CineMatinee September Calendar
August 13, 2008
CineMatinee September 2008:
A unique blend of movies, past and present, often with an emphasis on life in the west—which could mean the new west, the old west, or anything in between—and ‘movies that missed us’—films that are notable but never had a lot of publicity—the CineMatinee series is designed to show area residents that film is a form of art as well as entertainment! At least one film a month for this series has a ‘New Mexico Connection’, drawing from the vast pool of movies made in the state or perhaps featuring a star/story from New Mexico talent.
Unless otherwise noted, screening time is 1.30 PM, and admission is $4 for everyone except film society members who are admitted for $1. The theatre is located one half block of the Mesilla Plaza. For more information, please call 524-8287 or 522-0286.
This month we will have three screenings that will include visiting filmmakers. Please note that the Sept 27 CineMatinee is a special event.
Sept 6- Seducing Dr. Lewis (2003, 108 minutes, not rated, but PG would fit, IN FRENCH WITH SUBTITLES) Seducing Doctor Lewis, takes place in a grizzled fishing village in Quebec. Its characters may speak French, but the film, the first feature directed by Jean-François Pouliot, would fit comfortably in the British comic tradition of such films as The Full Monty or Death at a Funeral.
The movie finds humor in small-town idiosyncrasies and in economic hardship. The men of the village, Ste. -Marie la Mauderne, who once rose before dawn to take their living from the sea, now line up every month for welfare checks. Germain Lesage, the portly, perpetually unshaven hero, is desperate to restore the town’s decrepit pride. A plastics company is looking for a site for a new factory, and Germain places himself at the head of the campaign to promote Ste. -Marie. But the company stipulates that to be considered, the village must have a full-time resident doctor, one of many amenities it lacks.
Through serendipitous circumstances, an ambitious young Montreal internist is lured away from the city, and what follows might be described as a subtitled version of the television series Northern Exposure.
The locals, under Germain’s direction, try to refashion their hamlet into something Dr. Lewis will find irresistible. Discovering that he loves cricket, these die-hard hockey fans become practitioners of a decidedly unorthodox (and very funny) version of the game. One, a skittish fellow named Steve (Bruno Blanchet), must pretend to share the doctor’s passion for unlistenable jazz fusion played at high volume. When Dr. Lewis goes fishing, a frozen fish is surreptitiously attached to his line.
Seducing Doctor Lewis is a warm, funny film, whose sweet sentiments are genial and unchallenging, and its jokes are low-key and gentle.
Sept 13- NM Filmmakers Showcase (FREE admission!) Approximately 2 hrs. This afternoon’s matinee will be hosted and sponsored by the New Mexico Film Office, and will feature screenings of the winner’s of the 2008 edition of the New Mexico Filmmakers Showcase competition which was held this past summer in Albuquerque. Films to be screened include:
TIME ASSASSINS -Director Reuben Finkelstein- Albuquerque– John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald are sent back in time to stop a maniacal priest from destroying the world. (6 MIN)
A DAY IN HEAVEN- Directors David Valdez and Philip H. R. Gunn -Rio Rancho – A light-hearted comedic adventure about Rudy Dominguez, a humble man from rural NM. After the death of his beloved wife, he builds a flying machine to see her in heaven. (14 MIN)
SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND- Director Bryant Botero – Albuquerque – A documentary about the lives & experiences of four groups of subway performers, revealing how these artists are perceived by society. (27 MIN) A RETURN HOME -Director Ramona Emerson, Albuquerque – After 37 years in the city, Navajo artist B. Emerson-Kitsman learns how difficult life can be on the reservation – but, through her art she learns to bridge the gap. (32 MIN)
UNDERWAY- Director Paul Marcus, Santa Fe – At a stop-over between worlds, a woman discovers that her past and future are simultaneously in progress. (17 MIN)
All filmmakers are our invited guests, and those in attendance will partake in a question and answer session regarding their work.
Sept 20- Chooch (2004, 80 minutes, rated R, partially shot in the Las Cruces area) Chooch is the first feature film by Las Cruces resident (and our guest) Rajeev Nirmalakhandan, who is currently an instructor at NMSU’s Creative Media Institute.
The life of Queens resident Dino Condito (Carmine Famiglietti) is about to take a surprising turn. After letting down his softball team by striking out in the bottom of the ninth against Hoboken, his crew brands him “the chooch. ” Trying to cheer up his cousin, Jubilene Condito (Joseph Summa) cashes in the savings from his first holy communion and springs for a vacation to Cancun. “You mean leave Queens? ” asks Dino, as if the thought had never occurred to him.
But there’s a mix-up on the way to the airport involving a mysterious bag of money. As soon as Dino and Jube land in Mexico, they’re abducted by a pair of thugs and left in the desert at the mercy of a trio of soldiers. It takes reuniting Dino’s old Queens “crew, ” including Dino’s beloved pet dachshund, to save the two cousins.
Only after a jail bust, donkey ride, chicken coop explosion, and a life-changing love affair at the local bordello does the crew finally arrive to save the day. Returning home in triumphant glory with his reunited crew and newfound love Ladonna (Paola Walker), Dino discovers the meaning of family, friendship and neighborhood.
Sept 27- The Cats of Mirikitani (2007, 74 minutes, with special guest, filmmaker Linda Hattendorf. Please note: this is a special event and advanced ticketing will be required. Details to follow.) “Make art not war” is Jimmy Mirikitani’s motto. The now 88-year-old artist was born in Sacramento, California, raised in Hiroshima, Japan, traveled the U. S. and even cooked for artist Jackson Pollock. But by 2001, Mirikitani was homeless, living on the streets of New York City. As tourists and shoppers hurried past, Mirikitani sat alone on a windy corner in New York’s SoHo, drawing pictures of whimsical cats, bleak internment camps, and the angry red flames of the atomic bomb. When local filmmaker Linda Hattendorf stopped to ask about his art, a friendship—detailed in The Cats of Mirikitani —began that changed both their lives. In sunshine, rain and snow, Hattendorf returned to document Mirikitani’s drawings, trying to decipher the stories behind them. The tales spilled out in a jumble. Childhood picnics in Japan, lost citizenship, Pearl Harbor, thousands of Americans imprisoned in WWII desert camps, a boy who loved cats. As winter warmed to spring and summer, Hattendorf started to piece together the puzzle of Mirikitani’s past. One thing is clear from his prolific sidewalk displays: he has survived terrible traumas and is determined to make his history visible through his art. September 11, 2001, threw Mirikitani once again into a world at war and challenged Hattendorf to move from the role of witness to advocate. During the chaos following the collapse of the World Trade Center, she found herself unable to passively photograph this elderly man coughing in the toxic smoke, and invited him into her small apartment. In this uncharted landscape, the two unlikely roommates navigated the maze of the social welfare system, sought out lost family members, and researched the artist’s painful past, finding eerie parallels to events unfolding around them in the present. Blending beauty and humor with tragedy and loss, The Cats of Mirikitani is an intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing power of art…and cats.
Comments
Got something to say?
