PREVIEW: Charlie Chaplin Short Films (with live organ!)

Image Coutresy via flickr.com

 

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” ~ Charlie Chaplin

In honor of the upcoming Oscars (Feb 22), celebrate the origins of film with a light-hearted afternoon of Charlie Chaplin Short Films! This Sunday, the Michigan Theater is showing four of Chaplin’s best known features, including The Immigrant and The Rink. Take this rare opportunity to travel back in time; bask in the black and white shadows of the silent reel; let your ears fill with the nostalgic revelry of the organ instead of the daily chatter…that’s right! Ann Arbor’s own historic Barton Organ will play the live musical accompaniment to the film! This is definitely a day of fun you don’t want to miss.

What: Charlie Chaplin Short Films

When: Sunday, February 8 at 1:30 pm

Where: Michigan Theater

How Much?: $8.00

 

PREVIEW: Sundance Live-Action Shorts

Are you looking for something to fill the void before Game of Thrones airs season 5? Do you want to expand your film appreciation palette? You’re in luck, because the Michigan Theater is bringing both its Live Action and Animated short films to downtown Ann Arbor.

In their words “The Live Action program (94 minutes), featuring both fiction and documentary films, ranges from beautiful insight and the struggle to understand life to a hilarious, all-too-familiar government deposition.”

Bring a friend and take a break after that first semester exam by taking a trip to the Michigan Theater.

What: Sundance Live Action Short Films

When: Sunday, February 1 and Wednesday, February 4 at 7 PM

Where: Michigan Theater

Cost: $12

How about a taste of what you’re about to see? Check out the trailer

And while you wait, watch the Sundance Live Action Shorts trailer!

REVIEW: The Tale of Princess Kaguya

This animated film comes at the end of the Michigan Theater’s Ghibli Studios series.  Directed by Isao Takahata, whose other works include “Grave of the Firefiles” and “Pom Poko,” the movie has a different style than most other Ghibli Studio films.  It is drawn in a sketchy style and the colors are subtle as if painted by watercolors.  The soundtrack is also noticeably delicate and playful as if the music is in reaction to the animation.  The tale is taken from a Japanese folktale and begins with the birth of a little girl from the stalk of a bamboo.  A bamboo cutter is the one who finds her and he and his wife take her in and raise the girl as their own.  Amongst other tales, this one has similarities with the story of Thumbelina, but the similarities end there.  The girl, unlike Thumbelina, grows up faster than a normal child.  She is nicknamed “Little Bamboo” by the other children in the village because she grows so quickly.

The father suddenly decides that there must be a better life that awaits his daughter.  Living in the country she grows up with the wildlife, helping out with the gathering food, and exploring the forests with her friends.  But as her childhood ends her father is determined to make his Little Bamboo the princess she deserves to be.  After receiving piles of golden nuggets from a bamboo stalk, he interprets this as a sign from the gods to make his daughter a better life in the city and to have her become educated as a royal.  Little Bamboo leaves her care-free life in the country to pursue the life her father wants for her.  For the love of her father, she learns the manners and customs of the nobility.  It seems a self-fulfilling prophecy is being made as, under her father’s instruction, Little Bamboo becomes the most beautiful and desirable lady in the kingdom and is referred to as princess.  Little Bamboo’s happiness has been taken away in the carries on day to day life with disinterest.  She tries to spend all of her time in the kitchen, the one part of her new house that she feels comfortable in, but the world around her always comes around and compels her to come out again.

Her struggle in this world stems from the story of why she came to be in the bamboo stalk, a story that is not revealed until the end.  It is only through the telling of her own story does the current world make sense and the world she knows ceases become reality and more like a folk tale.  It is interesting to examine the reasons behind how such a story was written.  Not that there must be a lesson to every folk tale, but after seeing this movie I came away wanting to cherish those feelings and relationships earned from stories more than ever, because though they are fictional they are unique and it is important to recognize this and understand the power stories can have.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM6hcHp0_kU

PREVIEW: Sundance Animated Shorts

A scene from “Oh Willy…” by Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef. Image Courtesy via New York Times.com

Looking for thought-provoking animation that goes beyond Bob’s Burgers and Adult Swim? The Sundance Animated Shorts program is a “diverse compendium of eight short films culled from past festival lineups” (Jeanette Catsoulis of nytimes.com). The films vary in style, ranging from handmade drawing and painting to puppetry. But don’t assume that animation is substance-less juvenility. Many of the films explore heavy topics, such as death, bodily and psychological decline, as well as apocalyptic themes. It is sure to be a conversation starter and an eye dazzler of a night.

What: Sundance Animated Short Films

When: Two nights only – Sunday, February 1 at 4:30 and Tuesday, February 3 at 7

Where: Michigan Theater

How Much?: $12.80

And while you wait, watch the Sundance Animated Shorts trailer for a preview!

REVIEW: Selma

Selma (2014) is a very powerful movie that reminded me how deep-rooted the issues of racism is in the United States, and how brave leaders have emerged to tackle it. By focusing on one key event in civil rights movement among many others, the movie was able to give a very detailed picture for better historical accuracy.

In the movie, Martin Luther King. Jr., leads a demonstration with thousands of people — only Black locals at first, but adding in white allies after then — who marched from Selma to Montgomery in search for equal voting rights. It depicts Dr. King as he evaluates benefits and risks associated with the march, gets incarcerated, gets condemned for his inability to continue the march, makes a uniting speech, and finally makes worthwhile changes happen. As I study about community action and social change, I am inspired by his ability to evaluate the situation and decide what is the best, unafraid of attacks he may receive for his opinions or actions. Although Dr. King is not an easy character to be acted out, David Oyelowo played this role with much-needed dignity and determination. Other actors actors, including Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey, Keith Stanfield, E. Roger Mitchell, and many others as well as the hundreds of extras in the march scenes, really made the movie impactful.

There was a lot of depictions of violence, from people getting beaten up to police spraying tear gas all over. While these images can be triggering to some audience (I was surprised that it wasn’t rated R), I think it was necessary to include these. It is difficult, if not impossible, to talk about Black rights movement without mentioning multitudes of violence done on them.

Overall, I was very glad I watched this movie. Many friends of mine went as well, and I appreciated that we were able to spark a conversation on civil rights movement and racism based on the movie. If you have not been to Selma yet, I highly recommend it. You can find the showtimes at the State Theater here.

PREVIEW: The Tale of Princess Kaguya

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) is an animated adaptation of a Japanese folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.  It is the story of a magical girl born from a bamboo stalk.  The film is directed by Isao Takahata and produced by Studio Ghibli.

Where: The Michigan Theater
When: Jan. 21 at 6:45 (subtitled) and 9:30 (dubbed)