"This film should be required viewing in every high school civics class. Hell, it should be required viewing for every human being." -Alliance of Women Film Journalists. WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? was on screen at the Rose two years ago, but the film is even more timely today. Director Astra Taylor's urgent, idiosyncratic journey connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political in order to provoke and inspire. If we want to live in democracy, we must first ask what the word even means. It begins streaming today.
LOUISE BOURGEOIS: THE SPIDER, THE MISTRESS AND THE TANGERINE is a cinematic journey inside the life and the imagination of an icon of modern art. As a screen presence, Louise Bourgeois is magnetic, mercurial and emotionally raw. For more than six decades she was at the forefront of successive new developments, but always on her own powerfully inventive and disquieting terms. In 1971 she became the first woman to be honored with a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. "...an unexpectedly lyrical and poetic portrait." -Time Out. It begins streamingtoday.
If you enjoyed WHEN HITLER STOLE PINK RABBIT from our Film Library, check out NOWHERE IN AFRICA, director Caroline Link's Academy Award-winning film from 2002. "This consistently absorbing family saga is primarily a safari of the soul." -Washington Post. It begins streaming today.
If you were to suspect more than a passing coincidence between our streaming MID-AUGUST LUNCH and my mother living with me for the summer, you would be right. This delightful comedy - a popular hit at the Rose - is about good food, feisty ladies and unlikely friendships during a very Roman holiday. Gianni lives with is 93-year-old mother in their ancient apartment. But soon they are joined by three more lively mamas. "The movie glows." -The New York Times. "You'd have trouble finding another movie with such unforced appreciation of its elderly characters or such intelligent understanding of old age." -San Francisco Chronicle. It begins streaming today.
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Response to the THE MIRIAM CHRONICLES in last week's newsletter prompted a flurry of questions and appreciation for my 101-year-old mama. The most frequently asked question was, "What's her secret?" Her answers: Good genes, exercise, proper diet, sleeping well and dark chocolate.
Dark chocolate aside, I believe what has greatly contributed to my mom's long healthy life is that she has always remained engaged with the world. Her curiosity to know, to be informed has never diminished. She begins every day with coffee and two crossword puzzles. Her grandparents came from eastern Europe. As immigrants to America, their arrival at Ellis Island was likely similar to this lovely 2 minute, 37 second scene from the Library of Congress. It was created by Thomas A. Edison in 1903.
Cinematically Yours,
Rocky