Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing: August 2- August 15

Hey everyone! It’s August. The heat continues. Lots of excellent opportunities to take a break from the humidity and see some repertory cinema this month, including some events where you can meet stars and directors, and my first time ever moderating a Q&A session on August 12. Oh boy! Our Shades of Summer series at Headstone Gallery in Kingston continues with La Cienaga, a unique, dynamic film that you won’t want to miss. It’s time for Bel to give us the breakdown. Behold…

Albert Magnoli's PURPLE RAIN
Newly restored 4K print!
Orpheum, Saugerties – opens Friday, August 2, 7:30pm

This is a fun two weeks of second-run music films, and we kick it off with the incomparable, indefinable Purple Rain. Can you even think about Prince without thinking about this movie anymore? I don’t think you can. This film is, in my mind, perfectly emblematic of Prince’s public reputation; eccentric, experimental, and elaborate. When you think about it objectively it probably shouldn’t work, and yet it does. It’s easy, too, to think of it as simply an extended music video for one of the greatest records of all time. How many times have you heard a song from this album playing in the background at a bar or a party? But the film itself, if at times flawed in its writing and pacing, has many of its own merits that go beyond being a unique medium to present the music. Ruminating heavily on themes of misogyny and exploitation in the music industry, Prince’s performance as “the Kid” has surprising pathos and depth. It asks and answers questions about fame, vulnerability, and intimacy, and does so sometimes clumsily, often earnestly, and at times with true brilliance. There really is no other film like it, and people have tried! There are so many rock operas, so many narrative films that attempt to couch iconic music in a compelling story, and none have managed to do it quite like Prince. How long has it been since you watched it? Probably worth giving it another spin. (1984, 111min)

Milos Forman's AMADEUS
with actor Tom Hulce!
Starr Cinema, Rhinebeck – Sunday, August 4, 4:30pm

Let’s hang out in 1984 for a minute. Looking back, it was a pretty iconic year for musical movies. Purple Rain, Stop Making Sense, Footloose, Return to Waterloo. Rock heavy, for sure, but that makes sense. And then, out of left field and sweeping the Oscars, we have Amadeus. Somehow, the film with the premise of making Mozart fun (and erotic, and comical) is the one that made the biggest splash. Who’d’ve thought? I often think of Amadeus alongside Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. Neither film should manage to achieve what they do and yet, ten years apart, they both take what could’ve been dry period pieces and make them rakish, raunchy, and subversive. It’s a fantastical romp that has no interest in sacrificing its narrative beats and emotional heart for accuracy. It really is more of a fantasy than a biopic, and allows the viewer to be swept up into the dazzling world that it draws. I’d recommend taking a peek at its unaccredited 5-star Google reviews if you’re interested in seeing how well it holds up for most audiences. 40 years later and it still manages to capture us. (1984, 158min)

Barbara Kopple's MY GENERATION
plus Q&A with director Barbara Kopple
Greenville Drive In, Greenville – Friday, August 9, 8:00pm

If you live in the Hudson Valley it’s pretty impossible to escape the legacy of the Woodstock festival. Whether it’s the head-shop hippies and tourist trap culture of weekends in Woodstock (the town) or the legacy acts that continue to play shows at venues that have become legendary due to their associations, it's impossible to escape the footprint that the festival has left on this area. I feel like everyone knows someone with a Woodstock story. Barbara Kopple’s fantastic documentary continues the mission of legend-making that is so common when looking back on the historic fest without sacrificing a critical and analytical perspective on the scenes that relate Woodstock’s various eras. It perfectly demonstrates the differences in culture across the generations that have attended Woodstock while also allowing space to notice similarities. It’s the best kind of “culture” documentary – it’s fascinated with youthful rebellion but is acutely aware of its root causes. Kopple doesn’t shy away from the violence, the exploitation, or the tragedies, but she also doesn’t forget the light and life that existed around and within them. If you’re at all interested in music documentaries you should give this one a shot. It deserves consideration with the rest of the greats. (2000, 103min)

Lucrecia Martel's LA CIENAGA
Headstone Gallery, Kingston – Saturday, August 10, 8:00pm

If you’re looking for a movie that’s going to hold your hand, Lucrecia Martel’s La Cienaga is the wrong film for you. Martel’s film floats and stumbles through the sticky heat of an Argentine summer in the countryside, moving through scenes and moments without interest in context or any true sense of familiar narrative. Watching this film feels like floating on your back in a leaf filled pool in the humid, dog days of late August. It wants to challenge you, to make you work as a viewer to put together the pieces of narrative that are strewn throughout its runtime. You are a witness to this family, and you witness them as we do other people in real life: without context, catching pieces that we put together to form our flawed, subjective understanding. This is another film that exists within the context of “new __ cinema” movements of the late 20th century. Martel is operating within a framework interested in making Argentinian film feel and sound more real. I find myself especially drawn to the color palette of the film, the dark, rich greens and browns that both wash out the scenes and make them feel so much more vivid. It’s a great introduction to another international movement of film that challenges us to think about what else cinema can do to become more real, more human, and more honest, even when that honesty is ugly and hard to understand. (2001, 103min)

Chris Skotchdopole's CRUMB CATCHER
plus pre-show Q&A with cast and crew, and followed by a special screening of Martin Scorsese’s After Hours!
Hi-Way Drive-In, Coxsackie – Monday, August 12, 7:00pm

Who doesn’t love a campy home invasion thriller? Crumb Catcher is the debut feature from director Chris Skotchdopole. I like that we’re getting back into campy, 1980s b-movie horror these days. The self-serious era of series like The Conjuring or the reboots of the early aughts never quite did it for me. It’s been really fun as a horror fan to watch new young directors come onto the scene who are given the freedom to have a little more fun. Crumb Catcher plays with 1960s aesthetics and allows its hairbrained premise room to breathe, asking the readers to come along for the ride. How far would you go for fame? What would you do to get your idea off the ground? Probably not as much as the invading couple does in the film, but isn’t it fun to watch extortionists at work? Hi-Way’s screening will feature a pre-show Q&A from one of KFF’s very own, and I think it’s going to be a great summer horror flick. Classic drive-in fare. (2023, 103min)