twi-ny recommended events

SUMMER STREETS 2013

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s interactive “Voice Tunnel” is a highlight of this year’s free Summer Streets programming

Park Ave. & 72nd St. to Foley Square
Saturday, August 3, 10, 17, free, 7:00 am – 1:00 pm
www.nyc.gov

Good luck trying to find one of those blue Citi Bikes for the next three Saturday mornings, as Summer Streets returns for the fourth year. On August 3, 10, and 17 from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm, Park Ave. will be closed to vehicular traffic from 72nd St. to Foley Square and the Brooklyn Bridge, encouraging people to walk, run, jog, blade, skate, and bike down the famous thoroughfare, getting exercise and enjoying the great outdoors without car exhaust, speeding taxis, and slow-moving buses. There are five rest stops along the route (Uptown at 52nd St., Midtown at 25th, Astor Pl. at Lafayette St., SoHo at Spring & Lafayette, and Foley Square at Duane & Centre), where people can stop for some food and drink, live performances, restorative yoga and meditation, fitness classes, bicycle and parkour workshops, ziplining, rock-wall climbing, and other activities, all of which are free. In addition, there are four site-specific art installations, including Risa Puno’s “The Course of Emotions: a mini-golf experience” at the Uptown Rest Stop, Chat Travieso’s “CoolStop” water mister at Foley Square, Bundith Phunsombatlert’s “Art within One Mile” self-guided adventure consisting of eighty signs from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s “Voice Tunnel,” an interactive sound and light work that will allow pedestrians into the Park Ave. Tunnel for the first time ever. It’s quite a sight to see Park Ave. filled with only extremely happy men, women, children, and dogs; don’t miss it.

RURAL ROUTE FILM FESTIVAL: TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE

Real-life sisters Dior and Oumoul Kâ play fictional sisters facing a family crisis in TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE

TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE (GRAND COMME LE BAOBAB) (Jeremy Teicher, 2012)
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Saturday, August 3, free with museum admission, 2:00
Festival runs August 2-4
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us
www.tallasthebaobabtree.com

The 2013 Human Rights Watch Film Festival came to a close this past June 23 with Jeremy Teicher’s heart-wrenching Tall as the Baobab Tree, an involving, powerful, yet gentle drama about a Senegalese family trapped by tradition in a modernizing world. Real-life sisters Dior and Oumoul Kâ star as Coumba and Debo, close siblings who live in the tiny rural village of Sinthiou Mbadane (where they actually are from). When their older brother, Silèye (Alpha Dia), falls out of a baobab tree and breaks his leg, their father (Mouhamed Diallo) doesn’t have enough money to pay for the necessary medical care so he instead sends Coumba out to do Silèye’s job of herding the cows and decides to sell off eleven-year-old Debo to suitors for marriage. Their mother (Mboural Dia) is unwilling to stand up to her husband, so Coumba hatches a plan in which her friend Amady (Cheikh Dia), who has a crush on her, will watch the herd for her secretly while she heads into the city and gets a job until she makes enough money to help Silèye heal and prevent Debo from having to marry so young. Unfortunately, not everything goes quite as planned. But through it all, no matter how difficult things get, all of the characters maintain their faith, praising peace and continually saying, “God is great.”

Teicher came up with the idea for Tall as the Baobab Tree when he was a student working on This Is Us, a documentary for the nonprofit organization CyberSmart Africa in which the children of Sinthiou Mbadane created brief digital stories about their lives. Teicher, who directed Tall as the Baobab Tree and cowrote it with Alexi Pappas, chose to focus on the very real African problem of forced marriage of young girls between the ages of eight and twelve, collaborating closely with the nonprofessional actors selected from the village, allowing their own stories to meld together, blending fact and fiction. Another central issue is the importance of education, particularly for girls, as Debo clearly would rather follow in Coumba’s footsteps and prepare for university instead of becoming a child bride. The narrative unfolds slowly and calmly, with no overemotional, melodramatic moments or any soapbox preaching, while the tender mood is enhanced by cinematographer Chris Collins’s lush photography and Salieu Suso’s Kora-based score. The first feature ever filmed in the Puular language, Tall as the Baobab Tree is screening August 3 at 2:00 at the Museum of the Moving Image as part of the Rural Route Film Festival, with Teicher present to talk about the work, which will be preceded by Ross Whitaker’s Home Turf and Laska Jimsen’s Beaver Creek Yard. The festival, which is dedicated to films made about environments away from urban centers, runs August 2-4 and also features a Les Blank tribute, a DCP restoration of Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, Diego Rougier’s Salt, Marlo Poras’s The Mosuo Sisters, and Veit Helmer’s Baikonur, in addition to live performances in the museum’s new courtyard by the Frontier Needs Heroes, Gimagua, Vlada Tomova’s Bulgarian Voices Trio, and the Spookfish.

SAY A LITTLE PRAYER: THE MAGICIAN

A traveling troupe of illusionists is forced to defend itself in Ingmar Bergman’s THE MAGICIAN

CABARET CINEMA: THE MAGICIAN (ANSIKTET) (Ingmar Bergman, 1958)
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, August 2, free with $7 bar minimum, 9:30
212-620-5000
www.rmanyc.org

Ingmar Bergman’s darkly comic 1958 film The Magician is one of the Swedish auteur’s lesser-known, underrated masterpieces, an intense yet funny, and fun, work about art, science, faith, death, and the power of the movies themselves. When Vogler’s Magnetic Health Theater comes to town, the local triumvirate of Dr. Vergérus (Gunnar Björnstrand), police commissioner Starbeck (Toivo Pawlo), and Consul Egerman (Erland Josephson) brings the traveling troupe in for questioning, forcing them to spend the night as guests in Egerman’s home. The three men seek to prove that mesmerist Albert Emanuel Vogler (Max von Sydow), his assistant, Mr. Aman (Ingrid Thulin), a witchy grandmother (Naima Wifstrand), and their promoter, Tubal (Åke Fridell), are a bunch of frauds. The interrogations delve into such Bergmanesque topics as science vs. reason, good vs. evil, life and death, and the existence of God. As various potions are dispensed to and tricks played on a staff that includes maid Sara (Bibi Andersson), cook Sofia Garp (Sif Ruud), and stableman Antonsson (Oscar Ljung) in addition to Starbeck’s wife (Ulla Sjöblom) and Egerman’s spouse (Gertrud Fridh), a series of romantic rendezvous take place, along with some genuine horror, leading to a thrillingly ambiguous ending.

Max von Sydow is mesmerizing as mesmerist and Ingmar Bergman alter ego Albert Emanuel Vogler in THE MAGICIAN

Von Sydow is mesmerizing as the mesmerist, a silent, brooding man in a sharp beard and mustache, his penetrating eyes a character all their own. (The original title of the film is Ansiktet, which means “Face.”) His showdowns with Dr. Vergerus serve as Bergman’s defense of the art of film itself, an illusion of light and shadow and suspension of belief. Meanwhile, Tubal and wandering drunk Johan Spegel (Bengt Ekerot) offer comic relief and a needed level of absurdity to the serious proceedings. The film is superbly shot in black-and-white by cinematographer Gunnar Fischer, maintaining an appropriately creepy and mysterious look throughout. It also introduces character names into Bergman’s canon, appellations such as Vogler, Vergérus, and Egerman, that will show up again in such future works as Persona (with Liv Ullmann as actress Elisabet Vogler, who has stopped speaking, and Björnstrand as Mr. Vogler), Hour of the Wolf (with Thulin as Veronica Vogler, a former lover haunting von Sydow’s painter Johan Borg), Fanny and Alexander (with Jan Malmsjö as Bishop Edvard Vergérus), and After the Rehearsal (with Josephson as theater director Henrik Vogler and Lena Olin as actress Anna Egerman). Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1959 Venice Film Festival, The Magician is screening August 2 at the Rubin Museum, introduced by sociologist and Union Theological Seminary assistant professor Samuel Cruz, PhD, concluding the Cabaret Cinema series “Say a Little Prayer,” held in conjunction with the exhibition “Count Your Blessings,” which opens August 2 and explores the use of prayer beads in various Buddhist traditions.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: “VACATION” BY THE GO-GO’S

Once upon a time, Coney Island was one of the most popular go-to vacation destinations in New York. On August 1, people will be flocking to West Twenty-First St. and Surf Ave. for a different kind of vacation. On Thursday night, one of the most popular bands of the 1980s will be playing a free show, as the Go-Go’s take the stage as part of Brooklyn’s Seaside Summer Concert Series. Fans can expect Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, and Jane Wiedlin to play all their hits, including “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Cool Jerk,” “Head Over Heels,” and, of course, “Vacation,” throwing an outdoor dance party that is sure to be hot. The ’80s celebration actually gets going with the Tom Tom Club, consisting of former Talking Heads husband-and-wife duo Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, who scored with such cutting-edge singles as “Wordy Rappinghood” and “Genius of Love.” The concert series, hosted by borough president Marty Markowitz, continues with Huey Lewis and the News on August 15 paying tribute to the thirtieth anniversary of their Sports album and concludes August 21 with Chicago.

Belinda Carlisle and the Go-Go’s didn’t let a little rain spoil the party in Coney Island (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: With the rain coming down, threatening to cancel the free Go-Go’s concert in Coney Island on August 1, lead singer Belinda Carlisle took the stage wearing a blue poncho, promising the small but dedicated crowd that the band was determined to go on once things let up. Shortly thereafter, rain still falling, guitarists Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin and drummer Gina Schock walked into the audience, posing for photographs and signing autographs as a way to thank everyone for sticking it out. Eventually, after a two-and-a-half-hour delay, “the most successful all female rock band of all time” hit the stage, tearing through an abbreviated but stellar forty-five-minute set that focused on their most popular songs from the ’80s, along with some rip-roaring covers. Clearly happy that the fans, young and old alike, had waited out the rain and were now ready to dance their soaking-wet hearts out, the Go-Go’s played such innately infectious favorites as “Vacation,” “How Much More,” “Head Over Heels,” “Cool Jerk,” Carlisle’s solo song “Mad About You,” Wiedlin’s Sparks cover “Cool Places,” and “Our Lips Are Sealed,” adding hot versions of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” and KISS’s “Rock and Roll All Night” worked into “We Got the Beat” before paying tribute in the encore to the group that made them want to start a band in the first place, the Ramones, closing out the show with “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Unfortunately, opening act Tom Tom Club didn’t get to play, but the Go-Go’s were in top form, seemingly enjoying themselves nearly as much as the audience. (For pix, go here.)

BEATLES BLAST

Richmond County Bank Ballpark
75 Richmond Terrace, St. George, Staten Island
Friday, August 2, free, 7:00
718-816-2133
www.statenislandusa.com

The Beatles and New York City baseball have a storied history. In 1965, the Fab Four played one of their most famous concerts ever at Shea Stadium, where they could barely be heard amid the shrieks of their crazed fans. More than four decades later, in 2009, Paul McCartney played Citi Field, then headed to the Bronx two years later for a pair of shows at Yankee Stadium. Although not quite in the same, er, ballpark, shall we say, Beatles Blast returns on August 2 for its sophomore go-round, as a series of Beatles cover bands take the stage at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in St. George, home of the Staten Island Yankees, the Bronx Bombers’ Single-A affiliate. Among those playing Beatles classics will be the Blue Meanies, London Fogg, Giffords Lane, eliminated Voice contestant Garrett Gardner, and original Mersey Beat star Billy J. Kramer, who recorded a series of Beatles-written songs with his band the Dakotas. The event will be hosted by Q104.3’s Ken Dashow, whose “Breakfast with the Beatles” radio program can be heard every Sunday morning; last week’s playlist began with “Oh! Darling” and included such other songs as “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill,” “Eleanor Rigby,” a live version of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” McCartney’s “Jenny Wren,” the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle with Care,” and Kramer’s “Bad to Me” before concluding with “All You Need Is Love.” We don’t know if Beatles Blast will have quite such diversity, but it should be a lot of fun while also raising funds and awareness for autism. The event, sponsored by Staten Island borough president James Molinaro, is free, but donations to Come Together for Autism Awareness will earn you VIP seats. Play ball!

BLUE JASMINE

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) has to start her life all over again with her sister (Sally Hawkins) in Woody Allen’s latest

BLUE JASMINE (Woody Allen, 2013)
Opened Friday, July 26
www.sonyclassics.com

Woody Allen’s best film in years, Blue Jasmine is a modern-day Streetcar Named Desire filtered through the Bernie Madoff scandal. Cate Blanchett gives a marvelously nuanced and deeply textured performance as Jasmine French, an elegant socialite whose immensely wealthy husband, Hal (a wonderfully smarmy Alec Baldwin), amassed his fortune the new-fashioned way: by lying and cheating—only he was the rare financier who got caught and ended up in jail. Now broke and distraught, Jasmine moves in with her sister, Ginger (the delightful Sally Hawkins), a single mother with two kids living in a cramped apartment in San Francisco. Ginger and her ex-husband, Augie (an excellent Andrew Dice Clay), lost all their money by investing with Hal, and she is now trying to rebuild her life, working as a cashier and dating the gruff but dedicated Chili (a strong Bobby Cannavale). Not used to taking care of herself, Jasmine seems lost in a world that no longer treats her like a princess; she takes a job working for a dentist (Michael Stuhlbarg) and attends a computer class, but she is determined to regain her previous status. And that chance comes when she meets Dwight (a gentle Peter Sarsgaard), a man with grand plans who just might be the one to lead her back to the level to which she is accustomed.

Sisters Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) and Ginger (Sally Hawkins) go on an awkward double date in San Francisco

With Blue Jasmine, Allen has written his best screenplay since 1989’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, creating a complex, multilayered narrative that intelligently examines both sides of the financial crisis, as the rich Jasmine loses everything and the lower-middle-class Ginger can’t quite reach the next level. The relationship between the two sisters is bittersweet, evoking Tennessee Williams’s Blanche and Stella, with Jasmine the delusional sibling and Ginger as the much more realistic one, in this case dealing with a pair of Stanley Kowalski-type brutes. The story travels seamlessly back and forth between the past and the present, concentrating on Jasmine’s downward emotional and psychological spiral, which is supremely evident in Suzy Benzinger’s dazzling costume design and the detailed makeup, which focuses particularly on Blanchett’s stunningly emotive eyes. She physically dominates the screen like no previous Allen leading lady, with cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) making sure she fills the screen again and again. It’s a sensational star turn in a film loaded with superb acting. Blue Jasmine is a joy to watch from beginning to end, a deft commentary from a master back at the very top of his game.

Nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Sally Hawkins), and Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen)

MAXWELL’S CLOSING NIGHT BLOCK PARTY

Maxwell’s will say goodbye with a farewell block party on July 31

Maxwell’s
1039 Washington St., Hoboken
Wednesday, July 31, free, 4:00
201-798-0406
www.maxwellsnj.com

For more than thirty years, Maxwell’s has been a key part of the metropolitan music scene, hosting a diverse array of emerging and established indie and alternative bands in an intimate environment in Hoboken. Over the decades, such bands as Nirvana and Sonic Youth, the Bongos and Yo La Tengo, R.E.M. and the Replacements, the Pixies and Lucinda Williams, and the Psychedelic Furs and the Feelies played there; we remember seeing great shows by Bob Mould, Robyn Hitchcock, fIREHOSE, Richard Thompson, and the Mekons at the Washington St. venue. But on Wednesday, July 31, Maxwell’s will join other recently shuttered local venues, most notably CBGBs, when it closes for good. In this case, however, co-owner Todd Abramson is not walking away because of a rent dispute or because the club is broke; he just feels it’s time. (He’ll continue booking shows at the Bell House in Brooklyn.) Maxwell’s farewell tour has included July performances by Freedy Johnston, Ted Leo, Screaming Females, Mission of Burma, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Ian Hunter and the Rant Band, and the Muffs. On July 31, the club will say goodbye with a free block party beginning at 4:00, featuring an unannounced lineup that is expected to feature “a,” the first band to play Maxwell’s, way back in 1978, along with DJs spinning tunes from the myriad groups that have rocked the house over the years.