Find out what's on tap at CineVerse over the next 2 months

July and August promise to be exciting months at CineVerse, when a diverse array of films will be presented and discussed. Take a look for yourself by checkout out our next two-month schedule, available at tinyurl.com/cverse78. 

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In tune with life

The life of an artist in true pursuit of his or her craft is a hard road to travel. Just ask Greta, her friend Steve, or her new manager Dan. They've all suffered the slings and arrows of misfortune in their musical careers. But hope springs eternal, as do new songs that can inspire and entertain if they're performed from the heart. Such are the lessons to be learned from Begin Again, a well-cast film that rises above standard romcom fare by focusing on the joy of writing, recording and performing music. Here are the major takeaways from our CineVerse chat last night about this movie:

WHAT DID YOU FIND CURIOUS, PLEASANTLY OFFBEAT AND/OR DISTINCTIVELY MEMORABLE ABOUT BEGIN AGAIN?

• It tells the first act of its story non-linearly; the opening scene where Greta performs in the bar is repeated 20 minutes later and 20 minutes after that, showing different perspectives of the characters. 
• The conclusion is refreshing in that the girl doesn’t end up with up to three different suitors she can choose from, including Dan, whom we can tell she is growing fond of as the picture progresses. Instead, we see Dan reunite with his wife and Greta embark on a new phase of her life flying solo. 
• It isn’t truly a movie musical, where the characters break out into song, but it does rely heavily on the strength of the original songs, written for the film by former New Radicals musician Gregg Alexander. 
• Slant magazine reviewer David Lee Dallas wrote: “Greta’s songs are imminently appealing and listenable, but hardly spectacular, which works in the film’s favor: it’s characters are talented though far from geniuses, finding joy in the making of music rather than in the final product itself, but the album is still absolutely believable as a career-making hit.” 
• The plot itself is also often driven by the music and lyrics instead of dialogue and action. 
• The film gives us an insider’s view into the magic of making music – the process of writing, rehearsing, producing and performing songs and the carpe diem, of-the-moment, spontaneous nature of being a street musician with hopeful dreams. 
• The movie often contrasts the glitz of the music business against the unglamorous reality of being a starving artist. 
• Per Bluray.com reviewer, Martin Liebman: “That juxtaposition of the grit of reality versus the polish of the process is reflective in every theme and story line that runs through the movie, notably in the way protagonists Greta and Dan carry themselves in a more raw, unrehearsed, soulful manner that frequently clashes with the more prepared world in and through which the system says they must work. The city -- representing life itself -- proves a powerful elixir for both, releasing them, in essence, to be themselves, to operate on their own terms and be shaped by what life really is and has to offer, not what it appears to be in the blindingly white, bright, sterile world of clean lines and elegant stylings found inside the record office.” 

WHAT IS THIS MOVIE TRYING TO TELL US? WHAT ARE THE MAIN MESSAGES THE FILMMAKERS ARE ESPOUSING?

• Finding meaning and purpose in life through a love of music 
• Staying true to yourself and your vision without “selling out” 
• “The process of self-discovery, the importance of self-confidence, and the ebbs and flows of life,” according to the blog Reel Simple
• The importance of remaining active and passionate about what you do. 
• In an interview, director John Carney said: “My worldview is that we need to keep moving, to keep singing and writing and imagining new possibilities and things. For one character, you might have to move forward, and for another character it’s like Dorothy’s line in the Wizard of Oz: if you can’t find what you’re looking for in your own backyard, maybe you never lost in the first place. Maybe for some people, to begin again is to go back to what they knew and begin again. And for other people, it’s to move on and find a new future.” 

MOVIES THAT BEGIN AGAIN REMINDS US OF:

• The Thing Called Love 
• Music and Lyrics 
• Crazy Heart 
• Inside Llewyn Davis 
• Like Sunday, Like Rain 
• That Thing You Do

OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY JOHN CARNEY

• On the Edge 
• Once 
• Sing Street

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Summertime style romcom

CineVerse invites you to “Begin Again” (2013; 104 minutes) on June 20, directed by John Carney, chosen by Don McGoldrick. Plus: we'll watch a trailer reel preview of the July/August CineVerse schedule.

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Rising from the ashes

As an action/adventure picture, you could debate that "Flight of the Phoenix" (the 1965 original) leaves something to be desired, considering that it lacks many of the conventions of that subgenre, including fight scenes, chase sequences, explosions, nail-biting escapes (excluding the plane crash that kicks off the movie), and damsel-in-distress rescues. But as a disaster flick, it's got all the important bases covered--from the personality conflicts and strained group dynamics to the improbable scheme for salvation that will require teamwork. After taking apart its engine, here's what our CineVerse group learned:

IMPORTANT THEMES EXAMINED IN FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX

• A clash of wills and classic power struggle: the fight for dominance and moral, psychological and physical superiority between men competing for resources and struggling to survive and thrive in a desperate situation. 
• Old vs. young, and traditional vs. modern: as embodied by Towns and Dorfmann, respectively, this film pits the wits and experience of an guilt-ridden, emotional old world man against the technical skill and cunning of an megalomaniacal, non-emotional new world man. In essence, the film serves as a parable about the challenge of compromising and transitioning between the past and the future—a future of push-button technology that will render people like Towns obsolete. 
• Reviewer Neil Young wrote that the movie shows “two types of man emerging as the crucial forces: Stewart's old-school, emotional, flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants pilot and Kruger's cool, analytical technocrat. It's a very mid-sixties collision of temperaments, and while it's clear that Dorfmann represents what The Aviator's Howard Hughes calls "the way of the future", it's also evident that the past is much too valuable to be jettisoned entirely. What The Flight of the Phoenix optimistically presents is an uneasy but ultimately amiable state of cooperation between the two.” 
• Moral quandaries in extreme scenarios: is a man who works harder than his comrades and is more crucial to their survival than anyone else worth more, both in respect and deserved resources? To what extent can commanding officers wield authority in a likely hopeless quandary, and to what degree are his subordinates bound to honor that authority? 
• Complex political and sociological moralities: it would be easy to label Dorfmann as the “bad guy” Teutonic type, an offspring of the cold and ruthless Nazi regime that was defeated 20 years earlier. Instead, Dorfmann remains enigmatic, unconventionally admirable, and worth rooting for as a possible source of salvation for the men. 
• The resilience of man and human nature. We see men often at their best when they’re facing their worst; their willingness to persevere and not despair is a testament to the human spirit. 
• Reviewer Kenneth George Godwin, alternatively, disagrees: “The film’s commercial failure may have had something to do with its refusal to subscribe to an inherently heroic view of human nature. These men don’t rise to the challenge of survival so much as fight against their own best interests every step of the way, and at the forefront is a decidedly unsympathetic performance from James Stewart, whose self-pity poses a dangerous risk to all of them. Survival ultimately rests on the absurd self-assurance of Dorfmann who, as the plan progresses, becomes more unpleasantly dictatorial – and yet is ultimately proved right.” 
• Rebirth, rejuvenation, a return from the dead, as symbolized in the “Phoenix” bird that becomes the new plane’s moniker. 

WHAT DID YOU FIND INTERESTING, DIFFERENT, DISTINCTIVE OR UNEXPECTED ABOUT THIS FILM?

• You would perhaps expect more action and a chunkier plot from an ensemble male cast like this and in an adventure/suspense tale. Instead, the action comes from the conflict between the personalities and the dialogue, as the film stays in one setting with no outside events or characters interfering. 
• Interestingly, the titles don’t come in until well after the movie starts, and they overlap with the plane crash; the filmmakers choose to introduce each character via freeze frame, too. 
• The movie is imbued with realism and attention to detail, retaining a “quasi-documentary appearance,” according to reviewer Svet Atanasov. 
• There are obviously no female characters, but the film manages to shoehorn one in in the form of a sexy mirage, which, to some, may feel tacked on. 

FILMS THAT FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX MAKES YOU THINK OF:

• Hitchcock’s Lifeboat
• Other movies depicting desperate survivors of a shipwreck, plane crash or other disaster, including Sands of the Kalahari, Ice Cold in Alex, Alive, Lord of the Flies, The Edge, and All is Lost 
• Disaster film subgenre pictures like Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and Earthquake 

OTHER MOVIES DIRECTED BY ROBERT ALDRICH

• Vera Cruz 
• Kiss Me Deadly 
• Whatever Happened to Baby Jane 
• Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte 
• The Dirty Dozen 
• The Longest Yard

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Shipwrecked on a sea of sand

James Stewart could still pack a punch (literally and figuratively) in his later years, as evidenced by his memorable acting in “Flight of the Phoenix” (1965; 142 minutes), to be featured at Cineverse on June 13, directed by Robert Aldrich, chosen by Jim Krabec. Note that, due to this film's long runtime, we will start promptly at 7 p.m. and only a brief break following the screening.

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"We live only a small part of the life that is within us..."

Part detective story, part historical romance, part political thriller, "Night Train to Lisbon" pulls you in with the intrigue of its narrative and the earnestness of its investigative protagonist. CineVerse dissembled this locomotive's engine to see how it all fit together and came away with the following notions.

WHAT DID YOU FIND MEMORABLE, INTERESTING, DIFFERENT OR DISTINCTIVE ABOUT THIS PICTURE?

• Raimund serves as a good surrogate for the viewer; we learn, discover and experience as he does, and we are not given any information that he doesn’t uncover. 
• The film features an impressive cast, including Jeremy Irons in an unflattering role, as well as Christopher Lee, Charlotte Rampling, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz, and Jack Huston. 
• The movie has dual narratives and purposes: 
• It builds intrigue by delving into two mysteries, the second of which branches off quickly from the first: where is the girl he saved, and where is the author of the book she left behind? 
• It relates two main stories: “Raimund’s social renaissance and Amadeu’s role in the 1970s civil rebellion against a brutal regime…Everything may eventually circle back to the young woman on the bridge, but until then it provides a series of flashbacked stories told to Raimund by the few people Amadeu loved,” wrote reviewer Jared Mobarak. 
• The filmmakers and actors form a curious cultural melting pot. According to reviewer David Stratton, “In this case we have a German-Swiss co-production, made by a Danish director, mostly set in Portugal, with a cast that includes actors from Britain, France, Germany, Portugal and Sweden, all speaking English in a bewildering variety of accents.” It’s also interesting that, despite all these varying nationalities, the only language spoken in the film is English. 
• It is curious—if not convenient or contrived—that Raimund happens to be fluent in Portuguese—a lesser spoken language in Europe—and that he is willing to impulsively interrupt his life suddenly on a passionate whim. 
• “The fact that he is completely detached and merely piecing together the story as an interested observer is the major flaw of the film. It drastically lacks stakes. There’s no particular reason for Raimund to be caught up in the escapades of these charismatic Portuguese freedom fighters, except as a distraction to his middle-aged ennui,” wrote reviewer Frances Morton. 

THEMES AT WORK IN THIS FILM

• Taking a journey of self-discovery: the teacher decides to, on a whim, go on a quest, first for a missing girl, then for a missing author; but while searching for both and not finding either, he ends up finding himself. 
• The unpredictability of life, which can be filled with sudden twists, left turns, fateful or happenstance encounters, coincidences and flukes, and unexpected disappointments and joys. 
• Romanticizing and waxing nostalgia about the past. 
• “If it is so that we live only a small part of the life that is within us, what happens to the rest?” as quoted from Amadeu’s book. 
• Seeing the world through different eyes, as symbolized by Raimund's new glasses.
• The love triangle.

NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON CAN REMIND US OF OTHER FILMS, INCLUDING:

• Midnight in Paris 
• The Debt (2010) 
• Rashomon—in that we see different testimonies of the same events from different witnesses 
• Philomena—in how the lead characters of both films went on a search for a missing figure only to find they were dead
• Vertigo, another film featuring a detective who saves and then pursues a suicidal woman
• Citizen Kane, similarly constructed around a reporter trying to learn about the life of an enigmatic dead man
• The Grand Budapest Hotel, whose story is also set in motion by a young woman carrying a treasured memoir detailing the adventures of a heroic figure ensnared in a politically dangerous time 

OTHER MOVIES DIRECTED BY BILLIE AUGUST

• Pelle the Conqueror 
• The House of the Spirits 
• Les Miserables (1998) 
• Smilla’s Sense of Snow

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All aboard for intrigue and suspense

If you enjoy a gripping drama, you won't want to miss CineVerse on June 6,when we'll screen and discuss “Night Train to Lisbon” (2013; 111 minutes), directed by Bille August, chosen by Tess Stanisha.

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Nest egg blues

Blogger Rob Thomas has suggested that Albert Brooks' "Lost in America" is a horror movie for the middle class. I think he's certainly on to something. Because, although it's thoroughly suffused with rich layers of comedy, this picture was built to make 30-somethings and older squirm. It's an incredibly simple story that turns on a dime by the start of its second act, after Brooks' character David awakens in a Vegas hotel to find that his wife has gambled away their nest egg. Suddenly, their dreams of dropping out of society and enjoying carefree lives on the road--comfortably protected by their stashed savings--are kaput. The stress this puts on David and their marriage and the practical realities of their situation make this a more resonant film than another cookie-cutter comedy would have been. For more evidence, consider the following, discussed yesterday at our CineVerse meeting:

WHAT STATEMENTS DOES THIS FILM HAVE TO MAKE THEMATICALLY?

• The Baby Boomer hippies and countercultural idealists of the sixties meet a reality check in the Reagan era 1980s. Their revolution never came to pass; they were compelled to grow up, get jobs, get married and live in the suburbs. 
• The sad fact that the idealism and dreams of our youth are usually killed by the practical realities of older age. 
• Dissatisfaction with the yuppie lifestyle, bourgeois standards, and the status quo. The moral learned here is, it’s okay to want more out of life, but we should also appreciate what we have and make the most out of being in the Establishment and the mainstream. 
• Criterion Collection essayist Scott Tobias wrote: “If there’s a defining mood to Brooks’s work as writer/director/star, it’s one of profound restlessness and dissatisfaction, often followed closely by the shame of leading a life of privilege and comfort and its never being enough. As David, Brooks wants for nothing but perspective, and the price for that perspective is the liquidated value of his material possessions and a sizable share of his dignity and self-worth. In the film’s moral reckoning, it’s a fair sum.” 
• Roger Ebert echoed that point. He said the film is “about the much more universal subjects of greed, hedonism and panic. What makes it so funny is how much we can identify with it. Brooks plays a character who is making a lot of money, but not enough; who lives in a big house, but is outgrowing it; who drives an expensive car, but not a Mercedes-Benz; who is a top executive, but not a vice president. In short, he is a desperate man, trapped by his expectations.” 
• There’s an irony to David’s “Easy Rider”-following ethos: he and his wife actually travel farther than Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda do in “Easy Rider,” yet they seem to soak in little of it, moving from place to place quickly and seeming to take a lot of it for granted—like Hoover Dam. 
• The old adage “you can’t go home again” is proved wrong here; you CAN go home again, but at a price (in this case, the price is conforming to society, acquiescing to your old lifestyle and groveling to get your job back). 
• To truly drop out of society, get off the grid, and live life free of conformity, you have to go all the way and be willing to take major risks. David’s plan is shown to be half-assed because he plays things relatively safely—rationalizing, budgeting, nest egg planning, etc. 
• Chuck Bowen, writer for Slant Magazine, summarized this best: “Linda’s meltdown at the casino parallels David’s botched professional meeting. In essence, Linda is calling David out on his hypocrisy. If you want to drop out, you must be willing to throw everything into the wind. Linda’s determination to win at roulette, which ends up costing the couple hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few hours, is frightening and poignant. Most Americans are nourished by capitalism, in terms of the comfort it insidiously provides and the sense of reward it triggers when we measure up to its demands, which Baby Boomers discovered when their revolution came to zilch. What could this intangible “freedom,” for which we’re conditioned to resent ourselves for not achieving, offer that’s comparable? Lost in America is resonant because it doesn’t superficially indict David and Linda, rewarding our unearned feelings of superiority. Brooks criticizes yet empathizes with the couple’s yearning to prove that they aren’t simply puppets on a corporate stage…David and Linda are automatons who ironically achieve individuality by embracing conformity.” 

OTHER FILMS DIRECTED BY ALBERT BROOKS

• Real Life 
• Modern Romance 
• Defending Your Life 
• Mother 
• The Muse 

HALLMARKS OF ALBERT BROOKS FILMS:

• According to Tobias: 
• His films “are often about grand experiments undone by the flaws of their originators. Real Life riffed on the contrivances of the landmark PBS documentary An American Family, which posited the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California, as a stand-in for the suburban middle class. In Brooks’s hands, the presence of a Hollywood film director and a swarming camera-helmet-clad crew distorts and perverts “reality” at every turn. In thumbing his nose at documentary realism, he wound up predicting a dominant TV genre before the Kardashian sisters were even born.” 
• “His filmmaking style is rigorously observational, scoring laughs less on throwaway banter than through the steady accumulation of misfortune.” 
• “The common thread through all these mishaps is the limitations of money and status—how neither ever quite delivers on its promises.” 
• According to Film Inquiry writer Benjamin Wang, Brooks’ movies “use cinema as a device to explore their characters’ anxiety about lacking control over their surroundings.” 
• Wang points to a tone of detachment evident in “Lost in America.” It “makes its detachment visible in the way the camera rarely gets close to the characters or places us in any one character’s perspective. Its most visually memorable scene is one of the most distant: it comes with one of David’s most self-righteous outbursts, and throughout, the camera captures the size and jagged angles of the environment, diminishing the characters by contrast. It’s a moment in which we can see David trying to force things into his schemata, but the world’s shape just doesn’t fit.” This detachment “allows the film to look at David’s delusions from a perspective that exposes how the world influences them, preys on them, and tolerates them.” 
• Some critics have noted that Brooks’ apes Stanley Kubrick’s methods used in “The Shining” to achieve a kind of tension and uneasiness in this film. 
• Blogger Rob Thomas suggested: “The film opens with a long tracking shot, the camera winding through the upper-middle-class home of David and xx. It could be the opening to a home invasion thriller…Brooks uses a long tracking shot again when David is at the office, about to go see his boss to get what he is convinced is a promotion. The camera follows David through the winding corridors of the office, in a way that reminded me of the camera following Danny pedaling through the hallways of the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining.” 

OTHER MOVIES THAT LOST IN AMERICA MAKES YOU THINK OF:

• Easy Rider 
• National Lampoon’s Vacation 
• The Long, Long Trailer 
• Woody Allen comedies

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Easy Rider for yuppies

Circle May 30 on your calendar: that's the date when “Lost in America” (1985; 92 minutes) comes to CineVerse, directed by Albert Brooks, chosen by Farrell McNulty. Plus, arrive early to play a movie trivia game for a chance to win DVD prizes prior to the film.

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