twi-ny recommended events

ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Satya de la Manitou has one wild and crazy story to tell in Along for the Ride

ALONG FOR THE RIDE (Nick Ebeling, 2017)
Metrograph
7 Ludlow St. between Canal & Hester Sts.
Opens Friday, November 3
212-660-0312
metrograph.com

Just about everyone who has ever seen Easy Rider has imagined themselves on a bike, rumbling across the country with Captain America (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper), experiencing whatever comes their way. Newark native Satya de la Manitou did more than that, becoming Hopper’s friend and right-hand man for more than forty years. Their intimate and crazy friendship is told in Nick Ebeling’s debut feature documentary, Along for the Ride, which opens today at Metrograph. It would take quite a character to have spent that much time with Hopper — and live to tell about it — and Satya is just that kind of human being, a tough but sensitive, direct, bold man who leads a wild journey into Hopper’s creative process and personal demons. Ebeling follows Satya as he visits with Hopper’s brother, David; actors Russ Tamblyn, Dean Stockwell, and Michael Madsen (who reads a poem he wrote about Dennis); producers Danny Selznick, Lawrence Schiller, and Fred Caruso; directors Philippe Mora, Wim Wenders, and David Lynch; artists Ed Ruscha and Julian Schnabel and gallerist Tony Shafrazi; musicians and composers Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (of GORILLAZ) and Mark Mothersbaugh (of DEVO); and architect Frank Gehry, who sheds a tear when talking about Dennis. Together, they provide a fascinating look into the depth of Hopper’s abilities as an actor, director, photographer, art lover, drug user, and center of attention. “He did everything well, like most geniuses do,” Satya explains.

Fab doc looks at life and times of Dennis Hopper from point of view of longtime friend and assistant

Ebeling, who wrote the film with A. P. Menzies and photographed it with Randy Wedick and editor Danny Reams, weaves between stunning archival footage that goes behind the scenes of such Hopper directorial efforts as the controversial The Last Movie, Out of the Blue, Colors, and Easy Rider and his roles in Apocalypse Now, and Blue Velvet and new, starkly shot black-and-white interviews with Satya as he speaks right into the camera, digs through boxes and boxes of unlabeled paraphernalia, and gets comfortable with Hopper’s friends, family, and colleagues. The killer soundtrack is by Gemma Thompson of Savages, making you feel you’re right there in the middle of all this wonderful strangeness. Satya himself is a larger-than-life figure, with a dynamic presence, distinctive voice, and inner peace and joy that make it simple to understand why the eccentric Hopper was drawn to him, and why Satya was drawn to Hopper. “Dennis was like a precious gem, and a gem needs to be polished to attain its true brilliance,” Satya says. Hopper died in 2010 at the age of seventy-four; Satya has given his friend quite a fond farewell with this sweet film. Ebeling, Satya, and producer Sheri Timmons will participate in a Q&A after the 7:00 show on November 3. In conjunction with the theatrical release of Along for the Ride, Metrograph is presenting “Directed by Hopper,” consisting of The Last Movie, Out of the Blue, Colors, The Hot Spot, and Easy Rider.

NEW YORK KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL: YOURSELF AND YOURS

Young-soo (Kim Joo-hyuk) tries to win back Min-jung (Lee Yoo-young) in Hong Sang-soo’s Yourself and Yours

YOURSELF AND YOURS (Hong Sang-soo, 2016)
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Saturday, November 4, $15, 5:00
Festival runs November 3-5
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us

“Don’t try to know everything,” Min-jung (Lee Yoo-young) says in Hong Sang-soo’s latest unusual and brilliant romantic drama, Yourself and Yours. It’s impossible to know everything that happens in Hong’s films, which set fiction against reality, laying bare cinematic narrative techniques. With a propensity to use protagonists who are directors, it is often difficult to tell what is happening in the film vs. the film-within-the-film. He also repeats scenes with slight differences, calling into question the storytelling nature of cinema as well as real life, in which there are no do-overs. In the marvelous Yourself and Yours, scenes don’t repeat, although the existence of a main character might. Min-jung is in a relationship with painter Young-soo (Kim Joo-hyuk), who is dealing with the failing health of his mother when he is told by a friend (Kim Eui-sung) that Min-jung was seen in a bar drunk and arguing with another man. Young-soo refuses to believe it, since he and Min-jung are facing her drinking problem by very carefully limiting the number of drinks she has when she goes out with him. But when the friend insists that numerous people have seen her in bars with other men and imbibing heavily, Young-soo confronts her, and she virulently defends herself, claiming that they are lies and that he should have more faith in her. She leaves him, and over the next several days she has encounters with various men, but she appears to be either a pathological liar or have a memory problem as she tells the older Jaeyoung (Kwon Hae-hyo), a friend of Min-jung’s, that she is a twin who does not know the painter; later, with filmmaker Sangwon (Yu Jun-sang), she maintains that they have never met despite his assertion that they have. Through it all, Young-soo is determined to win her back. “I want to love each day with my loved one, and then die,” he explains with romantic fervor. He also acknowledges Min-jung’s uniqueness: “Her mind itself is extraordinary,” he says.

Min-jung (Lee Yoo-young) tells Jaeyoung (Kwon Hae-hyo) she has a twin in Yourself and Yours

Yourself and Yours is an intelligent and witty exploration of fear and trust, built around a beautiful young woman who might or might not be lying, as she seems to reboot every time she meets a man, erasing her recent past. Lee (Late Spring, The Treacherous) is outstanding as Min-jung, keeping the audience on edge as to just what might be going through her “extraordinary” mind. Kim (Lovers in Prague, My Wife Got Married) plays Young-soo with just the right amount of worry and trepidation. As with most Hong films (The Day He Arrives, Oki’s Movie, Like You Know It All, Right Now, Wrong Then), there is a natural flow to the narrative, with long shots of characters just sitting around talking, smoking, and drinking — albeit primarily beer in this case rather than soju — with minimal camera movement courtesy of regular Hong cinematographer Park Hong-yeol (Hahaha, Our Sunhi), save for Hong’s trademark awkward zooms. There’s also an overtly cute romantic comedy score by Dalpalan to keep things light amid all the seriousness. Hong continually works on his scripts, so the actors generally get their lines the day of the shoot, adding to the normal, everyday feel of the performances. Many writers have compared the film to Luis Buñuel’s grand finale, 1977’s That Obscure Object of Desire, in which Carole Bouquet and Angelina Molina alternate playing a flamenco dancer, postulating that there are numerous Min-jungs wandering around town, a series of doppelgängers hanging out in bars. That’s not the way I saw it at all (and at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Hong denied it was a direct influence); instead, I see it as one Min-jung, dealing with the endless aspects of relationships, and one Young-soo, an artist who desperately wants to believe in true love and who does not want to be alone, particularly with his mother on her deathbed. There’s the smallest of cues near the end that explains it all, but I’m not about to give that away. And I’m not sure how much it even matters, as regardless of how many Min-jungs might populate this fictional world, Hong has crafted another mesmerizing and mysterious look at love and romance as only he can. The film is screening November 4 at the Museum of Moving Image as part of the New York Korean Film Festival, presented with the Korea Society and running November 3-5 with such other films as Park Kwang-hyun’s Fabricated City, Shin Dong-il’s Come, Together, and Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, which will be followed by a live video call with Bong, moderated by Simon Abrams.

A GRAY STATE

A Gray State recounts the tragic tale of Gray State filmmaker David Crowley

A GRAY STATE (Erik Nelson, 2017)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, November 3
212-529-6799
www.cinemavillage.com
www.firstrunfeatures.com

“Gray State is less a movie than it is a warning,” David Crowley said about a fiction film he was making about a second American Revolution, this time completely from within. “We do not live in a dictatorship, but we do live in a police state. . . . Americans believe that they can’t do anything, and day by day they’re becoming correct.” While crowdfunding the film, tragedy struck, and Crowley and his wife and daughter were dead. Director Erik Nelson delves into the story, which is filled with mystery, intrigue, and, perhaps, conspiracy, in A Gray State, which opens today at Cinema Village.

WAIT FOR YOUR LAUGH

Rose Marie’s career encapsulates the last century of American entertainment

WAIT FOR YOUR LAUGH (Jason Wise, 2017)
Angelika Film Center, 18 West Houston St. at Mercer St., 212-995-2570
Landmark at 57 West, 657 West 57th St. at 12th Ave.
Opens Friday, November 3
www.rosemariemovie.com

To follow up his two Somm documentaries and Uncorked reality series, director Jason Wise decided his next film would be about how entertainment has changed over the last hundred years. But then he found “the kindest, toughest, hardest working, and most inspiring person I’ve ever met in my life” and was able to tell that same story from the point of view of one extraordinary figure. Wait for Your Laugh is the captivating, bittersweet tale of Rose Marie, who began her career at the age of three in 1926 and is still as feisty as ever at ninety-four. “Believe me when I tell you, she’s the history of show business,” longtime friend Peter Marshall, who is ninety-one himself, says of the actress, comedian, and singer, who was born Rose Marie Mazetta in New York City in 1923. She started out as Baby Rose Marie, having with her own radio show at the age of four; she went into vaudeville and performed on the cabaret circuit, appeared on Broadway, and was the first woman to host a TV game show. She fell in love with Bobby Guy, a trumpeter for Kay Kyser and Bing Crosby; was beloved and supported by Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel; opened the Flamingo in Vegas with Jimmy Durante; costarred in such television series as The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Doris Day Show and was a long-running favorite on The Hollywood Squares; and developed the successful touring show 4 Girls 4 with Margaret Whiting, Helen O’Connell, and Rosemary Clooney. All along the way, she fought fiercely for her independence, constantly expanding her repertoire, determined to always be working, preferably her way.

Baby Rose Marie stands in front of her poster in the late 1920s

“She had great respect for an audience, which is something that you don’t see anymore,” her childhood friend Ruthie Shapiro explains. “Because I loved to work for an audience, and I loved to hold them in the palm of my hand, which I do. That’s a secret,” Rose Marie adds with a sly look at the camera, and she does indeed have us in the palm of her hand. Wise and cinematographer Jackson Myers shoot Rose Marie close-up, her bright face shining over a dark interior, her enthusiasm for life and all it brings, the good and the bad, pouring through the screen. Wise, who edited the film with Bryan Rodner Carr and produced and wrote it with his wife, Christina Wise, also speaks with Carl Reiner, who is ninety-five, Dick Van Dyke, ninety-one, Tim Conway, eighty-three, and Community creator Dan Harmon, the kid at forty-four. The archival and behind-the-scenes footage of Rose Marie through the years, from singing as a little girl to traveling with her husband to appearing on television shows to doing voice-overs for animated films, is sensational; however, the reenactments of various moments from her life, particularly involving her connections with the mob, detract from what is otherwise a life-affirming film about one tough, talented lady. “I loved every bit of it. In fact, I still love it today,” she says. Wait for Your Laugh is now playing at the Angelika, where there will be Q&As all weekend long with such participants as Peter Marshall, Bebe Neuwirth, Jason & Christina Wise, Dick Van Dyke Show writer-producer Bill Persky, Dick Van Dyke Show expert David Van Deusen, Joe and Sal Scognamillo of Patsy’s, Georgiana “Noopy” Rodrigues (Rose Marie’s daughter), and Debbi Whiting (Margaret Whiting’s daughter).

A RIVER BELOW

Richard Rasmussen swims with the pink river dolphin in A River Below

A RIVER BELOW (Mark Grieco, 2017)
Village East Cinema
181-189 Second Ave. at 12th St.
Opens Friday, November 3
212-529-6799
www.facebook.com
www.villageeastcinema.com

In A River Below, director Mark Grieco set out to document the plight of the Amazon pink river dolphin, but the film soon became about so much more, including the very nature of truth on celluloid. A River Below follows two men as they try to bring international awareness to the potential extinction of the extraordinary pink river dolphin, which is no mere unicorn-like fantasy. Also known as the boto, the largest freshwater dolphin in the world is under attack in the Amazon, where fishermen capture and cut up the mammal to use it for bait to catch piracatinga, a type of bottom-feeding catfish that exists in huge numbers and is a popular food fish. Dr. Fernando Trujillo is a marine biologist and environmental scientist from Colombia who founded the Omacha Foundation, an NGO dedicated to research and conservation. He’s spent more than twenty-five years working with indigenous communities along the Amazon, educating them about subsistent consumption and focusing on the boto, which he calls “one of the most clever, intelligent, and charismatic mammals in the world; even for the indigenous people, they are a kind of sacred animal. They are people like us, but underwater.” In fact, some locals believe Dr. Trujillo “was a dolphin that became a human to protect the dolphin.” Richard Rasmussen is a Brazilian television star, an animal rights activist, and a biologist who has hosted such popular NatGeo programs as Wild to the Extreme. “I don’t know any natural interaction with wild animals that are so profound and so beautiful. They just come to you” he says as he feeds and swims with a boto. “I would say that anyone that has had this experience will turn into a better person, will understand better what we’re talking about, you know? We don’t want to save the dolphin because the dolphin is part of the chain; we want to save the dolphin because the dolphin is us.” When a Brazilian show airs controversial footage of a boto being butchered on the river, the ensuing outrage seems destined to save the dolphins — but perhaps sink Rasmussen.

Documentary follows the plight of the pink river Dolphin in the Amazon

Documentary follows the plight of the pink river dolphin, known as the boto, in the Amazon

The documentary takes a radical turn when truth goes on public trial as an angry Rasmussen defends his actions while the fishermen claim he is a manipulative, heartless liar. Grieco himself becomes part of the story when he returns to the village, which has been banned from hunting dolphins, severely impacting their economy, to find that many members of the community have their smartphones out and are filming him and Rasmussen to make sure they cannot edit out important information and twist the facts. It’s an extremely powerful moment, no matter where you stand on the central issue of whether the fishermen are entitled to use the dolphin as bait. “Just by chance, I had stumbled upon a story that dovetailed perfectly with my own concerns with the truth in images, media influence and distortion, performance for the camera, and my role in all of this as a documentary filmmaker,” Grieco (Marmato) explains in his director’s statement. “The question begs to be answered: If the film is asking what is the truth behind the camera, shouldn’t the filmmakers themselves be suspect?” Gorgeously photographed by Helkin René Díaz with numerous shots of the winding yellow-brown river snaking through the lush green rainforest, accompanied by an often ominous score by Tyler Strickland, A River Below might be specifically about the boto in the Amazon, but it also raises more general issues about the future of the planet.

HIROSHI SUGIMOTO: RIKYU-ENOURA

Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Rikyu-Enoura makes its world premiere this weekend at Japan Society (photo © Odawara Art Foundation)

Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
November 3-5, $95
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org
www.odawara-af.com/en

In 2011 and 2014, Japan Society awarded grants to Japanese multidisciplinary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto for his ambitious Odawara Art Foundation, which is now open to the public and features indoor and outdoor stages for noh and bunraku productions, a large gallery, a tearoom, astronomical observation spaces, and more. Sugimoto, who is based in Tokyo and New York City, will now be presenting the first fruits of that collaboration with several special programs at Japan Society, beginning with the exhibition “Gates of Paradise” (through January 7), the noh play Rikyu-Enoura (November 3-5), and the lecture and book signing “Architecture of Time: Enoura Observatory, Where Consciousness & Memory Originate” (December 15). For more than forty years, photographer, sculptor, architect, and historian Sugimoto has explored history and science, the past and the future, time and memory while blurring the lines between fiction and reality. He has photographed dioramas at natural history museums (“Still Life”), captured electrical discharges on photographic dry plates (“Lightning Fields”), focused on the horizon line across the ocean (“Seascapes”), shot wax figures to look like paintings (“Portraits”), used long exposures to reveal the blinding soul of movie palaces (“Theaters”), and turned one thousand gilded wooden Buddha statues at Sanjῡsangen-dō (Hall of Thirty-Three Bays) in Kyoto into a dizzying film (Sea of Buddha). He also curated the expansive and wide-ranging “History of History” in 2005-6 at Japan Society and designed the set and costumes for Sanbaso, divine dance, an ancient celebratory ritual dance with noh performers in the Guggenheim Rotunda in 2013. So Sugimoto was a logical go-to choice when Japan Society was putting together its “NOH NOW” series as part of its 110th anniversary. Sugimoto will be staging the world premiere of Rikyu-Enoura, about sixteenth-century tea master Sen-no-Rikyu, featuring a libretto by traditional-style poet Akiko Baba; a tea ceremony by Sen So’oku (a direct descendant of Sen-no-Rikyu); noh actors Kanze Tetsunojo and Katayama Kurouemon; noh musician Kamei Hirotada; and more. Each show will be preceded by a lecture by Wesleyan University assistant professor Dr. Takeshi Watanabe one hour before curtain.

BROOKLYN MUSEUM: BEST OF THE BOROUGH

Sergei Eisenstein’s classic Strike will be screened at the Brooklyn Museum with a live score conducted by Hisham Akira Bharoocha

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, November 4, free, 5:00 – 11:00
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum celebrates the world’s preeminent borough in its monthly free First Saturday program in November with “Best of the Borough.” There will be live music by Alsarah & the Nubatones, Phony Ppl, and DJ Ian Friday; a curator tour of “Arts of Korea” with Joan Cummins; a hands-on art workshop inspired by Mickalene Thomas’s extraordinary “A Little Taste Outside of Love”; a scholar talk and book signing with Chip Colwell, author of Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America’s Culture; a Brooklyn Dance Festival showcase with by the D.R.E.A.M. Ring, FLEXN, Kristin Sudeikis Dance, SynthesisDANCE, Concepts in Choreography, and the Francesca Harper Project; a pop-up gallery talk on Ancient Egyptian art; a book club reading with poet Tommy Pico from his latest book, Nature Poem; and a special screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 classic, Strike! with a live score conducted by Hisham Akira Bharoocha and featuring Angel Deradoorian, Jeremy Hyman, Nicos Kennedy, and Joe Williams. In addition, the galleries will be open late so you can check out “Roots of ‘The Dinner Party’: History in the Making,” “Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt,” “Robert Longo: Untitled (Raft at Sea),” “Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo,” “Arts of Asia and the Middle East, “Infinite Blue,” “A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt,” and more.