320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs NY 12866 518.584.3456
ANNOUNCEMENT
See You This Spring and Summer
on Sunday at 7!
Beginning April 27th through
the end of August, our Sunday shows will be at 7PM
instead
of 3PM.
In September, our Sunday shows
will return to 3PM.
MAY 2008
This Week:
Miss Pettigrew
Lives for a Day
Thursday & Friday, May 15th & 16th at
8PM
Sunday May, 18th at 7PM
Directed by Bharat Nalluri; screenplay by David Magee and
Simon Beaufoy, based on the novel by Winifred Watson. Running
time: 92 minutes. Country: UK. Year: 2008. Rated PG-13.
Harking back to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s-and
based on the 1938 novel by Winifred Watson-Miss Pettigrew Lives
for a Day stars Frances McDormand as a recently fired governess.
Homeless and penniless, she overhears a referral at an employment
agency and rushes off to the apartment of American actress Delysia
Lafosse (Amy Adams), where she finds her role being to help the
decidedly unbright Delysia balance the three men in her life-nightclub
owner Nick (Mark Strong), novice producer Phil (Tom Payne), and
sensitive pianist Michael (Lee Pace). When Miss Pettigrew encounters
noted designer Edythe Dubarry (Shirley Henderson), a shared secret
will send her to mend fences with the fashion maven's boyfriend
(Ciaran Hinds). "[A] veritable treat. Wisely cast, this handsome
production is a delightful farcical fairy tale, bolstered by moments
of depth and emotion" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).
(Rated PG-13 for some partial nudity and innuendo.)
May 22, 23 & 25
The Silence Before Bach
Capital Region Premiere!!!
Directed by Pere Portabella. Running time: 102 minutes. Country:
Spain. Year: 2007. Not Rated.
The Silence Before Bach is a cinematic, somewhat impressionistic
approximation of music and its related disciplines and professions
through the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The characters in this
film, including Bach, are truck drivers who play music, butchers
who package entrails with scores from Bach, and piano tuners who
are blind. Lacking much in the way of dialogue or a linear storyline,
The Silence Before Bach can be thought of essentially as "filmed
music." "Brings Bach's music to life with a mysterious,
magnificent blend of drama, documentary, and quasi-surrealist
whimsy. Beginning with a scene of a player piano rattling off
the Goldberg Variations while rolling through a bright, bare loft,
Portabella tickles the senses with a series of skits From
puckish humor and borderline kitsch, a great and serious notion
emerges: the construction of modern Europe on the basis of classical
music" (Richard Brody, The New Yorker).
In Spanish, Catalan, and German with English subtitles. The Film Forum's Thursday and Friday screenings of The Silence
Before Bach will feature a talk by Tom Denny, Chair and Professor
of Music at Skidmore College. Professor Denny's appearance at
the Sunday screening could not be confirmed at press time.
May 29,30 & June 1
Married Life
Directed by Ira Sachs; screenplay by Ira Sachs and Oren Moverman.
Running time: 90 minutes. Country: USA/Canada. Year: 2007. Rated
PG-13.
Set in the late 1940s, Married Life is a comedy of manners in
which Harry Allen (Chris Cooper), a wealthy businessman, one day
confesses to his old friend Richard (Pierce Brosnan) that he intends
to leave his wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson) and take up with his
mistress Kay (Rachel McAdams). Unfortunately, Harry soon decides
the only way out of his marriage is to murder his wife, while
at the same time, Richard goes behind his back and courts the
affection of his mistress. "Married Life is an engaging romance
noir, a sort of updated The Postman Always Rings Twice that packs
its surprises into four characters, none of them predictable"
(Desson Thomson, Washington Post).
June 2008
June 5,6 & 8
Shine A Light
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Running time: 122 minutes. Country:
USA/UK. Year: 2008. Rated PG-13.
Nearly 40 years after the seminal Rolling Stones concert film
Gimme Shelter-and without the stabbings-Martin Scorsese presents
a look at an older, but still highly energetic Stones. Scorsese
filmed the band over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater
in New York City in fall 2006, during their "Bigger Bang"
tour, capturing the raw energy of the legendary band. The concert
footage is interspersed with documentary footage spanning the
Stones' epic career. "This you-are-there spellbinder is a
master director shining his light on the best rock band on the
planet," Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.
(Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and drug references
[in a Rolling Stones movie? shocking!].)
June 12,13 & 15
Regional Premiere!
My Brother is an Only Child
Directed by Daniele Luchetti; screenplay by Daniele Luchetti,
Sandro Petraglia, and Stefano Rulli, based on the novel Il
Fasciocomunista by Antonio Pennacchi. Running time: 108 minutes.
Country: France/Italy. Year: 2007. Rated R.
The story of two brothers on feuding sides of the political spectrum
in 1960s Italy-pro-Il Duce fascism vs. communism. A young Accio
(Vittorio Emanuele Propizio) is dedicated to the priesthood, but
his thing for photos of Italian movie actresses helps put the
kibosh on that. Accio goes secular and opts for fascism. Meanwhile,
his older brother Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) is celebrated by
their parents for causing a riot at work in the name of communism
and unionization, while a teenaged Accio (Elio Germano) is chastised
at for his loyalty to the ideas of Mussolini. However, Accio becomes
ensorcelled by Manrico's communist girlfriend Francesca (Diane
Fleri), and he starts to rethink the whole fascism thing. My Brother
Is an Only Child deftly intertwines political and sexual awakening.
"The fey illogic in the title...hints at the style of this
funny-sad film, which flips from dark to light moods and back
with suave, unpredictable dexterity," Sid Smith, Chicago
Tribune.
(Rated R for language and some sexual content.) In Italian
with English subtitles.
June 19,20 & 22
The Counterfeiters
2008 Academy Award Winner-Best Foreign
Language Film
Written and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky; based on the book
The Devil's Workshop by Adolf Burger. Running time: 98 minutes.
Country: Austria/Germany. Year: 2007. Rated R.
The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting
operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon Sorowitsch
(Karl Markovics), the "king of the counterfeiters,"
lives a life of booze, women, and gambling in Nazi-era Berlin.
His luck runs out when he arrested and thrown into a concentration
camp. He is soon transferred to an upgraded camp and is hand-picked
for his particular skill. Salomon and a group of professionals
are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program
Operation Bernhard, an attempt to weaken the economy of Germany's
enemies. Salomon's cohort, Adolf Burger (August Diehl), refuses
to use his skills for Nazi profit and seeks to stop Operation
Bernhard. Salomon must then decide whether his actions, which
could prolong the war and risk the lives of fellow prisoners,
are ultimately the right ones. "The moral conundrum at the
heart of [this film] is worthy of Kafka or Dostoevsky," David
Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle. (Rated R for some strong violence,
brief sexuality/nudity and language.) In German with English subtitles.
June 26,27 & 29
Young@Heart
Directed by Stephen Walker. Running time: 107 minutes. Country:
UK. Year: 2007. Rated PG.
Documentary about the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at
Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA-whose average age is 81, and many
of which members must overcome health problems to participate.
Eschewing stereotypical fare (Lawrence Welk is nowhere to be heard)
the Young at Heart Chorus performs songs by James Brown, The Clash,
and Sonic Youth. The Chorus has toured Europe and sang for royalty,
and Young@Heart shows the ensemble preparing new songs for a concert
in their home town, which succeeds in the face of several heartbreaking
obstacles. "Not only is it enjoyable, Young@Heart is a heartening
and poignant affirmation of the transformative power of music,"
Claudia Puig, USA Today.
The Saratoga Film Forum is a not-for-profit organization dedicated
to bringing quality films to downtown Saratoga Springs. Our regular
movie programming includes screenings on Thursday and Friday nights
and Sunday afternoons at the Dee Sarno Theater in the Saratoga
County Arts Council building, 320 Broadway at Spring Street. Admission
is $6, or $4 for members.
Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Unless specified
we can not take reservations.
The Film Forum was founded on principles of community involvement
and interaction. So get involved and interact! We always welcome
volunteers and
new members. You can reach us by phone at 584-FILM or by mail
at 320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, or email at films@saratogafilmforum.org
The Screenings at the Saratoga Film Forum are made possible with
public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state
agency.
Thank You Metroland!
Best Eclectic Film Series
"The programmers at Saratoga Film Forum likely
reflect the tastes of this particular film societys membership,
and it must be a diverse membership. Sure, there are the usual lesser-known
documentaries and familiar art-house hits, but SFF screens terrific
filmswere thinking, this year, of Carroll Ballards
Duma and Shane Blacks Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangthat no local
theatrical distributor would touch. Bravo."