2017. Anne Innis Dagg with a 16 mm film camera, and a giraffe in the background.
In 1956, four years before Jane Goodall ventured into the world of chimpanzees and seven years before Dian Fossey left to work with mountain gorillas – in fact, before anyone, man or woman had made such a trip – 23-year-old Canadian biologist, Anne Innis Dagg, made an unprecedented solo journey to South Africa to become the first person in the world to study animal behaviour in the wild on that continent. When she returned home a year later armed with ground-breaking research, the insurmountable barriers she faced as a female scientist proved much harder to overcome. This was the catalyst that transformed Anne into a feminist activist.
In The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, an older (now 85), wiser Anne takes us on her first expedition back to Africa to retrace where her trail-blazing journey began more than half a century ago. By retracing her original steps, and with letters and stunning, original 16mm film footage, Anne offers an intimate window into her life as a young woman, juxtaposed with a first hand look at the devastating reality that giraffes are facing today.
Both the world’s first ‘giraffologist’, whose research findings ultimately became the foundation for many scientists following in her footsteps, and the species she loves have each experienced triumphs as well as nasty battle scars. The Woman Who Loves Giraffes gives us a moving perspective on both.
Cunningham traces Merce Cunningham’s artistic evolution over three decades of risk and discovery (1944–1972), from his early years as a struggling dancer in postwar New York to his emergence as one of the world’s most visionary choreographers. The film weaves together Merce’s philosophies and stories, creating a visceral journey into his innovative work. A breathtaking explosion of dance, music, and never-before-seen archival material, Cunningham is a timely tribute to one of the world’s greatest modern dance artists.
Marion Stokes was secretly recording television twenty-four hours a day for thirty years. It started in 1979 with the Iranian Hostage Crisis at the dawn of the twenty-four hour news cycle. It ended on December 14, 2012 while the Sandy Hook massacre played on television as Marion passed away. In between, Marion recorded on 70,000 VHS tapes, capturing revolutions, lies, wars, triumphs, catastrophes, bloopers, talk shows, and commercials that tell us who we were, and show how television shaped the world of today.
Before “fake news” Marion was fighting to protect the truth by archiving everything that was said and shown on television. The public didn’t know it, but the networks were disposing their archives for decades into the trashcan of history. Remarkably Marion saved it, and now the Internet Archive will digitize her tapes and we’ll be able to search them online for free.
This fall, the worldwide phenomenon Downton Abbey, becomes a grand motion picture event, as the beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff prepare for the most important moment of their lives. A royal visit from the King and Queen of England will unleash scandal, romance and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance. Written by series creator Julian Fellowes and starring the original cast.
An intimate story of one of the most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years. Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for a billion followers around the world. Inspired by true events.
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century. Spanning decades, the film chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries and connections to mainstream politics.
This is the kind of movie – independent, intelligent, moving – that you expect to see at Real Art Ways.
Jim Gaffigan, known for his stand-up, stars with the superb Marin Ireland. Light From Light has elements of suspense – it is a haunted house story, but unlike any you’ve seen; it gets at deep questions that, in the end, have no ready answers. (Also with David Cale, who has appeared on stage at Hartford Stage and Real Art Ways.)
97% on Rotten Tomatoes
This moving documentary brings the viewer inside an underground hospital, where hope and safety lay for civilians in the Syrian war, and where pediatrician and managing physician Amani Ballour and her colleagues claim their right to work alongside male counterparts.
Agnès Varda takes a seat on a theatre stage. This professional photographer, installation artist and pioneer of the Nouvelle Vague is an institution of French cinema but a fierce opponent of any kind of institutional thinking. In this film, she offers insights into her oeuvre, using excerpts from her work to illustrate – more associatively than chronologically – her artistic visions and ideas.
Whether in front of the camera or behind it, Agnès Varda is a visual storyteller who eschews convention and prescribed approaches to drama. Together with some of her fellow travelers, she takes the audience on a journey through her world of unorthodox images.
A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
