15 July 2016

Escape to the movies

We managed to squeeze in a few movies over the past few weeks. Actually, I think there were four, but for the life of me I cannot remember what the fourth was, so I will write about the three I remember.

The first bore a long title, “The Music of Strangers:  Yo-yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.” We could not see this without remembering that amusing bit from Emanuel Ax, who proposed a trio with colleagues Yo-Yo Ma and Violinist Anne-Sofie Mutter be named “Axe Yo Mutter.” 

The movie shows scenes from numerous performances by “The Silk Road Ensemble,” a group of musicians first assembled by Mr. Ma in 2000 who have been playing concerts all over the globe. While following the group to various performances, the musicians discuss the role of their music amidst the violent world as well as the challenge of coming together with all their different styles while remaining true to each of their own. The soundtrack is exquisite but the cinematography is also quite breathtaking. If you enjoy music or art or both, you will appreciate this film.

On a completely different note, we saw a movie called “Weiner Dog.” This is not to be confused with the movie we had seen some weeks back about a New York politician. This movie really is about a dog, or perhaps I should say more about the dog’s various owners.

When the movie begins, the dog belongs to a family whose young son is seriously ill. The parents have a troubled relationship, and their inability to care for the dog properly literally makes a mess of their ownership. The dog next goes to live with a young man and woman (Kieran Culkin and Greta Gerwig) who had at one time been a couple and accidentally run into each other just after the young woman has rescued the dog from being euthanized. They eventually end of giving the dog to the fellow’s brother and his wife, a couple with Down Syndrome. From there he lives with a screenwriter (Danny DeVito) who has his own pathology. Weiner Dog’s final home is with an older, unhappy woman (Ellen Burstyn) whose granddaughter visits only when she needs money.

Writer and director writer Todd Solondz has apparently made a number of similar films, but this is the first one I can remember seeing. I would not recommend it all that highly. It was a starkly bleak view of the world. Only the sick young boy, the couple with Down Syndrome, and the dog seemed to be reasonable beings; everyone else was selfish at best or downright mean-spirited at worst.

Earlier today we went to see one of the first showings of Woody Allen’s new release, “Café Society.”  This one has not gotten fabulous reviews thus far, and I know that many people cannot see his films without thinking about some of his unpleasant attributes. But for better or worse, we still enjoy his work. This one reminded me of a James Taylor quip during one of his concerts, “here’s a new song, sounds pretty much like all the old songs.” Woody could say “here’s a new film, pretty much like a lot of the old films.” And that’s just it – he is doing here what so many have enjoyed for so long. Mr. Allen directed but does not appear in this one, but you could say that he has replaced himself and Diane Keaton with Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.

Bobby Dorfman (Mr. Eisenberg) is a fellow who moves to Hollywood where he falls in love with Vonnie (Ms. Stewart) after having grown up in a colorful family in the Bronx.  But Vonnie is also being wooed by Phil (Steve Carell) and when she decides to marry Phil, Bobby returns to New York, where he becomes a part of high society nightclub life and meets and marries Veronica.

I have been struggling the past few days trying to write something about all the horrific things going on in the world right now. But I simply cannot find anything meaningful or inspiring to say. I want to believe that each terrible event is the last, but unfortunately it does not seem to be so. Watching movies provides only a brief escape. When the lights come up, we are still right where we were.

Love,

Rebecca