PREVIEW: Ann Arbor Film Festival

nina.j

Ann Arbor Film Festival

The Film Fest is my absolutely favorite Ann Arbor event of the year. Every March since high school, I have visited the town during this celebrated week of film, friendly competition, and finest art. If you are trying to get your daily Starbucks this week and find that the line from the Michigan Theater is out the door and down the block, don’t panic. It’s just Ann Arbor voyeurs trying to get their art film kick!

With shorts, documentaries, animated’s, feature lengths, panels, lectures, opening receptions, after parties, juries, and more, the Film Fest takes over the the entire town in its revelry. From Tuesday, March 19th to Sunday March 24th, the Michigan Theater will host all the screenings of the festival. Restaurants like Sava’s, The Raven’s Club, The Bar, Arbor Brewing Co. and more will host the after-screenings. Tickets run at $7 for students and showtimes happen all day long. So if you are just catching a flick between classes, thats ok! With its range of genres and highly acclaimed status in the industry, this festival is not to be missed.

Click here for a full schedule of the lineup. Enjoy the show, and definitely see you there!

REVIEW: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble

Kayla Silverstein

Saturday evening, I had the privilege and honor of seeing Yo-Yo Ma perform with the Silk Road Ensemble in acoustically-perfect Hill Auditorium. It was truly a stunning and breath-taking event. From the instant we were in our seats, we left Ann Arbor for destinations along the Silk Road – it was not just a musical experience, but a quest to far off lands. Warm, tingly, and adventurous, it was a spectacle in which, I’m fairly certain, every person in Hill that night was swept away.

The first song they performed was entitled the “Silk Road Suite” with four separate parts making up the piece. I think it was my second favorite of the performance. The rhythms kept you wanting more, rocking gently in your seat, and I couldn’t believe how much time had passed by the end. The Silk Road Ensemble performs without a conductor, keep in mind, so it was amazing to see how well they kept in rhythm – reading off each other’s’ movements and marking their pace in time.

The second and third pieces were pretty wild, but enjoyable nonetheless. I felt they went on a little too long, but I understood the artistic drive that held them within a certain space of suspense and phraseology. “The Prospect of Colored Desert” was about a tiger stalking its prey, if I heard the introduction correctly, and it made use of dramatic imagery with slides, slurs, and flurries of notes and percussion. “Playlist for an Extreme Occasion” was anything but traditional, as the program note indicates as well. It was interesting, but not very distinguishable from the rest, in my opinion.

The piece following intermission and the award ceremony, in which Yo-Yo Ma was presented with the UMS Distinguished Artist Award, was my absolute favorite, I believe. It was called, “Beloved, do not let me be discouraged…” As the title depicts, it is a hopeful story that you can almost imagine watching on stage as the artists rocked and swayed to the rhythm of their instruments. The program note on this piece reads, “The musical voice of kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor is a natural fit for this piece, in part because Persian music often expresses a deep desire to love oneself in love.” The mood that transcended over us all caused us to weep, metaphorically at least, alongside the droning of the kamancheh.
(What the **** is a kamencheh?)

The second to last piece, “seasons continue, as if none of this ever happened” had a powerful message and if nothing else, it was absolutely intense. The shakuhachi was accompanied by a recording of electronically-generated music (shaku – what??). The story of the piece is to commemorate the tragedy of the tsunami that altered life in Japan in 2011 for so many Japanese. There was a haunting beat that led the shakuhachi in loops and circles, up and down; one could imagine getting lost in the music – lost in the tsunami – and in the horrific stories of the past that we sometimes forget…”as if none of this ever happened.”

And to conclude this intensely moving and artistic display of terrific talent from the Silk Road Ensemble, they played a stunning piece entitled, “Suite from Book of Angels.” This beat pumped out a rhythm that you couldn’t sit still and listen to. The drums made this piece for me – keeping pace for the other instruments while also treading water on its own at certain moments. It was fantastic.

Yo-Yo Ma writes in the program book: “The Silk Road Ensemble is a musical model that requires curiosity, collaboration, and wholehearted enthusiasm from all the participants. The music we play does not belong to just one culture or even to only the Silk Road region. Ensemble members are united in their demonstration of virtuosity and generosity…” “Enthusiasm” is just one word to describe the countenance of those performers on stage last night. They looked elated the entire time they were performing, and the energy they brought to the show was unlike anything I’d ever seen by an ensemble of this size. Such a display of cross-cultural unity and musical harmony, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble presented something uniquely beautiful and a truly stellar performance.

Untitled

LitaPitasMusings

So everyone or at the very least a lot of people love this movie. Maybe that’s why I initially was annoyed to see it. I felt like this was a movie that a lot of girls would swoon about.  Especially girls who loved to sing, dance, and who dabbled ballet- because let’s face it, it is musical theatre. Or that they would be drawn to it because of the romantic notion of Fantine- who has a bit of a cinderella aspect to her. I mean I knew that the story was never really just about that, it showcased the misfortunes of people who were living in pre-French revolution standards yet 30 years post French revolution. I should also add that I have never been a super fan of musicals. I mean I have liked them.. but never totally been in love with them. So I was a little prejudiced.
But I ended up liking the movie. I take that back- I ended up loving the movie!! I loved it because they showed they were afraid to show the gritty strife of some of the characters. They showed Hugh Jackson struggling as a convict and they also showed the gut-wrenching suffering Fantine had to endure. And as I mentioned in the preview, this was a truly ensemble cast.  They truly transformed themselves physically for the role, most of them sang greatly ( or at least one of them..Russell Crowe gave a good effort), and they also hit the emotional notes well with their acting and singing combined.
Th Cinematography was superb, the way it was done made it seem like this was more of an action movie. It seemed like the camerawork zoomed in on Jackman’s face and it just seemed so dynamic and as if we were rowing along with him. I believe the camerawork added this thrilling quality to the film.                                                                                                                                                                         The costumes were great and so was the art direction. Fantine’s beautiful pink dress was lovely and I love how art direction made everyone else in the factory wear gray but hers was this sweet, innocent, angelic pink. Which exemplifies Fantine and makes her standout from the crowd. Great work!                                                                                                                                                                                                   In sum, this movie was a great and was so much more than what I originally thought- which was a film whose was poetic gestures would capture the mind and hearts of romantics. But it is something which captures all of life’s important moments- love, sorrow, sometimes torture, loss, triumph, a good fight, and of course redemption.

Les Miserables Preview

LitaPitasMusings

So I am guessing that by now, everyone and their mother has seen Les Mis. Awards.
But for those of you who haven’t there is still a chance as it plays in theaters and I should provide my reason as to why you should see it.
This a movie some years ago people have said would 20 hours to see… that is if they were going to follow the book. Some have even said that the musical on stage has equated to some splendor of the book but never a movie. I am not sure why, especially because these persons were not film snobs. But the truth is that the movie has done critically well. So for those who have seen the musical, this is a great way for you to compare and contrast.
I feel as if Les Miserables is what should have been the Best Picture Winner for the 2013 Academy . I love this movie because of the physical transformation of Hugh Jackman, the singing effort of Russell Crowe, all the different emotional performances ( whether nuanced or very obvious) by all the cast, the meticulously detailed period costumes were great, and so was the cinematography.
The dynamic cinematography is what really carried this film! The aerial view of Jean Valjean on top of the hill as he vows to change his life, as it zooms into him as he sings ‘Look down,’ even as the film opens and says 30 years after the French revolution there is a king on the throne the movie seems dynamic and vibrant, or even when Russell Crowe drowns the camera captures it from such a faraway angle that the scene echoes the lonely immense quality of a speck of a man drowning in such a depth of water.
So, yes.. if you are looking to see the movie beyond the fact that everyone has seen it.. then you will definitely find some in this preview. But why take my words for it? Go see for yourself!

Review for Argo

LitaPitasMusings 1 Comment

Review for Argo

Well when I wrote the preview for Argo I was in the position of defending Argo because some people have said that Argo is good but not that good. I myself have felt that Argo is rather great but I don’t exactly see it on par Citizen Kane. Which actually is ironic because Citizen Kane went on to not win Best Picture whereas Argo just won Best Picture? But now with the Best Picture win for Argo, I am worried that some people might feel that Argo is really good because of the label of Best Picture linked with its title. Of course there are also many people who can see a movie and regardless of an award can independently judge whether or not a movie is worthy of high praise. Nevertheless, I will still explain why I think this movie can is great and can have a great reputation without the praise from the academy.

Well I will say that the movie is good because of many reasons:

The movie has the ability to really connect emotionally with audiences. You can feel Ben Affleck’s character’s frustration at the round table meeting trying to get a plan approved for the CIA cover up plan. You can feel the Hollywood producer’s easygoing lack of seriousness towards the structure of Hollywood. You can feel the Foreign Service workers stagnant and intense fear about their fate. The can feel the first hint of suspicion the housekeeper has when she suspects that her Canadian embassy employers are harboring Americans.

In terms of costumes, the movie is very accurate to 1970’s fashion: the trench coats, the prints, the tweed jackets, the large square sunglasses, etc. I once heard a director say in a DVD commentary that in period movie from a recent time period can be harder to show, because audiences are a lot more judgmental about such movies displaying accuracy. I definitely feel that this movie won the contest for fashion accuracy!

People want to believe that what they are seeing is in the 1970s, and so the same goes with set design as it does for costumes. People want to be lost in the world of the film, and nothing shows the world better than the art direction. In this movie, art production is no easy feat because 3 different worlds are shown: That of Iran, Washington DC, and Hollywood. Well, Hollywood was obviously a very believable set because my guess is that… It was shot in Hollywood! The studios and trailers all look rather believable! The rooms in the CIA looked like the engine room and where the “heart” chamber of the movie was. People were bustling talking on the phones, and the energy was palpable and vibrant!

The set of Iran was probably the most difficult to recreate. But from the walled houses with gates, with the market scene, and even to some of the gardens by people’s houses- the neighborhoods of Iran seemed realistic. On that note, the movie seemed culturally appropriate. Often you see movies about the Middle East where everyday people are not shown as everyday people. They are often showed in a mystified way- either as snake charmers, women in harems, and even terrorists. Ironically, when Ben Affleck is trying to get a visa into Iran from Turkey in order to make “Argo,” the man says, “Oh is this another orientalist classic you westerners want… with snake charmers…” It’s ironic because this movie… the making of Argo is not orientalist classic! But this showed everyday people in the market and on the streets. Yes, some of the people were revolutionaries- but not everyone- which was typical of the Iranian revolution and honestly most revolutions. There are only some radicals. I even loved the angry reaction of the stall keeper in the market who got angry when “Argo’s costume consultant” took picture- because it seemed authentic. Some might say that this is yet another representation of “the angry Middle Eastern man” in film. But I disagree. I felt that this was an authentic response since many people wouldn’t like their picture randomly taken!

My last remaining thoughts about what makes this movie good are the one liners and the last 30 minutes of this movie. My favorite one liner is, “You can teach a rhesus monkey to be a director!”
The last 30 minutes of the movie is really worth waiting for because it is an ultimate thriller! So I speak for the last thirty minutes and the entire movie when I say, GO AND SEE IT!!!

Preview: Yoyo Ma; Cello Skill That Takes Your Breath Away

watsonsauce

Yoyo Ma is a world renowned cellist. I personally have never heard anyone play a stringed instrument the way this man does. He is amazing to listen to and apparently just as enthralling to see in person.

Yoyo Ma will be performing with The Silk Road Ensemble at Hill Auditorium Saturday March 16th at 8pm.

More information on Yoyo Ma:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-Yo_Ma

Information on his Performance:
http://ums.org/performances/yo-yo-ma-and-the-silk-road-ensemble

Beautiful Sounds of Yoyo Ma:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHzfD6XLK7Q