Film selection for November 15:
“Fair Game” and “Inside Job”
Film selection for October 18:
“You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger”
at the Magnolia in West Village and the Plano Angelika
April film pick:
Scott Churchill recommended Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Art of the Steal for our Monday, April 19 session. Come join us for the conversation!
March film pick:
Scott Churchill recommended Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer for our Monday, March 15th session. Scott and I also talked about Fish Tank, as looking very interesting, and we both said we’d see it before our class on the 15th and bring back a report. You do so, too, if you get a chance.
We talked about The White Ribbon, but the timing looks off. We were afraid that since it has only two showtimes listed at the Mockingbird Angelika, it might not be here past next Thursday. But see it, Scott highly recommends; maybe we can discuss it somewhat.
Hope to see you on the 15th!
February film pick:
Scott Churchill has recommended Up in the Air for February’s class.
November film picks:
Scott Churchill has the following recommendations for us in advance of our November 2nd session: Coco Before Chanel and Amelia.
Consider it a double-feature month: Coco Before Chanel is out now at the Magnolia, and Amelia is due out next Friday, the 23rd. These bio-pics will be a departure for our group, and Scott observes that both are about strong but very different women–contemporaries, in fact–who made lasting impacts.
I note that we haven’t taken up further discussion of Bright Star. I’ll leave my earlier comments posted, but what about other films you’ve seen since we met? Any recommendations? Hope to hear from you!
A Few Thoughts on October’s film pick, Bright Star
Although I’m just getting here more than a week after our class, some strong impressions from Bright Star remain with me still. I liked our conversation in class very much, but I did wish for a few more minutes at the end to discuss further Keats’ relationship with Brown.
It seemed to me he really does love Keats–with a protective love that is natural enough but that reveals (among other things) Brown’s inferior status as a poet. He doesn’t understand the depth of Keats’ brilliance, but Fanny does, or at least she comes to fathom it eventually. At some point, she surpasses Brown in her selflessness where Keats is concerned.
Brown’s relationship to Keats is static; Fanny’s is dynamic. Brown may be a fellow poet with Keats, but he is unable to partake of the high vision that Keats achieves before he dies. Fanny, although no poet, does partake of it, in fact makes it possible because she is the portal through which Keats glimpses it.
Hi, nice article, I also work in this field (love and relationship) and still learning.. thanks
Just read Scott’s review of Broken Embraces in today’s Times. Sure wish we had an opportunity to discuss this film and Almadovar’s body of work. Perhaps in the Spring?
I’d think before talking with this guy.
Hi, everyone — I thought some of you might be interested in this “On Language” column in today’s “NY Times Magazine,” which looks at whether the Keats portrayed in “Bright Star” speaks the way the real-life Keats would have spoken. Here’s the link to the column:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/magazine/01FOB-onlanguage-t.html?scp=1&sq=keats&st=cse
Looking forward to tomorrow’s discussion!
Katherine
Hi Everyone,
Please excuse if this is a repeated comment–thought I had submitted it, but don’t see it showing up. Anyway, I saw Coco and had a few thoughts that I felt didn’t reveal any plotlines. I liked the movie for the following reasons, and would love to hear anyone else’s view:
What I liked about the movie
1. The complexity and depth of the relationships was apparent…none of them were simple—there were no bad guys and good guys…just people, versus the lack of ambiguity in Bright Star.
2. I learned something about Coco—first, how her philosophy of life was revealed in her clothes, and secondly, her role as an independent woman in business and what a trendsetter she was in that world, as well as in the world of design.
3. Although I didn’t think the cinematography or the repartee was as good as Bright Star, and although I find language, visuals and music key to a great movie, I think what makes me go to the movies is to glimpse something about human relationships, and I thought this movie did that very well.
Hi Everyone,
i just saw Coco yesterday and wanted to some random thoughts. i’ve bewen careful not to reveal any plotlines that would ruin it for anyone that hasn’t seen the movie.
What I liked about the movie:
1. The complexity and depth of the relationships was apparent…none of them were simple—there were no bad guys and good guys…just people, versus the lack of ambiguity in Bright Star.
2. I learned something about Coco—first, how her philosophy of life was revealed in her clothes, and secondly, her role as an independent woman in business and what a trendsetter she was in that world, as well as in the world of design.
3. Although I didn’t think the cinematography or the repartee was as good as Bright Star, and although I find language, visuals and music key to a great movie, I think what makes me go to the movies is to glimpse something about human relationships, and I thought this movie did that very well.
Would love to hear anyone else’s experience. Thanks, Ann
i was sorry to miss the conversation on Brights Star because i had hoped it would help me to appreciate the movie. although i found the movie to be visually stunning and well acted, i had a hard time feeling much going on between Fanny and Keats, and would have imagined John Keats to be a more complicated fellow than the movie portrayed. on the subject of other movies, i did feel that “a woman in berlin” lent itself to good conversation–reminded me some of the book, “those who save us” (think i got the title right–by jenna blum). at the risk of being booed out, i found “whip it” to be a fun movie. looking forward to november 2.
ann
I would characterize Brown’s “love” of Keats as something else entirely. I understand his “support “of Keats to be a function of HIS need to stay connected with him – probably hoping that merely keeping him dependent and in his vicinity will impart some of Keats’ genius to himself. I believe he is threatened by Fanny, who in fact IS elevated by her relationship with Keats, partly because she herself has real artistic strengths and intelligence and partly because she is not a selfish manipulative boor who preys on the weaknesses of others for his own gain/pleasure.
In answer to Larry’s question – I have recently seen “A Woman in Berlin” ( REALLY interesting depiction of how women coped and survived in Russian occupied Berlin), Lorna’s Silence ( no longer playing at the Angelika but another excellent “survivors” tale) ,September Issue (I view this as a corrective to the mean spirited ” The Devil Wears Prada “- I came away from this feeing kind of sorry for Anna Wintour – NOONE in her family (her siblings or her daughter) appears to respect her talents ( as an editor and decision maker ) or take her seriously and she seems quite isolated- which maybe necessary to cope w/ all the sycophants she comes in contact with in such a narcisstic business – and lastly, The Invention of Lying”. I admit to being a Ricky Gervais groupie so I might have enjoyed this more than the average viewer. The premise of the movie is full of potential but was not as fully realized as I’d hoped – and the production looked kind of cheesy in spite of wall to wall cameo performances by some pretty talented people. It’s still more interesting than a lot of the stuff out there.