MVFS March schedule starts with ‘The Young Victoria’
March 5, 2010
The Mesilla Valley Film Society at the Fountain Theatre Located in the Fountain Theatre, one block south of the plaza, at 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, Mesilla, NM. Regular Show Times: Evenings at 7:30 Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30 Telephone: (575) 524-8287
March 5-11 The Young Victoria Dir: Jean-Marc Vallee, (UK/USA), 2009, 105 min. In English/German
What Jean-Marc Vallée has done in this delicious historical romance is capture that hot blush of pure emotion that comes before kisses, sex, heartbreak and the rest can dilute it. Vallée understands the power in the promise of things to come. Victoria and Albert are a couple with modern problems: she has to ask him to marry her, rules of the court; she makes more than he ever will, perks of the crown; she wears the crown in the family, luck of the draw. Blunt and Rupert Friend make the most of the inherent tension in their role reversals and their relative youth. It all plays out a bit like their first waltz in front of the entire court, they are so intent on each other you feel as if you want to be careful not to intrude, yet you can’t look away. Julian Fellowes’ (Gosford Park) excellent script reveals the humanity of his subjects, whether pawns or players in the high stakes world of empire-building. Betsy Sharkey, LA Times.
March 12 – 18 Me and Orson Welles Dir: Richard Linklater, (UK/USA), 2009, 114 min. In English British actor Christian McKay plays the man who would be Citizen Kane in a miraculous act of physical and vocal transformation surpassed only by the way he seems to dig deep into Welles’ conflicted soul. Zac Efron as Richard Samuels is our eyes and ears into Welles’ world. Richard blunders into a meeting with the then-22-year-old genius, wins a small role in the play, and falls under the spell of everything theatrical Welles builds with producing partner John Houseman (the great Eddie Marsan). The film brims with wonderful turns from actors playing actors — James Tupper as Joseph Cotten, Leo Bill as Norman Lloyd, Ben Chaplin as George Coulouris. But what makes the movie stick is the way McKay and Efron handle the seduction and betrayal of Richard by Welles. The treachery is sweetly done, of course, but it leaves its mark. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.
March 19-25 Broken Embraces Dir: Pedro Almodovar, (Spain) 2009, 127 min. In Spanish/English.
Broken Embraces is the fourth film in which Almodóvar has directed his muse, Penélope Cruz. They bring out something elemental in each other, even when a plot defies description. Cruz plays Lena, a hooker-turned-actress who falls for her Almodóvar-ish director (Lluís Homar), who uses makeup, wigs and wardrobe to morph her into sexual fantasies men can watch. Then a car crash ends Lena’s life and the director’s career until . .. What I will conjecture is that Broken Embraces, lyrically shot by Rodrigo Prieto, represents Almodóvar’s broken love affair with film itself — how a camera can lie and keep secrets that maybe only another camera can reveal. Cruz exudes a sensual aura of mystery that holds you spellbound. And Almodóvar, a true poet of cinema, creates images — horrifying and healing — that live inside your head like a waking dream. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.
March 26-April 1 The Last Station Dir: Michael Hoffman, (Ger., Rus., UK), 2009, 112 min. In English.
Helen Mirren is a lusty, roaring wonder playing the long-suffering wife of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer). Countess Sofya, married to the old man for 48 years and the mother of his 13 children, is beside herself over her husband’s decision to will the rights to his great literary works not to her but to the Russian people. Sofya faints dead away at the sight of Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), who manages the utopian movement that Tolstoy founded. To watch Mirren threaten, cajole and seduce her husband is a treat Oscar voters cannot ignore. The incomparable Mirren is simply astounding. And Plummer, red-faced with embarrassment at his own desire for his wife after all these years, is her match. The sight of these two acting giants going at each other should come under the heading of pure, rowdy pleasure. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.
