Eclipsed,
by Danai
Gurira, at the Golden Theatre, is, without
doubt, the best play on Broadway this season.
The five member cast, directed expertly by Liesl
Tommy, are all superbly marvelous, and must
be named. They are Lupita
Nyong'o, Pascale Armand, Akosua Busia, Zainab
Jah and Saycon
Sengbloh. They are five women trapped in
2003 during the Liberian civil war and are the
captives of a rebel commander. They are sexually
abused and are forced to obey their master. In
order to escape this horror, some become
soldiers trained to kill. That they manage to
survive is wonderful, and each actress leaves an
indelible impression on the viewer. Do not miss
this memorable theatrical experience. The
opening night party took place at Gotham Hall
with numerous celebrities like Kathryn
Erbe, Arian Moayed, Lillias White, Joel Grey,
Bill Irwin and
many, many more.
Disaster!,
by Seth
Rudetsky and Jack
Plotnick, concept created by Seth
Rudetsky and Drew
Geraci, at the Nederlander Theatre, is a
musical, with jukebox popular songs from many
years ago, sung at a high decibel level. It
takes place on a floating casino and
discotheque, where it is struck by an
earthquake, tidal wave and other catastrophes.
The talented cast, with many Broadway veterans
like Adam
Rapp, Kelly
Butler and
a scene stealing nun played by Jennifer
Simard, perform with energy and enthusiasm
under the direction of Jack Plotnick, and the
choreography of JoAnn
M. Hunter. Based
on disaster type films, it is mildly amusing.
This is not for sophisticated theatergoers, but
the average audience audience will enjoy a fun
filled two hours.
The Robber Bridegroom, book
and lyrics by Alfred
Uhry. music by Robert
Waldman, opens on Sunday, March 13. My
review will appear in next week's column.
The Royale,
by Marco
Ramirez, directed by Rachel
Chavkin, at the Lincoln Center Theater at
the Mitzi E. Newhouse, is an imaginative and
inventive play, with five fine actors, about the
first black heavyweight champion of the world at
beginning of the twentieth century, based on the
true story of Jack
Johnson.
Film Society of Lincoln
Center and MoMA are presenting press screenings
for New
Directors/New Films March 16-27. Suite
Armoricaine, by Pascale
Breton, France, 2015, is about a university
art teacher (Valerie
Dreville), who leaves Paris to return to her
hometown in Rennes to teach. There she reunites
with her old friends, who are a motley,
unattractive crew, including a disturbed mother
(Elina
Lowensohn) and her equally mentally
disturbed son (Kaou
Langoet). These are people you do not want
to see on screen. The film attempts to be on an
intellectual level regarding discussions of art
and university education, but is pretentious,
and the characters are bored, and are boring for
the viewer.
Mountain/Ha'har, by Yaelle
Kayam, Denmark/Israel, 2015, is about a
dissatisfied, overweight Orthodox Jewish wife (a
superb Shani
Klein) living with her husband, and four
children, in a house in an ancient cemetery,
which is used by prostitutes and their pimps at
night. She becomes friendly with one of the
older prostitutes and gives them home cooked
meals. It is fascinating, unusual film, and a
glimpse into the way of life of Orthodox Jews in
Israel.
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Eldorado XXI, by Salome
Lamas, Portugal/France,
2016, is a documentary about mining in the Peruvian
Andes. It begins with miners walking up and down the
dark mountain trail, while voice-overs of
uneducated, poor people tell about their miserable
lives in the mining town La Rinconada. This goes on,
seemingly, forever, and one wants to escape from the
cinema and enter the sunlight.
Donald Cried, by Kris
Avedisian, USA, 2016, is an off beat comedy,
about a young uptight financier (Jesse Wakeman)
returning to his home town in Rhode Island for the
burial of his grandmother. He accidentally meets an
old high school pal (Kris Avedisian), who convinces
him to hang out together. The result is a series of
comical adventures, because his pal is off the wall.
I enjoyed every minute of this entertaining comedy.
Tikkun, by Avishai
Sivan, Israel,, 2015, is about a Yeshiva
student, collapsing in a bathtub and is pronounced
dead. His father resuscitates him back to life. He
begins to question his Orthodox faith, and engages
in all sorts of sexual activities, including
visiting a brothel. The final scene of him abusing
the vagina of a dead woman with his hand reveals not
only his sickness, but also that of the filmmaker. I
cannot, in good conscience, recommend this film to
anyone.
Neon Bull/Boi neon, by Gabriel
Mascaro, Brazil/Uruguay/Netherlands, 2015, is
about vaquejada rodeos in Brazil, where two men on
horseback pull the tail of a bull to bring him down
to the ground. It is not a pleasant sight. Iremar (Juliano
Carre) travels with a single mother, her young
daughter and another obese worker in a truck as they
go to the different rodeos. The highlight, according
to the press notes, is an "audacious and memorable
sex scene", where he has sexual intercourse with an
eight month pregnant security guard on a table,
where cloth is cut in a clothing factory.
Apparently, he wants to be a fashion designer.
Weiner, by Josh
Kriegman & Elyse
Steinberg, USA, 2016, is a documentary about
former New York Congressman Anthony
Weiner, who
resigned from Congress because of his lies, and
attempted a political comeback by running for mayor
in 2013. He lost. Why these filmmakers wanted to
film him is a mystery. He is an egotistical, sex
obsessed, spoilt individual, whose family life is
also peculiar. He is unattractive, and to see him,
frequently, in shorts and barefoot is not
particularly pleasant. One of the young plump women
he pursued on the internet appears in the
film attempting unsuccessfully to confront him.
Obviously his taste in women is as weird as is his
personality.
Demon, by Marcin
Wrona, Poland/Israel, 2015, is about a Polish
wedding interrupted by the appearance of a dybbuk, a
dead spirit. You would never want to attend a
wedding like this, although its a thoroughly
entertaining, occasionally scary film.
Happy Hour, by Ryusuke
Hamaguchi, Japan, 2015, lasts 317 minutes. It is
a long, very long film, but surprisingly, it is, for
the most part, worth the wait. Four female friends
in their thirties enjoy their time together, when
not working or living their dissatisfied lives at
home, either, single and divorced, or going through
a divorce, or married unhappily, or married with a
sullen teenage son and mother-in-law. Everyone is
dominated by the men in their lives. The four
actresses are excellent and totally believable. It
is a penetrating view of friendship and married
life. The photography is beautiful.
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