“Breathtaking.” – The Times
“This is more than an exhibition. It’s a miracle.” – The Guardian
“There will never be another Vermeer show as great as this one.” – The Washington Post
Synopsis:
In the spring of 2023, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam opened its doors to the largest Vermeer exhibition in history. The show sold out within days of going on sale. This film offers you the chance to experience the exhibition of the century on the big screen…
With loans from across the world, this major retrospective brings together Vermeer’s most famous masterpieces including Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Geographer, The Milkmaid, The Little Street, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, and Woman Holding a Balance. In all, 28 of his surviving 35 works.
This film invites audiences to a privileged view of the exhibition, accompanied by the director of the Rijksmuseum and the curators of the show. A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover the genius of Vermeer and his fascinating and mysterious life.
CT Summer at the Museum
Real Art Ways was recently awarded a grant from Connecticut Humanities to support our participation in the CT Summer at the Museum initiative!
The program invites Connecticut children ages 18 and under plus one accompanying Connecticut resident adult to visit participating museums free of charge from July 1 through September 4, 2023. Funding for the initiative is provided by the CT General Assembly, with the support of Connecticut Humanities and the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the federal ARPA.
“A stunning, often profound and frequently jaw-droppingly gorgeous tale of two friends from childhood through adulthood set against the Italian Alps.” – Associated Press
“A very deep and meaningful story about platonic friendship.” – FilmWeek (NPR Los Angeles)
“The film is a meditative, slow crescendo of wounded feelings and quiet epiphanies.” – Slant Magazine
Synopsis:
After meeting as children over a series of summers in the Italian Alps, Pietro (Luca Marinelli) and Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) reunite as adults to build a mountainside cottage which becomes a site of both reflection and reconciliation.
In Italian with English subtitles.
“A genre-mixing delight.” – RogerEbert.com
“With superbly choreographed fight sequences, agile camerawork and an unapologetic feminist spirit, this is your next favorite action-comedy.” – TheWrap
“It’s a delightfully kick-ass ode to sisterhood, whether familial or found.” – Chicago Reader
“A delicious breath of fresh air, smart, funny, exciting, and utterly delectable.” – Movie Mom
91% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
A merry mash-up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment and bold action, Polite Society follows martial artist-in training Ria Khan who believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.
“Something honest, something recognizable, something real.” – Washington Post
“It’s quiet and charming and has some beautiful, if also familiar things to say about fathers and sons, and the question of legacy.” – Entertainment Weekly
“An affectionate love letter to Italian-American families.” – Variety
“Funny, warm, and real.” – Awards Radar
90% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
Leo Russo (Ray Romano) lives a simple life in Queens, New York with his wife Angela (Laurie Metcalf), their shy but talented son “Sticks” (Jacob Ward), and Leo’s close-knit network of Italian-American relatives and neighborhood friends. Happy enough working at the family construction business alongside his father (Tony Lo Bianco) and younger brother (Sebastian Maniscalco), Leo lives each week for Sticks’ high-school basketball games, never missing a chance to cheer on his only child as he rules the court as a star athlete. When the high-school senior gets a surprising and life-changing opportunity to play basketball in college, Leo jumps at the chance to provide a plan for his future, away from the family construction business. But when sudden heartbreak threatens to derail Sticks, Leo goes to unexpected lengths to keep his son on this new path.
“A long-overdue creation corrective that gives an outwardly revolutionary cultural icon his trailblazing due at the same time it grapples with the conflicted soul that rarely knew a lasting inner peace.” – Los Angeles Times
“A thorough, energetic, largely chronological appraisal, more interested in saluting a musical legend who shook things up than in shaking up conventions itself.” – New York Times
“A definitive documentary on a complicated icon.” – Toronto Star
94% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator — the originator — Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself. Throughout his life, Richard careened like a shiny cracked pinball between God, sex and rock n’ roll. The world tried to put him in a box, but Richard was an omni being who contained multitudes — he was unabashedly everything.
“A film with meticulously executed tonal command and emotional nuance.” – Screen International
“Completely baffling.” – News.com.au
Synopsis:
A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother in this bold and ingeniously depraved new film from writer/director Ari Aster (director of Midsommar and Hereditary).
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Stephen Henderson, and Patti LuPone
“Warmly funny and historically curious.” – Empire Magazine
“A warm, wryly amusing account of a real-life story, a crowd-pleasing portrait of the kind of enthusiastic amateur who proves enduringly popular with British cinema.” – Screen International
“Really comforting, sweet, solid and sincere.” – Filmweek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles
Synopsis:
In this inspiring true story, amateur historian Philippa Langley believes she has made the archeological find of the century: the lost burial site of King Richard III. She takes on Britain’s most eminent historians, forcing them to rethink the legacy of one of the most controversial rulers in English history.
“An exciting, humanist eco-thriller that figures there’s still time to take action — but only so much.” – Empire Magazine
“One of the most original American thrillers in years, and one that draws from a deep well of movie history as it develops its characters and sets up its plot twists.” – RogerEbert.com
“It has a degree of suspense and efficiency that are becoming all too rare in the mainstream.” – New York Times
95% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline, in Daniel Goldhaber’s taut and timely thriller that is part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of the climate crisis. Based on the controversial book by Andreas Malm.
“Warm-hearted and rueful and hilarious in all the best ways.” – Vox
“Both smart and entertaining.” – Times Magazine
“A hilarious look at the little white lies that we tell our loved ones.” – Consequence Film
“A must see comedy…makes you laugh until it hurts.” – ABC
96% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
Beth, a popular writer, and her husband Don, a well-liked teacher, share the kind of relationship that truly, seriously, for the love of God cannot be real: that is, they’re actually in love. Even after decades of marriage, parenting, and their own successful careers, their physical spark has somehow not diminished; in fact, they seem to relish the opportunity to share a single ice cream cone and drive others — including their son, Charlie — mad. Should it come as a surprise then that his own marriage is in crisis? But when Beth discovers that Don has been untruthful to her about his opinion of her work for years — Beth’s world comes crashing down. Has their whole relationship been one Big Fat Lie?
Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies
“Wes Anderson returns with one of his most dazzling, rich and playfully self-reflexive films to date, brought to eye-popping life by an all-timer ensemble.” – Little White Lites
“Its eccentricity, its elegance, its gaiety, and its sheer profusion of detail within the tableau frame make it such a pleasure.” – Guardian
“Anderson’s most disarmingly spiritual film in some time.” – Inverse
New York Times Critic’s Pick: Full Article Here.
Synopsis:
The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
Directed by Wes Anderson.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, and Maya Hawke.
“Chevalier is a lesson in humility, and that sometimes we get in our own way.” – Deadline Hollywood Daily
“Chevalier dazzles because of the untapped magic of its central character.” – indieWire
91% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
Inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court.
“In a world of noise, this story of found family speaks loudest when saying nothing.” – Washington Post
“The Quiet Girl technically lives up to its name, but speaks volumes about the transformative power of what it means to be loved.” – Globe and Mail
“A genuine work of art.” – Rolling Stone
“Expertly crafted with stirring grace and sensitivity.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“A heartfelt, beautifully homespun tale…remarkably moving.” – Variety
96% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
Set in rural Ireland in 1981, nine-year-old Cait is sent away from her overcrowded, dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one painful truth.
“Essential, urgent, and it couldn’t be more relevant.” – FilmWeek (KPCC NPR Los Angeles)
“Part political portrait, part espionage thriller – containing perhaps the most jaw-dropping phone call in the history of cinema.” – Filmspotting
“More chilling and absorbing than any spy fiction, because it’s all real, and ominous, too.” – Globe and Mail
Synopsis
Shot as the story unfolded, Navalny is a fly-on-the-wall documentary thriller about anti-authoritarian Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Recovering in Berlin after nearly being poisoned to death with the nerve agent Novichok, he makes shocking discoveries about his assassination attempt and bravely decides to return home–whatever the consequences.
In Russian with English subtitles.
Academy Award Wins
Documentary Feature Film
“A big scale epic.” – Deadline
“Heart-wrenching.” – The Playlist
“Stunning cinematography.” – Awards Watch
“A striking and harrowing portrait of the perils of nationalism, the chaos and madness of combat, and the lasting physical and psychological scars produced by both.” – The Daily Beast
Synopsis:
All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. The film from director Edward Berger is based on the world renowned bestseller of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.
In German with English subtitles.
Academy Award Wins
Best International Feature
Cinematography
Original Score
Production Design
“Collette is in her comedic prime…it’s easy to enjoy when she is having so much fun herself.” – indieWire
Synopsis:
An American mom (Toni Collette) inherits her grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy. Guided by the firm’s consigliere (Monica Bellucci), she hilariously defies everyone’s expectations as the new head of the family business.
“A balance of impossibly high-profile subject and low-key, humanizing perspective.” Variety
“Fascinating. Remarkable for its access into Pope Francis’s life.” – IndieWire
“Pope Francis is at his most uninhibited and, therefore, most revealing.” – Screen International
100% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
A decade-long chronicling of the travels of the head of the Catholic church across all corners of the world. Composed entirely of archival footage, the film grants rare access to the public life of the pontifical, not only from the elevated security of a pulpit but from the more democratic grounds of unpaved streets and vast public avenues.
In Italian with English subtitles.
“Home Again: Carole King Live In Central Park provides an inside view of a generational talent at her prime, performing one of the biggest and most momentous concerts of her career in the city where she was born.” – Goldmine Magazine
Synopsis:
The brand new feature-length concert documentary “Home Again: Carole King Live In Central Park,” presents musical icon Carole King’s triumphant May 26, 1973 homecoming concert on The Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park before an estimated audience of 100,000. The film presents the complete multi-camera 16mm footage filmed in 1973 but never before released. Alongside the complete performance footage is the behind the scenes story of King’s remarkable transformation from an in demand, staff songwriter beloved for such timeless Goffin and King classics as “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” to an iconic artist in her own right. The May 1973 performance captured King at her critical and commercial peak, basking in the enormous popularity of her definitive album Tapestry.
Carole King Karaoke in between opening night showings! (Opening night only).
2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts – Documentaries, opens Friday, February 17, 2023. Individual trailers can be viewed on https://shorts.tv/.
How Do You Measure a Year? – United States, directed by Jay Rosenblatt, 29 min.
A father films his daughter every year on her birthday, asking the same questions. In a mere 29 minutes we see a girl go from a toddler to a young woman with all the beautiful and awkward stages in between while the father/daughter relationship evolves in all its complexities.
The Elephant Whispers – India, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monda, 40 min.
Bomman and Bellie, a couple in South India, devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, forging a family like no other that tests the barrier between the human and the animal world.
Stranger at the Gate – United States, directed by Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones, 29 min.
A Marine plans a terrorist attack in a mosque in a small American town. His plan takes an unexpected turn when he comes face to face with the people he is trying to kill, forcing him to confront his own actions.
Haulout – UK, directed by Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaeva, 25 min.
A man waits in his cabin on the desolate expanse of the Russian Arctic. He perseveres to observe a natural event that happens there every year, but ocean warming is taking its toll.
The Martha Mitchell Effect – United States, directed by Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison, 40 min.
Historians profile the life of Martha Mitchell, the wife of the cabinet member who was the most unlikely of whistleblowers: a Republican cabinet woman who was discredited by the Nixon administration in 1972 for keeping silent.
2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts – Live Action, opens Friday, February 17, 2023. Individual trailers can be viewed on https://shorts.tv/.
Ivalu – Denmark, directed by Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan, 17 min.
Pipaluk lives in a Greenlandic settlement with her father and older sister Ivalu. Pipaluk is not happy because Ivalu has disappeared and her father does not care. At night, Pipaluk dreams of a raven that leads her to Ivalu.
Night Ride – Norway, directed by Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen, 16 min.
A cold night in December. Ebba waits for the tram to go home after a party, but the ride takes an unexpected turn.
Le Pupille – Italy, directed by Alice Rohrwacher, 39 min.
A story about pure and selfish desires, freedom and devotion, and the anarchy that is capable of flowering in the minds of girls within the confines of a strict religious boarding school at Christmas.
The Red Suitcase – Luxembourg, directed by Cyrus Neshvad, 18 min.
Luxembourg airport. Late at night. A veiled 16-year-old Iranian girl is afraid to take her red suitcase on the automatic carpet. She pushes back the moment to walk through the arrival gate and seems more and more terrified.
An Irish Goodbye – UK, directed by Tom Berkeley and Ross White, 23 min.
In rural Northern Ireland, a pair of estranged brothers are reunited after a premature death.
2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts – Animation, opens Friday, February 17, 2023. Individual trailers can be viewed on https://shorts.tv/.
Four of the films are suitable for kids 10 and up, but the final film, My Year of Dicks, is for adult audiences only.
An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It – Australia, directed by Lachlan Pendragon, 12 min.
A mysterious talking ostrich helps an office worker in need uncover the flaws in his stop motion universe.
The Flying Sailor – Canada, directed by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, 8 min.
When a nearby ship explodes, a sailor embarks on an unexpected existential journey. An exploration of the fragility of life through a sailor’s near-death experience inspired by the real-life catastrophic Halifax explosion of 1917.
Ice Merchants – Portugal/France/UK, directed by João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano, 15 min.
Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground, far away where they sell the ice they produce daily.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – UK, directed by Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud, 33 min.
Four unusual friends, a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse, share truths about life as they search for a home. However, the boy learns that home is not always a fixed place.
My Year of Dicks – United States, directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribbon, 26 min.
My Year of Dicks is intended for adult audiences only and is not suitable for children. There will be a short break before the start of the film so that patrons, if they choose, can exit the auditorium.
Pam tries very hard to lose her virginity and always searches for “the one”. She’s not alone, her best friends are with her.
