Tag Archives: cinema village

MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY

MUMIA

MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY examines the life and career of controversial African American journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal

MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY (Stephen Vittoria, 2013)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, February 1
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.mumia-themovie.com

In Stephen Vittoria’s overly reverential documentary Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary, actors, activists, journalists, writers, and others celebrate the life and career of the former Wesley Cook, who changed his name to Mumia Abu-Jamal and helped found the Philadelphia wing of the Black Panther Party. The two-hour film begins with right-wing media mouths and the owner of Geno’s Steaks decrying the left’s embracing of Abu-Jamal, who was convicted in 1982 of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Denied access to Abu-Jamal in prison, Vittoria uses staged re-creations, archival footage, radio interviews, and such actors as Giancarlo Esposito, Ruby Dee, and Peter Coyote reading from his many books in order to portray him as a dedicated and talented journalist who became a feared target of FBI head J. Edgar Hoover and controversial Philly mayor Frank Rizzo, ultimately being set up for a murder he did not commit. Vittoria does not delve into the details of the case, instead exploring the man himself, with stories from Abu-Jamal’s sister Lydia Barashango, comedian and activist Dick Gregory, wrongly incarcerated boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, philosopher Cornel West, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Alice Walker, fellow investigative journalist Juan Gonzalez, radical activist Angela Davis, and radio host Amy Goodman, who has broadcast numerous phone interviews with Abu-Jamal, whose 1982 death sentence was commuted to life in prison last year. Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary is completely one-sided, showing anyone against the golden-throated Abu-Jamal to be crazy as the filmmakers glorify its subject. However, it does reveal the City of Brotherly Love to be a frightening hotbed of violence and racism, even if that is not necessarily news. “Philadelphia has a veneer of liberalism and this whole Quaker mystique,” explains Temple associate professor and journalist Linn Washington. “The reality is it has been this ruthlessly racist city — really from its inception.” Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary works better when it examines the social history of the civil rights movement and the Black Panthers as covered by Abu-Jamal but falters when it treats his writings as if they were Shakespearean soliloquies. Vittoria will be present at Cinema Village to participate in several Q&As opening weekend, following the 6:30 and 9:00 screenings on Friday and 4:00 and 6:30 shows on Saturday and Sunday.

FAIRHAVEN

Jon (writer-director Tom O’Brien) and Dave (Chris Messina) take stock of their lives in FAIRHAVEN

FAIRHAVEN (Tom O’Brien, 2012)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, January 11
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.fairhaventhemovie.com

When Dave (Chris Messina) reluctantly returns to his hometown for his father’s funeral after being away for ten years, he meets up with his two childhood buddies, Jon (writer-director Tom O’Brien) and Sam (Rich Sommer), and the three rehash old times and create some crazy new ones in the appealing slice-of-life drama Fairhaven. Set in the real-life fishing village of Fairhaven (which just celebrated its 200th anniversary), the story focuses on how the three men have grown up — or haven’t yet — while examining what home means. Jon is a ne’er-do-well former high school football star obsessed with something three-time Super Bowl–winning quarterback Tom Brady said on 60 Minutes: “There’s got to be something more than this.” Looking for something more, Jon quits his job on a fishing boat to concentrate on his writing while also exploring a possible relationship with the New Age-y free spirit Angela (Alexie Gilmore). Responsible single father Sam has not dated since his divorce from Kate (American Horror Story’s Sarah Paulson), instead devoting himself to raising his daughter, Cara (Grace Collins), and his career as a real estate agent. And Dave has wandered around Vegas and Arizona for a decade after getting involved in a situation that shocks and angers Jon when Dave at long last reveals his big secret. Evoking such previous ensemble films about reuniting friends as Diner and Beautiful Girls, Fairhaven is a well-made, touching drama about searching for one’s place in the world while also coming to terms with the choices one has made. Stage veteran O’Brien, Messina (Damages, Newsroom), and Sommer (Mad Men) have worked together before in various ways, bringing a charming camaraderie to their characters’ friendship. In his directorial debut, O’Brien imbues the tale with a believable honesty that lets the viewer forgive his occasional wrong turns. The setting and soundtrack, featuring songs by Blow Up Hollywood and These United States, further enhance this moving drama about a group of thirtysomethings taking stock of their lives — and not necessarily liking what they see. Fairhaven opens at Cinema Village on January 11, with O’Brien on hand for Q&As following the 7:15 and 9:30 screenings on opening night and the 7:15 show on January 13.

IN THE FAMILY

Gripping film examines the trials and tribulations of a modern American family after tragedy strikes

IN THE FAMILY (Patrick Wang, 2011)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
November 16-22
212-924-3363
www.inthefamilythemovie.com
www.cinemavillage.com

First-time writer director Patrick Wang proves to be a quadruple threat in his extraordinary feature-film debut, In the Family. An actor, theater director, and economist with an MIT degree, Wang, who is also the star of the film and one of the producers, reveals a smart economy in the quietly powerful drama, despite its 169 minutes. Wang plays Joey Williams, an Asian-American contractor living in Tennessee with his partner, teacher Cody Hines (Trevor St. John), and Cody’s young son, Chip (Sebastian Brodziak), from a previous marriage. They are a happy family, but when Cody suddenly dies in a tragic car accident, Joey’s life slowly starts to fall apart as he discovers he has no legal rights to any of Cody’s holdings and possessions, including Chip. Joey faces his dilemma with an almost Zen-like demeanor, calmly believing that everything will work out and that Cody’s family — sister Eileen (Kelly McAndrew), brother-in-law Dave (Peter Hermann), and mother Sally (Park Overall) — will do the right thing. But as he soon finds out, that isn’t the case, so he considers taking legal action, but without any footing, no lawyer will represent him. While he sits alone in the house that used to be so filled with life and hope, Joey recalls happier times, as flashbacks show how he and Cody first met and eventually fell in love. Wang and cinematographer Frank Barrera (Runaway, As Good as Dead) barely move the camera during the contemporary scenes, allowing the audience to feel the pain building inside Joey, while the flashbacks are shot with a shaky handheld camera that evokes the turmoil to come. Wang avoids genre clichés, wisely choosing not to make grand statements about same-sex marriage, civil unions, and gay rights, instead letting the story play out in a lyrical yet heartbreaking way. First and foremost, Joey, Cody, and Chip were a family — not a gay or mixed-race family — and Joey can’t understand why they are being treated differently than if they were a supposedly more traditional husband, wife, and child. The acting is solid throughout, with a documentary-like quality — Wang cites Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage and John Cassavetes’s A Woman Under the Influence as major inspirations — highlighted by a fine turn by multiple Tony nominee Brian Murray as a client of Joey’s. Don’t let the length scare you away — In the Family is a gripping, involving movie that will make you forget all about time. Nominated for Best First Feature at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards, In the Family opens November 16 at Cinema Village, playing daily at 4:40, with Murray appearing opening day and Brodziak on hand Saturday and Sunday.

BACKWARDS

Sarah Megan Thomas and James Van Der Beek go for the gold in BACKWARDS

BACKWARDS (Ben Hickernell, 2012)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, September 21
212-924-3363
www.backwardsthemovie.com
www.cinemavillage.com

Inspired by the true story of the Olympic dreams of a college teammate, actress and former rower Sarah Megan Thomas wrote, produced, and stars in Backwards, perhaps the biggest movie about crew since Rob Lowe picked up the oars to impress Amanda Pays in the 1984 cult-classic-wannabe Oxford Blues. Unfortunately, however, Backwards comes off as a well-meaning but overly earnest vanity project that is more like a basic-cable, family-friendly movie-of-the-week than a feature film for theaters. Thomas plays Abi Brooks, a champion rower who might have just one last shot to make the Olympic team as her thirtieth birthday approaches. But after being selected as an alternate, a wining Abi quits, eventually getting a job coaching the girls’ rowing team back at her old school, where her boss is her high school sweetheart, Geoff (James Van Der Beek). Searching for meaning in her life, Abi gets deeply involved in training Hannah (Alexandra Metz) and Susan (Meredith Apfelbaum) for an upcoming important tournament, until circumstances change and she is forced to make a crucial decision about her future, and that of her girls. Directed by Ben Hickernell (Lebanon, PA.), Backwards was admittedly made on a too-low budget, and it shows. The rowing scenes don’t ring true, the potential romance between Geoff and Abi is predictable, and Abi’s relationship with her mother (Margaret Colin) is riddled with clichés. That said, the film does have a good heart that makes you want to like it, but it never quite reaches that next level, with scene after scene mired in the obvious.

SERVING UP RICHARD

Richard Reubens (Ross McCall) has his work cut out for him if he wants to stay off the menu in SERVING UP RICHARD

SERVING UP RICHARD (Henry Olek, 2011)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, August 17
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.servinguprichard.com

In the mid-1980s, George Romero produced a syndicated horror anthology series called Tales from the Darkside, a creepy, often gory combination of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories, and, primarily, HBO’s Tales from the Crypt. Actor and screenwriter Henry Oleck’s directorial debut, Serving Up Richard, is like a too long, more graphic Darkside episode, with actors you think you’ve seen before but are not quite sure where, caught up in bizarre situations that might just work until the usually pretty stupid ending ultimately leaves you disappointed. Ross McCall (White Collar) stars as Richard Reubens, a minor Wall Street player who is transferred to Los Angeles, moving to a sunny community with his lovely wife, Karen (Jericho’s Darby Stanchfield). Seeing an ad for an ultracool Mustang, Richard doesn’t listen to his wife and instead goes to check it out — and winds up locked in a cage by a crazy cannibal couple, anthropologist Everett Hutchins (24’s Jude Ciccolella) and his very strange, perpetually ailing wife, Glory (executive producer and former ballerina Susan Priver). While off on one of his many trips, Everett learned that eating healthy humans is good for sick people, so he regularly finds meals for his darling love, the pale-skinned, agoraphobic Glory. But when Glory takes a liking to Richard as a person, the Wall Street hunk thinks he might be able to negotiate his way out of this mess and avoid winding up on the menu. Originally titled The Guest Room, Serving Up Richard starts out as a surprisingly appealing appetizer, setting the table with some tasty tidbits. The main course keeps things looking up for a while, but as it goes on and on, it grows cold and silly, throwing in some very bad jokes and ridiculously over-the-top scenes. And the dessert — well, like the most mediocre Tales from the Darkside episode (was there any other kind?), the finale is a major letdown. However, McCall hangs tough through it all, doing a good job of holding the audience’s interest as the plot goes off the deep end. (Add half a star if you thought Tales from the Darkside was anything but mediocre.)

TRUE WOLF: THE STORY OF KOANI AND HER UNUSUAL PACK

Pat Tucker takes Koani and Indy for a walk in TRUE WOLF

TRUE WOLF: THE STORY OF KOANI AND HER UNUSUAL PACK (Rob Whitehair, 2012)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, August 17
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.truewolfmovie.com

In 1991, Bruce Weide and Pat Tucker were asked to help raise a gray wolf named Koani for a documentary about what they consider to be a largely misunderstood species. Weide and Tucker, who had started the organization Wild Sentry to educate people, especially children, about the real nature of wolves and battle negative stereotyping, ended up keeping Koani, treating it like it was a combination of a child and a pet. Over the years, they took Koani, who came to be known as the ambassador wolf, to schools across the country, all the while wondering whether they had done the right thing by domesticating her. Director and producer Rob Whitehair (The Little Red Truck) depicts the unusual relationship between Bruce, Pat, Koani, and their mixed-breed dog, Indy, in the intriguing documentary True Wolf. Reminiscent of Lisa Leeman’s One Lucky Elephant, about a man’s longtime friendship with a rather large circus animal, True Wolf brings up numerous questions regarding domestication and captivity, showing protesters who would rather see wolves killed than have them roam wild in parts of Montana while Bruce and Pat speak lovingly of Koani. They marvel at how much she enjoys going for long walks, yet seeing this remarkable animal on a leash just doesn’t seem right. “Could we live with this beast?” Bruce remembers thinking. “What do you do when you’ve fallen in love?” Pat adds. It’s a fascinating conundrum that doesn’t necessarily have any easy answers, particularly at a time when the wolf population is experiencing a serious decline. True Wolf opens August 17 at Cinema Village; the 7:35 screening on Friday night will be followed by a Q&A with Whitehair and members of the National Wolfwatcher Coalition, who will be joined by current ambassador wolf Atka.

PATANG (THE KITE: HOLD ON TO YOUR HAPPINESS)

Hamid (Hamid Shaikh) looks to the skies in poignant Indian family drama (photo courtesy Khushi Films)

PATANG (Prashant Bhargava, 2011)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, June 15
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.patang.tv

Born and raised in Chicago, Prashant Bhargava returns to his cultural heritage in his debut feature film, the tender and moving Patang. Set during the traditional Uttarayan kite festival held every January 14 in India, the film follows a family celebrating the event in their home in Ahmedabad, where they are joined by Jayesh (Mukund Shukla) for the first time in five years. A successful businessman who moved to Delhi, Jayesh has brought his daughter, Priya (Sugandha Garg), with him, a young woman whose burgeoning sexuality has Jayesh playing the overprotective father. Although most of the family is happy to see him, he finds that he is still at odds with his nephew Chakku (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), who blames Jayesh for his father’s death. Chakku also resents his uncle for having left the family home for the big city. While Jayesh tries to convince his sister-in-law, Sudha (Seema Biswas), and mother (Pannaben Soni), Ba, that Delhi would be good for them as well, Priya flirts with Bobby (Aakash Maherya), a local man she met in an electronics store, and Chakku guides a small group of young boys, particularly Hamid (Hamid Shaikh), through some of the harder sides of life. Bhargava wrote, directed, and edited Patang and also operated one of two handheld HD cameras, along with cinematographer Shanker Raman, giving the film a documentary-like feel that is enhanced by a cast that consists primarily of nonactors in heavily improvised scenes based on the script. The neorealist film pits the traditional against the new, old against young, and rich against poor as the night sky ultimately comes alive with colorful kites, fireworks, and glowing lanterns called tukkals. The film also features an evocative score by Mario Grigorov and songs by Pankaj Awasthi and others that continue the subtle exploration of India’s past, present, and future as seen through the eyes of one tight-knit family.