New Millennium...........
Through the Lens and On the Boards
by Diana Barth
E-Mail Diana ..........Art Galleries.........Soulmate Book
JUNE 2005
On the
Boards:
It’s
nice to see a normal set with reasonably normal, or at least, recognizable
folks walking about. That’s how Trailerville, by John Dufresne, starts
out. We are in the backyard area of a
trailer park, between two trailers, in northern Louisiana. Elderly Bobby (Ron Faber) and his wife
Merdelle (Ann Hillary) appear to be a loving couple. The only problem is, Bobby has Alzheimer’s. He’s becoming more and more of a burden,
and should rightly be placed in a home, but Merdelle can’t bear to be parted
from him.
To
compound matters, their next-door neighbor, Arlis (Peter Waldren), a gentle,
kind man, is smitten with Merdelle and repeatedly tries to make his point with her. The pressure wears upon her.
Also
living with Arlis is his flamboyant daughter, Pug (Lenore Zann), her vulgar,
beer-drinking boyfriend Bromo (Christian Kohn), Pug’s sweet-natured teenage son
Theron (Miles Purinton), and a pair of unseen infant twins. Conflict abounds in that household: Bromo would like Arlis to move out, as the
older man cramps Bromo’s style.
Young
love rears its head: Theron adores
Kristie (Greta Sleeper), a young girl
who lives nearby but whose family plans to leave the area shortly.
A Labor
Day Weekend visit by Bobby and Merdelle’s married son Willis (Erik Kever Ryle)
and wife Kitty Bit (Michele Ammon) indicates that they will go only so far to
help out with Bobby. The burden will
continue to fall on Merdelle as major caregiver.
On
her part, Merdelle can’t help but remember and reminisce about the past, how
she and Bobby had danced together, had had lovely experiences together.
But
worrisome incidents occur, more and more frequently. Bobby wanders naked in the backyard one evening; he displays
signs of violence. Arlis presses his
suit on Merdelle more and more strongly.
Ultimately
there is a resolution. As in life, such
resolutions are not always pleasant, particularly when the elderly are
involved.
Playwright
Dufresne, a well-respected fiction writer, has done well on his first theatrical
outing. He’s made an interesting
choice, to display typical family problems compounded by a disease that is
tragic not only for the sufferer but for his kinfolk, friends, and even the
nearby community.
Director
Wayne Maugans has created a potent feeling of intimacy between the family
members portrayed, and his actors have reciprocated with solid
performances. As with ensemble
performances basically, it’s unfair to pick one actor over another. However, Ann Hillary’s delicate yet fierce
spirit continues to shine after the curtain falls; Ron Faber’s husband Bobby
complements her well.
Trailerville, a world premiere, is Blue Heron Theatre’s final offering of the season.
The
EST (Ensemble Studio Theatre) Marathon presents its annual assortment of generally
quirky, taut and timely one-act plays. In
Series B, which was, to my mind, more effective than its predecessor, Cherie Vogelstein’s Love Is Deaf was a kind of
Chekhovian round robin, with one person loving the other loving the other, etc. It was hilarious. I remember particularly a personal trainer physically jealously
punishing his beloved by appearing to overstretch her (fortunately, very
limber) body. Director Jamie Richards
has put her cast vibrantly through its paces.
In
David Lindsay-Abaire’s Crazy Eights, parolee Connie, played richly by Rosie Perez,
is subtly harassed by
her parole officer, Benny (Keith Reddin).
In fact, he’s broken into her
apartment via a window. Connie is
understandably miffed, and feels much safer when a friend of hers appears
(played by understudy Oscar Isaac, when I saw the show). Not too surprisingly, Benny’s seeming
superefficiency masks his attraction to Connie. Good performances, particularly by Perez, under Brian Mertes’s
direction.
David Mamet has contributed, arguably, the most intriguing
piece of the evening. Ironically
entitled Home, the career couple
consisting of Robert (Victor Slezak) and wife Claire (Katherine Leask) thrusts
and parries on a sophisticated level. On
the verge of a divorce, neither wants to take any losses. At stake is their unseen daughter, who
already shows signs of caving in to stress. She may have asthma. Then Robert
gets a job offer out of town and tries to push the power to his side. But life so often offers unexpected
obstacles. Performances are top drawer,
under Curt Dempster’s perceptive
direction.
Series A is not nearly so successful, in spite of the
participation of two noted playwrights, Tony award winners John Guare and
Warren Leight, and two talented actress-playwrights, Alexandra
Gersten-Vassilaros and Leslie Lyles.
John Guare’s Madagascar
is a bit convoluted, which made for a lack of audience satisfaction, at
least to this viewer. One element of
its content appeared to deal with the real life story of the man who killed his
wife in an upsurge of shame when she learned he had lied about his attending
medical school. The play promised more
than it delivered.
Will Pomerantz directed
Remy Auberjonois and Amy Love.
Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros’s The Airport Play was slight but charming. One of two waiting
travelers, Hari (Edward Hajj), notices that his neighbor, Anne (Ann Talman), is
reading a book written by Hari’s sworn enemy. Apparently the author, a
self-help guru, has stolen Hari’s wife. Hari plunges into a diatribe against
the guru, but Hari’s manner is so restrained and gentle that one cannot help
but sympathize with him. Anne’s own
vulnerabilities come out. Director
Shirley Kaplan has assisted her actors with their sensitive performances.
In Warren Leight’s Mr.
Morton Waits for His Bus, the bus is a slow-to-arrive van which is to remove
the remains of the deceased Mr. Morton, who is presently guarded in his
apartment by police officer Sheehy (Ean Sheehy). The young cop, clearly nervous to be alone with this corpse
(played by Donald Symington), passes
the time by phoning his unresponsive and unloving father, and by later going
through Mr. Morton’s personal effects.
Finally reaching a desperate point Officer Sheehy takes some of Morton’s
pills. Unexpectedly, Mr. Morton becomes
conscious. It’s not clear whether this is an actual feat or whether it’s a
figment of the cop’s now slightly altered perceptions. Morton turns out to be a once prancing
homosexual, who philosophizes on life with Officer Sheehy. The play, which is directed by Andrew
McCarthy, conveys a bittersweet tone.
The Great Pretenders by
Leslie Lyles might be termed another airport play, as a divorced couple, Anna
(Amy Irving) and Bobby (Bruce McVittie) await a flight that will take them to
the funeral of their son, Jackie. The
couple’s touchy relationship is well played by Ms. Irving and Mr. McVittie.
Jackie (Haskell King) makes an appearance, conveying his sad sufferings with
mental illness. A young Anna and young
Bobby also appear, implying future hopes that we know will later be
dashed. There is some very sensitive
writing by playwright Lyles, and fine performances by the two leads, under the
skillful direction of Billy Hopkins.
Downtown at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, Flight, subtitled The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh, by Garth Wingfield, details
the aviator’s life story, from his early meeting of Anne Morrow, who was to
become his wife, to his successes as a flier, to the tragedy of the kidnapping
of their infant son, and the aftermath:
his apparent embracing of fascism during World War II. The play’s implication
is that the tragic death of his son caused severe emotional changes that might
never have taken place if Lindbergh’s life had not been tragically thrown off
course. The stark spotlight of
celebrity is subtly criticized.
Flight’s style is
severe, almost filmic, with the endings of scenes abruptly punctuated by a harsh sound. Lighting is stark. Actual
slides of Lindbergh are projected onto the back wall.
In short, the style conveys a documentary
quality, fitting for the life of a powerfully remembered and somewhat tragic
figure in American life. The playwright, in a program note, indicates that the
play is “rooted in history, though not strictly historical.”
Directed by Nick Corley, the cast is fine, with an
excellent Lindbergh by Gregg Edelman, his wife Anne an appealing Kerry
O’Malley, and an intense reporter well played by Brian D’Arcy James. Andrew
Polk, Rex Young and Victoria Mack play a variety of supporting roles.
In Designer Genes, written
by and starring Richmond Shepard, he portrays an aging but successful abstract
painter, Frederick Bronsky, who is smitten by a lovely, much younger journalist, Whitney (Shellee Nicols).
The attraction is mutual, and the artist sets about to make her his Galatea,
transforming her into a knowledgeable art analyst. Soon, she becomes the host
of a major TV show, eclipsing his fame.
Friction occurs, they break up, Frederick’s lawyer son Richard
(Christopher Kromer) ultimately effects a reconciliation. All ends almost
happily--although the couple reconciles, there is the undercurrent of
instability, the sense that this kind of relationship can’t last forever.
It is a light play, done with a light touch, with the
actors meeting the needs of the script.
Ryan Davis directed.
In the recent off-Broadway Obie Awards, annually sponsored
by the Village Voice, many of the
picks were off the beaten track. Just a few of my favorites include Mercedes
Ruehl in Woman Before a Glass, and
Vivienne Benesch and L. Scott Caldwell for their performances in Going to St. Ives. And of course Cherry
Jones, who also capped the Tony for Doubt. Incidentally, Brian F. O’Byrne, who
costarred with Jones in Doubt, was a
host for the Obies. That play garnered
a generous share of honors: Director Doug Hughes and playwright John Patrick
Shanley got Obies (as well as Tonys).
Other actors awarded Obies include Jeremy Shamos for Engaged, Elizabeth Marvel and Jason
Butler Harner for their performances in Hedda
Gabler. Unfortunately, space
precludes mentioning the many other winners in various categories, including
design.
Another performing artist, violinist Joshua Bell, performed
live in a taping of the radio show, “From the Top,” along with younger artists.
Bell’s consummate playing and elegant style featured works by Ernest
Chausson and Cesar Franck.
Through the Lens:
The
Film Society’s current retrospective, Risks and Reinvention: The Cinema of
Louis Malle, screens most of the late, great
filmmaker’s works. His range was
enormous, and always challenging. A few examples: Elevator to the Gallows, with Jeanne Moreau; Murmer of the Heart; Au Revoir les enfants, dealing with young
students during the Nazi invasion of France; Atlantic City, with Burt Lancaster as a petty gangster; the
well-loved My Dinner with Andre, and more. The series runs through July 19.
Ingmar Bergman’s latest film, Saraband, features Liv Ullmann (as Marianne) and Erland Josephson
(as Johan), as a friendly divorced couple who meet again and experience together the vicissitudes of
Johan’s current conflicts with his son and granddaughter, a talented
cellist. Though not of Berman’s highest
caliber, still, Bergman is Bergman, and always compelling.
May, 2005
On
the Boards:
By now the word is all over town that the current revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is a stunner. To my mind, the most effective and accurate of the terrific cast is Bill Irwin, whose college history professor, George, could not be bettered. Both cynical and gentle, and totally understanding of his wife Martha's foibles, Irwin is a marvel. Kathleen Turner's vivid portrayal of Martha certainly takes stage. Turner perhaps more than most Marthas makes a point of being her daddy's little girl, pouty and self-indulgent. My only quibble is that, for a college president's daughter, she is perhaps a bit too blowsy. Of course Martha is drunk most of the time but should she not occasionally retain a trace of that New England breeding? Mireille Enos's Honey is a gem, and David Harbour is fine as Nick. Anthony Page's direction brings out every nuance of Albee's masterpiece of one example of American domesticity.
John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, which made the move from off-Broadway to Broadway, and picked up the Pulitzer Prize along the way, continues to project its intense portrayal of doings in a Bronx Catholic school in the 60s, as the powerful Cherry Jones and understated Brian F. O'Byrne shine as adversarial school principal and teacher/priest, with the able assistance of Heather Goldenhersh as young Sister James and Adriane Lenox as the mother of a troubled student. Doug Hughes has directed with verve and sensitivity. (See my full review in Irish Voice, April 13.)
Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman is a weird and interesting blend of comedy and, in my opinion, melodrama rather than true drama. In a totalitarian state, a young writer is being interrogated because the content of his stories matches the modus operandi of actual murders. His mentally challenged brother may be the actual culprit, but the clever McDonagh keeps us guessing, and shivering, for quite a while. Terrific performances by Billy Crudup, Jeff Goldblum, Zeljko Ivanek and Michael Stuhlbarg under John Crowley's direction. (See my full review in Irish Voice, April 20.)
Of those mentioned above, the following have
recently been Tony-nominated: Best Play: Doubt and Pillowman. Best Play
Revival: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Actor in a Play: Billy Crudup (The
Pillowman), Bill Irwin (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf), Brian F. O'Byrne
(Doubt). Actress in a Play: Cherry Jones (Doubt), Kathleen Turner (Who's Afraid
of Virginia Woolf). Featured Actor in a Play: Michael Stuhlbarg (The
Pillowman), David Harbour (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf). Featured Actress in
a Play: Adriane Lenox (Doubt), Mireille Enos (Who's Afraid of'Virginia Woolf),
Heather Goldenhersh (Doubt). Direction of a Play: Doug Hughes (Doubt), John
Crowley (The Pillowman). There are others in categories such as lighting.
Christina Applegate has done herself proud, landing a Tony nomination as
Actress in a Musical for her starring stint in Sweet Charity; the show is also
up for best Musical Revival.
Catching up on worthy off-Broadway presentations:
The late heiress Peggy Guggenheim assembled one of the finest modern art collections ever. Her legacy has been set to words by playwright Lanie Robertson in the one-woman show Woman Before a Glass, in the person of actress Mercedes Ruehl. Ruehl takes center stage and never lets down in her powerful hour-and-a-half portrayal, directed by Casey Childs.
The eccentric Guggenheim began collecting art
as a hobby and, with uncanny taste, ended up with powerhouse names in the art
world: Paul Klee, Jackson Pollock, Max Ernst, Miro, Kandinsky, De Kooning, Man
Ray, and Alexander Calder, to name but a few. More important, she helped these
formerly struggling artists establish the world-class reputations they have
today.
Ruehl, in this tour-de-force, runs the gamut, from wheedling, to insisting, to
briefly falling apart emotionally on hearing of her daughter's suicide. Her
life appears to be a triumph of will. Of course money helped, but how many
wealthy people do little or nothing of a positive nature with their funds?
The play, which mostly deals with Guggenheim's efforts to bequeath her extraordinary collection to a major museum, ends with her best decision: She decides to create a museum in her beloved Venice, Italy, where she has spent most of her life. The collection still resides there, to be enjoyed by visitors from all over the world.
*
An elegant two-character play by Lee
Blessing, presented by Primary Stages, Going to St. Ives featured L. Scott
Caldwell in the role of African empress May N'Kame, and Viviene Benesch as Dr.
Cora Gage, an eye surgeon.
Set in Dr. Gage's cottage near Cambridge, England, May has come to seek Dr.
Gage's services, to perform crucial surgery on her eye. The two have never met
and both are overly cautious in their manner of speaking to one another.
Gradually the two warm up to each other, but then the bombshell drops.
May is the mother of the emperor of a small, unnamed central African nation. He is a vicious tyrant. May, both a mother and a highly ethical and moral person, has decided to do the unthinkable. Further, she needs the assistance of a doctor to help her do it.
Without giving too much away, the conversation covers the gamut of soul-searching as regards politics, ethical concerns, motherhood, and basic responsibilities of humane people.
In Act Two, set in May's home in Africa, the two women discuss what course of action May will take, now that her extraordinary act must lead to an extraordinary end.
Directed with unerring sensitivity by Maria Mileaf, Mr. Blessing's play is a rare contribution to the New York theatre scene. It is a play that makes the viewer think, and think hard.
As for performances, it is a real treat to see two actresses, poles apart in appearance and acting style-Ms. Caldwell being powerful and somewhat broad, Ms. Benesch delicate and highly detailed-merge to create a strongly meaningful whole. Fine, accurate sets by Neil Patel and costumes by Ann Hould-Ward complete the consummate effect.
*
A one-person show, Belfast Blues has made a strong impact this season. The piece,
by actor/writer Geraldine Hughes, is an autobiographical, theatricalized
version of elements of her own life story. Set in war-torn Belfast, Ireland, in
the 1970s and 80s, Hughes personally depicts some of the many remarkable and
unremarkable people who inhabited her life. There are more than twenty-her
parents, neighbors, etc. She talks of war, religion, and Hollywood. She tells
of her early longings to leave Belfast, to find something more for herself. And
she has. A vibrant performer, Hughes has been assisted in this venture by
Contributing Director Carol Kane.
Behind the Lens:
Up at the Walter Reade Theater, a fine Swedish series presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center ushers in the month of April. The featured filmmaker is Lukas Moodysson, who burst on the international scene in 1998 and has remained high on the list ever since. Some other new Swedish directors shown include Maria Blom, Peter Dalle, and Kristina Humie.
A marvelous series of world-class violinists entitled "Pulling Strings: Violinists on Film" presents such virtuosos as Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein, and others-a virtual feast for the ears, in nine programs.
Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, billed as "The Biggest Film Star in the World!" holds forth in a well-rounded series.
"Michael Powell: Beauty Unending" offers an overview of some of this great filmmaker's finest films: The Red Shoes, The Tales of Hoffman, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, to name but a few. It is an extraordinary series by this artist, who this year would have celebrated his 100th birthday.
Through the Lens
The 32nd New Directors/New Films offers an
international mix, from the quietly effective to the downright dazzling.
Filmmaker Todd Graff's Camp (USA) depicts a summer theater camp for kids age
six to sixteen, as they
prepare for end-of-season performances. One girl has had her jaw wired shut by
her parents to prevent her overeating; a drag queen has sexual orientation
problems. There are some conventional summer romances, and a
major Broadway luminary unexpectedly makes a guest appearance. Finally, these
young kids offer some knockout musical performances. An engaging, fun-filled
gambit.
Teenagers are also the concern of Peter Sollett's Raising Victor Vargas (USA), as 16- year-old Victor (Victor Rasuk) pursues lovely, hard-to-get "Juicy Judy" (Judy Marte), in the Loisaida section of Brooklyn. Other young couples do their dance, and Victor's firm grandmother (Altagracia Guzman) often lays down the law in this funny but sweet coming-of-age film.
Set on an island near western Sicily, Emanuele Crialese's Respiro (Italy) begins mildly, then darkens in tone as the lovely Grazia (a wonderful performance by Valeria Golino) first is criticized, then persecuted by her neighbors, who cannot understand nor tolerate her unconventional and free-spirited ways. Even her loving husband and sons cannot protect her. Respiro effectively melds violence and lyricism.
Another Italian entrant, Roberta Torre's Angela, almost steams up the screen in this beautifully realized sex triangle. Set in Palermo, Sicily, organized crime provides the backdrop for Angela (intense Donatella Finochiarro), married to the older Saro (Mario Pupella), to meet young, sexually vibrant Masino (Andrea di Stefano), who joins Saro's drug-dealing operation. The code of the Mafia permeates everyone's actions, in this truly unique portrayal of a woman's frustrations and passions, told from her point of view.
Autumn Spring by filmmaker Vladimir Michalek (Czech Republic) is a gentle but poignant depiction of a couple who must come to grips with increasing limitations and deprivations as they enter old age. The husband, Fanda (Vlastimil Brodsky), fights the need to make serious decisions regarding the couple's future, and spends his days seeking adventure and playing practical jokes. When his loyal but exasperated wife Emilie (Stella Zazvorkova) seeks a divorce after forty-four years of marriage, Fanda must finally face harsh reality.
Jim Simpson's The Guys (USA) is a moving and sometimes humorous depiction, based on reality, of a fire captain (richly portrayed by Anthony LaPaglia) who calls upon a New York journalist (Sigourney Weaver) to help him prepare eulogies he must deliver at funerals of several of his colleagues who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Strangers at the outset, as the two work together they gradually open up to each other. The fire captain is enabled to more deeply reveal his pain-and courage.
Fernando Leon de Aranoa's Mondays in the Sun (Spain) is a quiet film with an undercurrent of pain, as a group of men in a city on the northern coast of Spain, suffering from long unemployment or underemployment (one man even babysits to make ends meet), must find ways to pass the time and keep themselves afloat emotionally, while life, as it ought to be lived, seems to pass them by. Javier Bardem stars in an intense, underplayed performance.
Miwa Nishikawa's Wild Berries (Japan)
deals with a dysfunctional family: The father pretends to go to work every day,
although he has actually been fired. The son tries, in his odd fashion, to help
with the family's
financial difficulties, while the mother often expresses her dissatisfaction.
Only the daughter seems capable of keeping things on a somewhat even keel. The
film has moments of tenderness, alternating with tension and friction.
The above is just a sample of the entire series, many of which have won prizes in major film festivals worldwide, and a majority of which have achieved general release in New York and elsewhere. Look for them if you haven't made it to the festival itself.
______________________________________________________________
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World ...................Art Galleries .................Soulmate Book and Articles
OCTOBER 2002
Through the Lens:
The 40th New York Film Festival has presented its usual assortment of offerings from around the world. I'll pick out what for me were the high points. Arguably, one of the strongest impacts was made by an American film, Alexander Payne's About Schmidt, with an Oscar-contending star turn by Jack Nicholson. Portraying an aging insurance man from Nebraska who has lost in quick succession-wife, job, his daughter (via marriage to a fool), Schmidt embarks on a journey of self-discovery, meeting along the way a number of Middle-Americans, including the bare-busted Kathy Bates. The film, alternating comedy and poignancy, leaves a strong mark.
Two entries from Ireland, dealing with social and political issues, make a vivid impression. Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday, a dramatized version of the tragic events of January 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland, pulls no punches in showing the brutality of the British attacks, resulting in a massacre of innocent Irish civilians. James Nesbitt plays Ivan Cooper, a Catholic activist, who first confidently leads the protestors then recoils in horror at ensuing events. This film won the grand prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival.
Peter Mullan's The Magdalene Sisters (Scotland/Ireland), displays one of the profit-making laundries run by Sisters of the Magdalene Order, which used (until recent years) as virtual slave labor wayward Irish girls (i.e., unmarried mothers), who lacked societal supports, and were thus powerless to escape. The film is consistently harrowing and fascinating, with excellent performances from the four young women at its center, and a tour-de-force by Geraldine McEwan as the smilingly vicious head Sister.
Bertrand Tavernier's Safe Conduct (France) dealing with French filmmaking during the German Occupation, specifically follows two filmmakers who quietly opposed the Nazis in the course of their work. Based on real events in the lives of screenwriter Jean Aurenche and assistant director Jean Devaivre, the long (170 minutes) film never flags, mixing sex, politics and adventure.
The popular Pedro Almodovar blends black comedy and drama in Talk to Her, a story of two men in love: Benigno, a male nurse caring for a coma victim, and Marco, a writer involved with a female bullfighter who has been gored in the ring. Though not in my opinion the Spanish filmmaker's greatest film, as it has been touted, nevertheless Almodovar is always unique and interesting, featuring here a film-within-a-film with performances by noted dancer Pina Bausch and singer Caetano Veloso and an effective cameo by Geraldine Chaplin.
Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark is both a
technical tour-de-force and an elegant picturing of the majestic paces of The
Hermitage in St. Petersburg, filled with real and imagined characters from
Russian and European history. Required were months of rehearsal with almost 900
actors and three orchestras. The final ball sequences are breathtakingly
beautiful and compelling.
Chihwaseon by Korean director Im Kwon-Taek recounts the life of one of Korea's
foremost painters, Jang Seung-Ub, known as Ohwon. Born into poverty, he
ultimately achieves great fame while simultaneously indulging
his passions for women and alcohol. A bawdy and vivid film shot in particularly
beautiful color.
This year's offerings include some
impressive documentaries. Nicolas Philibert's To Be and To Have quietly but
sensitively recounts a year in the experiences of a one-room schoolhouse in
northern France. There is
remarkable interaction between students, of different ages, and their gentle
teacher, as the latter guides them to growing maturity. The teacher is a find,
for he arguably has enabled the filmmaker to create a work of such glowing
uplift. When, at the end, the teacher announces he is leaving this assignment,
it is a remarkably poignant moment that stays with the viewer--as tearing a parting
as one might witness anywhere.
Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary by Andre
Heller and Othmar Schmiderer is an odd but fascinating study of Traudi Junge,
who was Hitler's secretary, selected from several who "auditioned"
for Hitler in 1942. She worked for
him until his suicide in his bunker, transcribing his last will and testament.
The filmmakers persuaded the 81-year-old Junge to break her silence of fifty
years and record on camera just months before she died
her memories of this man whom she saw as a "pleasant boss and fatherly
friend." What strikes one as odd, however, is that Junge appears to have
remembered, half a century after their occurrence, the most minute
details of daily life with the Fuehrer.
A Special Retrospective Program
simultaneous with the Festival was a presentation of several films of the
beautiful and gifted Indian actress Shabana Azmi: The Actor as Activist. The
daughter of a poet and actress,
Azmi has achieved deserved fame for her versatile and finely wrought portrayals
as well as for her advocacy for the rights of women.
Through the Lens
SEPTEMBER
MoMAís Department of Film and Media, newly
located at the Gramercy Theatre at 127 East 23 Street pending completion of its
home on 53rd Street, is kicking off its inaugural season with two intriguing
series: To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film
Preservation, to run from October 11 to November 7, and a retrospective of the
films of noted French actress Delphine Seyrig, entitled Variations on an
Enigma: The Billy Rose Tribute to Delphine Seyrig, running October 18 to
November 21, 2002.
To Save and Project includes 67 fiction and documentary features, shorts,
commercials and home movies spanning more than a century of cinema history. The
selections, preserved by more than 25 archives worldwide, range worldwide.
Included are the U.S., Greece, Japan, Sweden, Vietnam and even the Vatican. The
opening night screening of Nicholas Rayís In a Lonely Place, features a vivid,
gutsy performance by Humprey Bogart at his best, supported by sultry Gloria
Grahame. Sidney Lumetís Fail-Safe, starring Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau,
deals with the ultimate Cold War nightmare as U.S. bombers race to drop a
nuclear payload on Moscow while U.S. authorities wrestle over whether to recall
the planes.
Some other selections: the Bengalese Satyajit Rayís riveting Abhijan (The Expedition), Charles Chaplinís evocative Limelight, and Jacques Tatiís Play Time. Ernst Lubitsch is represented with screenings of five silent films from Germany and his early Hollyuwood sound feature, The Smiling Lieutenant starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert.
August 2002
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a l l a d o f N a r a y a m a ( n a m e d B e s t F i l m a t t h e l 9 8 3
C a n n e s F i l m F e s t i v a l ) . F i l m m a k e r V o l k e r S c h l o
n d o r f f ( W e s t G e r m a n y ) h a s m a d e a n o t a b l e v e r s i o
n o f G u n t e r G r a s s ' s n o v e l T i n D r u m , w i t h
a s t u n n i n g p e r f o r m a n c e b y y o u n g D a v i d B e n n e n t .
T h e f i l m , m e r g i n g h u m o r a n d t r a g e d y , w o n a n A c a d
e m y A w a r d f o r B e s t F o r e i g n F i l m a n d t h e P a l m e d 'O
r a t C a n n e s i n l 9 7 9 .
M a r c e l P r o u s t ' s m a s t e r w o r k R e m e m b r a n c e
o f T h i n g s P a s t i s b r o u g h t t o l i f e o n t h e s c r e e n
b y R a u l R u i z ' s a d a p t a t i o n , w o r k i n g w i t h s c r e e n
w r i t e r G i l l e s T a u r a n d . T h e s p l e n d i d c a s t i n c l u
d e s C a t h e r i n e D e n e u v e , J o h n M a l k o v i c h , E m m a n u
e l l e B e a r t a n d V i n c e n t P e r e z .
T h e l i s t g o e s o n ; a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y s e l e c t i o n o f
w o r l d - c l a s s f i l m s t o b e s h o w n t h r o u g h A u g u s t 1 5
.
A l s o o n t h e a g e n d a a t L i n c o l n C e n t e r a r e M o t h e
r I n d i a b y M e h b o o b K h a n , T h e F a l l o f O t r a r b
y A r d a k A m i r k u l o v o f K a z a k h s t a n , a n d t h e s e r i e s
: W h i s p e r s i n a D i s t a n t C o r r i d o r : T h e C i n e
m a o f J a c q u e s T o u r n e u r . T h e s e n o t e d h o r r o r f i
l m s : C a t P e o p l e , C u r s e o f t h e D e m o n , e t c
. , r u n i n t o S e p t e m b e r .
Mid-Summer 2002
On the Boards
Mid-August afforded me a mini-vacation in my old haunt, Woodstock, New York, where I couldnít resist a theaterpersonís holiday by attending a show. It was Agatha Christieís The Mousetrap (just closed), presented at the refurbished Woodstock Playhouse. (The Playhouse, damaged by a fire some years back, has been put into spanking, sparkling shape.) I spoke briefly with energetic young producer/artistic director Elli Michaels, who heads Bird-on-a-Cliff Theatre Company. Together with her husband, David Aston-Reese, who directed Mousetrap, they have another show presently on the boards: Shakespeareís Comedy of Errors, playing on the Comeau property, ìacross from the fire house,î Elli informs me. Look into this; the Shakespeare is outdoors, so you can still enjoy the beauties of Woodstockís countryside as you hear the Old Bardís words.
Through The Lens
J u l y , 2 0 0 2
I n a d d i
t i o n t o t h e f i n a l o f f e r i n g s o f t h e G a b i n s e r i e s ,
a t r e a t a w a i t s t h e a t r e g o e r s w i t h T h e R ' s W a l t e r
R e a d e T h e a t e r . B a c k i n l 9 7 3 p r o d u c e r E l y L a n d a u
l a u n c h e d h i s a m b i t i o u s p r o j e c t b y t h a t n a m e . N o
w T h e F i l m S o c i e t y o f f e r s s i x h i g h l i g h t s , i n c l u
d i n g a n e w p r i n t o f A r t h u r H i l l e r ' s v e r s i o n o f R o
b e r t S h a w ' s T h e M a n i n t h e G l a s s B o o t h , s t a r
r i n g M a x i m i l i a n S c h e l l i n a n o v e r - t h e - t o p b u t a
l w a y s c o m p e l l i n g p o r t r a y a l o f t h e m a n w h o i s e i t
h e r a g o o d J e w o r a N a z i S u p p o r t i n g a c t o r s i n c l u d
e L o i s N e t t l e s o n , L u t h e r A d l e r a n d L a w r e n c e P r e
s s m a n .
H a r o l d P i n t e r 's T h e
H o m e c o m i n g , d i r e c t e d b y P e t e r H a l l , f e a t u r e
s t h e a c t o r s f r o m t h e o r i g i n a l l 9 6 5 L o n d o n p r o d u
c t i o n : C y r i l C u s a c k , I a n H o l m , M i c h a e l J a y s t o n
, V i v i e n M e r c h a n t , T e r e n c e R i g b y a n d P a u l R o g e r
s . H e r e P i n t e r ' s b i z a r r e f a m i l y c a n b e s e e n i n c l
o s e - u p , a n a d v a n t a g e t o s e e i n g t h e s h o w i n t h e t h
e a t r e , a n d w i t h t h e s e s u p e r b p e r f o r m e r s a t t h e t
o p o f t h e i r f o r m .
I n G u y G l e e n ' s p r o d u c t i o n b a s e d o n p l a y w r i g h t J
o h n O s b o r n e 's L u t h e r , S t a c y K e a c h g i v e s a s e
n s a t i o n a l , n e v e r - f l a g g i n g p o r t r a y a l o f M a r t i
n L u t h e r , t h e 1 6 t h c e n t u r y A u g u s t i n i a n m o n k w h o
s e p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t t h e R o m a n C h u r c h l e d t o t h e r
e l i g i o u s a n d p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e s i n E u r o p e k n o w n
a s t h e R e f o r m a t i o n . T h e e x c e l l e n t c a s t i n c l u d e
s P a t r i c k M a g e e , H u g h G r i f f i t h , J u d i D e n c h a n d R
o b e r t S t e p h e n s .
R o u n d i n g o u t t h e s e r i e s : J o h n F r a n k e n h e i m e r ' s
p r o d u c t i o n o f E u g e n e O N e i l l 's T h e I c e m a n C o m e
t h , w i t h a l i s t o f s t a r s t o d r a w i n f i l m a n d t h e a
t r e l o v e r s a l i k e : L e e M a r v i n , B r a d f o r d D i l l m a n
, J e f f B r i d g e s , F r e d r i c M a r c h ( i n h i s l a s t p e r f o
r m a n c e ) a n d R o b e r t R y a n ( i n h i s p e n u l t i m a t e s c r
e e n a p p e a r a n c e ) a s t h e o l d a n a r c h i t L a r r y . T h e a
l m o s t 4 - h o u r e p i c c o m p e l s a s o n l y O `N e i l l c a n . T
h e c a s t o f E d w a r d A l b e e ' s A D e l i c a t e B a l a n c e ,
d i r e c t e d b y T o n y R i c h a r d s o n , r e a d s l i k e a n o t h e
r W h o ' s W h o o f s t a r d o m a n d e x c e l l e n c e : K a t h a r i n
e H e p b u r n , P a u l S c o f i e l d , s u p p o r t e d b y J o s e p h C
o t t o n a n d B e t s y B l a i r , a n d K a t e R e i d . B e r t o l t B r
e c h t ' s p l a y G a l i l e o , r e c e i v e s f i n e w o r k a t
t h e h a n d s o f d i r e c t o r J o s e p h L o s e y a n d f e a t u r e s
T o p o l , E d w a r d F o x , J o h n G i e l g u d , T o m C o n t i a n d M
a r g a r e t L e i g h t o n .
T h e N e w Y o r k V i d e o F e s t i v a l h o l d s f o r t h f o r a w e e
k .
Through The Lens
June, 2002
Never mind that summer will soon be upon us and we will supposedly sink into the doldrums; there will be plenty to see at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, features a new generation of filmmakers with over a dozen offerings. Three are works by Neapolitan directors Antonio Capuano (Luna Rossa), Pappi Corsicato (Chimera), and Paolo Sorrentino ís One Man Up. A special event will be Ermanno Olmiís The Profession. Olmi, the subject of a Walter Reade retrospective last year, is noted as a major influence on the current generation of Italian filmmakers.
Also this month: The 2002 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, co- presented by the Film Society, is offering a provocative, meaningful assortment of films from all over the world. Amen, by noted filmmaker Costa Gavras, examines the complicity of the Vatican during the Holocaust. It contains condemnation for those who knew and kept silent, and praise for those courageous enough to take a stand. Others: Afghanistan Year 1380 by Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Alberto Vendemmiati, following their success with last year is entrant Jung: In the Land of the Mujhaheddin; Jon Osman and Jonathan Stackís hard-hitting Justifiable Homicide, a documentary based on the killings by two NYPD detectives of two Puerto Rican cousins in the Bronx. 500 Duman on the Moon by filmmaker Rachel Leah Jones is a video documentary on Ayn Hawd, a Palestinian village captured by Israeli forces in the l948 war. And many more.
An extensive series of great French star Jean Gabinís films runs through July 18. Just a few: Grand Illusion, Port of Shadows, Pepe le Moko, and The Human Beast (La Begte humane), going from his early days to his later, more mature roles.