Hello Film Lovers!
Some weeks it’s famine… others it’s feast! This is another one of those feast moments, when it seems like they’ve been saving up all the independent film I want to see! We’ve been seeing the preview for a while, so now it’s back to the Coolidge Corner Theatre for the much awarded film, MARIA FULL OF GRACE. Join Chlotrudis members on Monday, August 2, 7:35 p.m. for the film that won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and whose lead actress, Catalina Sandino Moreno, took the Silver Bear Award for Best Acting at the Berlin Film Festival.
MARIA FULL OF GRACE
dir. Joshua Marston w/ Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Guilied Lopez, Jhon Alex Toro, Patricia Rae, in English and Spanish w/subtitles, 1h 41m
Maria is a bright, spirited 17-year old who lives with three generations of her family in a cramped house in rural Colombia. After losing her job in the local flower factory and discovering that she is pregnant, Maria feels that she needs to make a drastic change in her life. Then she meets Franklin, a cool young hipster who tells her of a lucrative job involving travel. The job is to be a drug mule – swallowing dozens of rubber pellets full of heroin and illegally flying them to the United States. Far from the uneventful trip she is promised, Maria is transported into the risky and ruthless world of international drug trafficking. Her mission becomes one of determination and survival and she finally emerges with the grace that will carry her forward into a new life.
MARIA FULL OF GRACE is a tour de force, not just for newcomer Joshua Marston, who directs this tale with a realism that brings to mind the best verite documentaries, but also for newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno. Her performance as Maria is so multi-faceted and filled with dignity that she alone defines the title of the film, a remarkable accomplishment that earned this first-time actor the best acting award at the Berlin Film Festival.
Are you a fan of Anime? The Brattle brings you a special weekend engagement, the runner up for best animated feature at last year’s Fantasia Festival in Montreal (the winner was the unquestionably amazing TAMALA 2010), KAENA: THE PROPHECY. This French computer animated feature is a wonderful fantasy/sci-fi film that evokes the immortal French classic FANTASTIC PLANET as well as the work of Moebius and even the rock ‘n ‘roll animation of HEAVY METAL. KAENA features some of the most stunning imagery seen in an animated film in a long time. In the era of Pixar ‘s cartoonish versions of reality, this film uses animation to create new worlds and creatures that defy imagination. Featuring the voices of Kirsten Dunst, Richard Harris, and Anjelica Houston.
Another much-anticipated release this week is A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD, based on Michael Cunningham’s novel of the same name. Scot and I have been looking forward to seeing this film for quite a while, so we will be catching the 11:45 a.m. matinee at the Kendall Square Theatre on Sunday. The film stars Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Sissy Spacek and newcomer Dallas Roberts. Join us for some Sunday cinema fun! Another well-reviewed film that opens this week is the documentary METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER. I don’t think I’ll be able to squeeze this one in this week, but I do hope to catch it sometime soon. Another well-received documentary, MY ARCHITECT makes a return engagement at the Museum of Fine Arts for the month of August, courtesy of the Boston Jewish Film Festival. If you missed this one earlier this year, you’ll have several chances to catch it at the MFA. The MFA is also playing a new African film, ABOUNA (OUR FATHER). With so few opportunities to see new African film, this is one you may want to try to catch. Finally, Thursday night’s Brattle screening of TWILIGHT SAMURAI comes highly recommended from Georgette. If you missed this one during its limited release earlier this year, check it out on Thursday night!
See you at the movies!
Playing this week, July 29 – August 4.
Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
The Art of Samurai Cinema
Twilight Samurai (Thu.)
Exclusive Area Premiere
Kaena: the Prophecy (Fri. – Sun.)
Midnight Cult Classics
Takashi Miike’s Ichii the Killer (Fri. & Sat.)
Orson Welles: Rogue Genius
F for Fake (Mon.)
Confidential Agent (aka Mr. Arkadin) (Mon.)
Modern Musicals
The Muppets Take Manhattan (Tue.)
The Blues Brothers (Tue.)
Recent Raves
The Brattle Film Foundation & The Cambridge Arts Council Present a Special Outdoor Screening at Riverside Press Park!
Whale Rider (Wed.)
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Maria Full of Grace (starts Fri.)
Fahrenheit 9/11
Before Sunset (Thu.)
The Hunting of the President
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (Fri. & Sat)
Kung Fu
Scorching Sun, Fierce Winds, Wild Fire (Sat.)
A Tribute to Marlon Brando
A Streetcar Named Desire/i> (Mon.)
Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
P is for Painters Painting
The Mystery of Picasso (Thu. & Fri.)
Van Gogh (Thu. & Fri.)
Q is for Quincy Jones
The Pawnbroker (Sat. & Sun.)
The Getaway (Sat. & Sun.)
R is for Renoir Silents
The Little Matchgirl (Mon.)
Nana (Mon.)
S if for Stamp
Billy Budd
The Hit
Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
The Door in the Floor
Before Sunset
The Clearing (Thu.)
Napoleon Dynamite
Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
The Clay Bird (starts Fri.)
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (starts Fri.)
Maria Full of Grace (starts Fri.)
A Home at the End of the World (starts Fri.)
Broadway: The Golden Age
The Corporation
The Door in the Floor
Napoleon Dynamite
Control Room
A Touch of Pink (Thu.)
The Hunting of the President (Thu.)
De-Lovely (Thu.)
Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (starts Fri.)
A Home at the End of the World
The Corporation
Seducing Doctor Lewis
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite
Control Room (Thu.)
A Touch of Pink (Thu.)
The Hunting of the President (Thu.)
Loews Theatres Copley Place, Boston
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (starts Fri.)
Before Sunset
De-Lovely
The Door in the Floor
The Clearing (Thu.)
Napoleon Dynamite
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Pre-release Screening
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
African Cinema
Abouna (Our Father) (Thu. – Sun.)
Cinema Tropical
A Cab for Three (Fri. & Sun.)
Art on Film
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time (Sat. & Sun.)
My Architect (Sat. & Sun.)
Russian Cinema
The Return (Sat.)
The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
The Clearing (Thu.)
The Control Room (starts Fri.)
Boston Jewish Film Festival Events
Another Chance to see…
My Architect at the Museum of Fine Arts (Sat. & Sun.)
Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President