S A R A T O G A Film Forum

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.

"The programmers at Saratoga Film Forum likely reflect the tastes of this particular film society’s 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 films—we’re thinking, this year, of Carroll Ballard’s Duma and Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang—that no local theatrical distributor would touch. Bravo."