twi-ny recommended events

THE NEW YORK CITY POETRY FESTIVAL 2018

You can relax with a wide range of poetry at eighth annual festival on Governors Island (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Colonels Row, Governors Island
Saturday, July 28, 11:00 am – 7:00 pm, and Sunday, July 29, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm, free (donations accepted)
newyorkcitypoetryfestival.com
new york city poetry festival slideshow

In his 1850 essay “The Poetic Principle,” Edgar Allan Poe wrote, “I would define, in brief, the Poetry of words as the Rhythmical Creation of Beauty.” You can engage with the Rhythmical Creation of Beauty this weekend at the eighth annual New York City Poetry Festival, taking place Saturday and Sunday all around Colonels Row on Governors Island. The free fête features three main stages — the White Horse, the Algonquin, and Chumley’s — in addition to numerous pop-up areas and the Ring of Daisy open mic, with presentations by more than six dozen organizations and collectives and hundreds of professional and amateur poets. Saturday’s headliners are Danielle Pafunda and Ladan Osman, while Sunday’s are Nico Tortorella and Terrance Hayes. The celebration of literature is sponsored by the Poetry Society of New York, partnering with Writopia, Visible Poetry Project, and ThinkOlio. Among the many presenters are Red Lips Woman Productions, the Adroit Journal, Argos Books, Brooklyn Poets, Art Kibbutz, Blaqlist Group, NYRB Poets, St. Rocco’s Readings for the Dispossessed, the Poetry Brothel, the Dysfunctional Theater Company, Antrim House Books, Sarah Lawrence College, Jackie Robinson Poetry Day, La Pluma Y La Tinta, Cave Canem, Pen Pal Poets, the NY Browning Society, Pelekinesis, the Italian American Writers Association, Underground Books, Strange Fangs Song Factory, and the Writer’s Studio. Of course, Poe also wrote, in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, “Words have no power to impress the mind with the exquisite horror of their reality.”

JAPAN CUTS: OUTRAGE CODA

Takeshi Kitano is back to finish his yakuza trilogy with Outrage Coda

FESTIVAL OF NEW JAPANESE FILM: OUTRAGE CODA (アウトレイジ最終章) (AUTOREIJI SAISHUSHO) (Takeshi Kitano, 2017)
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Saturday, July 28, 5:15
Series runs July 19-29
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org

The annual Japan Cuts series continues July 28 with the New York premiere of Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage: Coda, the finale in his yakuza series that began in 2010 with Outrage, followed two years later by Beyond Outrage. It’s not exactly the meeting of the five families in The Godfather when clan leaders get together as former stock trader Nomura (Ren Osugi) considers stepping down from his role as boss and selecting a replacement. Jockeying for various positions are the old school Nishino (Toshiyuki Nishida), the big, not too bright Hanada (Pierre Taki), the deeply pensive Nakata (Sansei Shiomi), and the sharp, cool Chang (Tokio Kaneda), who seems to have stepped right out of an episode of the original Hawaii Five-O. Detective Shigeta (Yutaka Matsushige) is on the case, watching it all very carefully, especially when round-faced Otomo (Kitano, who goes by the name Beat Takeshi as an actor) returns after a stint on Jeju Island in Korea.

Potential succession leads to betrayals and double crosses in Outrage Coda

Don’t try to make too much sense of the nonsensical plot, which involves multiple double crosses, endless betrayals, devious conniving, doofy decision making, and ridiculous twists as Kitano (Kikujiro, Zatōichi) has fun playing with genre conventions and composer Keiichi Suzuki’s award-winning score soars. Characters regularly treat one another like kids, calling their cohorts stupid idiots like Moe insulting Larry and Curly. (Kitano is a comedian as well.) Meanwhile, Otomo, the coolest of customers, is up to something, guns blazing, all captured splendidly by cinematographer Katsumi Yanagijima. Oh, and just wait till you see Nomura’s retirement wear. Outrage Coda is screening at Japan Society on July 28 at 5:15; Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film continues through July 29 with such other works as Masayuki Suo’s Abnormal Family, Akiko Ohku’s Tremble All You Want, Keisuke Yoshida’s Thicker than Water, and House creator Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hanagatami.

TICKET ALERT — THE LANTERN TOUR: CONCERT FOR MIGRANT AND REFUGEE FAMILIES

Emmylou Harris will be joined by Jackson Browne, Shawn Colvin, Lila Downs, Graham Nash, and others when socially conscious Lantern Tour comes to NYC

Who: Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Shawn Colvin, Lila Downs, Graham Nash, special guests
What: The Lantern Tour, benefit concert for the Women’s Refugee Commission
Where: The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd St. between Sixth Ave. & Broadway, 212-840-2824
When: Sunday, October 28, $52 – $252, 7:00 — tickets go on sale July 26 at 12 noon
Why: From October 23 to 28, the Lantern Tour: Concerts for Migrant and Refugee Families will make stops in Nashville, Washington DC, New Jersey, and Boston before finishing up at the Town Hall here in New York City. Tickets go on sale July 26 at 12 noon for the finale, which will feature acoustic performances by Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Shawn Colvin, Lila Downs, Graham Nash, and special guests, raising money for the Women’s Refugee Commission, which seeks to “improve the lives and protect the rights of women, children, and youth displaced by conflict and crisis.” Thus, the main focus of the evening will be on the immigration battle going on in the United States involving President Donald Trump, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and immigrants and refugees fighting to enter or stay in the country and be reunited with their families. “The Women’s Refugee Commission has been on the front lines in advocating for the safety of women and children. Their work is as remarkable as it is critical, especially right now,” Harris said in a statement. Michelle Brané, director of the commission’s Migrant Rights and Justice program, added, “This administration tore children away from parents trying to save their lives by asserting their legal right to asylum with no intention of reunifying them. It is imperative that we all raise our voices against these dystopian policies. Art and music have long been an important part of advancing social change, and we are thrilled to be partnering with such a remarkable group of talented musicians committed to justice.”

PANORAMA NEW YORK CITY 2018

Randall’s Island Park
July 27-29, day pass $99-$220, two-day pass $185-$380, three-day pass $250-$490
www.panorama.nyc
randallsisland.org

Panorama is back for its third year after proving in its first two that it knows what it’s doing, providing an excellent balance of music, art, technology, and food on Randall’s Island. Taking place July 27-29, the 2018 iteration features another diverse, high-powered lineup, including the Weeknd, Migos, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Father John Misty, the Black Madonna, and yaeji on Friday, Lil Wayne, SZA, Janet Jackson, St. Vincent, Gucci Mane, and Bicep on Saturday, and David Byrne, the xx, the Killers, Fleet Foxes, Nora en Pure, Moodymann, and Helena Hauff on Sunday. The performers play at three venues spread across the vast landscape: the Panorama Stage with its huge screen, the partially exposed Parlor, and the tented Point.

The Lab consists of a half dozen interactive, cutting-edge installations: the tranformative gathering space “As Above, So Below” by Kate Raudenbush, the multimedia adaptation “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions,” the audio-reactive “HyperSubtle” by Superbright, the solar-powered “Infinite Wild” by Smooth Technology, the giant mood ring “Pixel Vortex” by the Windmill Factory, and the transmutation tunnel “Portal to Flatland” by Magenta Field. The lines for the Lab can get very long, so go early to check out the fun. The food roster is rather impressive as well; among the more than thirty vendors are Alamo Mexican Kitchen, Bareburger, Emmy Squared, Ice & Vice, Korilla, La Newyorkina, Lolo’s Seafood Shack, Mighty Quinn’s, Roberta’s Pizza, Schaller’s Stube, Spicy Pie, Two Guys Chicken and Fries, and Waffle de Lys. There are water stations throughout the grounds for free fill-ups. And be on the lookout for giveaways and unique experiences from such sponsors as American Express, Bug Light, JBL, Rough Trade, Sephora, bai, and more. Panorama is a must for music and technology fans or anyone who just wants to do something different on a summer weekend.

IF EVERYTHING IS SCULPTURE WHY MAKE SCULPTURE? ARTIST’S CHOICE: PETER FISCHLI

Peter Fischli’s “Snowman” is centerpiece of exhibition in Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at MoMA (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Museum of Modern Art
The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden
West 54th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Early hours: open daily 9:00 – 10:30 am, free
www.moma.org
online slideshow

Two years ago, the subversive DIY aesthetic of longtime collaborators Peter Fischli and David Weiss was on view at the Guggenheim in the engaging retrospective “How to Work Better.” Fischli has now headed to MoMA — Weiss passed away in 2012 — for the “Artist’s Choice” show “If Everything Is Sculpture Why Make Sculpture?” It’s the thirteenth in the three-decade-old series, which has previously turned over the curatorial reins to Mona Hatoum, Elizabeth Murray, David Hammons, Stephen Sondheim, and others, and is the first one to take place in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, where the Swiss artist has created an intervention that will delight regular visitors to the outdoor space, who will notice subtle and not so subtle changes, while also charming newcomers to the garden. Only one of Katharina Fritsch’s “Figurengruppe (Group of Figures)” stands on the main level, “Yellow Madonna,” the others apparently spending the summer in the Hamptons. Ben Vautier’s word painting on wood, “If Everything Is Sculpture Why Make Sculpture?,” is a rare example of a painting hanging outside, not concerned about the elements ruining it. Only the first three bronze versions of Henri Matisse’s exquisite “The Back” adorn the north wall, the ghostly outline of the missing fourth clearly visible. Fischli and Wade Guyton’s “Untitled Aspen Wall Nr. 6” is an out-of-place gallery wall with nothing hanging on it. Fischli has left in several mainstays of the garden, including Aristide Maillol’s “The Mediterranean” and “The River,” Hector Guimard’s “Entrance Gate to Paris Subway,” Pablo Picasso’s “She-Goat,” and Isa Genzken’s “Rose II” while adding Tony Smith’s “Moondog 1964,” Herbert Ferber’s “Roof Sculpture with S Curve, II,” and Robert Breer’s “Osaka I” white dome.

Peter Fischli and Wade Guyton’s gallery wall sits empty in MoMA sculpture garden (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The centerpiece of the exhibit is “Snowman,” a human-size, frost-covered copper snowman in a large vitrine with a special coolant system to prevent it from melting in the summer heat. It’s adapted from a 1990 commission Fischli and Weiss made for a thermic power plant in Saarbrücken, Germany, that used its own energy to keep the snowman frozen. It’s a big crowd pleaser while also continuing the artists’ DIY sensitivity — as Fischli has stated, the snowman is a “sculpture that almost anyone can make” — and questioning of just what art is. “The snowman may be a metaphor for our climate crisis, but it’s running on electricity, so it’s a contradiction, because it’s also contributing to global warming,” Fischli told the New Yorker last summer, “but the piece is about taking care of something and protecting it . . . and being dependent on something. Someone else has to take care of him. And the contradiction between artificial and nature, because I’m making snow from a machine.” Oh, and be sure to pick up a brochure in one of Fischli’s specially designed boxes. The snowman and other works selected by Fischli (by Franz West, Mary Callery, Elie Nadelman, and William Tucker) will remain on view in the garden through next spring. You can also visit the garden on Thursday nights when MoMA presents concerts at 6:30 with Combo Chimbita on July 26, OSHUN on August 2, Xenia Rubinos on August 9, Kemba on August 16, Zenizen on August 23, and Mutual Benefit on August 30.

THE THIRD MURDER

Kōji Yakusho goes face-to-face with Masaharu Fukuyama in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Third Murder

THE THIRD MURDER (三度目の殺人) (SANDOME NO SATSUJIN) (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2017)
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
July 20-26
212-255-2243
www.wildbunch.biz
quadcinema.com

Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, the master of the intimate, intricate family drama, changes gears in the gripping legal thriller The Third Murder. Kore-eda, whose Shoplifters won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, started his career making documentaries; since he turned to fiction, often inspired by actual events (including in his own life), his films — Still Walking, After the Storm, Our Little Sister, Like Father, Like Son — have been infused with an organic feeling of realism. That sensibility also shines through in The Third Murder, which is essentially a search for the truth in its many forms and disguises. Masaharu Fukuyama stars as Tomoaki Shigemori, a defense attorney who takes on the case of Misumi (Kōji Yakusho), a factory worker who is facing the death penalty for killing his boss, a crime he has confessed to.

Previously convicted killer Misumi (Kōji Yakusho) keeps changing his story even after confessing in gripping legal procedural

But every time Shigemori meets with Misumi — separated by glass in small rooms in a prison that makes each of them look trapped, as well as equating them as if the glass were a mirror — Misumi, who has previously served thirty years for double murder, slightly alters his story or adds new details that force Shigemori and his legal team to reevaluate their defense strategy and question not only why Misumi did it but whether he is even the guilty party despite his confession. But Shigemori is not necessarily interested in the facts, only information that can help him prevent Misumi’s execution, whether true or not. While Shigemori’s father, Daisuke Settsu (Kōtarō Yoshida), thinks his son is way off base, Akira Kawashima (Shinnosuke Mitsushima) keeps investigating further. As the mystery widens, the victim’s wife (Yuki Saito) and daughter, Sakie Yamanaka (Suzu Hirose), get involved and Misumi’s daughter tries to stay out of it as Shigemori also has to deal with his own daughter (Aju Makita), who has a knack for getting into trouble and lying to her parents.

Mother (Yuki Saito) and daughter (Suzu Hirose) deal with a brutal killing in The Third Murder

The moral dilemma at the heart of The Third Murder is a fascinating one, since Kore-eda opens the film, which he wrote, directed, and edited, with a brutal scene in which Misumi murders his boss and burns the body in a field by a river. There is no doubt that it’s Misumi; a close-up shows the look in his eyes and the bloodstains on his face as he watches the flames. But as Shigemori’s doubts grow, so do the viewer’s, as if Kore-eda is reminding us to question everything we see, even when caught on camera. He was inspired to make the film after having a discussion with a lawyer friend who said that uncovering the truth is not necessarily the goal of courts or lawyers, so Kore-eda decided to make a film about a lawyer who becomes obsessed with the truth, even if it has no bearing on the guilt or innocence of his client. He did extensive research, holding mock trials and interview sessions and having cinematographer Mikiya Takimoto watch Michael Curtiz’s Mildred Pierce — Kore-eda also has cited David Fincher’s Seven and Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low as influences — before using CinemaScope for the first time in order to give the film more breadth. No mere genre exercise, The Third Murder is a deep, multilayered, first-rate crime drama by one of the world’s best directors, searching for truth in character, narrative, and film itself.

A VIEW FROM THE VAULTS — RECENT FILM ACQUISITIONS: 24 CITY

Su Na (Zhao Tao) looks out at a changing China in Jia Zhangke’s 24 City

24 CITY (ER SHI SI CHENG SI) (Jia Zhang-ke, 2008)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Wednesday, July 25, $8-$12, 7:00
Series runs through August 8
212-708-9400
www.moma.org
www.cinemaguild.com

With the imminent closing of a once-secret munitions plant known as Factory 420 in Chengdu, eight workers relate their unique stories in another fascinating look at capitalism in a changing China by Sixth Generation writer-director Jia Zhang-ke, who has previously investigated the transformations in his native country in such excellent works as Platform, Unknown Pleasures, The World, Useless, and Still Life. While five of the tales are told by actual male workers in their own words, three are fictional stories recited by female actors, including Joan Chen as Little Flower, Lü Liping as Hao Dali, and Jia regular Zhao Tao as Su Na. Jia sees the factory, which is being torn down to make way for a luxury apartment complex called 24 City, as a symbol of contemporary China, as the past is ripped away in favor of capitalist-based technological modernization and the celebration of wealth. By intermingling fact and fiction, as he does in most of his work, Jia creates a fascinating pseudo-documentary that also subtly touches upon women’s changing role in Chinese industry and society. 24 City is screening at MoMA on July 25 at 7:00 as part of “A View from the Vaults: Recent Film Acquisitions,” which continues through August 8 with such other works being added to MoMA’s collection as Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También, William Wellman’s Night Nurse, Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, and Pere Portabella’s Cuadecuc, vampir (Count Dracula).