Frankie and Johnny
Imagina 2009
Wed, Nov 11, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
60 pesos

Frankie and Johnny, do you choose to love?
By Trish Snyder

In imagina 2009, the members of JUNTOS: Artists United to End Violence Against Women, come together for another act of social consciousness: 16 days of arts awareness to imagine a world without gender violence.

Based on a play by Terrence McNally and directed by Garry Marshall, Frankie and Johnny screens as part of a series of films on women, violence and empowerment. 

When this film was released in 1991, it was marketed with the tagline “You never choose love. Love chooses you.”

While serving an 18-month sentence on a forgery charge, Johnny (Al Pacino) discovers the joys of cooking and classical literature. Upon his release, he is hired as a short-order cook by gruff but good-hearted New York diner owner Nick.

Also working at the diner is tough-skinned waitress Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer). When Johnny expresses interest in Frankie, she keeps him at arm’s length, her mistrust of men stemming from a traumatic experience in her past.

Johnny does everything he can to win Frankie’s heart. Eventually, Frankie and Johnny do come together, their curious relationship setting the stage for a dramatic denouement in which both lovers bare their souls.

Proceeds benefit the Biblioteca and the Anti-Violence Program at CASA, Centro para los Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende. 

During 2008, 344 women and children received therapy from CASA’s psychologist as part of the anti-violence program.

Upcoming films include Waitress, In the Time of Butterflies, Persepolis, Osama and Not Without My Daughter. For more information on the film series, contact Trish Snyder at tsmar30@aol.com. For more information on the Anti-Violence Program at CASA, call 154-6060.