A wonderful launch party for Origin's
2015 1st Annual Festival of Irish Theater was
held at Mutual of America, 320 Park Ave, on
the 35th floor with a lovely view of the
city. Origin's Artistic Director George
C. Heslin thanked
the crowd for attending, which included many
of the actors, who will be performing from
September 2 - October 4. The Deputy Counsel
General Anna
McGillicuddy was
also among the speakers. For two and a half
hours, we enjoyed delicious food, exquisite
cocktails and delightful company.
A commercial film Mustang,
by Deniz
Gamze Erguven, Turkey, 2015, was given a
press screening, which I attended. It will
open November 20, and my review will appear
at that time.
Another commercial film Mia
Madre, by Nanni
Moretti, Italy/France, 2015, is a film
about a daughter's mother, who is dying in a
hospital in Rome. Meanwhile, the daughter (Margherita
Buy), a divorced film director, is
making a serious film about a labor problem
in a factory, where the new owner (John
Tuturro) plans to make extensive
layoffs. She fights with her film crew and
the imported American actor, who is starring
in the film, and cannot remember his lines.
She also has to contend with her teenage
daughter. To add to her problems, is the
fact that she has broken up with her
boyfriend. This middle age lady has a
multitude of problems. However, it is an
interesting film, with an insight into the
problems surrounding making a film. The
family problems are realistic. The medical
care of a dying aging mother is true to
life, and the acting by the entire cast is
splendid. It may be melodramatic, but I
enjoyed every minute of the film.
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Film Forum is presenting a festival films of the
legendary director/actor Vittorio
De Sica from
September 9 - October 8. We attended a press
screening of Gold
of Naples, by Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1954.
It consists of six short stories, featuring many
of Italy's top film stars of that era, including
one starring the director. The second episode
starring Sophia
Loren as
the wife of a pizzeria owner, who commits
adultery while pretending to attend mass, made
her an international star. The fifth episode,
starring the reigning queen of Italian cinema at
that time, Silvana
Mangano as
a bride, who meets her husband at her wedding,
and learns on her wedding night the unfortunate
truth of why he married her. The best of the six
episodes stars the famous comic actor Toto,
who for ten years has had the head of the local
mafia, a widower, living in his apartment with
his wife and family. His attempts to remove his
unwanted guest are hilarious. De Sica wanted to
make a film celebrating the eccentric characters
of his native Naples, and he succeeded.
For the seventh season the Metropolitan Opera is
presenting the Summer
HD Festival from August 28 - September 7,
with 3,000 seats in the Lincoln Center. An opera
from previous seasons is presented each night. A
special first-night screening of West
Side Story, a co-presentation with the Film
Society of Lincoln Center, was offered. It is a
delightful program for New York opera lovers,
and, in this case, even film lovers.
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