Film Reviews & Previews
FREE SCREENING – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11 at 10 am. Director MARIA SCHRADER in person. RSVP: SashaBerman@mac.com.
STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE, Austria’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film – 89th Academy Awards®, was written and directed by Maria Schrader (one of Germany’s most acclaimed actresses, best known for her award-winning lead role in “Aimee & Jaguar” and for her lead role in the Emmy-winning TV series “Deutschland 83”).
The film episodically tells the story of the Austrian Jewish writer Stefan Zweig and his life while in exile from 1936 to 1942. Best known in the U.S. for his novellas “The Royal Game” and “Letter from an Unknown Woman,” that was later adapted into a film directed by Max Ophüls, starring Joan Fontaine. His writings have also inspired Wes Anderson’s “Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Stefan Zweig (next to Thomas Mann) was the most-translated German-speaking writer of his time, but having been driven into emigration at the peak of his worldwide fame, Zweig falls into despair at the sight of Europe’s downfall, which he had anticipated early on. Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New York, Petrópolis are four stations in Stefan Zweig’s exile, which despite offering him safe refuge and overwhelming tropical nature, won’t help him find peace and won’t be able to replace his home.
STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE is the story of a refugee, a tale of losing one’s home and of the search for a new one. It is a visually stunning historic picture about a great artist and, at the same time, a film about a time in which Europe was coming apart.
Special Q&A Event after the Thursday 12/15 7:30PM SINS OF OUR YOUTH screening featuring Cast & Crew including Director & Writer Gary & Edmund Entin as well as stars Mitchel Musso, Joel Courtney, Bridger Zadina & Dani Knights.
We are pleased to present a special series of screenings of the critically acclaimed new film SEASONS followed by in-person Q&A’s with Andy Lipkis, founder and president of TreePeople: December 6 – Monica Film Center, Santa Monica. Daniel Hinerfeld of the National Resources Defense Council will moderate; December 7 – NoHo 7, North Hollywood. Elissa Barrett of TreePeople will moderate; and December 8 – Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, Pasadena) after the 7:30 pm showings. A portion of the ticket sale proceeds will benefit TreePeople.
SEASONS from Jacques Perrin, the director of Winged Migration and Oceans, is a poetic chronicle of animals and their habitats over the past 15,000 years, and a natural symphony on the mysteries of the forests. Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times calls SEASONS “another testament to the breathtaking wonders of the natural world.”
Andy Lipkis is a practical visionary who has dedicated his life to healing the environment while improving the lives of individuals and communities. TreePeople has engaged over two million people in planting and caring for trees to revitalize the pollution and drought-damaged forests and watersheds of Southern California. “The timing couldn’t be better to see this film,” says Lipkis. “SEASONS is a delicious and intimate immersion with the animals, birds, and trees of the forest ecosystem that will open your heart and heal your spirit. With tens of millions of trees dying in California’s mountain and city forests, SEASONS informs us without words or politics, about the extraordinary life support system we’re losing, that we can and must come together to save.”
77 MINUTES filmmaker Charlie Minn will participate in Q&A’s after all screenings: 12/6 at the Playhouse, 12/7 at the NoHo and 12/8 at the Monica Film Center.
Concomitant with our December 3rd – 8th engagement of Oscar-winning director Steven Okazaki’s bio-documentary MIFUNE: THE LAST SAMURAI at the Ahrya Fine Arts, Laemmle Theatres is pleased to present four Mifune classics at the same venue. We will be screening:
SAMURAI REBELLION (1967)
Saturday, December 3 @ 8:00 PM
THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958)
Sunday, December 4 @ 10:00 AM
HIGH & LOW (1963)
Sunday, December 4 @ 8:30 PM
THRONE OF BLOOD (1957)
Thursday, December 8 @ 7:15 PM
MIFUNE: THE LAST SAMURAI director Steven Okazaki will participate in Q&A’s at the Fine Arts after the 8 PM screening on Friday, December 2nd (moderated by Michael Lumpkin – Director of AFI Docs Film Festival) and after the 6 PM screening on Saturday, December 3rd (moderated by Abe Ferrer – L.A. Asian-Pacific Film Festival).
Art in the Arthouse is pleased to present the vibrant works of accomplished painter, illustrator and designer, NANCY NIMOY, at the Royal Theater. Curated by our own Tish Laemmle, this exhibit showcases Nimoy’s versatile talent in over 30 stunning pieces. Expansive in both theme and approach, Nimoy tackles issues of politics, social media, and celebrity.
Nimoy has a way of finding beauty and meaning in the seemingly mundane. Her unique take on the everyday commands attention, while playful use of light and color make her work visually “pop.” The end result being whimsical and engaging paintings of undeniable craftsmanship.
When Nimoy began her career in New York, a well-known design team famously admonished her for presenting a portfolio that was “all over the map.” Today, as a sought after painter and illustrator with a long list of private commissions, corporate, publishing, theatre, and film clients, her work is quite literally, all over the map.
In the end, Nimoy’s flexibility is, in fact, her strength. Whether exploring icons such as The Rolling Stones, depicting a woman’s dress, or documenting the last anxious days of a diabolical political campaign, her gift for observation and storytelling shines through. Nimoy’s influences are also many, reflecting her love of Diebenkorn, Picasso, Hockney and the German Expressionist movement, with a deep bow to Maira Kalman.
Nimoy’s work, including portrait commissions, can be found in collections from Dublin to Brooklyn and scattered throughout her messy studio where she does her best work in her bathrobe.
The Nancy Nimoy Solo Exhibit runs through January. Make sure to visit the gallery outside of the Royal’s main auditorium (House #1) next time you come for a movie. Or just stop by – movie tickets are not required to view the art.
