FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN producer/DeLorean historian Tamir Ardon and writer Dan Greeney will participate in a Q&A following the 7:10 pm show on Wednesday, 6/26 only!
OUR TIME and THE CHAMBERMAID, Two Brilliant Mexican Films, Opening Soon.
After Alfonso Cuarón won the Best Director Oscar for Roma in February, people began pointing out that the Academy had given the award to a Mexican filmmaker in five out of the last six years, a remarkable turn of events. (Cuaron won once before, for Gravity, Alejandro Iñárritu twice for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Revenant and Guillermo del Toro once for The Shape of Water.) In the coming weeks at the Royal we’ll be showcasing even more cinematic talent from Mexico with two terrific new movies: we’ll open Our Time [Nuestro Tiempo] on June 28 and The Chambermaid [La Camarista] on July 5, both at the Royal in West L.A.
In Our Time, a family lives in the Mexican countryside raising fighting bulls. Esther is in charge of running the ranch, while her husband Juan, a world-renowned poet, raises and selects the animals. Although in an open marriage, their relationship begins to crumble when Esther falls in love with an American horsebreaker and Juan is unable to control his jealousy.
From the moment he arrived on the film scene seventeen years ago with his debut feature Japón, Reygadas has been the complete package: a mature and accomplished artist who is both contemporary with countrymen Cuarón, del Toro, and Iñárritu and operating on his own plane – earning his place as “the one-man third wave of Mexican cinema.” His previous films include Silent Night (2007) and Post Tenebras Lux (2012), awarded the Jury Prize and Best Director at Cannes Film Festival. Armed with a full arsenal of aesthetic and narrative tools and persistently fearless in their realignment, he has consistently traversed new cinematic territory for himself and within movie history.
Writing in Sight & Sound, Giovanni Marchini Camia called Our Time “a soul-searching work of scorching honesty that functions both as an anatomy of love and marriage, and as an evisceration of masculinity.”
In her feature film debut The Chambermaid, theater director Lila Avilés turns the monotonous work day of Eve (Gabriela Cartol), a chambermaid at a high-end Mexico City hotel, into a beautifully observed film of rich detail. Set entirely in this alienating environment, with extended scenes taking place in the guest rooms, hallways, and cleaning facilities, this minimalist yet sumptuous movie brings to the fore Eve’s hopes, dreams, and desires. As with Cuarón’s Roma, set in the same city, The Chambermaid salutes the invisible women caretakers who are the hard-working backbone of society. – New Directors/New Films
New York Times co-chief film critic called The Chambermaid “sublime [with] moments of beauty, tenderness and freedom [that] provide flickers of humanity that feel almost miraculous.”
Further acclaim for The Chambermaid:
“Possessed of a deadpan wit and downplayed humanistic warmth… and a poised lead performance by Gabriela Cartol. It will mark Avilés as a name to watch.” – Jonathan Romney, Screen International
“Funny and playful… Nuanced and natural, it has a quiet and modest power as it comments on the ironies of contemporary cities like Mexico City and their growing economic divide.” – John Fink, The Film Stage
“Winningly grounded. A compassionate tribute to Mexico’s anonymous laboring classes.” – John Hopewell, Variety
“Formally confident and technically polished. Avilés is an exciting find.” – Dan Sallitt, MUBI
LAEMMLE LIVE presents The Santa Monica Symphony with Rich Capparela July 14
LAEMMLE LIVE proudly presents musicians from the Santa Monica Symphony featuring Susan Greenberg-Flute, Sara Canning-Clarinet, Guido Lamell-Violin, Carol Sandstrom-Viola and Tom Lloyd-Cello. The ensemble will perform works by Mozart, Beethoven, Crusell and Haydn. Beloved classical radio announcer Rich Capparela returns to Laemmle Live to host. Santa Monica Symphony, heralded by the Huffington Post as the “crown jewel of Southern California’s community orchestras” has been serving the community through quality, free concerts since 1945.
The Santa Monica Symphony enhances lifelong learning through special open rehearsals and performances at local schools, libraries and community events. The orchestra presents six concerts annually at Santa Monica HighSchool’s Barnum Hall and other locations, including the annual Martin Luther King Day concert at Santa Monica’s SGI auditorium. Santa Monica Symphony Music Director and Conductor Guido Lamell, who also serves as a violinist for the LA Philharmonic, has led the orchestra for the past seven years in well attended concerts of works ranging from venerable masters to cutting-edge composers. The Santa Monica Symphony will celebrate its 75th anniversary in the upcoming season, and Maestro Lamell and the symphony musicians look forward to presenting another exciting and successful season of concerts to delight the community.
The mission of the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra is to provide free quality classical music concerts to the residents of Santa Monica, Los Angeles County and the Southern California community.
This is a Free Event
RSVP via Eventbrite
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Monica Film Center
1332 2nd Street
Santa Monica
11am – 12pm
ROOM AT THE TOP 60th Anniversary Screening and Q&A with KCRW Art Critic Edward Goldman
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 60th anniversary screening of one of the most influential of all British films, the Oscar-winning ROOM AT THE TOP. The film was one of the five nominees for Best Picture of 1959, and also earned nominations for director Jack Clayton, actor Laurence Harvey, and supporting actress Hermione Baddeley. Surprising some of the pundits, Simone Signoret was named Best Actress of the Year, besting Hollywood favorites Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Katharine Hepburn. The film also won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.
Neil Paterson adapted the acclaimed novel by John Braine that told the story of a young working-class upstart who aims to defy the British class system and rise to the top ranks of society. The novel had evoked comparisons to Theodore Dreiser’s classic novel of ambition and murder An American Tragedy, which was turned into George Stevens’ award-winning 1951 film ‘A Place in the Sun.’ In the story that Braine and Paterson told, Harvey plays Joe Lampton, who decides that the best way to the executive suite is to seduce the boss’s daughter, played by Heather Sears. Complications arise when he meets an unhappily married older woman, played by Signoret, and falls in love with her. But he is reluctant to allow romance to jeopardize his larger game plan. The cast also includes Donald Wolfit as the tycoon and Donald Houston as Joe’s friend and roommate. Esteemed cinematographer Freddie Francis (‘Sons and Lovers,’ ‘The Elephant Man,’ ‘Glory’) contributed vivid black-and-white photography.
At the time, the film was considered groundbreaking in part because of its adult language and themes. As the Los Angeles Times noted, the film was “laced with earthy dialogue and a very frank approach to sex.” It received an X rating on its initial release in England. Outstanding reviews complemented the sexual explicitness to make the movie one of the first major arthouse hits in America. As Pauline Kael wrote, “The movie helped bring American adults back into the theatres… mostly because of the superb love scenes between Harvey and Simone Signoret. She’s magnificent.” The New Republic’s Stanley Kauffmann concurred:“Miss Signoret is so heartbreakingly effective in the role that it is now inconceivable without her,” and he concluded his review by writing, “as a drama of human drives and torments told with maturity and penetration, it is a rare event among English-language films.”
Joining film critic Stephen Farber for a discussion after the screening will be renowned cultural critic Edward Goldman, who has been the host of KCRW’s popular Art Talk program for more than 30 years. Goldman also contributes weekly art reports to the Huffington Post, and he has written for many other publications. He first discovered foreign films (including several starring Simone Signoret) while he was growing up in Russia; one of his early jobs was at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Our 60th anniversary screening of ROOM AT THE TOP (1959) featuring a Q&A with KCRW art critic Edward Goldman and film critic Stephen Farber screens Thursday, June 13, at 7pm at the Laemmle Royal in West LA. Click here for tickets.
Format: DCP.
Doris Day Tribute: LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME and CALAMITY JANE Double Feature on June 5th in North Hollywood.
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a tribute to America’s most spirited sweetheart, Doris Day, who died on May 13 at the age of 97. We have screened some of Day’s best-loved movie— The Man Who Knew Too Much, Pillow Talk, and Lover Come Back — in our Anniversary series over the last few years. Join us as we remember her with a double feature of two of her very best musical films—the Western romp Calamity Jane and the dramatic story of 1920s torch singer Ruth Etting, Love Me Or Leave Me. Both films demonstrate that Day was a pioneer in portraying strong-willed female characters during the conformist 1950s. Enjoy both of these entertaining movies for one low price!
After a stellar career as a big-band singer, Day started in movies in 1948 and she made a number of lighthearted musical programmers before starring in ‘Calamity Jane’ in 1953. This sagebrush musical comedy marked a change of pace for her and catapulted her to full-fledged movie stardom. She later cited it as her personal favorite of all the films she made.
Warners admitted they made the film to cash in on the enormous success of ‘Annie Get Your Gun,’ another musical tale of Western gunslingers. In Calamity Jane, Day plays the real-life Deadwood sharpshooter, paired with Howard Keel as Wild Bill Hickok. During most of the film, they are sparring partners and friendly antagonists, and it is not until the climax that Jane recognizes her true feelings for Bill. That transformation comes when Day croons “Secret Love,” the song by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster that won the Oscar as best song of the year and also became a #1 hit on the pop charts. The film also earned Academy Award nominations for best scoring of a musical and for best sound.
Kate Muir of the British Times wrote of Calamity Jane, “As a pistol-packin’ cowgirl in fringed leather trousers, Day is terrific.” Leonard Maltin concurred: “Doris is irresistible as the bombastic, rootin’-tootin’ title character in this lively musical.”
Love Me Or Leave Me, made two years later, was nominated for six Oscars, including one for the screenplay by Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart. It won the Oscar for the original story by Fuchs. Other nominations included one for a new song, “I’ll Never Stop Loving You,” which became another of Day’s most popular romantic ballads. James Cagney also earned a nomination for best actor for his electrifying portrayal of Etting’s husband and manager, gangster Marty Singer. Although he helped to advance Etting’s career, he was often brutally domineering in their personal relationship, and this hard-edged portrayal of an abusive marriage was ahead of its time in the 1950s and gave Day a vivid opportunity to essay a dramatic role. She brought it off with skill, while at the same time performing several of Etting’s signature songs, including “Ten Cents a Dance” and “Shaking the Blues Away.” Cameron Mitchell and Tom Tully co-star in the film, which was directed by Charles Vidor.
Variety called the film “a rich canvas of the Roaring 20s with gutsy and excellent performances.” Pauline Kael added, “The script by Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart is several notches above the usual, and James Cagney brings frightening strength to his role as the singer’s vicious lover.” It was reportedly Cagney who suggested casting Day as Etting, and she rewarded her co-star’s instinct with one of the strongest performances of her career.
Our Doris Day tribute screens on Wednesday June 5th in North Hollywood. CALAMITY JANE screens at 5 and 9:30 PM. LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME screens at 7 PM. Click here for tickets to the 5pm CALAMITY JANE with the 7 PM LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME included. Or, click here for tickets to the 7 PM LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME with the 9:30pm CALAMITY JANE included.
Format: DCP
LAEMMLE LIVE presents Dyad in Santa Monica June 2
LAEMMLE LIVE proudly presents Dyad, an innovative violin and bassoon duo on a quest to explore uncharted territory. After meeting at Juilliard, Niv Ashkenazi and Leah Kohn were inspired to create a new kind of chamber music. Unwilling to let a lack of repertoire stand in their way, they thrive on reimagining classic works as well as premiering new pieces. Through engaging, personal performances, they create connections between audience, performers, and music. Sunday’s performance will include pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Gernot Wolfgang, and Niccolo Paganini. Since their first performance in May 2015, they have given concerts for the Wednesdays@Noon series at the Encinitas Library, the Classical Music Series at the Peninsula Center Library, the Cultural Arts Society of La Verne, Newport Beach’s Sunday Musicales, and other performances in Southern California, in venues ranging from the Skirball Center to art galleries and private homes. Dyad has collaborated with Lineage Dance and TranscenDanceGroup on performances which relate stories through dance, music, and other mediums. They have also appeared as guest artists and speakers at exclusive business networking events sharing their music and passion for innovation with a wider community. Dyad has given several world premieres of works written for and commissioned by them. In May 2017, they gave several performances in New Jersey, including at the Axelrod PerformingArts Center and the Kessler Foundation.
Sharing their music with audiences outside a traditional concert setting is a vital part of Dyad’s mission. They perform as an ensemble for Street Symphony, an organization founded by former Los Angeles Philharmonic member Vijay Gupta, which brings inclusive concerts to people experiencing incarceration and homelessness.
This is a Free Event
RSVP via Eventbrite
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Monica Film Center
1332 2nd Street
Santa Monica
11am – 12 pm
A VIOLENT SEPARATION Q&A with Filmmakers at the Monica Film Center.
A VIOLENT SEPARATION directors Kevin and Michael Goetz and writer Michael Arkof will participate in a Q&A following the 4:10 pm show on Saturday, 5/18.
LAEMMLE LIVE presents Mostly Kosher May 19 in Santa Monica
This is a Free Event!
RSVP via Eventbrite
LAEMMLE LIVE presents acclaimed klezmer gypsy-rock band Mostly Kosher, reconstructing Judaic and American cultural music through ravenous klezmer beats and arresting Yiddish refrains. Mostly Kosher is a musical feast that “explodes into a global food-fight of Jazz, Latin, Rock, and Folk.”
In response to the poetry and folk music of Judaic roots, their original voice resounds with themes of social justice, human dignity and mutual understanding. Led by frontman Leeav Sofer, one of Jewish Journal’s “30 under 30” most accomplished professionals in the Los Angeles Jewish diaspora, Mostly Kosher is comprised of some of the highest regarded Los Angeles musicians: violinist Janice Mautner Markham, drummer Eric Hagstrom, bassist Adam Levy, and on guitar, Will Brahm. Guest artists include Aníbal Seminario, Gee Rabe, Taylor Covey and Lorry Aaron Black on xylophone.
Mostly Kosher is a fixture at renowned Southern California stages such as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Skirball Cultural Center and The Torrance Center for Performing Arts. They have also graced the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a live television broadcast to over half a million viewers in 2015 and once again in 2017. The ensemble has headlined multiple summer festivals such as Silicon Valley Jewish Music Festival, Claremont Folk Festival and more. Mostly Kosher had the honor of being the first Jewish music ensemble at the Disney parks and with 2018/2019 marking their third season performing during the 2-month long Festival of Holidays. Mostly Kosher was credited for “stealing the Festival of Holidays Show” by the acclaimed Fresh Baked Disney podcast. For the 2017/2018 holiday season, Mostly Kosher added Epcot Center in Florida to their list of holiday performance venues, becoming Disney’s first Jewish cultural music performed on both coasts.
Staying true to giving back to the community, Mostly Kosher is proud to be teaching artists for Urban Voices Project, performing and educating in underserved areas in and around Southern California including prisons, community clinics and shelters serving men and women suffering from homelessness. Mostly Kosher is also mentor ensemble to the Jewish Youth Orchestra, a project of the Jewish Federation of San Gabriel Valley, offering performance opportunities and ongoing workshops for the middle school and high school musicians. 
The band’s self-titled debut album has won international acclaim by World Music Network, Songlines Magazine, and BBC radio. The first track, Ikh Hob Dikh Tsufil Lib (I Love You Much Too Much), was recognized as one of World Music Network’s Top 6 Songs of 2014. Mostly Kosher’s music videos have been garnering accolades on the film festival circuit, receiving two nominations at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema and Best Music Video at the Glendale International Film Festival. This year Mostly Kosher is touring nationally and internationally through 2020 to support new original music and videos culminating in a full album release. Learn more: mostlykosher.com @mostlykosher
This is a Free Event!
RSVP via Eventbrite
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Monica Film Center
1332 2nd Street
Santa Monica
11am – 12 pm
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