twi-ny recommended events

JOHN LE CARRE: THE CONSTANT GARDENER

Diplomat (Ralph Fiennes) refuses to leave well enough alone in THE CONSTANT GARDENER

THE CONSTANT GARDENER (Fernando Meirelles, 2005)
BAMcinématek, BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Thursday, September 27, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
Series runs September 27 – October 3
212-415-5500
www.bam.org
www.focusfeatures.com

Fernando Meirelles knows how to make movies. His previous film, the remarkable City of God (2002), was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and he earned a nod for Best Director as well, sending him off to Hollywood for his first English-language effort. The result is this exciting tale of a low-level British diplomat who becomes obsessed with investigating his radical wife’s murder. As he uncovers more and more information, he learns surprising things about his wife — and the British government. Based on John Le Carré’s novel, The Constant Gardener opens with the murder of Tessa Quayle (Rachel Weisz); her husband, Justin (Ralph Fiennes), is a diplomat stationed in Kenya who prefers not to ruffle any feathers. As he is told what might have happened to her, he continues watering his plants, tending to his garden. Tessa’s death is ruled a crime of passion, allegedly committed by a peace worker, Dr. Arnold Bluhm (Hubert Koundé), but Justin believes there’s more to it. He soon finds himself in the middle of a complex conspiracy that puts him in the cross hairs of some very powerful — and dangerous — people. Meirelles alternates between the past and the present, using flashbacks to reveal Justin and Tessa’s complicated, often mysterious relationship. By focusing on the characters instead of the conspiracy, Meirelles has crafted an exciting spy thriller with a heart. Nominated for four Oscars, The Constant Gardener is screening at BAM on September 27, kicking off the BAMcinématek series “John le Carré,” comprising suspense films based on the espionage novels of onetime MI5/MI6 officer David Cornwell and also including Tomas Alfreson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frank Pierson’s The Looking Glass War, Sidney Lumet’s The Deadly Affair, John Boorman’s The Tailor of Panama, Martin Ritt’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and George Roy Hill’s The Little Drummer Girl.

NYFF50: THE 50th NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL

Ang Lee’s LIFE OF PI will open the fiftieth annual New York Film Festival

Alice Tully Hall, 1941 Broadway at 65th St.
Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center: Francesca Beale Theater, Howard Gilman Theater, Amphitheater, 144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Bruno Walter Auditorium, 111 Amsterdam Ave. between West 64th & 65th Sts.
September 28 – October 14
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com

The New York Film Festival is paying tribute to a pair of milestones this year, as 2012 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the festival, and longtime program director Richard Peña is stepping down after a quarter century of inspired service at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, leaving behind quite a legacy. This year’s festival begins on September 28 with the world premiere of Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, adapted from Yann Martel’s novel, and closes on October 14 with the world premiere of Robert Zemeckis’s Flight, starring Denzel Washington, Melissa Leo, and Don Cheadle. The centerpiece selection is the world premiere of David Chase’s hotly anticipated Not Fade Away, reuniting him with his Sopranos star, James Gandolfini. Other films, by some of the greatest directors from around the globe, include Michael Haneke’s Amour, Cristian Mungiu’s Beyond the Hills, the Taviani brothers’ Caesar Must Die, Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, Sally Potter’s Ginger and Rosa, Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone in Love, Raúl Ruiz’s Night Across the Street, Brian De Palma’s Passion, Olivier Assayas’s Something in the Air, Alain Resnais’s You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet, and Lee Daniels’s The Paperboy, part of the Gala Tribute to Nicole Kidman.

Peter O’Toole’s eyes should shine even more in 4K restoration of David Lean’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA at the New York Film Festival

The Masterworks section reexamines such films as Amos Gitai’s Field Diary, Bob Rafelson’s The King of Marvin Gardens, Laurence Olivier’s Richard III, Federico Fellini’s Fellini Satyricon, a 4K restoration of David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, and Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, with Cimino on hand to talk about one of Hollywood’s most famous financial disasters. (Was the film really that bad?) Among the special events are Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States, theater legend Richard Foreman’s Once Every Day, and a twenty-fifth-anniversary screening of the cult classic The Princess Bride, with a reunion bringing together director Rob Reiner and stars Billy Crystal, Cary Elwes, Carol Kane, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, and Robin Wright. The Convergence section looks at cutting-edge technology in cinematic storytelling, with keynote conversations, works-in-progress, and the live multimedia presentation Whispers in the Dark. The annual Views from the Avant-Garde sidebar features works by Ruiz, Peter Kubelka, Chris Marker, Luke Fowler, Nathaniel Dorsky, and others. There will also be a daily talk show, NYFF Live, taking place at 7:00 in the evening in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater with various actors, directors, critics, and other insiders discussing the state of modern cinema.

EP OF THE DAY: SHY AROUND STRANGERS

In “Victorian Ghosts,” Shy Around Strangers lead singer Emily Powers throatily purrs, “Boys touch me down / Girls love to play with my hair / We are everywhere.” In actuality, they’re not quite everywhere, at least not yet; right now it’s extremely difficult to find out much about the New York-based trio — there are no videos on the internet depicting the band and a lone publicity photo, revealing only the three members’ eyes — but they’re on the verge of breaking out of their shell with the release of their excellent eponymously titled debut EP and hosting a live release party at the Grand Victory in Brooklyn on September 26 with Bikini Carwash and Primes. Shy Around Strangers consists of Powers, who is also part of Eva & Her Virgins and Elliott Has Powers and has just self-published her first book, Rich People Don’t Eat Unripe Bananas, a collection of personal writings and drawings; drummer Mike Dawson, who has written such graphic novels as Troop 142 and Freddie & Me: A Coming-of-Age (Bohemian) Rhapsody and runs Elohino Productions; and Peruvian-born multifaceted guitarist, composer, and producer Darko Saric. The three have decided to let their music do the talking for them, and that choice more than holds up throughout the EP’s five tracks, which combine elements of Goth rock with eighties postpunk alternative, along with homages to such forerunners as Blondie and Bob Dylan. “Pretend you’re someone real / Peel off your inhibitions,” Powers proclaims on “It’s Alright” shortly after space-age sounds take off behind her. “You’re gonna do it right / Stand up, hold it tight / Smile and wave and give them what they want.” On this introductory EP, Shy Around Strangers seem to know just how to give people what they want.

YEONGHWA — KOREAN FILM TODAY: STATELESS THINGS

North Korean defector Joon (Lee Paul) searches for a new life in Seoul in Kim Kyung-mook’s STATELESS THINGS

STATELESS THINGS (JOOL-TAK-DONG-SI) (Kim Kyung-mook, 2011)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Friday, September 28, 8:00
Series continues through September 30
Tickets: $12, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
www.moma.org

Queer filmmaker Kim Kyung-mook, a film festival favorite, follows up his controversial 2005 feature debut, the three-part Faceless Things, which centers on an explicit gay sexual tryst, and his 2008 work, A Cheonggyecheon Dog, about sex changes and a talking dog, with another unconventional narrative. In Stateless Things, Kim examines the difficult life of social minorities in modern-day Korea. In the first section, filmed primarily with a handheld camera, North Korean defector Joon (Lee Paul) works at a gas station with Soonhee (Kim Sae-byuk), an ethnic Korean who has just gotten out of China. The two shy, quiet people work for a manager (Kim Jeong-seok) who sexually abuses Soonhee and mistreats Joon until they can take no more, fighting back and heading out on the run. In the second section, Yeom Hyun-joon plays Hyun, a beautiful young man being kept by successful businessman Sunghoon (Lim Hyung-kook), his jealous, closeted sugar daddy. The two make love in a stunning apartment with spectacular views of Seoul, but they are trapped in their own little world, filled with fear and obsession. Save for one quick scene in a bathroom stall — an extremely graphic scene, reminiscent of Carlos Reygadas’s Battle in Heaven, that will ensure the film is unrated — it is hard to connect the two parts until after the title credit is emblazoned on the screen and the shorter third section attempts to bring everything together in poetic, abstract, and surreal ways. Like its predecessors, Stateless Things is aimed at more adventurous moviegoers who don’t need films tied up in a little bow at the end but instead enjoy being challenged by what they are shown. And there is a lot of challenge in Stateless Things, not all of which works. Stateless Things is screening on September 28 at 8:00 as part of MoMA’s third annual “Yeonghwa: Korean Film Today” series, a collaboration with the Korea Society that also includes such contemporary works as Byun Young-joo’s Helpless, Lee Sang-cheol’s Jesus Hospital, and Lee Sang-woo’s Fire in Hell through September 30.

JASON AKIRA SOMMA: PHOSPHENE VARIATIONS

“Phosphene Variations” performance series will bring together live dancers and performance artists with their holographic versions

Location One
26 Greene St. between Grand & Canal Sts.
Exhibition runs Tuesday – Saturday through October 3, free; weekly Wednesday or Thursday performances, $10
212-334-3347
www.location1.org

Premiered as an experimental work-in-progress in December 2010 at the Watermill Center and later presented at the National Theatre of Paris, Brooklyn-based Virginia native Jason Akira Somma’s “Phosphene Variations” is now on view at Location One in SoHo through November 17. [Ed. note: Due to technical difficulties, the exhibition was forced to close on October 3.] The interactive exhibition features free-floating holograms of such dancers and performance artists as Robert Wilson, Laurie Anderson, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Carmen DeLavallade, Bill Shannon, Frances Wessells, Jirí Kylián, and Joan Jonas, who seemingly react when “touched.” In addition, there will be weekly live performances ($10, 7:00) Wednesdays in September and October and Thursdays in November in which several of Somma’s subjects will be on hand to improvise live with their holographic image, with real-time video feedback provided by Somma and live music by electro-acoustic cellist Christopher Lancaster. Curated by dance artist Luke Miller, the schedule includes Flexors on September 26, Miss Dirty Martini, Julie Atlas Muz, and Monstah Black on October 10, Brian Brooks on October 17, Jeanine Durning and Manelich Minniefee on October 24, and Susan Marshall & Company, Bill Shannon, and Vanessa Walters on November 8, concluding on November 15 with Phosphene Redux, a closing party highlighted by the return of various of the artists who previously performed. [Ed. note: The October 10 performance will be the last one, with the others canceled as a result of the unfortunate shutdown of the exhibition.]

THE EXONERATED

Powerful, intense, and crucially important, THE EXONERATED is back at the Culture Project for a special tenth-anniversary engagement (photo by Carol Rosegg)

Culture Project
45 Bleecker St. between Lafayette & Bowery
Tuesday – Sunday through November 4, $30-$99
866-811-4111
www.cultureproject.org
www.theexonerated.com

Ten years ago, married couple Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s groundbreaking The Exonerated debuted at the Culture Project. The riveting, multiple-award-winning play, which follows the true, harrowing stories of five men and one woman who found themselves on death row for crimes they did not commit, is now back at 45 Bleecker St. for a special return engagement, and it’s as powerful as ever, as innocent people continue to be incarcerated and executed in this country. On a dark stage, ten people sit in front of black music stands, relating their stories as overhead lights single them out, with occasional interstitial music by David Robbins. The production, again directed by Bob Balaban, features a regular cast of six actors, along with a rotating selection of four guest stars taking on some of the major roles. The central figures are Gary Gauger (Brian Dennehy), Kerry Max Cook (Chris Sarandon), Robert Earl Hayes (JD Williams), David Keaton (Curtis McClarin), Delbert Tibbs (Delroy Lindo), and Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs (Stockard Channing), each of whom was wrongly arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death. They are joined by Jim Bracchitta and Bruce Kronenberg as various cops, prosecutors, and other public officials, April Yvette Thompson as Hayes’s wife, and Amelia Campbell as Cook’s and Gauger’s wives; Campbell, McClarin, and Kronenberg reprise their roles from the original stage production, while Dennehy and Lindo previously played their parts in the 2005 Court TV movie. Every single word of The Exonerated is taken from interviews, court transcripts, letters, and other primary sources; nothing is fictionalized, which adds to the play’s intense power. The terrifying personal journeys of the six wrongly convicted people explore such issues as racism, homophobia, and political maneuvering in which the truth seems to always take a backseat. Even though the audience knows that the six people have been freed, the play is beautifully paced, cutting from one character to another as the tension mounts and the details grow more and more amazing and hard to believe. The acting is solid throughout, but Lindo is particularly mesmerizing, speaking Tibbs’s poetic words with a masterful grace. Dennehy, Channing, and Sarandon continue through September 23 and Lindo through September 30; upcoming celebrity guests include Steve Earle, K’naan, Lyle Lovett, Brooke Shields, and the real Sunny Jacobs. Numerous shows will also be followed by panel discussions featuring such groups as the Innocence Project, Amnesty International, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Reinvestigation Project. The Exonerated not only makes for terrific theater, but its importance cannot be overstated. Don’t miss it — especially if you’re in favor of the death penalty.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: “PURPLE” BY CALIFORNIA WIVES

No, California Wives is not the latest reality show about a group of self-obsessed women living in West Coast luxury and airing all their dirty laundry in public. Instead, California Wives is a Chicago-based quartet that has just released its debut full-length, Art History (September 4, Vagrant), which is currently streaming for free on their website. However, they do have something to say about Valley vanity. “I know your deep past / I watch you walk with the wrong crowd / I watch you fake it to the end / And you’ve been waiting for so long / On the day you wore the dress,” lead vocalist and keyboardist Jayson Kramer sings on “Los Angeles,” continuing, “You wore a flower to impress / A little more, a little less / Socialites now they talk, talk.” Started in 2009 by child classical pianist and former premed student Kramer, California plays smooth-flowing, sweet-sounding indie pop with lilting guitars, layered harmonies, rising synths, and infectious hooks that reveal an ’80s sensibility on such tracks as “Blood Red Youth,” “Purple,” “Tokyo,” and “Marianne.” Kramer, guitarist Graham Masell, bassist Dan Zima, and drummer Joe O’Connor will be celebrating the release of Art History on September 22 in the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall on a bill with Stars and Diamond Rings.