this week in film and television

JOURNEY INTO BUDDHISM: PRAJNA EARTH

PRAJNA EARTH takes viewers to spectacular temples in Cambodia, Bali, and Java (photo by John Bush / Direct Pictures)

THE YATRA TRILOGY: PRAJNA EARTH (John Bush, 2005)
Asia Society
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
Friday, April 30, free, 6:45 (free tickets available beginning at 6:00)
212-517-asia
www.journeyintobuddhism.com
www.asiasociety.org

The Asia Society’s presentation of John Bush’s Yatra Trilogy continues on April 30 with PRAJNA EARTH: JOURNEY INTO SACRED NATURE, the best of the three films that travel to sacred Buddhist locations in Southeast Asia. Screened in conjunction with the exhibition “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art,” PRAJNA EARTH takes viewers to Cambodia, Bali, and Java, where Bush focuses more on the people, including male and female monks on pilgrimage and Balinese dancers, than he does in the other two films (DHARMA RIVER and VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET), although he also investigates some of the most remarkable spiritual structures on the face of the planet. Prajna, narrator Sharon Stone says, means “radiant wisdom,” and the places Bush visits are radiant indeed, from the amazing Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom in Cambodia to the stunning Saraswati Temple in Ubud to the massive mandala-shaped Borobudur and the breathtaking Prambanan in Java. Stone discusses various interconnected aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, and animism, including nature, the spirit, and light and darkness, as Bush’s excellent camerawork reveals rarely seen hidden treasures, especially gorgeous interstitials that link the three primary stops. David Hykes’s harmonic chant score is supplemented with songs by Krishna Das. Bush will be on hand to introduce the free screening and will be back May 7 when the trilogy concludes with VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET (2006).

TRIBECA FILM: LOOSE CANNONS

Family dinners don't always go so well in LOOSE CANNONS

LOOSE CANNONS (MINE VAGANTI) (Ferzan Ozpetek, 2010)
Wednesday, April 28, Village East, 181 Second Ave. at 12th St., 6:00
Saturday, May 1, Village East, 181 Second Ave. at 12th St., 8:30
www.tribecafilm.com

Turkish-born Italian director Ferzan Ozpetek’s latest foray into family drama might be somewhat slighter than such earlier triumphs as HAMAM and LE FATE IGNORANTI, but this examination of a dysfunctional group of relatives in Lecce is still plenty of fun. Riccardo Scamarcio, looking like a young, brooding Ray Liotta, stars as Tommaso, a gay man who is ready to come out during a big dinner celebrating the expansion of the family pasta-making business, but his older brother, Antonio (Alessandro Preziosi), steals his thunder by coming out first, shocking everyone and giving their father, Vincenzo (Ennio Fantastichini), a heart attack. Antonio is kicked out, leaving Tomasso to take over his role in the factory when what he really wants is to return to Rome to be a writer and live with his lover, Marco (Carmine Recano). But as he works with the gorgeous but dangerous Alba (Nicole Grimaudo), he learns about responsibility, among a few other surprising things. Meanwhile, his grandmother (Ilaria Occhini) agonizes over a long-lost love, his quirky aunt, Luciana (Elena Sofia Ricci), searches for a husband, and his mother, Stefania (Lunetta Savino), continues to boss around the very dour maid, Teresa (Paola Minaccioni). LOOSE CANNONS feels a little too old-fashioned, and the plot takes too many sitcom-like twists, but there is real heat between Scamarcio and Grimaudo, and the story is told with such charm and good humor that it overcomes some of the more confusing aspects of its meta-narrative.

BEHIND THE BURLY Q

BEHIND THE BURLY Q (Leslie Zemeckis, 2010)
Opens Friday, April 16
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St.
212-255-8800
www.behindtheburlyq.com
www.quadcinema.com

Actress Leslie Zemeckis delves into the fascinating history of American burlesque in the playfully dirty little documentary BEHIND THE BURLY Q. Zemeckis, the wife of Oscar-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (who served as an executive producer on the project), wrote, directed, and edited this oral and visual history of the burlesque movement, speaking with many of its stars and uncovering wonderful old photographs and film clips. She speaks with such burlesque beauties as Joan Arline, Lorraine Lee, Taffy O’Neill, Sunny Dare, White Fury, Dixie Evans, Tempest Starr, Kitty West, and Blaze Starr, cutting between them today and archival footage of them in their prime, taking it almost all off. Zemeckis also speaks with journalists, musicians, comedians, and relatives of deceased legends (Sally Rand, Lily St, Cyr, Lou Costello), including Alan Alda, who talks extensively about being raised on the burlesque circuit since his father, actor Robert Alda, was a popular straight man. The dancers discuss run-ins with the law, battles with local government, famous fans (Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie & Clyde, Elvis Presley, JFK, Walt Disney), drug and alcohol problems, and fighting and jealousy among some of their own, including stories both very funny and rather tragic. Zemeckis keeps it all proceeding smoothly as she documents a generation that is quickly disappearing, as evidenced by the long list of burlesque performers who have since passed away after being interviewed for the film. Zemeckis will be at the Quad to participate in Q&As following the 7:05 screenings on Friday and Saturday night.

BREATH MADE VISIBLE

Anna Halprin shares her inspiring approach to life and art in BREATH MADE VISIBLE

BREATH MADE VISIBLE (Ruedi Gerber, 2009)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between Fifth Ave. & University Pl.
Opens Friday, April 23
212-924-3363
www.breathmadevisible.com
www.cinemavillage.com

Revolutionary dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin shares her inspirational life in the unforgettable new documentary BREATH MADE VISIBLE. Producer-director Ruedi Gerber (HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL) lets the innovative dance pioneer tell her own story, starting out as a child of the Great Depression, through her years dancing with and/or teaching Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, Eiko and Koma, and Meredith Monk. The film reveals her remarkable battle with cancer and her long, beautiful relationship with her husband, landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, as well her life today. As Halprin approaches ninety, she is still performing, teaching, and choreographing in her unique way. Gerber tracks down amazing archival footage of Halprin from throughout her career, including many gatherings on the deck she and her husband built at their home, a sort of hippie commune in Marin County. In her work, Halprin gets close to nature, allowing the body to express deeply felt emotions while exploring its spiritual presence and its relationship with the land. The documentary features clips from such pieces as “Planetary Dance: A Prayer for Peace,” “Circle the Earth,” “Parades and Changes,” “Intensive Care, Reflections on Death and Dying,” “Seniors Rocking,” and, most dramatically, her 2003 one-woman show at the Joyce in Chelsea and her epic outdoor elegy “Return to Home.”

Halprin is an engaging, generous figure who seems to have thoroughly processed her life experiences, intelligently assessing her vast history as she reunites with longtime partners John Graham and A. A. Leath, deals with her husband’s fading health, shares even the most personal stories without fear or regret, and exhibits an infectious joie de vivre that will have viewers reconnecting with themselves and reevaluating their own destinies. Halprin clearly cherishes every moment of her life, just as audiences will cherish every moment of BREATH MADE VISIBLE. As a special treat, Gerber and Halprin will be at Cinema Village on Friday and Saturday nights to talk about the film but even more exciting is that Halprin will be leading a rare all-day New York City workshop, addressing the question “How does dance inform our real life relationships with our own bodies in interaction with others and in community?” at Judson Memorial Church on Saturday that’s not limited to experienced dancers, so don’t miss what should be an incredible, very special event.

NATIONAL DANCE WEEK: CARMEN DE LAVALLADE

The magnificent partnership of Carmen & Geoffrey is on view in documentary

CARMEN & GEOFFREY (Linda Atkinson & Nick Doob, 2006)
Film: Friday, April 23, Maysles Cinema, 343 Malcolm X Blvd. / Lenox Ave between 127th & 128th Sts., 7:30
Performance & discussion: Sunday, April 25, the Philoctetes Center, 247 East 82nd St., free, 2:30
www.mayslesinstitute.org
www.philoctetes.org

CARMEN & GEOFFREY is an endearing look at Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder’s lifelong love affair with dance—and each other. The New Orleans-born de Lavallade studied with Lester Horton and went to high school with Alvin Ailey, whom she brought to his first dance class. Trinidadian Holder is a larger-than-life gentle giant who is a dancer, choreographer, composer, costume designer, actor director, writer, photographer, painter, and just about anything else he wants to be. The two met when they both were cast in Truman Capote and Harold Arlen’s Broadway show HOUSE OF FLOWERS in 1954, with Holder instantly falling in love with de Lavallade; they’ve been together ever since. Directors Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob combine amazing archival footage—of Eartha Kitt, Josephine Baker, Ulysses Dove, de Lavallade dancing with Ailey, and other splendid moments—with contemporary rehearsal scenes, dance performances, and interviews with such stalwarts as dance critic Jennifer Dunning, Alvin Ailey artistic director Judith Jamison, and choreographer Joe Layton (watch out for his eyebrows), along with family members and Gus Solomons jr and Dudley Williams, who still work with de Lavallade. The film was made on an extremely low budget, and it shows, but it is filled with such glorious footage that you’ll get over that quickly. The film is being screened at the Maysles Cinema in Harlem on April 23 as part of National Dance Week, followed by an after-party at the Harlem Brewing Company.

In addition, de Lavallade will be participating in “Moving and Playing: Jazz Improvisation and Dance Conversation” on April 25 at the Philoctetes Center, a free program that also features Jane Ira Bloom, Rufus Reid, Aaron Shafer-Haiss, and Andrea Weber discussing collaboration and performing.

TRIBECA FILM: BUDRUS

BUDRUS (Julia Bacha, 2009)
Sunday, April 25, SVA Theater, 3:00
Monday, April 26, Village East, 8:45
Tuesday, April 27, Village East, 3:30
Wednesday, April 28, SVA, 6:30
www.justvision.org/budrus
www.tribecafilm.com

Written, directed, and edited by Julia Bacha, who also served as one of the producers, BUDRUS has been having an impact at film festivals around the world, including Sydney, Dubai, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Jerusalem, and now Tribeca. The documentary follows a small group of protesters in the village of Budrus, population 1,500, as they battle the Israeli military, which has been charged with protecting construction workers who are bulldozing the people’s lifeblood, hundreds of acres of olive trees, in order to put up the wall known as the separation barrier, isolating the Palestinians in the West Bank; the “red line” also goes right through the village’s cemetery. But local leader Ayed Morrar decides to try something relatively different for the Middle East, emphasizing nonviolence and even permitting women, including his fifteen-year-old daughter, to participate in their dangerous movement. The Popular Committee Against the Wall’s mission appears destined to fail until they are joined by Jews who believe that the Israeli government needs to reconsider where they are putting up the fence and allow the Palestinians to keep their land and preserve their history. Bacha talks to people on both sides of the struggle, including the Morrars as well as Israeli soldiers Doron Spielman and Yasmine Levi, who all speak honestly about their complex situation. Made by a team of Jews and Palestinians who have formed Just Vision, an organization dedicated to bringing to light nonviolent peacebuilding efforts in the Middle East, BUDRUS could have easily turned into propaganda, but in the end its agenda is something difficult to argue with.

TRIBECA FILM: sex & drugs & rock & roll

Andy Serkis gives many reasons to be cheerful channeling Ian Dury in biopic

sex & drugs & rock & roll (Mat Whitecross, 2010)
Saturday, April 24, Village East, 9:00
Monday, April 26, SVA Theater, 3:00
Wednesday, April 28, SVA Theater, 11:00 pm
Thursday, April 29, Village East, 11:30 pm
May 5-11, Tribeca Cinemas
www.tribecafilm.com

British actor Andy Serkis, who has appeared in such diverse roles as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Rigaud in the widely hailed 2008 LITTLE DORRIT miniseries, transforms himself into punk rocker Ian Dury in the biopic sex & drugs & rock & roll. Directed by documentarian Mat Whitecross (THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE), the film follows Dury as an adult desperate to make it in the music biz, putting his career ahead of his family. The first half is awkward to watch, as there is not much to like about the character, a nasty, self-centered brute with a huge chip on his shoulder who leaves his caring wife (Olivia Williams) for a young fan (Naomie Harris). But as Whitecross and actor-turned-writer Paul Viragh reveal more of Dury’s past, centering on his relationship with his father (Ray Winstone) and being confined to a poorly run hospital after he contracted polio, Dury becomes a more compelling figure, especially as success approaches. Serkis does all his own singing in the film, set to newly recorded versions of such Ian Dury and the Blockheads classics as “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick,” “What a Waste,” “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3,” and the title song. The soundtrack was composed by Dury’s longtime collaborator, Blockhead Chaz Jankel (played by a bland Tom Hughes), who also served as a consultant on the film. It takes a while to get going, but once it does, sex & drugs & rock & roll grabs you, anchored by Serkis’s remarkable performance. Following the film’s four screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival, it will be shown May 5-11 at Tribeca Cinemas as part of the Tribeca Film in Theaters program.