CINEMATINEE- JULY 2008
A potpourri of movies, past and present, often with an emphasis on life in the west - which could mean the new west, the old west, or anything in between- and ‘movies that missed us’- films that are notable but never had a lot of publicity- the CineMatinee series is designed to show area residents that film is a form of art as well as entertainment! At least one film a month for this series has a ‘New Mexico Connection’, drawing from the vast pool of movies made in the state or perhaps featuring a star/story from New Mexico talent.
Unless otherwise noted, screening time is 1.30 PM, and admission is $4 for everyone except film society members who are admitted for $1. The theatre is located one half block of the Mesilla Plaza.
For more information, please call 524-8287 or 522-0286.
July 12- Songcatcher (2000, PG-13, 109 minutes) It is 1907. Dr. Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer) is a highly respected and widely published musicologist, who is passed over for an academic position on account of her gender. Angry and disappointed, she decides to take some time off and visit her sister Elna (Jane Adams), who runs a school in Appalachia with Harriet (E. Katherine Kerr), another teacher.
Much to her surprise, Lily discovers that these poverty-stricken rural folk who are cut off from the modern world have integrated music into their lives with a naturalness and an ease that is nothing short of miraculous. Deladis (Emmy Rossum), a teenage orphan who is Elnas' ward, has memorized a group of Scottish and English folk ballads. Her rendering of these songs about love, loss, and death is breathtaking.
Propelled by a new mission to record and publish these songs, Lily is convinced that this project will win her the fame she so earnestly desires. When the cumbersome recording equipment arrives, the professor makes contact with Viney (Pat Carroll), who knows a veritable treasure trove of folk ballads. Tom Bledsoe (Aidan Quinn), Viney's grandson, doesn't like it that Lily is using his relatives for her own purposes. But over the course of the summer, his skepticism turns to love for this full-speed-ahead outsider.
Writer and director Maggie Greenwald (The Ballad of Little Jo) has done a marvelous job creating a diverse group of women characters who all get a chance to express themselves in one way or another. Best of all is the extraordinary folk music, much of it sung a cappella. These ballads go directly to the heart with their melodic simplicity and beauty, helping to make Songcatcher, a truly remarkable and mesmerizing film.
