Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Norma Rae

Norma_RaeSunday April 10th 2016, Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Norma Rae, 1970. Directed by Martin Ritt, 114 minutes. In English with English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film begin at 9pm. Free admission.

Man, few films will show how the world has changed since the 70s than this gutsy drama. Once upon a time there were things called unions. They were formed by collectives of workers who risked their jobs for the benefit of all. Today the word ‘union’ is a pretty negative one, and they have all but vanished from the social map… but at the same time salaries in the western world are at their lowest since the ’80s, worker’s rights have been all but totally eliminated, while corporations are reporting record profits.

In a bold career-changing move, actress Sally Fields stars as a textile worker in North Carolina, who bucks the damn system and throws her life on the line. Why? Because she believes in something, and refuses to be a slave. But that’s a pretty big decision. Despite what the mainstream media tells us, most of the people who have exposed the American dream as a fraud have been attacked, blacklisted, denounced, blackballed, imprisoned, assassinated, victims of smear campaigns, and erased from social history (just as thoroughly as in any so-called communist regime). Our 20th century history is a shambles, a mess. Why? Because the real motivators of change, whether they were fighting for black power, gay rights or even unions, have been banished from the history books.

So this is a film about a normal person who decides to fight back. And its not Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson… it’s a woman. And once again we have a big film with a powerful message, that sneaked in through the Hollywood door at the end of the 70s – the kind of film that would be impossible today. Sally Fields gives a walloping performance, and it won her an academy award for best actress. The bittersweet theme music is by Jennifer Warnes, which picked up the Oscar for best song. […Lees verder]

The Black Panthers: Vaguard of the Revolution (2015)

black_panthersSunday April 3rd 2016, Movie night: The Black Panthers: Vaguard of the Revolution (Stanley Nelson, 2015, USA), 120 minutes. Door opens at 8pm, film begins at 9pm. Free admission.

“What is clear from this sober yet electrifying film is that the power of the Panthers was rooted in their insistence — radical then, radical still — that black lives matter.” A.O.Scott, NY Times

Master documentarian Stanley Nelson goes straight to the source, weaving a treasure trove of rare archival footage with the voices of people who were there: police, FBI informants, journalists, whit supporter and detractors and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it.

imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4316236/
Also:

[…Lees verder]

Down By Law (1986)

Down_by_LaySunday March 27th, Movie night: Down By Law by Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1986, 107 minutes. Door opens at 8pm, film begins at 9pm. Free admission.

Tom Waits ends up in jail for a crime he didn’t commit in this re-released comedy of 1986. Cue hypnotic score, superb cinematography and stupendous performances. With its hypnotic score, stupendous performances and its superb monochrome cinematography by Robby Müller, it is something to set aside early work by David Lynch and Spike Lee. But it also gains from comparison with Jarmusch’s own later work, particularly his vampire fantasy Only Lovers Left Alive.

The eerie, ghost-town New Orleans that he conjured in Down By Law is like the post-economic-apocalypse of Detroit. Jarmusch has in each a miraculous gift for finding a dreamlike emptiness in cities, in which his characters and we, the audience, wander, as if in a lucid dream.

Down By Law is effortlessly laidback, superbly elegant. Jarmusch made it look easy. It stars Tom Waits as Zack, the unemployed DJ fitted up for a crime he didn’t commit and finding himself in a grim Louisiana prison with a sleazy pimp called Jack (excellently played by musician and actor John Lurie). They have to share their cell with an eccentric Italian, Roberto, and this was the film that launched Roberto Benigni on an unsuspecting world. It made a star of him – about which I still have mixed feelings. He is tremendous here; his simple presence lends surreality to the situation, but he is under close directorial control, which Benigni’s own later, sugary and over-indulged movies lacked.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, film begins at 9pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net

Kurdish movie night: Half Moon (Bahman Ghobadi, 2006)

Sunday March 20th 2016, Kurdish new wave cinema: Half Moon (2006). In Sorani Kurdish and Farsi with English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film begins at 9pm. Free admission.

Half Moon (Kurdish: Nîwe Mang/Nîvê Heyvê) is a 2006 film written and directed by Iranian Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi. Half Moon is a joint production of Iran, Austria, France and Iraq. This movie was commissioned by the New Crowned Hope festival, a celebration of the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the story plot has been inspired in part by Mozart’s Requiem.

Synopsis: Mamo, an old renowned Kurdish musician, has begun a journey to Iraq with his sons to perform a concert after the fall of Saddam Hossein. Kako, a middle-aged man and a huge fan of Mamo’s, enthusiastically escorts them in an orange mini bus which he has borrowed from a friend. Mamo gathers his sons one by one from different areas. The last son who joins the team insists on speaking to Mamo in private. He explains to Mamo that the Wise man of the village has predicted that Mamo should not go on the trip because, as the full moon nears, something awful will happen to him. Mamo persists on continuing his journey. He claims that he must continue his trip despite all the obstacles because he was not allowed to perform in Iraq for many years. Mamo intends to take Hesho, a female singer who lives with 1334 other women in exile, as part of his team. But the strength of Hesho’s voice has dwindled along with her self confidence. While crossing the borders, Mamo’s team faces many difficulties as their journey is wrought with adventure and disaster each step of the way. […Lees verder]

Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss_me_deadlySunday march 13th 2016, Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Kiss Me Deadly, 1955. Directed by Robert Aldrich. 106 minutes. In English with English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film begin at 9pm. Free admission.

Private dick Mike Hammer gets more than he bargained for when one night he picks up a dazed woman on the highway who is running barefoot and is wearing nothing more than a trench coat. This chance encounter leads our confused detective down the darkest alleys he’s ever ventured, and the old Greek legend of Pandora is given an ultra-modern twist. This surreal flick is legendary for its wild mix of genres, including its cold war theme and its dynamite apocalyptic climax.

Based on the novel by Mickey Spillane and directed with a punch by Robert Aldrich (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) this is a classic film noir, and one that had a
big influence on many modern movies, such as Pulp Fiction and Alex Cox’s cult film Repo Man. Personally I see detective Mike Hammer’s sleazy, hard-nose mentality as a beautiful illustration of America’s essential nihilism. It was critically neglected when it was first released in the States, but this existential ’50s cold war paranoia thriller was instantly hailed by European critics as a masterpiece.

This will be a high-definition screening. Doors open at 8pm, intro and film start at 9pm

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, film begins at 9pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net

Black Cat Cine presents Land and Freedom (Tierra y Libertad)

Land_and_freedomSunday March 6th 2016, Black Cat Cine presents Land and Freedom (Tierra y Libertad) by Ken Loach, UK 1995, 109 minutes, English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film begin at 9pm. Free admission.

A fascinating depiction of the Spanish Civil War and the internal struggle between different factions (Stalinist, Marxist, anarchist). David Carr from Liverpool, the protagonist, wants to join the International Brigades but coincidentally ends up enlisted in an anti-soviet POUM militia on the Aragon front.
Master of social engagement movie director Ken Loach creates a strong and deeply moving portrait of young people involved in the horrors of civil war and shows how a clash of convictions can destroy a movement from within.

Interesting to know: according to Ken Loach, the most important scene of the film is the debate in an assembly of a village successfully liberated by the militia. People from the actual village where the film was shot play peasant parts and express their thoughts freely (despite language difficulties), and a debate ensues about whether or not to collectivize the village land and that of a recently shot priest.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, film begins at 9pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net

Iranian New Wave Cinema: The Silence (1998)

Silence_by_Mohsen_MakhmalbafSunday February 21st 2016, Iranian new wave cinema: The Silence (1998) by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film begins at 9pm. Free admission.

The Silence (Persian: سکوت‎‎) is an Iranian film from 1998. It is directed by the well known Iranian film maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The movie is about a little boy who has the onerous task of earning money for his family, but is always enchanted and distracted by music. It is set in Tajikistan.

Synopsis: Khorshid lives with his mom in a house near a river somewhere in Tajikistan. The landlord comes around every morning to ask for the rent. Khorshid has to provide the money or else they’ll have to leave. His blindness has given him an amazing skill in tuning musical instruments which gets him a job at an instrument making workshop. But the problem is That Khorshid is mesmerized by sonorous music all the time; whenever he hears a great musician play, he loses track of time and place. For this, he always gets lost and gets to work late. How is he going to make a balance between his love of music and his task as a breadwinner. […Lees verder]

Black Cat Cine presents Venuto al Mondo

Venuto-al-mondoSunday February 14th 2016, Special Valentine’s Day movie. Black Cat Cine presents Venuto al Mondo from Sergio Castellitto, (Italy/Spain, 2012, 127 min, English subtitles). Door opens at 20:00, movie starts at 21:00. Free admission.

‘Venuto al Mondo’ is a romantic drama directed by Sergio Castellitto, based on a novel by Margaret Mazzantini, set partly during the Balkan wars of the early 1990s.
Middle-aged Gemma (Penelope Cruz) returns with her 16-year-old son Pietro (Pietro Castellitto) to Sarajevo at the invitation of her old friend Gojko (Adnan Haskovic), once the heart of a vibrant group of artists, poets and philosophers. While sullen Pietro resists the impulse to delve into his origins, insisting he was born in Sarajevo “by mistake,” Gemma’s return to the scene of her greatest love stokes potent memories and conflicted emotions.

Not many movies get such extreme ratings: it was panned by the critics but loved by the audience (7.4 on IMDB). I liked it very much, especially the beautiful photography (excellent historical reconstruction of a debased Sarajevo under siege) and the great acting of Penelope Cruz. Also a good soundtrack with Nirvana and Bruce Springsteen. Come and see/hear for yourself!

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net