Garden Festival of the Week
04.25.07
1. The cherry blossoms and global feminisms bloom in Brooklyn
2. The Tribeca Film Festival expands
3. Tickets go on sale for the Lincoln Center Festival
4. Fanny Ardant is celebrated at FIAF
Volume 6, Number 47
April 25 — May 9, 2007
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twiny/mdr
Weeping spring cherry tree is among first to bloom at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Ave.
Admission: $8 adults, children under twelve free
Admission free on Saturday 10:00 — noon (excluding April 28)
Through May 6
718-623-7200
http://www.bbg.org/exp/cherries
Brooklyn Botanic Garden flickr slide show
Last week we wandered lazily through the beautiful, peaceful environs of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, making our way past the Osborne Garden, across the Overlook, through the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, and down Celebrity Path, which features plaques honoring such great Brooklynites as Mel Brooks, Norman Mailer, Woody Allen, Barbara Stanwyck, Tony Danza, Woody Guthrie, and many more. We continued along Daffodil Hill and made our way through the Steinhardt Conservatory, stopping off at the Bonsai Museum and the Tropical, Warm Temperate, and Desert Pavilions. Steinhardt is also home to the exhibition "Hana to Mushi: Flowers & Insects," consisting of April Vollmer’s watercolor woodcut prints and Kako Ueda’s cool hand-cut black paper creations. We turned back around near the Children’s Garden and headed for the Monocot Border and Rock Garden before taking a short breather by Bluebell Wood. Then it was on to the Cranford Rose Garden and Cherry Walk, and soon the giant gates were in sight. Any time of year, no matter what’s in bloom, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is one of New York City’s greatest respites. And during the cherry blossom season, there’s not another place we’d rather be.
twi-ny/mdr
The Cherry Esplanade will come alive for annual festival
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
April 28-29
Admission: $8
718-623-7200
http://www.bbg.org/exp/cherries/sakura
Just like life, the cherry blossom is fleeting. As quickly as they bloom, they fall to the ground in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are expected to bloom just in time for the annual Sakura Matsuri this week, a fabulous festival of culture, tradition, art, beauty, and nature. Get to the Cherry Esplanade early to grab a good spot, because it won’t take long for the place to fill up. Be on the lookout for the Prunus Kanzan cherry, cherry cultivars, and weeping higan cherries among other blooming plants, flowers, and trees. In addition to the below events, there are also demonstrations and workshops on origami, doll making, bonsai pruning, ikebana flower arranging, jewelry making, woodblock printing, green tea, Taiko drumming, "sushi" pillow making, and more, as well as book signings and other activities for children.
Saturday, April 28 Taiko Drumming & Acrobatics, with Taiko Masala, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 12 noon
Saturday, April 28 Hannari – Geisha Modern: The Art of the Geisha, with documentary filmmaker Miyuki Sohara,, 12 noon
Saturday, April 28 "Cherry Blossom Epiphany": Haiku Poetry, Haiku Society of America, A.T. White Memorial, 1:00
Saturday, April 28 Nihon Buyo: Classical Dance, Sachiyo Ito & Company, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 1:30
Saturday, April 28 "ON Flower Gallery": Performance Art, ON Megumi Akiyoshi, Magnolia Plaza, 2:00 — 4:00
Saturday, April 28 "The Red Shadow: A Samurai Drama," Samurai Sword Soul, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 2:30
Saturday, April 28 Hanagasa Odori (Flower Hat Dance) Procession, Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY, Lily Pool Terrace, 2:30
Saturday, April 28 Butoh Dance, Dean Street FOO Dance, Meadow, 3:30
Saturday, April 28 happyfunsmile: Okinawan Pop & Chindon Street Music, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 3:30
Saturday, April 28 Shakuhachi Flute Concert: Kyo Shin An Dojo, A.T. White Memorial, 3:30
Saturday, April 28 Koto & Shamisen Concert: Masayo Ishigure & the Sawai Koto Academy, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 4:30
Saturday, April 28 "Kimonos for All Seasons": Fashion Show, JHC Foundation School, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 5:30
twi-ny/mdr
A.T. White Memorial will host haiku readings as part of festival
Sunday, April 29 Taiko Drumming, with Soh Daiko, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 12 noon
Sunday, April 29 Hannari–Geisha Modern: The Art of the Geisha, with documentary filmmaker Miyuki Sohara, Auditorium, 12 noon
Sunday, April 29 Ryukyu Buyo: Okinawan Dance & Music with Martial Arts, with Sachiyo Ito & Company and Busen-Kai, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 1:00
Sunday, April 29 "Cherry Blossom Epiphany": Haiku Poetry, Haiku Society of America, A.T. White Memorial, 1:30
Sunday, April 29 ZAN: J-pop from Tokyo, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 2:00
Sunday, April 29 "ON Flower Gallery": Performance Art with ON Megumi Akiyoshi, Magnolia Plaza, 2:00
Sunday, April 29 Minbu Folk Dance, Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 3:00
Sunday, April 29 "Beauty Lies in the Moment": Cherry Portraits, with photographer Jake Rajs, Auditorium, 3:00
Sunday, April 29 Butoh Dance, Dean Street FOO Dance, Meadow, 3:30
Sunday, April 29 Shakuhachi Flute Concert: Kyo Shin An Dojo, A.T. White Memorial, 3:30
Sunday, April 29 "The Red Shadow: A Samurai Drama," Samurai Sword Soul, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 4:00
Sunday, April 29 Imperial Court Music: Tenri Gagaku Music Society of NY, Auditorium, 4:30
Sunday, April 29 Hanagasa Odori (Flower Hat Dance) Parade for Families, Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY, Lily Pool Terrace, 5:00
Sunday, April 29 Akim Funk Buddha’s Urban Tea Ceremony with Laraaji and Kazuma G. Motomura, Japanese Ritual Meets Classic Hip-Hop, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 5:00
twi-ny/mdr
Parastou Forouhar, detail, "Thousand and One Day," 2003, wallpaper drawings (digital)
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, fourth floor
Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, Cantor Gallery, fifth floor
200 Eastern Parkway
Through July 1
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Suggested donation: $8
Combined Art & Garden ticket for Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Botanic Garden: $14
718-638-5000
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/global_feminisms
In 1977, the Brooklyn Museum hosted "Women Artists: 1550-1950," a retrospective on the history of women in art. Thirty years later, the museum, in conjunction with the opening of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, has put together "Global Feminisms," which features the work of eighty-eight women from twenty-five countries, all born since 1960, with all pieces from the 1990s through to today, examining the current state and future of female artists from around the world. The wide-ranging collection is arranged thematically, divided into "Life Cycles," "Identities," "Politics," and "Emotions," and often includes artist statements in which several of the participants point out that their art is not necessarily "feminist" in nature; it is simply art.
Courtesy of Zeit-Foto Salon, Tokyo
Ryoko Suzuki, "Bind," 2001, lambda print
For "Encyclopedia of Pleasure," Ghada Amer selected sentences relating to women’s sexual pleasure from the banned Muslim medieval manuscript GAWAMI AL LADA and embroidered them in gold leaf on slipcovers, placing them over fifty-seven boxes. From the time she was a child, Oreet Ashery envisioned herself as male; in "Self-portrait as Marcus Fisher I," she is seen dressed as an Orthodox man but exposing one of her breasts, revealing her physical reality. Angela de la Cruz comments on the nature of art and the artist in "Self," which features an oil painting on the wall, along with a chair in front of it on which sits a twisted version of the same painting. Around a dark curtain in a black box room, Iskra Dimitrova’s "Thanatometamorphosis" consists of a black cast of the artist’s body lying dead in a glass pool. In her Back to Nature series, Annika von Hausswolff takes pictures of staged scenes involving violence against women, including one in which a partially naked body lies dead in the woods. At first, Parastou Forouhar’s wallpaper installation "Thousand and One Day" appears to be a cheerful collection of fun drawings, but a closer look shows them to be numerous ways women have been beaten, tortured, and killed, many based on actual events. "I definitely stand for the universal idea of equality of rights and chances between women and men," Forouhar writes in the wall text. "As long as the real situation of women in many parts of our planet is far away from this idea, I’ll be a feminist."
twi-ny/mdr
Priscilla Monge, "Room for Isolation and Restraint," 2000, installation with sanitary napkins inside a wood-framed structure
In the video "Who Can Erase the Traces?" Regina José Galindo walks through the streets of Guatemala City carrying a bowl of blood; occasionally she stops, places her bare feet in the bowl, and then continues on, leaving behind a trail of bloody footprints. In "Skin," she shaves off all her hair in public, then walks naked over a bridge. Sigalit Landau’s "Barbed Hula," seen last summer at P.S. 1’s "Into Me / Out of Me," shows the artist using a circle of barbed wire as a hula hoop, ravaging her body. In Catherine Opie’s "Self-portrait/Nursing," also currently on view in the Guggenheim’s "Family Pictures" exhibit," the artist, with the word "pervert" carved into her skin, is breast-feeding a child. In Patricia Piccinini’s "Big Mother," a large ape becomes the wet nurse for a human baby bringing to mind evolution as well as motherhood. Tanja Ostojic’s installation "Looking for a Husband with an E.U. Passport" details her attempts to find a man willing to marry her so she can get a passport. In her Bind series of photographs, Ryoko Suzuki creates a harrowing version of "The Three Little Pigs" by tying her eyes and mouth up with blood-soaked pigskin, looking like a torture victim in a very different kind of fairy tale. In "Washing the River," Yin Xiuzhen documents a performance in which she enlists people to help her wash off a huge block of ice and then lets it melt back into the river from whence it came. And in "Room for Isolation and Restraint," Priscilla Monge invites people to put on shoe covers and step into a padded white room – but in this case, the walls, floors, and ceilings are covered in white sanitary napkins. Lee Bul perhaps summarizes the exhibition best in the text accompanying her "Ein Hungerkunstler" installation: "If my work addresses or makes use of my experiences and perceptions of the world as a woman, then that’s because my gender is an inescapable part of who I am, and it necessarily plays a part in shaping my aesthetic concerns and methods. But it is by no means the only or the most important factor."
Photo © Aislinn Weidele for Polshek Partnership Architects
Judy Chicago, "The Dinner Party," 1974-79, mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, textile
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, fourth floor
Long-term installation
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party
Judy Chicago’s 1970s feminist icon, "The Dinner Party," first shown at the Brooklyn Museum in 1980 during its initial tour, has now found a long-term home in the brand-new Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. The world’s most remarkable dinner party is being held at a triangular table that consists of three 48-foot sides with 13 place settings apiece, paying tribute to 39 women who helped shape and change the world. The plate design – a combination of a butterfly pattern and a vulva – and the embroidered silk covering are different for each historical figure, based on their life and accomplishments, which are listed in the accompanying booklet and on Heritage Panels in an adjoining room. Another 999 women are honored with their names inscribed in gold on the Heritage Floor beneath the table; Chicago arranged it so that women who were successful in the same field are placed together. For example, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other suffragists are written under Susan B. Anthony’s setting, and Harriet Tubman and other civil rights leaders are under Sojourner Truth’s setting. Chicago celebrates these women by using so-called feminine iconography, including embroidery, table setting, and tapestry weaving, all of which are generally associated with women, and placing the vulva front and center as an expression of not only life but power.
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Asher B. Durand, "In the Woods," 1855, oil on canvas
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions
There are numerous other exhibitions worth checking out at the Brooklyn Museum, so plan to spend a lot of time there. "Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape," through July 29 in the Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing on the fifth floor, examines the life and work of Asher B. Durand, a master landscape painter who captured the beauty of nature in such stunning oil paintings as "The Beeches" and "In the Woods" and such splendid drawings as "Study of Rocks with Trees, Hague, Lake George, New York," many based on locations in upstate New York. "Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism," through May 13 in the first-floor Robert E. Blum Gallery, compares Impressionist landscapes from France and America, featuring works by John Singer Sargent, George Inness, Frederick Childe Hassam, William Glackens, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Gustave Courbet, Pierre Renoir, and Claude Monet. The museum is also world renowned for its African and Egyptian collections; in addition to several permanent exhibits, "Pharaohs, Queens, and Goddesses" will be up in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art on the fourth floor through September 16.
Courtesy of the artist
Devorah Sperber, detail, "After van Eyck (Man in a Red Turban)," 2006, 5,024 spools of thread, stainless steel ball chain and hanging apparatus, acrylic viewing sphere, and metal stand
"The Eye of the Artist: The Work of Devorah Sperber," through June 17 in the second-floor Mezzanine Gallery, comprises fascinating pieces by Devorah Sperber, who uses multicolored thread spools, colored crystals, and special viewing orbs to re-create such masterpieces as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and "The Last Supper," Pablo Picasso’s "Gertrude Stein," and Jan van Eyck’s "Man in a Red Turban"; it might be a bit gimmicky, but that doesn’t mean it’s not great fun. And of course, never go to the Brooklyn Museum without saying hello to "Rodin: The Cantor Gift to the Brooklyn Museum," a fab collection of statues ("The Age of Bronze," "The Burghers of Calai," "Monument to Balzac") by Auguste Rodin, now hanging out in the Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion on the first floor.
twi-ny/mdr
DJ JD Samson leads April dance party at the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
Admission: free after 5:00 pm (some events require free tickets available that night)
718-638-5000
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/first_saturdays
On the first Saturday of every month, the Brooklyn Museum is the place to be. When free admission begins at five o’clock, art fans start flocking to the exhibits; expect an especially long line at "The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago." As it gets later in the evening, the younger crowd makes its way into the museum, ready to dance the night away in the Beaux-Arts Court.
Saturday, May 5 Performance: Christine Campbell, storytelling and music, Egyptian Galleries, third floor, 5:00
Saturday, May 5 Performance: Sugar Salon, featuring dances choreographed by Heather McArdle and Renée Archibald, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, first floor, 5:00
Saturday, May 5 Gallery Talk: Panel discussion on Egyptology, with Ann Russmann, Catherine Roehrig, and Yekaterina Barbash, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, fourth floor (free tickets available at the Visitor Center at 5:00), 6:00
Saturday, May 5 Performance: Brooklyn feminist art rock band Taigaa!, Hall of the Americas, first floor, 6:00 — 8:00
Saturday, May 5 Hands-On Art: Create an Egyptian-themed sun headdress, Education Division, first floor, 6:00 — 8:00
Saturday, May 5 Feminist-themed Film: Forty-first BAC International Film and Video Festival, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor (free tickets available at the Visitor Center at 5:30), 6:30
Saturday, May 5 Performance: Feminist performance group the Brainstormers, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, fourth floor, 8:00
Saturday, May 5 Curator Talk: Ed Bleiberg, "Pharoahs, Queens, and Goddesses," entrance to "Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity," third floor (free tickets available at the Visitor Center at 7:30), 8:30
Saturday, May 5 Feminist-themed Film: Forty-first BAC International Film and Video Festival, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, third floor (free tickets available at the Visitor Center at 7:30), 8:30
Saturday, May 5 Bhangra Dance Party: hosted by DJ Rekha, with live drummer and dancer, Beaux-Arts Court, third floor, 9:00 — 11:00
Brooklyn Museum
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, first floor
Third Wednesday of every month
Admission: $10
Cash bar 5:00 — 9:00 (happy hour 5:00 — 6:00)
718-638-5000
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/brooklynites
Wednesday, May 16 Performance: Abigail Riccards Group, 5:00; Gallery Talk: "Global Feminisms," 6:00; Performance: Malika Zarra, 6:30; Gallery Talk: "Pharaohs, Queens, and Goddesses," 7:30
twi-ny/mdr
AMC 34th St., 31st St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves. (A34)
AMC Kips Bay Cinemas, Third Ave. at 29th St. (AKB)
AMC Village 7, Third Ave, between 12th & 13th Sts. (AV7)
Clearview Chelsea West, Eighth Ave. at 23rd St. (CCW)
Pace, Front St. between Beekman St. & Peck Slip (PACE)
Regal Cinemas Battery Park, North End Ave. at Vesey St. (RG)
TPAC, Reade St. between Hudson & Greenwich Sts. (TPAC)
Tribeca Cinemas, Varick St. at Laight St. (TC)
April 25 - May 6
Hudson Pass $1,100; Daytimer Pass $150; Family Film Pass $60 adults, $30 children under fifteen
Individual screening tickets: $14
866-941-3378
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org
The 2007 Tribeca Film Festival gets under way on April 25 with film screenings, panel discussions, a street fair, a drive-in, and other special events continuing through May 6, at venues scattered throughout Manhattan; in addition to theaters in Tribeca, films will be screened in Kips Bay, the East Village, Chelsea, and around the Penn Station and City Hall areas. More than 150 full-length films and more than 80 shorts are on the massive program, divided into such sections as "World Narrative Competition," "Discovery," "Encounters," "Spotlight," "Midnight," "World Documentary Competition," "Showcase," and "Restored / Rediscovered."
THE MATRIMONY should be scaring horror fans at Tribeca
Among the works we have circled on our calendar are THE AIR I BREATHE (Jieho Lee, 2007), with Forest Whitaker and Sarah Michelle Gellar; Julie Delpy’s directorial debut, 2 DAYS IN PARIS; the graffiti doc BOMB IT (Jon Reiss, 2007); THE CAKE EATERS, directed by first-timer Mary Stuart Masterson; DAY ZERO (Bryan Gunnar Cole, 2007), in which the military draft is back; CHARLIE BARTLETT, starring the ubiquitous and always entertaining Robert Downey Jr.; A DIRTY CARNIVAL, Yoo Ha’s Korean gangster epic; DIRTY SANCHEZ (Jim Hickey, 2006), the British JACKASS; THE FORTY-FIRST, Grigori Chukhrai’s rediscovered 1956 Russian epic; Goran Paskaljevic’s five-part illusory work THE OPTIMISTS; Sebastien Gutierrez’s sci-fi thriller RISE: BLOOD HUNTER, with Lucy Liu and Michael Chiklis; Paul Soter’s quirky WATCHING THE DETECTIVES, also with Liu (and Cillian Murphy); indie fave Jia Zhang-ke’s STILL LIFE; and Cyrus Frisch’s WHY WOULDN’T ANYBODY TELL ME IT WOULD BECOME THIS BAD IN AFGHANISTAN, which was shot on a cell phone.
Friday, May 4, A34-14, 1:45
Saturday, May 5, A34-11, 5:15
In addition to being an actor once dubbed the French James Dean, Gérard Blain was also an internationally respected award-winning writer, director, and producer of films that never got released in the United States. Tribeca is trying to change that by including LE PÉLICAN in its "Restored/Rediscovered" category at the 2007 festival. The slow-moving, intense work stars Blain as Paul Boyer, a jazz pianist who is overjoyed at the birth of his son, Marc (played by real-life son Régis Blain as a baby and later by César Chauveau). His wife, Isabelle (Dominique Ravix), likes nice things that a musician can’t afford, so she convinces him to participate in illegal doings that land him a ten-year jail sentence. When he gets out, he discovers that his wife has married a wealthy businessman named Cazenave (Daniel Sarky) and that the two of them have convinced Marc that his real father is not part of his life. Desperate to get his son back, Paul becomes obsessed with watching him from a distance as Marc cavorts in Cazenave’s mansion on the Lugano coast. Blain fills LE PÉLICAN with long stretches of dialogue-free scenes with little camera movement, subtle yet powerful vignettes that heighten Paul’s agony. There are numerous shots of his face, barely moving, staring straight ahead, making him look like a cross between Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd, but this is a near-silent film without much comedy, punctuated with purposely silly 1970s Euro-pop and bright, almost blinding colors, especially Isabelle’s blazing yellow portable eight-track machine. We can’t wait to see more of Blain’s directorial output.
Tuesday, May 1, AKB-13, 10:00 pm
Friday, May 4, AKB-14, 11:00 pm
Saturday, May 5, AV7-03, 11:30 pm
http://www.unearthedthemovie.com
Outside a small town in the middle of nowhere in the New Mexico desert, an unidentifiable foreign object causes an oil truck to crash and explode, blocking the main route in and out, leaving the local populace and a group of travelers (including beautiful Beau Garrett and comic relief Charlie Murphy) stranded — and potential victims of the bloodthirsty creepy crawly thing. The town has lost faith in its sheriff, Annie Flynn (Emmanuelle Vaugier), who drowns her troubles and unsettling past mistake in alcohol. Needing help, she turns to scientific researcher Nodin (Tonantzin Carmelo) and Nodin’s grandfather (Native American actor and activist Russell Means), but the more they learn, the more dangerous the situation becomes. Meanwhile, Kale (Luke Goss), an Indian with a strange tattoo on his face, lurks in the shadows. Written and directed by horror/sci-fi award winner Matthew Leutwyler, UNEARTHED is a derivative yet chilling frightfest, mixing in elements of such films as ALIEN, PREDATOR, SAW, and THE DESCENT, incorporating a high-tech look and sound into its very basic plot. There are some gaping plot holes and very silly explanations, but it’s still a fun ride, especially for fans of the genre.
Tuesday, May 1, AKB-14, 3:15
http://www.sonyclassics.com/vitus
Six-year-old Vitus (Fabrizio Borsani) is a child prodigy, a genius who is a wunderkind at the piano. While his parents (Julika Jenkins and Urs Jucker) nurture his abilities and try to protect him as much as possible, his grandfather (Bruno Ganz) attempts to make sure he is a real boy, doing the kinds of things real boys do — including wanting to fly. Six years later, Vitus (piano virtuoso Teo Gheorghiu) is not quite as cute as he used to be, going from precocious to obnoxious as he shows up his teachers in class and has no friends — other than his grandfather. But one night he does something crazy that turns his life upside down, deeply affecting everyone around him. Both Borsani and Gheorghiu are excellent as Vitus, although the former is ridiculously cute and particularly memorable. Ganz is strong in a role that could have been melodramatic, and Jenkins and Jucker stand out as well. Directed and cowritten by Swiss filmmaker Fredi M. Murer, VITUS is an extraordinary film, a brilliant examination of childhood and the overwhelming power of music.
François (Daniel Autieul) has ten days to find a best friend
Tuesday, May 1, CCW-on, 7:00
Thursday, May 3, AKB-12, 4:00
Sunday, May 6, AKB-13, 2:00
http://www.monmeilleurami-lefilm.com
The great and suddenly ubiquitous Daniel Autieul — who can also be seen in N (NAPOLEON & ME) at Tribeca and THE VALET at the IFC Film Center and Lincoln Plaza — is a goofy delight in Patrice Leconte’s lightweight but fun MY BEST FRIEND. Auteuil stars as François, a successful antique dealer who is surprised to suddenly discover that no one likes him. His business partner, Catherine (Julie Gayet), bets him that he won’t be able to prove that he has a best friend. Given ten days, François sets out to find someone he can call his best friend, with pathetically funny results. Desperate, he hires Bruno, a gregarious cabdriver (Dany Boon, who also stars in THE VALET), to show him how to be nice to people and make friends. Leconte, the director of such acerbic comedies as THE HAIRDRESSER’S HUSBAND and RIDICULE as well as such powerful dramas as INTIMATE STRANGERS and THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE, aims low but hits high with this charming, if silly, little film. Add half a star if you can’t get enough of Autieul. Following its Tribeca screenings, MY BEST FRIEND is scheduled to open in theaters July 13.
Friday, April 27, AV7-02, 5:30
Sunday, April 29, RG-05, 2:00
Monday, April 30, AV7-03, 10:30 pm
Tuesday, May 1, A34-13, 2:45
Friday, May 4, A34-11, 8:45
In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the small Italian island of Elba. In Paolo Virzi’s period piece, the li’l French general (Daniel Autieul) is welcomed by residents with open arms — except for Martino Papucci (Elio Germano), a politically radical teacher who dreams of murdering the former world leader he considers a vile, despicable murderer. But to his surprise, he is offered a job to follow Napoleon around, writing down his thoughts and documenting his activities. Meanwhile, Martino’s spinster sister, Diamantina (Sabrina Impacciatore), is being wooed by the goofy Cosimo (Massimo Ceccherine); their brother, Ferrante (Valerio Mastandrea), is lost at sea; the maid, Mirella (Francesca Inaudi), is secretly madly in love with Martino; and his lover, the Baroness Emilia (Monica Bellucci), can’t decide whether they have a future together. The scenes between Martino and Napoleon are simply wonderful, both charming and invigorating. Much of the rest of the movie is convoluted, with too much going on, but Germano and Autieul are a hoot together.
Saturday, April 28, A34-13, 7:30
Sunday, April 29, A34-14, 10:00
Tuesday, May 1, AKB-15, 6:00
Thursday, May 3, AV7-01, 3:30
Friday, May 4, RG-10, 8:30
Michael Kang’s middling gangster drama WEST 32nd takes place in New York City’s Koreatown, amid “room salons” where players come to smoke, drink, and party in private rooms with hired women. When an RS manager gets gunned down on the street, a fourteen-year-old boy is arrested for the murder, but his sister, Lila (Grace Park), is desperate to prove him innocent. She is convinced by lawyer John Kim (HAROLD AND KUMAR’s John Cho) that his high-powered firm will represent young Kevin free of charge, and Kim soon immerses himself in the dangerous, secretive world of Korean gangsters. In order to find the truth, he cozies up to Mike Juhn (Jun Kim), a cocky small-time hood determined to make it big in this very insular community. The labored film is filled with clichéd characters and straightforward, simplistic situations, lacking any kind of edge. The screenplay was written by Kang and former Village Voice reporter Edmund Lee, based on Lee’s investigation of Korean gangs, but the film’s grasp for reality feels too fake to make it work.
BMCC TribecaPAC
199 Chambers St. between Greenwich & West Sts.
Tickets: $25
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tff-ep-tribeca-talks.html
Be sure to keep checking the above Web site for updates on this year’s panel discussions. Among the recently added participants that did not make it into the printed festival guide are Don Cheadle and Kevin Smith.
Thursday, April 26 Tiki Barber, No Pain…No Gain, with Tiki Barber, moderated by Bill Weir, 4:00
Thursday, April 26 The Kid Slays in the Picture, with John Carpenter, Jim Steyer, and Peter Block, moderated by David D’arcy, 7:00
Friday, April 27 Bringing Home the Bacon, with Eva Mendes, Julie Delpy, Julia Stiles, Rosario Dawson, and Mary Stuart Masterson, 7:00
Saturday, April 28 And Then…He Ate a Snake, with Josh Bernstein, Sarah Robertson, Les Stroud, and Phillippe Cousteau Jr., moderated by Boyd Matson, 1:00
Saturday, April 28 Spies Like Them, with Milt Bearden, Robert Baer, and Doug Liman, moderated by Christopher Isham, 7:00
Sunday, April 29 Look Who’s Laughing, with Rachel Dratch, Susie Essman, Rachael Harris, Debra Messing, and Samantha Bee, moderated by Jay Roach, 4:00
Monday, April 30 Cineam 2.0: Me, Myself, and iPod, with Charles Leadbeater, Brent Weinstein, Kathleen Grace, Jonathan Lethem, and Jerry Pappendorf, moderated by Georg Szalai, 7:00
Tuesday, May 1 Real Horror Stories, with Suliman Baldo, Ishmael Beah, Terry George, John Dau, John Prendergast, and Don Cheadle, moderated by Christopher Quinn, 7:00
Wednesday, May 2 Chris "Ludacris" Bridges in conversation with Lisa Robinson, 7:00
Thursday, May 3 Heroes for Hire, with Zak Penn, Andrew D. Cooke, Joe Quesada, Thomas Haden Church, and Kevin Smith, moderated by Lev Grossman, 4:00
Thursday, May 3 Fame! I’m Gonna Live Forever! with Jake Halpern, Robert B. Millman, Bruce Dern, and Janice Min, moderated by Josh Wolk, 7:00
Gallery Viet Nam
345 Greenwich St.
Admission: free
212-431-8889
Wednesday, April 25
through
Sunday, May 6 Display of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival awards, created by such artists as Chuck Close, Nan Goldin, Clifford Ross, Kiki Smith, and Bruce Weber, 12 noon — 7:00
Apple Store SoHo
103 Prince St. at Greene St.
April 27 – May 6, 4:00
Admission: free
212-226-3126
http://www.apple.com/retail/soho/tribeca
During the Tribeca Film Festival, actors, directors, and other multimedia artists will give talks at the Apple Store SoHo at 4:00, discussing their creative process with particular emphasis on the computer programs and other electronic equipment they use — and you can buy as well right at the store. It’s an impressive collection of guests: Joel and Ethan Coen on April 27, Julie Delpy on April 28, David Holbrooke on April 29, John Dahl on April 29 (at 5:30), Mary Harron on April 30, Edward Burns on May 1, John Canemaker on May 2, Matthew Modine on May 3, Marc Forster on May 4, student filmmakers on May 5, and DJ Spooky on May 6. In addition, there will be special film-related demonstrations and workshops every day.
PLANET B-BOY will have fans spinnning at WFC drive-in
World Financial Center Plaza
225 Vesey St. at West & Liberty Sts.
At dusk, around 8:00
Admission: free
212-945-2600
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tff-ep-drive-in.html
http://www.worldfinancialcenter.com
Thursday, April 26 DIRTY DANCING (Emile Ardolino, 1987)
Friday, April 27 SURF’S UP (Ash Brannon & Chris Buck, 2007)
Saturday, April 28 PLANET B-BOY (Benson Lee, 2007), with live performance by 2005 champions, hosted by Fab 5 Freddy
Thursday, April 26, RG-05, 5:00
Friday, April 27, AV7-03, 11:30 pm
Saturday, April 28, WFC drive-in, free, 7:30 live show, 8:30 movie
Wednesday, May 2, A34-11, 4:00
Saturday, May 5, AKB-12, 11:30 am
http://www.battleoftheyear.net/worldwide
In the mid-1980s, b-boy culture exploded, with breakdancing, an outgrowth of hip-hop and graffiti, surging through New York City and then around the world as a way for the young generation to express themselves. Director Benson Lee traces the roots of this phenomenon from 1983’s FLASHDANCE to the present day, when international competitions, leading up to the Battle of the Year, are held across the globe. Lee follows such crews as Korea’s Gamblerz and Last for One, Japan’s Ichigeki, France’s Phase T, and America’s Knucklehead Zoo as they prepare for the 2005 event. Lil’ Kev, B-Boy Joe, Katsu, Taiyo, Fonzie, and others describe what dancing means to them – and show off lots of unbelievable moves, including head spins that will leave you dizzy with excitement and exhaustion. Several of the dancers are also interviewed with family members, talking about how dancing and the b-boy life impact their relationship with their parents. In addition to regular festival screenings, PLANET B-BOY will be shown on April 28 at the Tribeca Drive-In at World Financial Plaza at 8:30, preceded by live performances by Ken Swift and his VII Gems crew, Beatbox Orchestra, DJ DP ONE of the Turntable Anihilists, the 2005 Battle of the Year champions, and other crews from the film, hosted by Fab 5 Freddy, starting at 7:30.
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th St.
Friday, April 27, 8:00; Saturday, April 28, 7:00 & 10:00
Trinity Church Wall Street
Broadway at Wall Street
Sunday, April 29, 3:00
Tickets: $25
http://www.trinitywallstreet.org
Director Paolo Cherchi Usai sets Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s PASSIO against a barrage of twentieth-century visual iconography in this special production, with live music by the Trinity Choir and calligraphy and handcoloring by Brody Neuenschwander. Labeled an “oratorio for moving image and sound,” the seventy-four-minute event will be presented uptown at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and downtown at Trinity Church Wall Street, conducted by Owen Burdick and featuring organist Robert P. Ridgell.p>
twi-ny/mdr
DJ Spooky remixes Griffith at the Tribeca Film Festival
World Financial Center Winter Garden
225 Vesey St. at West & Liberty Sts.
Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, 9:00
212-945-2600
http://www.rebirthofanation.com
DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid has been performing this unique multimedia presentation for a few years now, around the world, deconstructing and remixing D.W. Griffith’s controversial 1915 silent classic BIRTH OF A NATION with music, film, and art to create a wholly new work. This year REBIRTH OF A NATION was one of the featured events at the Tribeca Film Festival, where DJ Spooky performed the piece at the World Financial Center Winter Garden, in the shadow of Ground Zero and the African Burial Grounds. From his computer setup below three screens at the top of the round steps, he broadcast out among the tall palms and a rapt audience seated on folding chairs below. Referring to himself as "director as DJ," DJ Spooky mixed both the Kronos Quartet’s new trip-hop score and the visuals live. He begins with an overview of racism and an interview in which film pioneer Griffith discusses the importance of his so-called masterpiece. DJ Spooky then intercuts different scenes of the film, following the narrative, with Griffith’s original interstitial titles along with new ones credited to Paul D. Miller, DJ Spooky’s real name. He avoids being overly didactic and does not hit the audience over the head with Griffith’s unrelenting racism and support of the KKK, instead letting the film speak for itself. The show was recorded for an upcoming DVD release later this year. D-Fuse opened the night with a live performance of LATITUDE, an urban electronic opera that featured recent video shot in Shanghai set to a minimalist techno score, focusing on the changing architecture of both buildings and people. Though too long, parts of the multimedia work are both meditative and mesmerizing.
Multiple locations
Screenings: $14
Family Festival Street Fair: free
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tff-familyfest
This year’s family-friendly films include the animated BRAVE STORY (Koichi Chigira, 2006), Ray Liotta in CHASING 3000 (Greg Lanesey, 2007), the Argentine flick THE HAIRY TOOTH FAIRY (Juan Pablo Buscarini, 2006), and Devon Werkheiser in SHREDDERMAN RULES (Savage Steve Holland, 2007) in addition to several short-film programs and other full-length movies.
Saturday, May 5 Family Festival Street Fair, with sports stars, interactive games, local food samplings, storytelling, puppet shows, Chinese calligraphy, face painting, live performances, and more, Greenwich St. between Hubert & Duane Sts., 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Loews Kips Bay Cinemas
Third Ave. at 29th St.
Tickets: $14
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/t365-sports-sat
Wednesday, April 25
through
Sunday, May 6 Sports-Fan Filmathon, including fourteen New York or world premieres, featuring films on soccer, baseball, skiing, tennis, boxing, Donkey Kong, and poker
Saturday, May 5 Sports Saturday, featuring the X Games Consumer Products’ Super Freestyle Tour, an interactive New York Giants training camp, a Generation Jets theme park, the New York Red Bulls street soccer team, a Junior Tennis League clinic, Mr. Met, and more, free, North Moore & Greenwich Sts., 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Saturday, May 5 THE NATURAL (Barry Levinson, 1984), BMCC TribecaPAC Theater 1, introduced by Barry Levinson and followed by a conversation with Levinson and Jeremy Schaap, 3:00
© Jennifer Kotter
Jennifer Kotter will open up her studio as part of TOAST
Canal St. to Murray St., Washington St. to Lafayette St.
Friday, April 27, 6:00 — 8:00
Saturday, April 28 — Monday, April 30, 1:00 — 6:00
Admission: free
212-479-7317
Nearly one hundred TriBeCa artists open up their studios for this eleventh annual self-guided tour, including receptions, slide shows, window displays, and children’s activities. The above Web site includes up to three sample pieces by each participant as well as an artist statement so you can whittle down the choices based on your specific interests. Among our early favorites are John Bentham, Sally Camp, WonJung Choi, Jennifer Kotter, Robert Mango, Jung Eun Park, Cade Pemberton, and Bruce Rauffenbart.
Through May 13 A Toast to TOAST group exhibition, Synagogue for the Arts, 49 White St., Monday — Thursday 1:00 — 5:00 (7:00 on Tuesday)
Through May 16 Slide show of TOAST artists’ work, Franklin Station Café, 222 West Broadway at Franklin St., nightly
Saturday, April 28
and
Sunday, April 29 Free art activities for children, the Church St. School for Music and Art, 74 Warren St.
Dirk Bleicker
Wu Hsing-Kuo brings one-man KING LEAR to Lincoln Center
Multiple venues
July 10-29
Tickets: $20-$150
212-875-5456
Every summer, Lincoln Center goes a bit radical, bringing in eclectic performances from all over the world while its usual servings of ballet, opera, and classical music take a few months off. This year’s big event is the Kirov Opera’s RING Cycle, but there is also Shen Wei’s first opera, the return of kabuki master Nakamura Kanzaburo XVIII, Philip Glass teaming up with Leonard Cohen’s words and images, Mongolian music, and Monteverdi’s Book of Madrigals, among other unusual and exciting shows. Tickets to single events go on sale June 12, but you can purchase tickets to two or more performances beginning May 1, and we strongly suggest you do that, because some of these shows could very well sell out before then – especially the Ring Cycles, which are available as a four-part series for $260 and are available right now.
Tuesday, July 10
and
Wednesday, July 11 Contemporary Legend Theatre, Wu Hsing-Kuo in one-man operatic version of KING LEAR along with FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE and THE TIPSY CONCUBINE, Rose Theater, Broadway at 60th St.
Tuesday, July 10
through
Saturday, July 14 GEMELOS, Santiago’s Compania Teatro Cinema, directed by Laura Pizarro and Juan Carlos Zagal, Pope Auditorium at Fordham University, 113 West 60th St., 8:30
Tuesday, July 10
through
Sunday, July 15 FABLES DE LA FONTAINE, directed by Robert Wilson, Comédie-Francaise, North American premiere, Gerald W. Lynch Theater, Tenth Ave. between 58th & 59th Sts., 7:30
Friday, July 13 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 1: DAS RHEINGOLD, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 8:00
Saturday, July 14 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 1: DIE WALKURE, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 6:00
Saturday, July 14
and
Sunday, July 15 BOOK OF LONGING, with music by Philip Glass, lyrics and images by Leonard Cohen, Rose Theater, Broadway at 60th St., 8:00
Monday, July 16 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 2: DAS RHEINGOLD, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 8:00
Monday, July 16
through
Sunday, July 22 HEISEI NAKAMURA-ZA, performances of RENJISHI and HOKAIBO, led by artistic director Nakamura Kanzaburo XVIII, North America premiere, Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, 7:30
Tuesday, July 17 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 2: DIE WALKURE, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 6:00
Tuesday, July 17 OS MUTANTES, Rose Theater, Broadway at 60th St., 8:00
Tuesday, July 17
through
Thursday, July 19 UN HOMBRE QUE SE AHOGA, freely interpreted version of Anton Chekhov’s THE THREE SISTERS, featuring Argentina’s Perifericos de Objetos, directed by Daniel Veronese, North American premiere, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave., 8:00
Wednesday, July 18 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 2: SIEGFRIED, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 6:00
Thursday, July 19 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 2: GOTTERDAMMERUNG, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 6:00
Valentin Baranovsky
Siegfried stands tall in Kirov Opera’s Ring Cycle
Friday, July 20 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 1: SIEGFRIED, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 6:00
Friday, July 20 SO PERCUSSION AND MATMOS, with Zeena Parkins on electronic harp, the Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th St., 8:30
Friday, July 20
through
Sunday, July 22 DE MONSTRUOS Y PRODIGIOS: LA HISTORIA DE LOS CASTRATI, Mexico City’s Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes, directed by Claudio Valdés, Gerald W. Lynch Theater, Tenth Ave. between 58th & 59th Sts., 8:00
Saturday, July 21 THE RING CYCLE 2007, Cycle 1: GOTTERDAMMERUNG, Kirov Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, Metropolitan Opera House, 6:00
Saturday, July 21 SO PERCUSSION and MATMOS, with Dave Douglas on trumpet, the Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th St., 8:30
Sunday, July 22
through
Sunday, July 29 MONGOLIA: DANCE, MUSIC AND BALLAD, North America premiere, Clark Studio, Rose Building, seventh floor, West 65th St. & Amsterdam Ave., 4:00
Sunday, July 22
through
Sunday, July 29 FULL MONTEVERDI, Book of Madrigals performed by I Fagiolini, directed by Robert Hollingsworth, directed by John La Bouchardiere, North America premiere, Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Rose Building, 165 West 65th St., tenth floor, 9:00
Tuesday, July 24
through
Sunday, July 29 SECOND VISIT TO THE EMPRESS, choreographed and directed by Shen Wei, conducted by Zhengou Liu, North American premiere, New York State Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, 8:00
Pino Pipitone
Ballet National de Marseille will perform METAPOLIS II at festival
Wednesday, July 25
through
Friday, July 27 METAPOLIS II, Ballet National De Marseille, North American premiere, artistic direction and choreography by Frédéric Flamand, production design by Zaha Hadid, New York State Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, 8:00
Thursday, July 26
through
Saturday, July 28 DIVINAS PALABRAS, performed by Centro Dramatico Nacional, written by Ramon Maria del Valle-Inclan, adapted by Juan Mayorga, directed by Gerardo Vera, Rose Theater, Broadway at 60th St., 8:00
Thursday, July 26
through
Saturday, July 28 INTO THE LITTLE HILL, by George Benjamin, conducted by Franck Ollu, directed by Daniel Jeanneteau, libretto by Martin Crimp, Gerald W. Lynch Theater, Tenth Ave. between 58th & 59th Sts., 8:30
Fanny Ardant is radiant in Patrice Leconte’s hysterical RIDICULE
CinémaTuesdays:
French Institute Alliance Française
Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Park & Madison Aves.
Tickets: $9
212-355-6160
There might be no more appropriate way to describe French actress Fanny Ardant than "captivating," so this cinematic tribute could not have been better named. On the occasion of her New York stage debut (see below), the French Institute Alliance Française pays tribute to her fabulous career with a half dozen of her movies, including the great RIDICULE (Patrice Leconte, 1996) and other films with such auteurs as Franco Zeffirelli, François Ozon, Alain Resnais, and, of course, François Truffaut.
Tuesday, May 1 CALLAS FOREVER (Franco Zeffirelli, 2002), 12:30, 4:00, 7:30 (introduced by Fanny Ardant)
Tuesday, May 8 8 FEMMES (EIGHT WOMEN) (François Ozon, 2002), 12:30, 4:00, 7:30
Tuesday, May 15 RIDICULE (Patrice Leconte, 1996), 12:30, 4:00, 7:30
Tuesday, May 22 LA VIE EST UN ROMAN (LIFE IS A BED OF ROSES) (Alain Resnais, 1983), 12:30, 4:00, 7:30
Tuesday, May 29 LA FEMME D’À CÔTÉ (THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR) (François Truffaut, 1981), 12:30, 7:00
Tuesday, May 29 VIVEMENT DIMANCHE (CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS) (François Truffaut, 1983), 4:00, 9:00
© Pascal Victor
The captivating Fanny Ardant makes NY stage debut at FIAF
French Institute Alliance Française
Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Park & Madison Aves.
Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, 8:00
Tickets: $50
212-355-6160
In one of the most exciting events to happen this spring in the city, the captivating Fanny Ardant, one of France’s greatest actresses, makes her New York stage debut in Marguerite Duras’s LA MALADIE DE LA MORT, directed by Bérangère Bonvoisin. There are only two performances, so get your tickets now.
Also at FIAF
© The Armand P. Arman Trust
FIAF Gallery
French Institute Alliance Française
22 East 60th St. between Park & Madison Aves.
Closed Sunday & Monday
Through May 15
Admission: free
212-355-6160
Cofounder of Nouveau Réalisme, sculptor Arman hung out with quite a crowd, including such influential artists as Marcel Duchamp, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol. This photo exhibition shows Arman and his contemporaries at work and play, primarily in New York City during the 1960s and ’70s.
Keith Pattison
Cheek by Jowl does late Shakespeare well at the Harvey Theater
Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton Street between Ashland Pl. & Rockwell Pl.
May 2-12
Tickets: $25-$65
718-636-4100
One of Shakespeare’s least-performed plays, CYMBELINE dates from the Bard’s late romantic period, a tragicomic tale with fantastical elements and numerous hard-to-believe coincidences. Britain’s Cheek by Jowl theater company, last at BAM in 2004 with OTHELLO, has brought its extremely entertaining version to Brooklyn for twelve shows as part of its worldwide tour. As the play begins, the king (a blustery David Collings) is furious that his daughter, Imogen (Jodie McNee), has secretly married her true love, Posthumus (Tom Hiddleston). The queen (Gwendoline Christie), who is the princess’s stepmother, is determined to see her pompous son, Cloten (also Hiddleston), marry Imogen so he can eventually become king. Posthumus is banished to Rome, where he meets Iachimo (Guy Flanagan), a slick Lothario who bets Posthumus that he can woo and bed his chaste love. Although Imogen rebuffs Iachimo’s advances, the would-be Romeo convinces Posthumus that he did indeed enter the princess’s most private of chambers, setting into motion a whirlwind of vengeance, mistaken identity, and the revelation of secrets galore, culminating in a bloody battle between Britain and Italy. Director Declan Donnellan sets the production in an unidentified time, with Angie Burns dressing the characters in relatively contemporary clothing; Nick Ormerod’s stage is sparse, with just a few chairs, a couch, a chest, and a small table that are moved about ever so slightly in between scenes to signify a change of location. Hiddleston is excellent doing double duty, with Donnellan very cleverly handling his transformation from Posthumus to Cloten and back again. Richard Cant, looking very Michael York-like, is splendid as Pisanio, Posthumus’s manservant. Despite some ridiculous plot twists, Cheek by Jowl’s CYMBELINE is a jolly good night of theater, with some very funny moments, playful staging (complete with a spit take!), and even a doo-wop number.
© Sheila Bernard
Sheila B. reflects on city buildings at Port Authority
Port Authority Bus Terminal
South Terminal
Through April 30
Admission: free
Last March, photographer Sheila Bernard displayed her “Windows & Doors” photographs in the narrow, glassed-in gallery in the Port Authority south terminal, a very cool collection of photos of old, shuttered doors on balconies, a close-up of a wooden door with a lock and handle, decrepit entryways, and windows with reflected images that made them look like framed works of art (within framed works of art). Sheila B.’s latest series features fab photos of New York City buildings taken from unusual angles and often featuring reflections of other buildings on their facade. Several of the photographs look like they can’t be real, that they must have been digitally manipulated, but Sheila B. is shooting what she sees, and she has quite an eye. Try your best to identify which buildings are in each photo; sometimes the title of the picture holds an important clue.
Opens Friday, May 4
http://www.mgm.com/theflyingscotsman
Based on the true story of innovative Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, THE FLYING SCOTSMAN follows Obree (Jonny Lee Miller) as he attempts to break the world one-hour record in 1993. Bullied as a kid, Obree finds his release on his bike. After winning some local contests, he sets up a small bike shop in his hometown. But as the store reaches its last legs, he suddenly decides to build a new kind of bike and go for the record, which has stood for nearly a decade. With the support of his wife, Anne (Laura Fraser), and best friend, Malky (Billy Boyd), he trains for the big day. But as he gains success, the cycling board does not want such a rogue athlete to be their champion, so they create obstacles that threaten to destroy everything that Obree has worked for. But an even greater obstacle is the severe depression that could also prevent him from reaching his goals, both professional and personal. Miller is convincing as Obree on and off the bike — although Obree himself does some of the more dangerous riding in the film. Directed by Douglas Mackinnon and with a screenplay based on Obree’s autobiography, THE FLYING SCOTSMAN is a well-told tale of the competitive spirit and inner demons of a simple yet unique individual who insists on doing things his own way.
Opens Friday, May 4
Documentarian Oren Rudavsky (HIDING AND SEEKING: FAITH AND TOLERANCE AFTER THE HOLOCAUST, SAYING KADDISH) makes his feature-film debut with THE TREATMENT, a well-meaning but way-too-obvious romantic comedy set in New York City. After watching a few commercials, you might not realize that THE TREATMENT has actually started, as the opening looks like yet another ad. And following the opening credits, you’ll think you stumbled into some kind of mediocre Showtime cable drama, a feeling that is enhanced by John Zorn’s silly score that seems to be torn right from the soundtrack of HBO’s SEX AND THE CITY. Based on the novel by Daniel Menaker, THE TREATMENT stars Chris Eigeman as Jake Singer, a teacher at the prestigious Coventry school on Irving Place who can’t get over his previous girlfriend, Julia (Stephanie March); he is devastated when she tells him she is getting married. A cynical, dry kind of guy, Jake is also haunted by his Freudian psychoanalyst, Dr. Ernesto Morales (a very funny, very dirty Ian Holm), who not only listens to him in his office but also shows up as a surreal presence at the most inopportune moments. Jake’s life finally takes a turn for the better when he falls for Allegra Marshall (a solid Famke Janssen), an extremely wealthy mother of two who Jake thinks is way out of his league. THE TREATMENT is about as average as they come, sort of like Jake himself; you’ll be predicting lines before they’re spoken, and you’ll know where just about every scene will end up once it’s begun. (Heck, the new woman in Jake’s boring life is even named Allegra, which means “happiness” in Italian.) And the vast majority of bit players are stock characters that lack any uniqueness, including Blair Brown as an adoption specialist, Stephen Lang as a hotheaded basketball coach, Roger Rees as a stuffy headmaster, and Harris Yulin as Jake’s aging father. In years past, the lead role might have been played by Griffin Dunne to better effect; unfortunately, Eigeman, who has done a lot of television work and is a regular in Whit Stillman’s films (METROPOLITAN, BARCELONA, THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO), is not quite up to the task of lead performer, though he makes a valiant effort.
Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne star in tense JINDABYNE
In theaters now
http://www.april.com.au/jindabyne
Ray Lawrence’s third film, following BLISS (1985) and LANTANA (2001), JINDABYNE, based on Raymond Carver’s short story "So Much Water So Close to Home," is a complex, heart-wrenching drama about family and responsibility. Gabriel Byrne stars as Stewart, a local auto repair shop owner who is married to the younger Claire (Laura Linney), who ran away for eighteen months after the birth of their son, Tom (Sean Rees-Wemyss). Stewart and his buddies Carl (John Howard), Rocco (Stelios Tiakmis), and Billy the Kid (Simon Stone) head out for their annual fishing trip in the mountains, but once they set up camp, they find a dead woman floating in the river, most likely the victim of sexual abuse and murder. Instead of turning back and reporting it immediately, they decide there’s nothing they can do to help her, so they finish their fishing weekend before going back and calling the police. Upon their return home, their relationships with their friends, the community as a whole, and their families are ripped apart. Shot in two months in and around Jindabyne in New South Wales in Australia, JINDABYNE features strong acting, surprising emotional twists, and gorgeous cinematography by David Williamson — but the penultimate scene is so stupefyingly awful that it ruins what is otherwise a brilliant, elegiac film, a painful slap in the face that destroys the subtle beauty of the rest of the film, the single worst scene we’ve ever seen in such a movie. At times during the film, we were flirting with giving it an extremely high rating, but that terrible scene so decimated us that we’re not sure if we can now even recommend it at all.
André (Thibault Vinçon) tries to teach everyone a lesson in POISON FRIENDS
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
212-924-3363
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.
212-757-0359
http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com
http://strandreleasing.com/in_Theaters_details.asp?id=230
Winner of the International Critics Week Grand Prize at Cannes, POISON FRIENDS is a bitter tale of friendship set at a French college. As a new semester begins, André Morney (Thibault Vinçon) quickly shows off his literary brilliance in class, impressing Professor Mortier (Jacques Bonnaffé) as well as the students — in particular, Eloi Duhaut (Malik Zidi) and Alexandre Pariente (Alexandre Steiger), who immediately become his disciples, and Marguerite (Natacha Régnier), who becomes his girlfriend. Eloi wants to be a writer but is overshadowed by his famous mother, well-known author Florence (Dominique Blanc), while what Alexandre really wants to do is act. André has a massive library and continually references Karl Kraus’s quote "Why do some write? Because they’re too weak not to," but as he manipulates Eloi, Alexandre, and Marguerite, a dark secret of his own threatens to come out. POISON FRIENDS is burdened with way too much (repetitive) talk about the nature of writing, but it is still a compelling coming-of-age story of devotion and friendship.
In theaters now
The same team that brilliantly parodied zombie movies in SHAUN OF THE DEAD — star and cowriter Simon Pegg and director and cowriter Edgar Wright — are back to skewer the buddy-cop genre in the riotously funny HOT FUZZ. Pegg stars as supercop Nicholas Angel, one of London’s Finest, who is exiled to the country because he was outshining the other city officers too much, making them look bad. Relegated to perennial Village of the Year winner Sandford, the by-the-book sergeant listens obediently to his new boss, Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent), the leader of a motley crew that wouldn’t know a crime if it walked right up to them and chopped off their head. When Angel tries to convince them that a series of gory accidents is actually the evil doing of a serial killer, they instead poke fun at him and ignore his pleas. Meanwhile, Butterman’s bungling son, Danny (SHAUN’s Nick Frost), stands by his partner, acting as if they’re in POINT BREAK or BAD BOYS II. HOT FUZZ doesn’t miss a beat, from the villainous Simon Skinner (former James Bond Timothy Dalton!) to an escaped swan. HOT FUZZ is bloody good fun.
Kate Dickie make a remarkable debut in RED ROAD
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.
212-757-0359
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
212-330-8182
http://www.landmarktheatres.com
http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com
RED ROAD is a brilliant, harrowing feature debut from writer-director Andrea Arnold, who won a Best Live Action Short Oscar for her short film WASP. Kate Dickie, in her first feature film, gives a bravura performance as Jackie, a lonely woman trying to get past a horrific event that tore apart her family. Working as a CCTV operator in Glasgow, she is surprised to spot Clyde (Tony Curran), who she thought was still in prison for his evil deed. Confused, Jackie begins stalking Clyde and soon finds herself in way too deep. Arnold’s masterful hand will keep audiences on the edge of their seats with every unexpected twist and infuriating turn. Also starring Martin Compston and Natalie Press, RED ROAD is the first of three films by Scottish writers that will all star the same four actors as the same four characters, although the plot lines and relationships can change in each work. RED ROAD is a stunning beginning to the experiment.
Thierry (André Dussolier) advises Nicole (Laura Morante) in Resnais’s latest
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.
212-757-0359
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Third St.
212-924-7771
http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com
For nearly sixty years, French auteur Alain Resnais has been making intelligent, complex, and controversial films, including such well-regarded masterworks as NIGHT AND FOG (1955), HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR (1959), LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD (1961), and MON ONCLE d’AMERIQUE (1980). Now eighty-four, Resnais’s latest is PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES (COEURS), a surprisingly conventional drama based on the play by Alan Ayckbourn. The film follows the travails of six lonely people: Thierry (André Dussolier) is a real estate agent showing apartments to Nicole (Laura Morante) for her and her fiancé, Dan (Lambert Wilson), who are engaged to be married but are drifting apart. Dan spends much of his time at a brightly colored hotel bar drinking and talking with the bartender, Lionel (Pierre Arditi), a widower who is having an extremely difficult time taking care of his ailing father, so he hires Charlotte (Sabine Azéma), Thierry’s very religious coworker, to watch the old man at night. And Gaëlle (Isabelle Carré) is a former wild woman now relegated to being stood up on blind dates and becoming increasingly annoyed when she finds her brother, Thierry, watching porn videos that Charlotte gave him — perhaps unknowingly. Made up of slow-moving, talky, contemplative scenes that blend into one another with falling snow, PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES reveals the fears and desires of these six interrelated people, touching on such subjects as love, faith, and honesty, but too much of the film is old fashioned, with very little new to offer. Add half a star if talky, slow-moving, contemplative French films are your thing.
Virginie Ledoyen and Gad Elmaleh make an odd couple in French farce
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
212-995-2000
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.
212-757-0359
http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thevalet
An absolutely delightful, thoroughly charming farce, THE VALET is the best French episode of THREE’S COMPANY never filmed. (And we mean that in a completely complimentary way.) Written and directed by Francis Veber (LE CHEVRE, LE JAGUAR), THE VALET has a ridiculously silly plot stolen right out of a 1970s sitcom: Accidentally photographed with married billionaire CEO Pierre Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil) and his supermodel girlfriend (Alice Taglioni), hapless valet François (Gad Elmaleh) is paid by Pierre to pretend that he is Elena’s real boyfriend in an attempt to dupe the executive’s determined, suspicious wife, Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas). But Christine is not easily convinced, putting poor François in the middle of a major power play when all he wants is the simple love of his childhood friend, bookstore owner Emilie (Virginie Ledoyen). Got that? Auteuil is appropriately over the top, Scott Thomas is wonderfully ice cold, and Taglioni shows she is more than just a stunning beauty, but the film belongs to Elmaleh, who has the eyes and the demeanor of a young Buster Keaton. THE VALET is as sweetly silly as it is riotously funny.
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
212-995-2000
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika
Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn are excellent in the well-meaning but overwrought STEPHANIE DALEY, a torn-from-the-headlines melodrama that has been winning awards at festivals around the world. Tamblyn (JOAN OF ARCADIA) stars as the title character, a teenager who, to everyone’s surprise — and maybe even her own — gives birth on a school ski trip and throws the baby away. Claiming she didn’t know she was pregnant, she is ordered to speak to a forensic psychologist, Lydie Crane (Swinton), hired by the state prosecutor to find out the truth, as Stephanie is facing murder charges. Crane, who suffered a stillbirth the previous year, is pregnant herself, worried that she might lose this baby as well — in addition to her husband, Paul (Timothy Hutton), who might be cheating on her, sending her into the arms of her husband’s best friend, Frank (Dennis O’Hare). Got all that? Writer-director Hilary Brougher throws too much into the mix, including an infuriating dream sequence and too many unnecessary TV-movie subplots, detracting from the intense and harrowing central story.
In theaters now
Gregory Hoblit’s psychological thriller FRACTURE starts out with a promising premise: Wealthy aeronautics expert Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) calmly shoots his significantly younger wife (Embeth Davidtz) in cold blood after catching her having an affair with cop Rob Nunally (Billy Burke) and then waits for the police to arrive. Nunnally, who did not know his lover’s real name or address, is shocked to find her lying in a pool of blood, though Crawford seems delighted with his handiwork. Crawford surrenders, confesses, but then pleads not guilty and chooses to represent himself against hotshot prosecutor Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), who is on the fast track to a position with a high-powered corporate law firm. Beachum thinks he has been handed an open-and-shut case, but Crawford has very carefully plotted out what might just be the perfect crime. Unfortunately, the screenplay by Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers is far from perfect, filled with gaping holes, not mere cracks and fractures; director Gregory Hoblit (PRIMAL FEAR, HILL STREET BLUES) manipulates the audience through hard-to-believe scenes and ludicrous relationships, particularly between Beachum and his soon-to-be boss, gorgeous lawyer Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike); and Mychael and Jeff Danna’s score is so frighteningly amateurish, you’ll think you’re watching a TV movie. The film is tense and gripping when Hopkins is on-screen, though his character delves into some ridiculously silly dialogue at times, but he’s in the flick for less than half an hour; the rest focuses on Beachum, who is an absurdly clichéd character every step of the way. If the twist ending surprises you, then you haven’t seen enough COLUMBO episodes. (By the way, you’re much better off renting an episode of that great series than watching this wannabe.)
In theaters now
In 1969, Clifford Irving published FAKE! THE STORY OF ELMYR DE HORY, THE GREATEST ART FORGER OF OUR TIME, the biography of a man who made a rather nice living painting forgeries and questioning the nature and market value of art itself. After Irving’s next book, a work of fiction, was rejected miserably, he concocted a seat-of-the-pants plot to write the autobiography of hermetic billionaire Howard Hughes — and convinced McGraw-Hill to pay him a boatload of bucks to do it. This elaborate fiction, pulled off with the help of his best friend, writer Dick Suskind, set into motion lie upon lie upon lie — ultimately reaching as high as the White House and leading to the downfall of Richard Nixon. That is, if you believe Irving’s side of things. Directed with a flashy, fast hand by Lasse Hallström (CIDER HOUSE RULES, MY LIFE AS A DOG), THE HOAX, based on Irving’s book, is a fabulously entertaining flick that weaves together fact and fiction — it’s often impossible to tell which is which — led by a charming performance by Richard Gere as Irving, along with Alfred Molina as Suskind, Marcia Gay Harden as Irving’s suspicious wife, Hope Davis as Irving’s editor, and the great Eli Wallach as a doddering old Hughes associate.
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Third St.
212-924-7771
Milestone Films is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Charles Burnett’s low-budget feature-length debut, KILLER OF SHEEP, with a new 35mm restoration with the soundtrack intact; the film has not been available on VHS or DVD for decades because of music rights problems that have finally been cleared, and it has never before been released theatrically. (The soundtrack includes such seminal black artists as Etta James, Dinah Washington, Little Walter, and Paul Robeson.) Shot on weekends for less than $10,000, KILLER OF SHEEP took four years to put together and another four years to get noticed, when it won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1981 Berlin Film Festival. Reminiscent of the work of Jean Renoir and the Italian neo-Realists, KILLER OF SHEEP is a simple story about a family just trying to get by, struggling to survive in their tough Watts neighborhood in the mid-1970s. The slice-of-life scenes are sometimes very funny, sometimes scary, but always poignant, as Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders) trudges to his dirty job in a slaughterhouse in order to provide for his wife (Kaycee Moore) and children (Jack Drummond and Angela Burnett). Every day he is faced with new choices, from participating in a murder to buying a used car engine, but he takes it all in stride. The motley cast of characters, including Charles Bracy and Eugene Cherry, is primarily made up of nonprofessional actors with a limited range of talent, but that is all part of what makes it all feel so real. KILLER OF SHEEP was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1989, the second year of the program, making it among the first fifty to be selected, in the same group as REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, THE GODFATHER, DUCK SOUP, ALL ABOUT EVE, and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.
212-757-0359
http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, AFTER THE WEDDING is a complex, uneasy family drama filled with secrets and lies. Mads Mikkelsen (so good in Nicolas Winding Refn’s PUSHER trilogy) stars as Jacob, an angry, unhappy man who helps run an orphanage in India. Beloved by the kids — and especially Pramod (Neeral Mulchandani), who depends on him — Jacob must return to his native Denmark to try to solicit much-needed funds from the orphanage’s benefactor, a powerful businessman named Jørgen (Rolf Lassgård). Jørgen ends up insisting that Jacob stay for the wedding of his daughter, Anna (Stine Fischer Christensen), but when Jacob sees Jørgen’s wife, Helene (Sidse Babett Knudsen), the past comes flooding back on him, affecting everyone’s future. Mikkelsen gives a tense, foreboding performance in this gripping, intelligent film, written by Oscar winner Anders Thomas Jensen and strongly directed by Susanne Bier (BROTHERS, OPEN HEARTS).
In theaters now
http://www.sonyclassics.com/blackbook
Paul Verhoeven (TOTAL RECALL, BASIC INSTINCT) returns to his Dutch roots with BLACK BOOK, an epic tale set during the Holocaust. It’s 1944, and Rachel Stein (Carice Van Houten) and her family are trying desperately to get out of Holland, which is being taken over by the Gestapo. But after the small boat they are on gets ambushed, with Rachel the only survivor of a brutal massacre, she soon finds herself working for the Dutch resistance, under the leadership of Gerben Kuipers (Derek de Lint). After a successful mission with Hans (Thom Hoffman), Rachel gets assigned a much more dangerous task — to get as close as possible to Gestapo commander Ludwig Müntze (Sebastian Koch), no matter what it takes. As she climbs into bed with Müntze, lies, treachery, and betrayal threaten to tear apart the resistance. BLACK BOOK is a big, ambitious film that can’t quite live up to its promise; there are just too many plot holes and individual scenes gone wrong. Still, Van Houten and Koch — an emerging international star who was so good in THE LIVES OF OTHERS — are both compelling in complex roles that outshine the story itself.
In theaters now
http://thereapingmovie.warnerbros.com
THE REAPING, a new horror flick directed by Stephen Hopkins (LOST IN SPACE, JUDGMENT NIGHT), is genuinely creepy and not without its share of who’s-there-and-when-will-you-jump-out-at-me thrills. (Hint: it’s always a few seconds after the scary music stops.) You might not feel like you’ve wasted your money on this piece of entertainment fluff, but you also won’t feel like you’ve gotten the better part of the deal. Hilary Swank stars as a former minister of an unspecified denomination who specializes in debunking religious “miracles.” Embittered by the death of her husband and child — shown in grisly flashbacks — she has unfortunately become a one-dimensional cartoon of the skeptical nonbeliever, trading confrontational glances at locals too freakish to be picked for DELIVERANCE; hoping the lab tests won’t show that the river is blood; and drinkin’ and cussin’ and enjoying first-date sex. Against mounting evidence to the contrary, she maintains that the series of biblical plagues (boils, locusts, lice, dead livestock, etc.) visiting Haven, LA, can be explained scientifically while we all pray to God Almighty that she is right. While the “twist” ending is satisfying in a sequel-ready kind of way, it’s also the favored storytelling conclusion of people under the age of six. (Hint: they all ____ !) There’s not much to recommend here, unless you have nothing better to do on a Saturday night.
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Third St.
212-924-7771
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.
212-757-0359
http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com
http://www.thewindthatshakesthebarley.co.uk
Winner of the 2006 Palme d’Or at Cannes, THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE LEAVE is a brutal masterpiece from director Ken Loach (RIFF-RAFF, BREAD AND ROSES). It’s 1920, and the English black and tans are running roughshod through Ireland, leaving broken and dead bodies in their wake as they keep the population frightened and in poverty. But poorly armed yet determined local guerrilla armies are forming, prepared to fight for freedom in their homeland. In one small town, Damien (Cillian Murphy) is getting ready to move to London to train as a doctor, but he decides instead to join the burgeoning Irish Republican Army after seeing one too many bloody beatings. Swearing their loyalty to the cause and led by Damien’s brother, Teddy (Padraic Delaney), they set up ambushes of British forces, gathering weapons in a desperate attempt to win back their country. Damien also falls for Sinead (Orla Fitzgerald), one of many women who work as messengers and spies and run safe houses. But when a questionable treaty is signed, loyalty is tested and families torn apart. Written by Paul Laverty and also featuring Liam Cunningham, Mary Riordan, Myles Horgan, and Mary Murphy, THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY is a fierce, no-holds-barred, if one-sided, look at a violent conflict that has lasted for centuries.
Cecile de France brings an endearing charm to the City of Light
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
212-255-8800
Cecile de France is absolutely captivating in AVENUE MONTAIGNE, bringing an endearing charm to every second she’s on camera. The illegitimate offspring of Audrey Hepburn and Audrey Tatou, de France stars as Jessica, a young woman who ventures onto the fashionable Avenue Montaigne in Paris in search of her place in the world. She finagles a job waitressing at a popular bistro that serves as the center of the film, a place that attracts artistic folk from the nearby concert hall, auction house, and theater. At the theater, soap opera star Catherine Versen (Valérie Lemercier) desperately wants to be in the next Brian Sobinski (Sydney Pollack) film, while beloved longtime usher Claudie (Claudie Dani) is convincing herself she is ready to retire. At the concert hall, Jean-François Lefort (Albert Dupontel) is considering hanging it up as a successful classical pianist, much to the chagrin of his manager wife, Valentine (Laura Morante). And at the auction house, Jacques Grumberg (Claude Brasseur) is selling off his massive art collection and trying to reconnect with his son, Frédéric (Christopher Thompson). There’s a lot of talk about life and art, plenty of sexual intrigue, and some fine individual performances, but the film occasionally gets bogged down in heavy melodrama and unconvincing scenes. However, through it all, de France lights the way. AVENUE MONTAIGNE was directed by Danièle Thompson and cowritten by Thompson and her son, Christopher, who plays a major role in the film.
Village East
181 Second Ave. at 12th St.
212-777-3456
http://citycinemas.moviefone.com
Playing at an audition to get into a prestigious conservatory, ten-year-old pianist Mélanie (Julie Richalet) is distracted and unable to recover when the chairwoman of the jury (Catherine Frot) signs an autograph during the performance, not paying attention to her. As Mélanie leaves the room, she stares straight ahead, a fury building inside her. Ten years later, Mélanie (Déborah François) has blossomed into a beautiful young woman who gets a job as an intern for prominent attorney Monsieur Fouchecourt (Pascal Greggory). But it is not the valuable work experience she is after — it just so happens that the lawyer’s wife, Ariane, who is trying to resurrect her flailing musical career, turns out to be the chairwoman who Mélanie believes ruined her life. Quietly and with an eerie, subtle confidence, Mélanie immerses herself into the family, which also includes young Tristan (Antoine Martynciow), a piano virtuoso himself. Mélanie’s relationship with Ariane is reminiscent of that of Hedy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Allie’s (Bridget Fonda) in SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, where all hell could break loose at any moment. Writer-director Denis Dercourt’s tense psychological thriller is built around François’s stellar performance; audiences will be kept on the edge of their seats waiting for Mélanie to explode — if revenge is indeed part of her plan.
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
212-995-2000
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas
1886 Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts.
212-757-0359
http://lincolnplaza.moviefone.com
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelivesofothers
Winnter of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, THE LIVES OF OTHERS is a tense political thriller set in 1980s East Berlin. Ulriche Mühe gives a mesmerizing performance as Capt. Gerd Wiesler, an expert interrogator for the Stasi, the German Democratic Republic’s secret police, who keep a close watch on all suspicious activity — and to them, everything is suspicious. When powerful culture minister Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme) tells Wiesler’s nervous yes-man boss, Lt. Col. Anton Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur), to spy on noted playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), Wiesler takes the case, setting up audio surveillance on Dreyman and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). But when the ever-loyal, humorless, always stalwart Wiesler discovers that Hempf ordered the surveillance primarily because he has a thing for Sieland, Wiesler begins to reconsider the case — and the ultimate responsibility of the Stasi itself. And the more he learns, the more he understands. THE LIVES OF OTHERS was written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, making an extremely impressive feature-film debut, capturing a precarious, paranoid part of recent German history in which the vast majority of the nation was either being spied on or were informers themselves.
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 East Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
212-330-8182
http://www.landmarktheatres.com
Several years after the government improperly disposes of chemical waste, a huge monster appears under a bridge on the Han River. The lazy, childlike Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho), who works at his grandfather’s ( food stand on the shore — that is, when he’s not sleeping — tries desperately to save his young daughter, Hyun-seo (Ko A-sung), from the creature’s grasp, but when the monster runs off with her, Gang-du does everything in his limited power to try to get her back — if she’s even still alive. He gets help from his well-dressed brother and Olympian archer sister, who are determined to rescue their niece, but the creature has no intentions of just coughing her up. THE HOST wants to be more than just another monster movie, injecting humor and strong family bonds, but it never quite pulls itself together. For every great scene with the creature, there’s a silly scene with the family that misses the mark. Still, Song is a hoot to watch, and the special effects folks have created one heck of a cool monster.
In theaters now
After a mission in Ethiopia goes terribly wrong, expert military marksman Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) calls it quits and heads off to the mountains, where he lives a rustic, reclusive existence with his dog — until Col. Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) shows up at his doorstep, telling him that it’s Swagger’s duty to help thwart a plot to assassinate the president. Swagger resists until Johnson appeals to his sense of honor and patriotism. The assassination attempt goes awry, but Swagger is immediately pegged as the assassin, sending him on the run, with no one to turn to but Sarah Fenn (Kate Mara), the beautiful wife of his former partner, and novice CIA agent Nick Memphis (Michael Pena), who has uncovered some troubling information that he is told to bury. Together they try to prove Swagger’s innocence while fighting for their own lives. Based on a novel by Stephen Hunter and directed by Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY, THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS), SHOOTER is a gripping man-on-the-run conspiracy drama that fortunately survives some ridiculous twists and too many clichéd characters.
twi-ny/mdr
Rock star Ian Hunter plays fashionable set in SoHo
John Varvatos
122 Spring St. at Greene St.
212-965-0700
One of the last of the genuine rock stars, Ian Hunter, played a special invite-only acoustic show on April 25 at John Varvatos’s fashion store in SoHo. Varvatos, the menswear designer whose ads with Slash, Iggy Pop, and other musicians can be seen in bus kiosks around the city, is a big Hunter fan (he was wearing an old Hunter concert T-shirt), so he contacted the British ex-pat and asked him to play a short set in celebration of the release of Hunter’s latest album, SHRUNKEN HEADS (Yep Roc), which comes out May 15. Hunter brought along guitarist James Mastro and drummer Steve Holley — who banged on a box — to accompany him through a thrilling five-song set that kicked off with Hunter’s longtime opening song, “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” which began with his familiar “Hallo hallo hallo hallo.” Warning the audience that he might forget some of the lyrics, Hunter then played three tunes from the new record, “Words (Big Mouth),” “When the World Was Round,” and the title track before closing the brief gig with his most famous song and biggest hit, the David Bowie-penned Mott the Hoople classic “All the Young Dudes.” Among the guests basking in the glow of Hunter’s fabulously curly blond locks were singer-songwriters Amy Speace, Jim Allen, and Jesse Malin as well as legendary rock and roll photographer Bob Gruen. Hunter, looking dapper in jeans, Converse All-Stars, and dark sunglasses, of course, was a trooper, playing through broken guitar strings and a little too much talking going on in the back of the room. He’ll be taking off for Europe in a few weeks to start his tour; he’ll be back in New York City on June 24 to headline B.B. King’s. Get your tickets as fast as you can, because there’s nothing like an Ian Hunter show.
twi-ny/mdr
Graham Parker rocks the Knitting Factory with new band and new disc
The Knitting Factory, Main Space
74 Leonard St. between Broadway & Church St.
Friday, April 27
212-219-3006
http://www.knittingfactory.com
Touring behind his outstanding new CD, DON’T TELL COLUMBUS (Bloodshot Records, March 2007), longtime British punk Graham Parker tore through a killer set April 27 at the Knitting Factory, mixing in songs from throughout his thirty-year career with the help of his new band, the Latest Clowns, picking up where the Rumour and the Figgs left off. Parker got things going with three tunes from COLUMBUS, including the gorgeous "Hard Side of the Rain," before igniting the devoted packed house with his reggae-ish hit "Get Started, Start a Fire" and slowing things down with a splendid "You Can’t Take Love for Granted." Friendly and funny onstage, Chairman Parker switched back and forth between acoustic and electric guitar, 1976 and 2007, with an infectious joy. The audience shouted along with "Durban Poison" and "Waiting for the UFOs" and bounced wildly when Parker, accompanied only by drummer Mike Gent on guitar, turned back the clock with "White Honey" and "Soul Shoes." (He closed the show with "Back to Schooldays," making it three songs from his seminal debut record, HOWLIN’ WIND.) Parker also played such faves as "Break Them Down," "Nobody Hurts You," and "You Can’t Be Too Strong," even channeling in bits of Van Morrison on two occasions. After more than twenty songs and a hundred minutes, a hot and sweaty Parker left the stage, leaving the hot and sweaty crowd to venture out fully satisfied into the Lower Manhattan night.
Barbès
376 Ninth St. at Sixth Ave.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Friday, April 27, 8:00
(Very strongly) suggested donation: $10
718-965-9177
http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/calendar
Jeff Newell and his New-Trad Octet open their latest album, BROWNSTONE, with fun, jazzy takes on three John Philip Sousa marches, followed by Hymn Pan Alley, a suite of Gospel-tinged songs from the "Brownstone" period of American music, written by composers from Fort Greene during the early twentieth century. The main band consists of John Bailey on trumpet, J. Walter Hawkes on trombone, Marcus Rojas on tuba, Dave Phelps on guitar, Tom Hubbard on bass, Tricia Woods on keyboards, Brian Woodruff on drums, and Newell on saxophone. Bailey lets loose some hot sounds on "March," Newell blows a soft, lovely sax on "Bolero," Phelps and Hubbard excel on the too short "Mambo," and Woods leads with sweet piano on "Waltz." The disc ends with an epic eight-minute version of "Amazing Grace" and Newell’s own "Fill the Temple," with vocals by Karl Dixon and Janis Russel; Newell wrote the song while serving as coordinator of music and worship at Brooklyn’s Baptist Temple. The New-Trad Octet will be playing songs from BROWNSTONE at Barbès on April 27; two days earlier, on April 25, the David Phelps 4tet, which teams Phelps and Rojas with saxophonist Michaël Attias and drummer Satoshi Takeishi, takes part in the club’s regular Wednesday night series "Night of the Ravished Limbs" at 8:00.
© Steve Grody
L.A. street art is celebrated in book and at Chelsea Museum
Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22nd St. at Eleventh Ave.
Saturday, May 5, 3:00 - 5:00
Free with museum admission
212-255-0719
Steve Grody has been documenting street art in Los Angeles for more than two decades. GRAFFITI L.A.: STREET STYLES AND ART is the result of his extensive research, which goes back to the 1930s. The book features full-color photographs and quotes from some of LA’s hottest graffiti writers. On May 5, Grody, along with several of the artists whose work is included in the large-size hardcover, will be at the Chelsea Museum talking about and signing copies of the book. They’ll also pit New York street art against L.A. street art in what should be a lively discussion.
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Piano’s
158 Stanton St. near Ludlow St.
Admission: $8
212-505-3733
http://www.myspace.com/jefflondon1
Wednesday, April 25 Record release party for THE BANE OF PROGRESS (Hush, May 15, 2007), featuring Jeff London on guitar, vocals, harmonica, and histrionics, Alec Menge on drums, Andrew Moon on violin, Robin Ziari on bass and piano, and Greg McMullen on pedal steel, 10:00
P.S. 107, John W. Kimball School
1301 Eighth Ave. between 13th & 14th Sts., Brooklyn
Monthly through June 5
Tickets: $12, all proceeds go toward building and stocking a library for the school
Advance tickets available online and at the Community Bookstore, 143 Seventh Ave., Park Slope, 718-783-3075
718-330-9340
Thursday, April 26 Contemporary Fiction, with Jonathan Lethem and Dana Spiotta, moderated by Elissa Schappell
Chelsea Piers Golf Club
Pier 59, 23rd Street and Hudson River
Admission: free but advance RSVP required: 212-336-6400 or online
Friday, April 27 Play golf, get expert tips, and more, 4:00 — 6:00
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
566 LaGuardia Pl.
Tickets: $28
212-992-8484
http://www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu
Friday, April 27 Mixed Repertory: Antony Tudor’s JARDIN AUX LILAS, Adam Hougland’s VANISH, Kirk Peterson’s NOCTURNE, August Bournonvillie’s FLOWER FESTIVAL, PAS DE DEUX, and Brian Reeder’s GHOST LIGHT, 8:00
Saturday, April 28 Mixed Repertory: Antony Tudor’s JARDIN AUX LILAS, Kirk Peterson’s EYES THAT GENTLY TOUCH, Kirk Peterson’s NOCTURNE, August Bournonvillie’s FLOWER FESTIVAL, PAS DE DEUX, and Adam Hougland’s VANISH, 2:00
Saturday, April 28 An Evening of All New Works: Robert Sund’s FINE LINE, Kirk Peterson’s NOCTURNE, Brian Reeder’s GHOST LIGHT, and Adam Hougland’s VANISH, 8:00
Radio City Music Hall
1260 Sixth Ave. at 50th St.
Admission: free
Friday, April 27
and
Saturday, April 28 Come watch the Jets, Giants, and rest of the NFL put their future on the line as they wheel and deal to make their choices at the annual NFL draft; free tickets, with limited seating, will be available at 6:00 am on the 50th St. side of Radio City — but the line is not allowed to start until 5:00 am, so don’t think of camping out there
NYU Cantor Film Center
36 East Eighth St. between Broadway & University Pl.
Single program $8, two programs $14, weekend pass $40
212-222-9575
Friday, April 27 MY BROTHER (Anthony Lover, 2005), 7:00
Saturday, April 28 Short films: MARK (Kaith Chan & Thomas Kuchiran, 2005), LIFE IN THE SHADOWS, HOW’S YOUR NEWS?: ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL (Charles Guggenheim, 1999), and THE REAL RAIN MAN (Sarah Feltes, 2005), 11:00 am
Saturday, April 28 KIDS LIKE THESE (Georg Stanford Brown, 1986), 2:00
Saturday, April 28 BRAIN MAN (Steve Gooder, 2005) and THE BOY INSIDE (Marianne Kaplan, 2006), 4:30
Saturday, April 28 JIMMY (Carlos Manga, 1998), RODNEY (Andew Coyle, 2006), DIFFERENCE IS NORMAL (Rania Rafei, 2006), BROTHERS IN GIRON (Per Niia, 2004), and CARMELA (Guillermo López Pérez, 2005), 7:00
Sunday, April 29 MATHEW’S ANIMATION (Mathew Brotherwood, 2006), USELESSEA’S (Andrew Pike, 2005), SECRETS OF EARLY US HISTORY (2006), LEARNING TO LOVE (Voytek Szczytko, 2006), MY SENIOR YEAR…IT’S ONLY JUST BEGUN (Jessica Portnoy, 2006), KARATE RULER (Anthony Di Salvo, 2000), and THE FORGOTTEN ONES (2004), International Youth Hostel, 891 Amsterdam Ave, between 103rd & 104th Sts., 2:30
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Artists on Art: free
Harlem in the Himalayas: $15-$20, 7:00
CabaretCinema: $7 food/drink minimum, 7:00
212-620-5000 ext 344
Friday, April 27 Book Launch: Betsy Karel, BOMBAY JADOO, 6:00
Friday, April 27 Harlem in the Himalayas: Roswell Rudd & David Oquendo Duo
Friday, April 27 Artists on Art, 7:30
Friday, April 27 CabaretCinema: NATTVARDSGÄSTERNA (WINTER LIGHT) (Ingmar Bergman, 1967), introduced by Alexei Kaleina, 9:30
Friday, May 4 Harlem in the Himalayas: David Weiss Quintet
Friday, May 4 Artists on Art, 7:30
Friday, May 4 CabaretCinema: LEKTIONEN IN FINSTERNIS (LESSONS IN DARKNESS) (Werner Herzog, 1992), introduced by Richard Hankin, 9:30
Union Square Park South Plaza
Broadway at 14th St.
Admission: free
802-863-5251
Saturday, April 28 Fifth annual event sponsored by the National Gardening Association, featuring sponsored demonstrations such as churning butter, creating a bird feeder, container garden design, urban gardening for teens, how to make a window box, and more, 9:00 am — 4:00 pm
Six city parks in four boroughs
Equipment and instruction: free
718-760-6999
http://www.cityparksfoundation.org
Tuesday, April 30
through
Friday, June 22 Free morning tennis lessons, yoga instruction, and fitness walking for seniors in Marine Park in Brooklyn, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan, and Astoria Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and Roy Wilkins Park in Queens
Japan Society
333 E. 47th St. at First Ave.
Tickets: $13
212-715-1258
Tuesday, May 1 An Evening with Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi, with 7:00 screening of MANY FACES OF CHIKA (MATA NO HI NO CHIKA) (Kazuo Hara, 2004), introduced by director Hara and screenwriter Kobayashi and followed by a discussion moderated by Ed Halter at 9:20
The Frick Collection
1 East 70th St. at Fifth Ave.
Free with museum admission of $15
212-547-0700
Wednesday, May 2 George Stubbs and the Image of the Horse, with Malcolm Warner, 6:00
Blue Note
131 West Third St.
Tickets: bar $35, table $55
212-475-8592
Wednesday, May 2
through
Saturday, May 5 Rare club appearance, with Cyrus Chestnut, Marvin Sewell, Reginald Veal, and Herlin Riley, two shows nightly
Museum of Television & Radio
25 West 52nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Tickets: $25
212-621-6800
Thursday, May 3 Covering the World: Al Jazeera, with Abderrahim Foukara, Dave Marash, and Lawrence Pintak, 6:00
Barnes & Noble Union Square
33 East 17th St. between Park Ave. & Broadway
Admission: free
212-253-0810
http://www.ladieswholaunch.com
Thursday, May 3 Victoria Colligan and Beth Schoenfeldt, LADIES WHO LAUNCH: EMBRACING ENTREPRENEURSHIP & CREATIVITY AS A STYLE, 7:00
School of Visual Arts, third-floor amphitheater
209 East 23rd St. between Second & Third Aves.
Admission: $7
212-592-2010
Friday, May 4 Juror Eitoku Sugimori with the Artists Talk on Art 2007 Curator’s Choice winners, 7:00
Saint Peter’s Church
619 Lexington Ave. at 54th St.
Suggested donation: $15 (seniors $10, children under twelve free)
516-248-7549/800-440-2242
http://www.downtowngleeclub.org
Friday, May 4 Featuring music by Rodgers & Hart, Stephen Sondheim, Michel Legrand, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Roy Orbison, 7:30
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway
May 4-10
Tickets: $11
212-875-5600
Friday, May 4 TEMPEST (Paul Mazursky, 1982), 1:30
Friday, May 4 I LOVE YOU, ALICE B. TOKLAS (Hy Averback, 1968), 4:15
Friday, May 4 NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE (Paul Mazursky, 1976), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 6:15
Friday, May 4 BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE (Paul Mazursky, 1969), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 9:00
Saturday, May 5 NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE (Paul Mazursky, 1976), 1:45
Saturday, May 5 BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE (Paul Mazursky, 1969), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 4:00
Saturday, May 5 AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (Paul Mazursky, 1978), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 6:30
Saturday, May 5 I LOVE YOU, ALICE B. TOKLAS (Hy Averback, 1968), 9:15
Sunday, May 6 YIPPEE: A JOURNEY TO JEWISH JOY (Paul Mazursky, 2006), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 1:00
Sunday, May 6 AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (Paul Mazursky, 1978), 3:30
Sunday, May 6 BLUME IN LOVE (Paul Mazursky, 1973), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 6:00
Sunday, May 6 ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY (Paul Mazursky, 1989), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 8:30
Monday, May 7 MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON (Paul Mazursky, 1984), 1:00 (introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director) & 9:00
Monday, May 7 BLUME IN LOVE (Paul Mazursky, 1973), 3:30
Monday, May 7 TEMPEST (Paul Mazursky, 1982), 6:15
Tuesday, May 8 AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (Paul Mazursky, 1978), 1:30
Tuesday, May 8 NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE (Paul Mazursky, 1976), 4:00
Tuesday, May 8 MOON OVER PARADOR (Paul Mazursky, 1988), 6:15
Tuesday, May 8 HARRY AND TONTO (Paul Mazursky, 1974), 8:30
Wednesday, May 9 TEMPEST (Paul Mazursky, 1982), 1:30
Thursday, May 10 ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY (Paul Mazursky, 1989), 1:00 & 8:30
Thursday, May 10 HARRY AND TONTO (Paul Mazursky, 1974), 3:30
Thursday, May 10 YIPPEE: A JOURNEY TO JEWISH JOY (Paul Mazursky, 2006), introduced by Mazursky and followed by a Q&A with the director, 6:15
Staten Island Botanical Garden
1000 Richmond Terr.
718-273-8200
Saturday, May 5 Garden classes, Asian drum exhibition workshop, and free tours of the Chinese peony collection with Colman Rutkin, 11:00 am & 12:30 pm
St. Peter’s Church
346 West 20th St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
Tickets: $20-$25
212-252-4134
http://womenschoir.home.mindspring.com
http://www.stpeterschelsea.com
Saturday, May 5 Girl Groups from the Twelfth to Twenty-first Centuries, from Hildegard von Bingen to the Bulgarian Women’s Choir to the Dixie Chicks, including Niccola Porpora’s "Magnificat," Tofig Guliyev’s "Beauty Is Not Forever," and new commissioned work from Becca Schack, 8:00
Makor
Steinhardt Building
35 West 67th St. between Amsterdam & Columbus Aves.
Tickets: $15
212-601-1000
Saturday, May 5 Balagan Boogaloo with the Sway Machinery, Smadar, DJ Shotnez from Balkan Beat Box, and DJ Balagan, 8:00
Library of Performing Arts
Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
Bruno Walter Auditorium
40 Lincoln Center Plaza
Admission: free
212-870-1630 / 212-642-0142
Saturday, May 5 The Society of American Magicians Celebrates the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Billy Rose Theatre Division, with Emcee George Schindler and Andy Dallas, Rob Friedhoffer, and Kenneth Silverman., 3:00
Bronx Zoo
Fordham Road and the Bronx River Parkway
Admission: $14 adults, $10 children
718-367-1010
Saturday, May 5
and
Sunday, May 6 Traditional Mexican music and dance and more, 11:00 am - 4:30 pm
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Ave. between 103rd & 104th Sts.
Free with suggested museum admission of $9
212-534-1672 ext3395
Sunday, May 6 Twenty-seventh annual conference of the Professional Archaeologists of New York City, 1:00
14th St. Y rooftop
344 East 14th St. at First Ave.
Tickets: $10, children five and under free
212-780-0800
Sunday, May 6 Third annual festival for moms who rock, featuring comedy, live music, and circus arts, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer foundation, 1:00
Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Tickets: $10
212-864-5400
Sunday, May 6 BOLA DE NIEVE (José Sánchez-Montes, 2003), 6:00, and EL GRAN GATO (Ventura Pons, 2003), 7:30
Tuesday, May 8 ROMANTICO (Mark Becker, 2005), 6:00, and SANTO DOMINGO BLUES THE STORY OF LUIS VARGAS, THE SUPREME KING OF BITTERNESS (Alex Wolfe, 2003), 7:45
Humanities and Social Sciences Library
Celeste Bartos Forum
Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.
Tickets: $15
212-930-0855
Monday, May 7 God Is Not Great, with Christopher Hitchens, 7:00
Asia Society and Museum, eighth floor
725 Park Ave.
Tickets: $75
212-517-ASIA
Monday, May 7 Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) talks about Asia’s emerging role in global affairs, moderated by Les Gelb, 12 noon
Barnes & Noble
227 West 27th St.
Admission: free
212-217-7717
Tuesday, May 8 Sonnet Stanfill discusses her latest book, NEW YORK FASHION (Abrams, April 2007, $55), the catalog for the current exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, 5:00
Galapagos Art Space, frontroom
70 North Sixth St. between Wythe and Kent
Admission: free
718-384-4586
http://www.galapagosartspace.com
Tuesday, May 8 Book release party of Dave Praeger’s POOP CULTURE: HOW AMERICA IS SHAPED BY ITS GROSSEST NATIONAL PRODUCT, with music, comedy, film, and deep, deep, thought, 7:00
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
Tickets: $36
212-645-2904
Tuesday, May 8
through
Sunday, May 13 Jawole Zollar’s Urban Bush Women celebrate their twenty-third season with seven performances, including special Mother’s Day events at the 2:00 show on May 13
Barnes & Noble Union Square
33 East 17th St. between Park Ave. & Broadway
Admission: free
212-253-0810
http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/palahniuk/rant
Wednesday, May 9 Chuck Palahniuk reads from RANT: THE ORAL BIOGRAPHY OF BUSTER CASEY, with presigned books available, 7:00