Swoon-inducing opera, coming your way: LA BOHEME. The Royal Opera recently posted some fantastic interviews and making-of videos to YouTube. We’ll be screening the production in all six Laemmle venues on Monday, July 6 and 7:30 PM and Tuesday, July 7 at 1 PM.
CHAGALL-MALEVICH Opens at the Music Hall and Town Center June 19; Lead Actress in Person.
The artistic and political revolution of early 20th century Russia is mythologized in CHAGALL-MALEVICH, a magical period drama about the uneasy relationship between two artistic geniuses that we’re opening the Music Hall and Town Center on Friday, June 19. Lead actress Kristina Schneidermann will participate in Q&A’s after the 7:15 PM screenings Friday, June 19 at the Town Center and Saturday, June 20 at the Music Hall.
Inspired by the memoirs of Marc Chagall and those of his contemporaries, the film blends fact and folklore to evoke the return of the iconic Jewish artist (portrayed by Leonid Bichevin, “Cargo 200”) to his childhood home of Vitebsk. Having left behind immense success in Paris, Chagall returns to the Russian empire in 1917 hoping to marry the love of his life, Bella Rosenfeld (Kristina Schneidermann); he produces copious paintings and establishes the Academy of Modern Art. A rivalry develops with abstract painter Kazimir Malevich (Anatoliy Belyy), invited to teach at the art school. As Bella rekindles a childhood friendship with military Red Commissar Naum (Semeon Shkalikov), Chagall competes for the affections of his muse and future wife. As the October Revolution sweeps across Russia, historical events intrude on personal struggles and upend the quiet provincial life in Vitebsk.
THE FAREWELL PARTY Filmmakers: “When the body fails and the mind remains lucid, self-irony and humor remain the best way to cope with the prospect of death.”
THE FAREWELL PARTY is an acclaimed Israeli comedy about the residents of a retirement home who build a machine for self-euthanasia in order to help their terminally ill friend, though they are faced with a series of dilemmas when rumors of the machine begin to spread. (Yes, it’s a comedy.) Well into their ’70s, Yehezkel and his wife Levana are living a comfortable life inside a Jerusalem retirement home. When it comes to retirement, there are some people who find this adjustment an easy one. Even though before this, there is a lot to understand like understanding what Key Equity Release is, for example, and managing finances, but when the time does come to give up working life, hopefully, a lot of people will find it worthwhile, just like Yehezkel and his wife have done. It’s also useful looking into financial benefits that retirees may be eligible to. Things like social security benefits are definitely worthwhile with the ability to cover your spouse and close family members as well as yourself. If you want to learn more, you can look how Social Security spousal benefits are calculated here.
But their contented lives are soon dealt a deep shock when their dear friend Max falls prey to an irreversible illness. Looking for a way out, Max asks Yehezkel for help to end his suffering. Whilst many in real life in these situations end up ignored, and need help from a nursing home neglect lawyer to get the support needed, it is different here. Yehezkel, a longtime amateur inventor, rises to the challenge by constructing a machine that will allow Max to self-administer a dose of tranquilizers. Levana, however, believes that such a device is immoral, and expresses her passionate disapproval. But when Levana herself begins to face a serious health issue, Yehezkel finds that his feelings about his new contraption become increasingly complicated. In THE FAREWELL PARTY, co-directors Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit have tackled an extremely sensitive issue in a vibrant and unique way. You will cry while watching this movie, but whether from laughter or compassion will be difficult to separate.
Co-directors Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit had this to say about their acclaimed — THE FAREWELL PARTY won four Israeli Academy Awards, including in Best Actor for Israeli star Ze’ev Revach, and received a total of 14 nominations, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay, and Actress — film:
“‘For against your will you are formed, against your will you are born, against your will you live.’ ~ Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 4). Can you at least determine when to die? THE FAREWELL PARTY deals with separation. Separation from someone you love, separation from yourself – when the mind begins to fail, and the separation from life and the right to choose how it all ends. The main characters are senior citizens, in a retirement community in Jerusalem, people who have retired from their life’s work – these type of people are not usually heroes of movies. But out of that very place of retirement and inactivity, they decide to gain control over their fate. As in any tragedy where the protagonist tries to change his destiny and of those surrounding him, there isan unbearable price to pay. THE FAREWELL PARTY is also a film about love and friendship. Our five main characters find comfort, strength and hope in each other in the difficult and funniest moments of life. The plot is not autobiographical, but is based on personal experiences accumulated while caring for a ‘Helga;’ someone close to us, towards the end of their life. In our process of saying goodbye to a loved one, we discovered that when the body fails and the mind remains lucid, self-irony and humor remain the best way to cope with the prospect of death. In our films we try to deal with contemporary social issues, which are often controversial. We try to break the emotional drama with absurd and comic elements. We do so also by casting comedians, and in the case of this film some of the icons of Israeli comedy, in dramatic roles. We feel this makes this difficult and important issue more accessible to our audience, and hopefully, as in life, they will laugh as they wipe away their tears.”
Climate Ride 2015 Is This Weekend! Support the Environment and Our Riders at the Concessions Stand!
Greg Laemmle, Team LACBC and our contest winners embark on Climate Ride 2015 this Sunday, May 17th!
Follow Greg on Twitter (@greglaemmle) for the latest ride updates as he makes his way from California’s historic Redwood Empire near Eureka, along the scenic coast, and into the famed Russian River Valley before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.
We’re halfway to our fundraising goal and your help could put us over the top. Just purchase one (or more) of our tasty Climate Ride Concession Specials the next time you see a movie at any of our locations.
When you purchase a –
• CLIF BAR, we give $1 to Climate Ride California
• O.N.E. Coconut Water, we give $2.
• Climate Ride Combo, we give $3.
Climate Ride California raises money for projects and organizations that work on climate change, clean energy, active transportation, sustainable infrastructure, and public health. It seeks to increase awareness and understanding of the inter-connectedness of environmental issues caused by the climate crisis among participants, donors, sponsors, and the general public. For more information, visit: http://www.climateride.org/
Anniversary Classics Goes Subtitled, Comes to the Valley: 50th Anniversary Screening of THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET June 9 at the Town Center 5
We’ve been having a lot of fun hosting our Anniversary Classics screening along with Los Angeles Film Critics Association President Stephen Farber. Following EXODUS (Eva Marie Saint in person!), WHERE’S POPPA? (George Segal in person!) and LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS (Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna in person and tickets still available!), our fourth screening is our first subtitled film in the series and our first in the Valley: THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET (1965) was the first film from Eastern Europe ever to win an Academy Award. Fifty years ago this powerful Czech drama won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. Directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, it was one of the key films in the Czech New Wave that flourished in the 1960s, before the Soviet invasion of 1968 stamped out this vital movement. Josef Kroner and Yiddish theater legend Ida Kaminska (nominated for an Oscar for her performance) star in this poignant tale of an Aryan functionary who takes over the button shop of an elderly Jewish woman in a Slovakian town in 1942. They develop a tentative friendship that is threatened when the Nazis begin rounding up all the Jews in the area.
Esteemed critic Kenneth Tynan said this was “the most moving film about anti-Semitism ever made.” Oscar-nominated screenwriter Eleanor Perry (David and Lisa, Diary of a Mad Housewife) reviewed the film for Life magazine and called it “a masterpiece, a flawless examination of the toll of indecision and the penalty of passive decency.” Perry went on to write, “The film’s lasting power is that it poses a couple of additional questions to every spectator: ‘If it had been you, what would you have done?’ If it ever is you, what will you do?'”
Joining Stephen Farber for a post-screening discussion, special guests director Ivan Passer and Michal Sedlacek, Consul General of Czech Republic in Los Angeles. Mr. Passer was one of the directors of the Czech New Wave of the 1960s. His acclaimed film, Intimate Lighting, was also made in 1965. He was the co-writer of Milos Forman’s films Loves of a Blonde and The Firemen’s Ball. Like Forman, he emigrated to America after the Russian invasion. In this country he directed such films as Born to Win with George Segal, Law and Disorder with Carroll O’Connor, Cutter’s Way with Jeff Bridges, and the Emmy-winning HBO movie, Stalin, starring Robert Duvall.
Bollywood Blockbuster BOMBAY VELVET Music Video
We regularly screen Bollywood movies at our Encino theater and on Friday, May 15 we’ve got a good one slated. BOMBAY VELVET is an amalgam of Cotton Club, Scarface and Good Fellas. The official synopsis by the film’s U.S. distributor reads “Set against the backdrop of Bollywood’s Golden Age, BOMBAY VELVET is a noir from acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap and stars Ranbir Kapoor (Barfi), Anushka Sharma (PK), and Karan Johar (My Name is Khan) in a story about an ordinary man who must forge his destiny in the City of Dreams.” This music video will give you a good idea of the energy, production values and tone of the movie. (Interesting to note the continual appearance of the text “SMOKING KILLS” that appears each time somebody a character in the film is depicted smoking a cigarette. This is a requirement of the Indian censors and will only appear on prints that are set to play in India.)
André Téchiné on the Themes that Motivated Him to Make IN THE NAME OF MY DAUGHTER: ““I love you how you must be loved, with excess, madness, ardor and despair.’”
This month we’ll be opening the intense new French thriller IN THE NAME OF MY DAUGHTER, (originally L’homme qu’on aimait trop). Directed by master André Téchiné (My Favorite Season, Wild Reeds), Catherine Deneuve stars as a glamorous casino owner in 1970s Nice. The drama begins when her daughter (Adèle Haenel) moves back home, falls in love with her mother’s formerly trusted adviser (Guillaume Canet), commits a major betrayal and then disappears. Thirty years later, her mother is determined to see justice done. M. Téchiné sat for an interview about his latest film:
The film started out as a commission. What did they want you to do?
Originally, the idea was for me to make a loose adaptation of Renée Le Roux’s memoirs, Une femme face à la mafia (lit: A woman up against the Mafia) written by her son Jean- Charles. From the outset, I knew that I wanted Catherine Deneuve to play the part of Renée Le Roux. The book tells the story of the casino wars on the French Riviera between the 1970s–1980s, from the protagonist’s point of view. It includes the account of the take-over of Madame Le Roux’s Palais de le Mediterranée casino by Jean-Dominique Fratoni, with the support of Jacques Medecin, the then-mayor of Nice. The casinos in this story are a far cry from the casinos of today. In fact, some of the most popular ones, like the ntc33, operate solely as online casinos now. It adds to the growing list of online casino websites that players can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes. Casinos are becoming more accessible, with some allowing their users to play and deposit with phone credit and other amenities. However, this abundance of online casinos isn’t necessarily a good thing. Back in the 1970s-1980s, when the story was set, you knew how good a casino was because of its reputation. You could guarantee that lots of people would have visited them and could give an opinion on them. Today, there are so many online casinos, meaning there will be many which won’t have been played by people you know, so you won’t know how good they are. This is where sites like Casino Martini come in handy; they review online casinos like Barbados so you know which ones are best to use.
What interested you about this story?
I focused my attention on the relationship between Renée Le Roux, her daughter Agnès, and Maurice Agnelet: the iron-fisted mother, the rebellious daughter and Agnelet’s desire for recognition by society. It was Agnès that I was most interested in. I wanted to paint her portrait. I agreed to make the film after reading the letters that Agnès had written to Agnelet because, quite unexpectedly, I found a surprising resemblance with another female character that I had long wanted to bring to the screen, Julie de Lespinasse. There are many parallels between the passionate love letters of this woman of letters and Agnes – heir to the Palais de la Mediterranée’s – letters. For example: “I love you how you must be loved, with excess, madness, ardor and despair.”
You turned the story of the casino wars into a story of psychological confrontation that takes on a myth-like status.
This is a war film. But on a human level. I was determined not to remove the events that drive the plot. I wanted to show the process of a takeover of power, the methods used to bring down a casino, the workings of a business in this very shady environment with all the elements of cruelty and servitude. I wanted to follow through on all the events that really happened until the downfall, until defeat. This war-like aspect structures the narrative.
24 DAYS ~ L.A. Times Critic’s Pick of the Week!
The L.A. Times just posted film critic Betsy Sharkey’s Pick of the Week for 24 DAYS:
“24 DAYS a Harrowing, Fact-Based Kidnap Drama”
“With the growing focus on hate crimes, consider checking out the reality-based drama “24 DAYS,” which details a French family’s agony when their son is kidnapped, days pass and hope dies. French director Alexandre Arcady brings a gritty, bare-bones approach to the story of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old Parisian taken and tortured in 2006 by a group that would come to be known as the Gang of Barbarians. It is chilling hearing the group’s mastermind, an unbalanced Fofana (Tony Harrisson), scream irrational demands and anti-Semitic tirades in some 700 phone calls the family received over the 24 days. What carries the film, which is now moving to a few more theaters, is the interplay between the victim’s divorced parents Ruth (Zabou Breitman) and Didier (Pascal Elbé) — estranged for so long, now trying to set aside differences to ensure their son’s survival. The filmmaker has said he made the film to remind people of the victims, not the headline-grabbing murderers. “24 DAYS” makes Ilan Halimi impossible to forget.” ~ Betsy Sharkey
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