Cinemateca, January 28 through February 3, 2008

José Luís’s Pick’n’tip


The Pick: Pegi Nicol: Something Dancing About Her 

Five years in the making, Pegi Nicol tells the story of an artist, with appropriate images matched to a series of chapters, one of the film’s great accomplishments. As part of the opening montage, we see a vat of red paint being pulled into the screen, the toxicity of which eventually will kill her. Initially, the film was to contain dramatic re-enactments, but when the budget couldn't support them, the director personally rewrote the script. This inspired decision bestowed a ghostly dimension on the film. As we see photographs and hear voices, always in dialogue with the paintings and aided, at times, by haunting music, we get a strong sense of the presence of Pegi's life and work, even though she is absent from the film.

The Tip: In order to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Be sure to check the schedule carefully. I also want to remind you of our new ticket price: 50 pesos and discount cards buy 12 shows for 450 pesos. Starting Monday, after 11am, buy your tickets in advance for any movie or show of the week. If you have a discount card, collect your pass to secure a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out…Nos vemos en el Cine…Would you like to receive this info by email? Write to Jose Luis at alephamour@hotmail.com.  Thank you.


The Movies:

Short Film Festival Award Winner
“Lost and Found in Mexico”
Monday, January 28 at 6pm 
Documentary, English, 53 minutes.
Writer/Director/Producer: Caren Cross.
“Lost and Found in Mexico” explores the question: What lies on the other side of the American dream? This quirky documentary explores the lives of Americans who chose to leave their hard-working, successful and fast-paced lives to live in San Miguel de Allende, where leisurely conversations take place in the main square, burros walk the streets and people find their hearts engaged in living once again. While many Mexicans are leaving families behind and risking their lives to cross the border to a better life, this film focuses on the Americans who have decided to cross in the other direction—for a simpler life. Questions and Answers with the filmmaker following the show.



Art Special
Pegi Nicol: Something Dancing About Her (2005)
Wednesday, February 6 at 5:30 pm
National Film Board of Canada, Art documentary, English, 69 min.
Directed by: Michael Ostroff
Produced by: Silva Basmajian and John Walker.
Pegi Nicol: Something Dancing About Her is an affectionate portrait of Pegi Nicol, a charismatic and relatively unknown painter. The film charts the course of her short and remarkable life in the first half of the twentieth century, shedding fresh light on her place in Canadian art history. These were exciting times for a young artist. While the Group of Seven was forging Canada’s first national art movement, the rise of European fascism was politicizing artists everywhere. Pegi dove into painting, leftwing politics and love affairs with equal enthusiasm, becoming a mentor to countless artists and a friend to such influential figures as F.R. Scott and King Gordon. Juxtaposing artwork with personal letters and archival material, filmmaker Michael Ostroff skillfully evokes a remarkable creative spirit. Nicol died too soon, but left a joyous legacy—striking paintings of wartime servicewomen and kaleidoscopic cityscapes. Her radiant quality illuminates this fitting and overdue tribute.



The Matador (2005)
Tuesday, February 5 at 3pm
Wednesday, February 6 at 7pm
Action Comedy, English, 90 minutes
Director: Richard Shepard
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Dylan Baker, Hope Davis, Philip Baker, Greg Kinnear, Adam Scott.
The life of Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), a salesman forever on the road, veers into dangerous and surreal territory when he wanders into a Mexican bar and meets a mysterious stranger, Julian (Pierce Brosnan), who’s very likely a hit man. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever, as Wright is suddenly thrust into a far-from-mundane existence that he takes to surprisingly well, once he gets acclimated to it.



The Other Side of Sunday (Søndagsengler 1996)
Tuesday, February 5 at 5pm
Friday, February 8 at 7pm
Scandinavian comedy, Norwegian with English subtitles, 103 minutes
Director: Berit Nesheim
Cast: Marie Thiesen, Bjorn Sundquist. 
Nominated for an Academy Award, this dark comedy is the coming-of-age story of a rebellious young girl raised in a repressive Norwegian village. Maria is terribly aware of her burgeoning sexuality and takes solace in long walks and secret readings of the racy text in the Old Testament. While out strolling, Maria encounters a woman who encourages her to test her sexual wings and savor life, but that’s easier said than done for the reclusive girl.



Kids Movies: Cartoons
Saturday, February 9 at noon


Sunday Piano Matinee
New program
“Romantic Classics”

Sparkling jewels in elegant interpretations
by Age Kristoffersen

Sunday, February 9 at 2pm Teatro Santa Ana, 50 pesos, limited seating.



Musical Saturdays:
Opera: Capriccio
Saturday, February 9 at 2:30pm, 155 minutes.
Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss. Its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942, was seven years before his death. The German libretto was written by Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself. He subtitled it A Conversation Piece for Music, and it is indeed “talky” and conversational, with minimal stage action. Its subject can be summarized as, “Which is more important: words or music?” This question is dramatized in the story of a countess torn between two suitors: Olivier, a poet and Flamand, a composer. In her salon outside Paris, the two prepare for her birthday celebrations and vie for her affections by debating the merits of words versus music. Joining the lively debate are a theater director, La Roche; an actress, Clairon; the countess’s brother; and a pair of Italian opera singers. Words and music, of course, join together to create the unique art form of opera. Capriccio has a reputation as something of an insider’s opera—an opera about opera for 
opera lovers. Recent reviewers described it as a “meta-opera.”