You might assume that FANTASTIC FUNGI - going into its 6th week Friday - is the sleeper hit of the season, but PARASITE, from South Korea holds that distinction. And it opens in the Starlight Room Friday. Writer-director Bong Joon-ho's fiendishly clever Cannes Film Festival Palm d'Or winner is a satirical thriller for the age of income inequality. Song Kang-ho is the patriarch of the Kims, a poverty-stricken family who infiltrate the perfectly designed home of the Parks, a wealthy, but sometimes clueless clan of yuppies. As the Parks begin to open their home to these manipulators, the Kims exploit the situation in often hilarious ways. But, gradually and inevitably, the energy shifts. As in the best of Hitchcock, Bong casts an elegant, pitiless gaze on the complacent rich and the resentful poor alike. You may leave PARASITE wondering how these people will survive late capitalism. "This is a dazzling work, gripping from beginning to end, full of big bangs and small wonders." -Time Out
COMMUNITY ARTS FILM SERIES. VISION PORTRAITS is the personal story of filmmaker Rodney Evans, as he embarks on a scientific and artistic journey, questioning how his loss of vision might impact his creative future. Through illuminating portraits of three artists: a photographer, a dancer and a writer, the film looks at the ways each artist was affected by the loss of their vision and the ways in which their creative process has changed or adapted. "VISION PORTRAITS consistently fascinates the mind and activates the senses. We are left with a sense of lightness, possibility and, yes, vision." -The Hollywood Reporter
The Gotham Independent Film Awards, which honor the best in independent cinema, awarded MARRIAGE STORY Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Adam Driver) and the coveted Audience Award. The movie plays through this Thursday in the Rosebud.
A whistleblower drama based on a real-life story isn't an obvious choice for director Todd Haynes (VELVET HEAVEN, FAR FROM HEAVEN, CAROL). Yet DARK WATERS works as a compelling story and as a great vehicle for actor Mark Ruffalo. Based on a New York Times article titled, "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare," it tells the story of Rob Bilott, an attorney at a large corporate firm who discovers that the people in his West Virginia hometown are becoming ill from mysterious causes linked to DuPont. "Ruffalo brings a growing sense of moral outrage to this gripping Todd Haynes docudrama." -Rolling Stone
From THE BOWMAKERS to THE TRANSLATOR. Having concluded the successful five-week run of THE BOWMAKERS at the Rose, our distribution team is now engaged in launching the film into the world beyond Port Townsend. You can learn of new showings by visiting the film's website. Concurrent to THE BOWMAKERS distribution, director Ward Serrill and I are now in pre-production of our next film - THE TRANSLATOR: THE LIFE AND WORK OF RED PINE - about Port Townsend resident Bill Porter. Once again I am responsible for raising the necessary funding. Donations to the film are tax deductible through a nonprofit 501 (c) 3. If you're interested in learning about being a producer of the film, you can reach me at rocky@rosetheatre.com
--Rocky