twi-ny recommended events

WEEKEND CLASSICS — KUROSAWA: IKIRU

Takashi Shimura does a stellar job with a rare leading role in Kurosawa’s captivating melodrama IKIRU

IKIRU (TO LIVE) (DOOMED) (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
May 6-8, $13, 11:00 am
Series continues through August
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com

In Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 gem, Ikiru, the great Takashi Shimura is outstanding as the simple-minded petty bureaucrat Kanji Watanabe, a paper-pushing section chief who has not taken a day off in thirty years. But when he suddenly finds out that he is dying of stomach cancer, he finally decides that there might be more to life than he thought after meeting up with an oddball novelist (Yunosuke Ito). While his son, Mitsuo (Nobuo Kaneko) and coworkers wonder just what is going on with him — he has chosen not to tell anyone about his illness — he begins cavorting with Kimura (Shinichi Himori), a young woman filled with a zest for life. Although the plot sounds somewhat predictable, Kurosawa’s intuitive direction, a smart script, and a marvelously slow-paced performance by Shimura make this one of the director’s best melodramas. Ikiru will be screening at 11:00 am on May 6-8 as part of the IFC Center’s Weekend Classics — Kurosawa series, with half of the proceeds from all festival screenings benefiting Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund. Upcoming screenings include The Bad Sleep Well (May 20-22), The Hidden Fortress (May 27-30), and Stray Dog (June 3-5).

TAIWAN STORIES: CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY FILM FROM TAIWAN — JULIETS

Unrequited love is at the center of three very different tales in the cinematic omnibus JULIETS

JULIETS (Hou Chi-Jan, Shen Ko-Shang & Hou Chi Jan, 2010)
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St.
Saturday, May 7, 1:30, and Wednesday, May 18, 4:00
Series runs May 6-19
212-875-5610
www.filmlinc.com

The opening-night selection of the Golden Horse Film Festival, Juliets is a three-part anthology that offers unique takes on Shakespeare’s classic story of unrequited love, Romeo & Juliet. In Chen Yu-Hsun’s Juliet’s Choice, Vivian Hsu stars as Ju, a mousy, handicapped young woman who walks with one crutch — not very well — and toils in her father’s printing shop. Ju is immediately struck by Ro (Wang Po-chieh), a university student who is trying to get someone to print a Marxist pamphlet, not exactly the safest idea in 1970s Taipei, which is under martial law. Although Ju’s father rejects Ro’s proposition, fearing the authorities, she goes ahead with the project in secret, leading to personal, professional, and political repercussions and a sly twist. In Shen Ko-Shang’s Two Juliets, One Million Star finalist Lee Chien-na was named Best New Performer at the 2010 Golden Horse Film Awards for her role as Julie, a sexy chanteuse in a traveling outdoor burlesque show who gets into trouble when her relationship with the puppeteer’s son (River Huang) suddenly goes public, causing fighting among the families. The story is actually told in flashback through the eyes of the man thirty years later and the woman taxi driver (Hsu) who wants to help him make amends. And in Hou Chi-Jan’s One More Juliet, Hong Kong television star Kang Kang plays Ju Li-ye, a despondent thirty-nine-year-old who has just had his heart broken for the twenty-eighth and, he’s decided, last time. But just as he’s about to hang himself from a tree using the chain from his broken bicycle, he is asked to appear in a commercial that his being shot nearby. As the goofy ad for sculpted superhero undies is delayed by the rain, Ju hears a stirring tale told by another actor, Ron (Liang He Chun), bringing the two men closer together. Juliets offers three very different tales of unrequited love, set in three different times and in three different genres, yet they work well as a whole, displaying the main characters’ desperation, disappointment, and determination as they try to deal with the rough hand love has dealt them.

Juliets is screening May 7 & 18 as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s “Taiwan Stories: Classic and Contemporary Film from Taiwan,” which runs May 6-20 and also includes such older works as Liang Zhefu’s Early Train from Taipei (1964), Li Hanxiang’s Beauty of Beauties (1965), and King Hu’s A Touch of Zen (1969) as well as such modern films as Wei Tei-Sheng’s Cape No. 7 (2008), Chen Wen-tang’s Tears (2009), and Chung Mong-Hong’s The Fourth Portrait (2010).

THE FIERY FURNACES

Eleanor Friedberger and brother Matthew are playing a pair of intimate duo shows at Rockwood Music Hall this week (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2
196 Allen St. between Houston & Stanton Sts.
May 4-5, $20, 9:30
212-477-4155
www.thefieryfurnaces.com
www.rockwoodmusichall.com

The Fiery Furnaces kicked off a brief nine-city, twelve-show U.S. tour last night at Rockwood Music Hall with an intimate nineteen-song set that revealed fascinating aspects of their creative process. Playing as a duo, with Matthew Friedberger on piano and sister Eleanor on vocals, the pair both used lyric sheets as they delved deep into their songbook, highlighting rare tunes, including several that they have never before performed in public. It often felt like they had invited people in to watch them rehearse, as they made minor mistakes, missing cues, garbling a few words, or discussing the ending. But the overall effect came off as charming and endearing, especially as the siblings, both of whose bangs were in fine form, prepare for a brief hiatus, with Eleanor touring behind her debut solo album this summer and Matthew continuing his series of solo records, each one using a different instrument. The varied setlist, which is sure to change for their second show tonight, ranged from “Black-Hearted Boy,” “Blueberry Boat,” and “Even in the Rain” to “Cousin Chris,” “South Is Only a Home,” “Nevers,” and “The Vietnamese Telephone Industry,” from “Uncle Charlie,” “Single Again,” and “The Garfield El” (the “El” stands for Eleanor, not elevated, Eleanor pointed out) to “Smelling Cigarettes,” “Wolf Notes,” and “Evergreen,” the latter set to the music of Bob Seger’s “Still the Same.” Matthew stumbled at the ivories at the beginning before settling down, occasionally contributing vocals to Eleanor’s poetic, word-strewn lead. Eleanor’s obvious comfort level kept things light and fun despite the flaws as the Fiery Furnaces once again delivered an unusual, unpredictable, and unabashedly entertaining show. It all had the feel of their wanting to do something very special, for themselves as well as the audience, before they take their break. Their friend and former percussionist Michael Goodman opened up, playing short, sweet originals and a Buddy Holly cover on acoustic guitar in a warm, funny style, particularly on a duet on which he sang the parts of both the man and the woman. Be sure to get there on time to check him out.

ARTIST TALK: KIM BECK

Kim Beck, “Space Available,” painted plywood and steel, 2011 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Bumble & Bumble
415 West 13th Street, third Floor
Friday, May 6, free, 6:30
Installation remains on view through January 2012
RSVP: 212-206-9922
www.thehighline.org
www.idealcities.com
space available slideshow

In addition to being a work of art itself, the renovated High Line has featured a number of site-specific installations since the initial section opened to the public in June 2009, including Spencer Finch’s “The River That Flows Both Ways,” Stephen Vitiello’s “A Bell for Every Minute,” Valerie Hegarty’s “Autumn on the Hudson Valley with Branches,” Demetrius Oliver’s “Jupiter,” and Richard Galpin’s “Viewing Station.” The latest work of art to grace the former elevated railway tracks is Kim Beck’s “Space Available,” which consists of three naked billboards on rooftops along Washington St. (between 13th & Gansevoort) that can be seen from the High Line. The sculptural structures have no advertisements on them, evoking both transition as well as the state of today’s American economy, a stark contrast to the several billboards that do indeed pitch products around the area. You might have actually already seen Beck’s painted plywood and steel pieces but not realized it, since they blend in so well with the neighborhood. But be sure to check them out from different angles, because their supposed three-dimensionality is merely an illusion. On May 6, the Colorado-born, Pittsburgh-based Beck will give an artist talk about the project, taking place at 6:30 at the Bumble and Bumble on West 13th St. and is free with advance RSVP to 212-206-9922.

ISLAND MOVING CO.: GREAT FRIENDS NEW YORK

Island Moving Co. will present the Great Friends Dance Festival New York at the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center on May 6-7

Manhattan Movement & Arts Center
248 West 60th St.
May 6-7, $20-$25, 8:00
212-787-1178
www.islandmovingco.org
www.manhattanmovement.com

For nearly thirty years, the classically trained ballet troupe Island Moving Co., under the leadership of artistic director Miki Ohlsen, has been presenting works by such choreographers as Noemie LaFrance, Carol Somers, Alejandro Gomez, Andrea Haenggi, and Ohlsen, set to music by the Gypsy Kings, Schubert, Edith Piaf, Tchaikovsky, Leo Kottke, Mahler, Leo Kottke, György Ligeti, Sarah MacLachlan, and others. Seeking “to develop dance as a valuable art form for our community through presenting original works of choreography which connect audiences to their own emotions and provides a shared experience that transcends cultural boundaries,” the Newport, Rhode Island, company will be at the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center on May 6-7 for the Great Friends Dance Festival New York, staging the premieres of two new ballets by Ohlsen and Colin Connor. The program will also feature guest company Janusphere Dance Company, which will be performing Nebulous Sapience (parts 1 & 2), with choreography by Darion Smith and music by Jonathan Melville Pratt, in addition to Cherylyn Lavagnino Dancers and choreographer John-Mark Owen.

MOVIES BY HAL ASHBY: HAROLD AND MAUDE

Harold (Bud Cort) has a little bit of an obsession with death in very different kind of romantic comedy

HAROLD AND MAUDE (Hal Ashby, 1971)BAMcinématek
BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
May 7-8, 2:00, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15
Series runs through May 19
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Bud Cort (Harold) and Ruth Gordon (Maude) are magnificent in this glorious black comedy from director Hal Ashby (The Last Detail, Shampoo, Being There) and writer Colin Higgins. Harold is an eighteen-year-old rich kid obsessed with death, regularly flirting with suicide. Maude is a fun-loving, free-spirited senior citizen approaching her eightieth birthday. Ashby throws in just the right amount of post-1960s social commentary, including a very funny antiwar scene, without becoming overbearing, as this could have been a maudlin piece of sentimental claptrap, but instead it’s far from it. Even the Cat Stevens soundtrack (“If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out,” “Tea for the Tillerman,” “Where Do the Children Play?”) works. Harold and Maude is a tender, uproarious, bittersweet tale that is one of the best of its kind, completely unforgettable, enlightening, and, ultimately, life-affirming in its own odd way. Ashby, who died in 1988 at the age of fifty-nine, made only eleven narrative films and two concert documentaries in his too-brief life and career, which is being honored at BAMcinématek with the retrospective Movies by Hal Ashby, featuring most of his directorial efforts in additional to several films he edited: Tony Richardson’s The Loved One (1965) and Norman Jewison’s The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and In the Heat of the Night (1967). The 6:50 screening of the underrated The Landlord on May 12 will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. and star Lee Grant.

MOVIES BY HAL ASHBY: SHAMPOO

SHAMPOO kicks off Hal Ashby tribute at BAM in style

SHAMPOO (Hal Ashby, 1975)
BAMcinématek
BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Friday, May 6, 2:00, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15
Series runs May 6-19
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

To use George Roundy’s favorite adjective, Shampoo, which kicks off BAMcinématek’s Movies by Hal Ashby series, is “great.” Warren Beatty, who cowrote the screenplay with Robert Towne, stars as George, a Beverly Hills hairdresser who gives his wealthy clients more than just a cut-and-blow-dry. The film takes place primarily on November 4, 1968, as Nixon is battling Humphrey for the presidency, and George can’t keep it in his pants, running back and forth between Felicia (Lee Grant), Jackie (Julie Christie), and Lorna (Carrie Fisher) while trying to open his own shop, with help from business tycoon Lester (Jack Warden) — Felicia’s husband, Jackie’s lover, and Lorna’s father. The clothing is magnificent, as, of course, are the hairstyles. Ashby’s biting comedy perfectly captures the sexual awakening of the 1970s in all its glory — and in all its vapidity. Horror fans should keep an eye out for Lester’s friend Sid Roth, who is played by gimmickmeister William Castle. Ashby, who died in 1988 at the age of fifty-nine, made only eleven narrative films and two concert documentaries in his too-brief life and career, which is being honored at BAMcinématek with the retrospective that includes most of his directorial efforts in additional to several films he edited: Tony Richardson’s The Loved One (1965) and Norman Jewison’s The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and In the Heat of the Night (1967). The 6:50 screening of the underrated The Landlord on May 12 will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. and star Lee Grant.