this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

THE RUBIN BLOCK PARTY

Rubin Block Party will have Nepalese-inspired theme this year (photo courtesy Rubin Museum of Art)

Rubin Museum of Art
West 17th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Sunday, July 17, free (including free museum admission all day), 1:00 – 4:00
rubinmuseum.org

Block parties are a type of social ritual, so it is rather apropos that the Rubin Museum of Art’s annual summer block party, taking place on July 17 on Seventeenth St., is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual,” which runs through March of next year. Hopefully it won’t rain between 1:00 and 4:00, when the museum will host Nepalese-inspired music and dance by Dikyi, Sonam Rinzin with Brooklyn Raga Massive, and Kabina Maharjan Singh and her son; educational activities with KathaSatha, Walung Community of North America, Yulha Fund (“Voice of the Himalayas”), and Mero Gaon; traditional Nepali dress demonstrations with Adhikaar; interactive weaving demonstrations with Grassroots Movement in Nepal; yoga with Susan Verde; art workshops in which participants can make rainsticks, frog masks, pinwheels, prayer flags, flower garlands, and hybrid animals; an interactive “Karma Chain” weather ritual; henna tattoos; Himalayan food from Café Serai; ice cream from Van Leeuwen; and more. In addition, the museum will be open for free all day long (11:00 am – 6:00 pm), so you can check out such exhibits as “Gateway to Himalayan Art,” “Masterworks of Himalayan Art,” “Genesis Breyer P-Orridge,” and “Sacred Spaces” in addition to “Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual,” with museum tours and gallery searches for children. Namaste!

BURNING BRIGHT — NEW FRENCH FILMMAKERS: PARIS, LOVE, CUT

Gabrielle (Louise Coldefy) and Arnaud Viard (Arnaud Viard) explore acting and more in PARIS, LOVE, CUT

CINÉSALON: PARIS, LOVE, CUT (ARNAUD FAIT SON 2ÈME) (Arnaud Viard, 2015)
French Institute Alliance Française, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
Tuesday, July 12, $14, 4:00 & 7:30 (later screening introduced by Alan Brown)
Series continues Tuesdays through July 26
212-355-6100
fiaf.org

“I like mixing fiction and reality,” writer, director, and star Arnaud Viard says in his second film, Paris, Love, Cut, the French title of which is Arnaud fait son 2ème film, or “Arnaud Makes His Second Film.” As the movie opens, Viard, sitting on the toilet, says directly into the camera, “Sometimes, in life, nothing works. You struggle . . . Nothing. Then, one day, it all flows. Just like that. Fluid. Magnificent. As if you were constipated, then suddenly . . . not at all. Last time things flowed was when I made my first film.” A longtime television actor who made his biggest impact as Jean-François in the French series Que du bonheur, Viard released his debut feature, Clara et moi, in 2004, then experienced difficulties raising money for his follow-up. In Paris, Love, Cut, Viard plays a version of himself, a longtime television actor who made his biggest impact as Jean-François in the French series Happy Times and who released his debut feature in 2004, then experienced difficulties raising money for his follow-up. Viard is trying to have a baby with his girlfriend, Chloé (Irène Jacob), but she is having trouble getting pregnant, echoing his inability to give birth to his second film, which he decides will be about a man unable to get an erection. He takes a job teaching an acting class, where he falls for twenty-one-year-old student Gabrielle (Louise Coldefy), whose goal is to become a famous actress. As he meets with his producer (Christophe Rossignon), other directors, his ailing mother (Nadine Alari), a sex coach (Chris Esquerre), a psychoanalyst (Pierre Aussedat), a tax agent (Marie-Christine Laurent), his sisters, and various dates, he has a generally positive take on life; he is soft-spoken and gentle, with a fun sense of humor whether being audited or going to a party thrown by his students, one of whom (Hamza Meziani) gets to the heart of the matter when he delivers a monologue from Alfred de Musset’s Don’t Fool with Love: “All men are liars, false, fickle, hypocritical, cowardly, contemptible, sensual. All women are faithless, deceitful, vain, curious, and depraved. The world is a bottomless sewer where shapeless beasts writhe on mountains of filth. But one thing is holy and sublime, the union of two beings, so imperfect and horrible.”

Much of Paris, Love, Cut serves as personal and professional wish fulfillment for both the real and the fictional Viard — if there is a difference. Evoking a mix of Woody Allen’s Annie Hall and Manhattan, Nanni Moretti’s Caro Diario, and Caveh Zahedi’s I Am a Sex Addict, Viard lays his neuroses out there for all to see, primarily keeping it as lighthearted as the soundtrack, while also getting naked with some beautiful women. He pays homage to François Truffaut and The Last Metro while exploring a midlife crisis that isn’t really much of a crisis, which is not to say he isn’t facing some difficult situations and has to make some hard choices. But like the title of his real and fictional series, these are still some pretty happy times for him, in a pretty happy movie. FIAF is presenting the U.S. premiere of Paris, Love, Cut at 4:00 and 7:30 on July 12 in its CinéSalon series “Burning Bright: New French Filmmakers”; the later screening will be introduced by writer-director Alan Brown (Book of Love, Superheroes). The series continues Tuesday nights in July with Thomas Salvador’s Vincent and Jean-Charles Hue’s Eat Your Bones.

BASTILLE DAY CELEBRATION

bastille day

60th St. between Fifth & Lexington Aves.
Sunday, July 10, free, 12 noon – 5:00 pm
www.bastilledaynyc.com
fiaf.org

On July 14, 1789, a Parisian mob stormed the Bastille prison, a symbolic victory that kicked off the French Revolution and the establishment of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Ever since, July 14 has been a national holiday celebrating liberté, égalité, and fraternité. In New York City, the Bastille Day festivities are set for Sunday, July 10, along Sixtieth St., where the French Institute Alliance Française hosts its annual daylong party of food, music, dance, and other special activities. There will be a Wine, Beer, Cocktail, and Cheese Tasting in FIAF’s Tinker Auditorium at 12 noon, 1:30, and 3:00 ($25), as well as luxurious ninety-minute Champagne & Chocolate Tastings in Le Skyroom at 12:30 and 3:00 ($75) featuring delights from G. H. Mumm, Piper-Heidsieck, Drappier, Brimoncourt, Billecart-Salmon, La Caravelle, Neuhaus, La Maison du Chocolat, Valrhona, MarieBelle, and Maman Bakery. The annual raffle ($5 per ticket) can win you such prizes as trips to Paris and New Orleans, concert tickets, beauty treatments and gift baskets, lunches and dinners, and more. Food and drink will be available from Babeth’s Feast, Barraca, Booqoo Beignets, Dominique Ansel Bakery, Éclair Bakery, Epicerie Boulud, Financier, Bec Fin, Le Souk, St. Michel, Tipsy Scoop, François Payard Bakery, Mille-feuille, Oliviers & Co., Ponty Bistro, and others. Taking the stage will be cast members from An American in Paris (12:30), CanCan dancers led by Sarah O’Dwyer (1:15 & 2:15), a French puppet show by Samantha Grassian (1:30), the Hungry March Band (2:30), the Sheridan Fencing Academy (3:15), and Myriam Phiro’s Accordion Trio (4:00). The festivities also include a roaming French Mime for Hire (Catherina Gasta), a photobooth, a book signing with Marc Levy (A Spin on the Horizon, 1:00), the annual Citroën Car Show (1:00 – 5:00), a live screening of the UEFA Euro final between France and Portugal (3:00), and more. Vive la France!

INDIAN POINT

The future of Indian Point and nuclear energy is debated in new documentary

INDIAN POINT (Ivy Meeropol, 2015)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Howard Gilman Theater
144 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway
Opens Friday, July 8
212-875-5050
www.indianpointfilm.com
www.filmlinc.org

The Indian Point Energy Center has been fraught with controversy since it first opened in 1962 in Buchanan, New York, a mere forty-five miles from Midtown Manhattan. Documentarian Ivy Meeropol takes a close look at the past, present, and future of the embattled nuclear power plant in Indian Point, an important film that examines the complex situation from all angles. In the wake of Fukushima, eyes were once again cast at Indian Point, particularly as it approached its twenty-year recertification. Meeropol takes us inside the plant for a fascinating look at its operations, focusing on safety measures and literal and figurative cracks in the system. “This plant, in this proximity to New York City, was never a good risk,” Gov. Cuomo says in a press conference at the beginning of the film. Men and women on multiple sides of the issue speak with Meeropol, offering their take on what is happening. “Everyone has their fingers crossed under the table and they’re, like, let’s just hope nobody fucks up and they don’t have an accident,” says lawyer Phillip Musegaas of the watchdog organization Riverkeeper, which defends and protects the Hudson River. “We try to minimize that risk as much as we can. That’s our job,” explains Brian Vangor, a senior control room operator who has been working at Indian Point for more than thirty-five years. Somewhere in the middle is environmental journalist Roger Witherspoon, who notes, “For those who work in the nuclear industry, this is a ‘safe’ plant. For those who don’t work in the nuclear industry, there are risks you don’t want to live with.” Witherspoon is married to Marilyn Elie, a fierce activist who is part of IPSEC, the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition. But the most interesting individual in the film is Gregory Jaczko, who at the time of filming was the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and faces stiff opposition from within when he starts questioning Indian Point’s recertification.

Meeropol allows everyone to have their say as they discuss Indian Point’s outdated design, the flushing of more than 2.5 billion gallons of water into the Hudson every day, Indian Point’s safety record, clean energy options, and the frightening lessons learned from Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. It also delves into the politics involved, as Jaczko tries to get at the truth, even visiting Fukushima, while he hits an unfriendly brick wall at home. Meeropol keeps everything civil despite the contentiousness of the topic. “This is not a film about whether nuclear power is good or bad,” she writes in her director’s statement. “What is this grand bargain we’ve made with ourselves to power the world and how can we make sure it doesn’t destroy us?” After the film was completed and being shown at festivals, it was reported this past February that the level of radioactivity in groundwater by Indian Point had spiked, leading to yet more inspections and investigations. A film that raises all the right questions, Indian Point opens at the Howard Gilman Theater at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on July 8, with Meeropol taking part in Q&As following the 7:00 screenings on July 8 and 9 and the 5:00 show on July 10.

JAMES TOBACK PRESENTS MONEYBALL

Oscar nominees Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill take a different approach with the Oakland A’s in MONEYBALL

MONEYBALL (Bennett Miller, 2011)
Metrograph
7 Ludlow St. between Canal & Hester Sts.
Saturday, July 9, 6:30
212-660-0312
metrograph.com
www.moneyball-movie.com

After winning 102 games during the 2001 season but then falling to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series in five tough games, the cash-poor Oakland A’s also lost three of their most prominent players, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen, to free agency. To rebuild the team with limited funds, general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) turns to an unexpected source: Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a young stat geek who believes that on-base percentage is the key to the game. The A’s scouts find it hard to believe that Beane is looking at has-been catcher Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), aging outfielder David Justice (Stephen Bishop), and underperforming submariner Chad Bradford (Casey Bond) to get the A’s to the World Series, as does manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who refuses to use the new players the way Beane insists. But when the A’s indeed start winning after a few more questionable deals pulled off by Beane and Brand, the entire sport world starts taking a much closer look at what is soon known as “moneyball.” Based on the 2003 bestseller Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis, Moneyball is an exciting film even though the vast majority of it occurs off the field. Pitt is wonderfully understated as Beane, a former five-tool prospect for the Mets and divorced father of a twelve-year-old girl (Kerris Dorsey).

Pitt earned an Oscar nod for Best Actor for his portrayal of the real-life Beane, a confident but nervous man who may or may not have a big chip on his shoulder. Hill was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as wiz-kid Brand, a fictional character inspired by Paul DePodesta, who refused to let his name and likeness be used in the film; Brand instead is an amalgamation of several of the people who work for Beane. Director Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher, Capote) takes the viewer into a number of fascinating back-room dealings, including a revealing scene in which Beane tries to acquire Ricardo Rincon from the Cleveland Indians, furiously working the phones to pull off the deal. Also nominated for Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Adapted Screenplay, Moneyball firmly belongs in the playoff pantheon of great baseball movies, with the added bonus that you don’t have to be a fan or know a lot about the game to get sucked into its intoxicating tale. The film is screening July 9 at 6:30 at Metrograph and will be followed by a Q&A with writer, director, and actor James Toback, who wrote The Gambler and Bugsy and wrote and directed such other pictures as Fingers, Love and Money, and Seduced and Abandoned as well as the 1999 drama Black and White, which stars Mike Tyson, Robert Downey Jr., Brooke Shields, Claudia Schiffer, Raekwon, Ben Stiller, and Gaby Hoffmann and is being shown at Metrograph right after Moneyball and will also be followed by a Q&A with Toback.

BURNING BRIGHT — NEW FRENCH FILMMAKERS: THE LAST HAMMER BLOW

Thirteen-year-old Vicgtor (Romain Paul) has to pull off quite a balancing act in Alix Delaporte’s poignant THE LAST HAMMER BLOW

CINÉSALON: THE LAST HAMMER BLOW (LE DERNIER COUP DE MARTEAU) (Alix Delaporte, 2014)
French Institute Alliance Française, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
Tuesday, July 5, $14, 4:00 & 7:30 (later screening introduced by Mathieu Fourne)
212-355-6100
fiaf.org
www.palacefilms.com

For their work in Alix Delaporte’s 2010 drama, Angèle et Tony, Clotilde Hesme, as Angèle, won the César for Most Promising Actress and Grégory Gadebois, as Tony, was named Most Promising Actor. For his film debut in Delaporte’s 2014 follow-up, the gentle, tender-hearted The Last Hammer Blow, playing at FIAF on July 5, teenager Romain Paul, portraying Victor, the illegitimate son of characters played by Hesme and Gadebois, won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor at the Venice International Film Festival. (Hesme and Gadebois also both starred in the French television series The Returned.) Victor is a sullen thirteen-year-old soccer phenom living with his mother, Nadia (Hesme), in a lonely trailer park. They have run out of money as Nadia battles cancer and considers selling their home and moving in with her estranged parents. When Victor’s father, famous conductor Samuel Rovinski (Gadebois), arrives to lead a performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony at the local opera house, Victor confronts him, but Rovinski at first denies that he has a son. But Victor persists in visiting the maestro, all the while not telling his mother that he is being considered for a spot in a prestigious soccer program. In addition, his hormones start raging as he begins noticing that one of his neighbors, Luna (Mireia Vilapuig), is blossoming into quite a beautiful young girl. The various parts of his life converge suddenly, putting him in a precarious position as he is forced to make some difficult decisions.

The Last Hammer Blow is a touching, sensitively told coming-of-age tale, anchored by a breakout performance by Paul, who imbues Victor with a mixture of compassion and ennui, keeping him at an even keel no matter what he faces. Hesme (Love Songs, Mysteries of Lisbon) is heartbreaking as a mother running out of options, and Gadebois (One of a Kind, Une femme dans la Révolution) excels as a bold, strong man who can’t just wave his conductor’s baton and make the past go away. Delaporte’s second film is a character-driven study filled with a poignant humanity that avoids melodrama and cliché in favor of honesty and genuine surprise. Claire Mathon (Angèle et Tony, Mon roi, Two Friends) earned her first of three Lumières Award nominations for her evocative cinematography, and Evgueni and Sacha Galperine’s soundtrack is bittersweet and subtle, especially in the shadow of the grand Mahler symphony. The Last Hammer Blow is screening at 4:00 and 7:30 on July 5 in FIAF’s CinéSalon series “Burning Bright: New French Filmmakers”; the later screening will be introduced by Mathieu Fournet of the French Embassy. The series continues Tuesday nights in July with Arnaud Viard’s Paris, Love, Cut, Thomas Salvador’s Vincent, and Jean-Charles Hue’s Eat Your Bones.

TOM SACHS: TRAINING

Tom Sachs, “Training,” synthetic polymer paint on plywood, 2016 (image courtesy the artist)

The FLAG Art Foundation
545 West 25th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., ninth floor
Wednesday, July 6, free with advance RSVP, 6:30
212-206-0220
flagartfoundation.org
www.tomsachs.org

In his operation manual for his 2006 installation “The Island,” New York City native Tom Sachs quotes Yoda: “Do, or do not. There is no try.” Sachs does. And he has a lot of fun doing it. The Bennington College graduate takes a DIY approach to his art, displaying a wry sense of humor in such works as “Chanel Guillotine,” “Prada Toilet,” “Nutsy’s McDonald’s,” “Barbie Slave Ship,” and “Hello Kitty Nativity.” In 2008, he went up against the Neistat brothers in a hilarious power boat race. In 2012, he staged an intricately planned trip to the red planet in his massive interactive Park Avenue Armorny exhibition “Space Program: Mars,” which was later turned into a 2016 film. Currently, “Tom Sachs: Boombox Retrospective, 1996 – 2016” welcomes visitors to the Brooklyn Museum, while “Tom Sachs: Tea Ceremony” offers an immersive experience at the Noguchi Museum. On July 6, Sachs will be at the FLAG Art Foundation in Chelsea, activating “Training,” his contribution to the group show “Summer School,” which consists of playful works by such artists as John Baldessari, Dan Colen, Tara Donovan, Mark Grotjahn, Tony Matelli, Marilyn Minter, Vik Muniz, and Ugo Rondinone. “Training” is a helicopter rescue game / wall sculpture that involves riddles and such game pieces as a bag of McDonald’s fries and an Apollo command module. Sachs and his studio team will participate in a live tournament that will put the finishing touches on the work. Admission is free, but advance RSVP is recommended; as a bonus, whiskey and wine will be served. The tournament starts at 7:00, but be sure to get there at 6:30 to check out “Summer School” as well as the tenth-floor exhibit, Patricia Cronin’s “Shrine for Girls, New York.”