Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing February 14-February 27

Hello moviegoers! Happy Valentine’s day. Can you imagine a better way to spend it than cuddled up with your lover(s) watching some second-run films? Just me? Well… if you do feel the same way, we’ve got some appropriate movies for you this week, as well as some other great repertory programming in the area. Before we get into it though, I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who came out last week to the Wild at Heart screening at the Rosendale Theater. I don’t want to speak for the Robs (of Rosendale and Sleepover Trading Co.) but I think we were all unbelievably stoked to sell out the theater. I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie with that many people (maybe the last Harry Potter movie? yikes…). It was really affirming, and a good reminder of why we want to encourage people to go out in the first place. There’s something indescribable about being in a room with people when you watch a film. Collective experience is a really special thing that we’ve lost touch with in the modern age. A friend of mine described it as a “real Preston Sturges moment… even in the face of misery and horror, people can lose themselves via the screen…” I feel like we tell you this every week, but go to the movies more! There’s nothing like it. Take advantage of the opportunities while you have them. With that being said, I’ll leave y’all with a reminder that we’re trying to work towards opening our own theater space in Kingston, and we can’t do that without your help. Check out our website if you want to pitch in. 

Richard Linklater's BEFORE SUNRISE
Orpheum, Saugerties – Friday, February 14, 7:00pm

Before Sunrise is the kind of movie that ruins the idea of romance for a sensitive teenager. You watch it for the first time at a tender age and wish, so desperately, to find a connection like that, to have that kind of experience, and your hopes are pretty routinely dashed. Linklater does what Linklater does best in this movie, he finds the right people with the right chemistry and manages to conjure up a script that’s about nothing more than how compelling a good conversation can be. His films talk, and the Before trilogy talks like no other. It can be hard to explain to people why this movie is so good, because on paper it’s pretty pretentious, and it inspires pretty pretentious reactions (just look at the reddit threads about it). But I think its real strength is how sincere it is, and how committed it is to allowing its characters to feel real in their flaws, their pretensions, and their naivete. The trilogy also grows with the characters, in what feels like real time (another Linklater-ism). There’s few romances I’d rather watch on or around Valentine’s Day than this one, so go out and see it for me. If you haven’t in a while I bet it’s worth a revisit, and if you never have, it’s about time. There’s a reason the trilogy is considered one of the best in film. Give it a shot. (1991, 101 min)

Dee Rees’ MUDBOUND
New Progressive Baptist Church, Kingston – Saturday, February 15, 7:00pm

It’s always cool to see Netflix released movies in a theatrical setting. I’ve written here before about the culture of streaming and scrolling and how much it negatively impacts our relationship to film-going. There are people much smarter than I who have written about the sometimes parasitic and predatory relationship between streaming platforms and the filmmakers they finance (look up the deal they cut with the creator of Squid Game if you want a prime example). In spite of that, Netflix has managed to snag distribution rights for some award-winning films, and Mudbound is one of them. It received four Oscar nominations, 2 of which were the first ever nominations for women and people of color in their categories. The Oscars have a tendency to nod at the most blase and often problematic films that deal with racial tensions in our country’s history (I’m looking at you Green Book and Crash) but Mudbound actually has something to say, and is rooted deeply in its time. Cinematographer Rachel Morrison referenced photographs from the Farm Security Administration as key points for the film’s framing and imagery. That deep dedication to history is present throughout the film, and it makes it feel rooted and real. If you skipped this when it dropped on streaming platforms, or if you only ever watched it on your home TV, it might be worth it to revisit it in the setting it was meant to be seen.  (2017, 134 min)

Lilly and Lana Wachowski’s BOUND
Unicorn Bar, Kingston – Sunday, February 16, 7:00pm

Our rescheduled screening of Bound is finally upon us! If you want to read my write up of it for a refresher you can find it here. This one will scratch all your erotic, neo-noir needs during this romantic time of year. (1996, 108 min)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
Assembly, Kingston – Tuesday, February 18, 8:00pm

This would make a great double feature with Before Sunrise, if I’m being honest with you. It took me a really long time to watch this movie for the first time. I, like most other young-ish cinephiles, love Paul Thomas Anderson. I think he can be particularly appealing as a filmmaker because of his penchant for genre-hopping, and his ability to find tonal synchronicity in spite of the ever widening range of his filmography. Punch-Drunk Love was kind of a white whale for me, for a while though. I remember being a teenager and seeing it come up everywhere on internet forums, in film discussions, on best-of lists. I just couldn’t bring myself to watch it. I think part of it was a more than slight distaste for Adam Sandler, and as much as I’m a sucker for actors being cast against type, I just couldn’t imagine taking him seriously in this role. The guy from Click playing a complicated, mentally unstable love interest? Just didn’t really grab me. When I finally did watch it though, I regretted waiting for so long. Performances aside, and they are all really spectacular (Sandler, Hoffman, and Watson being the obvious standouts), it’s the visuals of the film that really stick with me. There are moments that are so stunningly claustrophobic, that put you so in the headspace of Sandler’s characters, cut-through with triumphantly open-spaces and gorgeous, abstract interstitials designed by video artist Jeremy Blake. It also has one of my favorite PTA soundtracks, composed by Jon Brion. Plus, we’re excited that we get to push for a film in a new venue in Kingston (shout-out Assembly!) put on by a long-standing Northeast film programming group (hello Boondocks Film Society!). If I haven’t convinced you to go, there’s also going to be themed cocktails, food, and a live performance by Eleanor Friedberger. I don’t know what else to tell you. (2002, 95 min)

James Rasin’s BEAUTIFUL DARLING
Catskill Mountain Foundation's Independent Film Series @ Doctorow Center, Hudson NY – Thursday, February 20, 6:00pm

This is another first feature from us for some independent film programming in the greater Hudson Valley area. We’re stoked to be able to highlight the second screening in Catskill Mountain Foundation’s Independent Film Series. They host screenings on the third Thursday of every month at the Mountain Cinema in Hunter, NY. The screenings are free and feature director Q&As after the movie. This month they’re showing Beautiful Darling, a documentary about the transgender pioneer Candy Darling, who was one of the many orbiting stars in Andy Warhol’s Factory in the 1960s. Candy is probably more familiar to you than you think, even if you don’t know her name. She was the subject of two Lou Reed songs (“Walk on the Wild Side” and “Candy Says”), and starred in countless films, both Warhol’s and other filmmakers. In a lot of ways you could make an argument that Darling was one of the first visible, trans celebrities. At first glance you might think the documentary is simple, rose-colored star-gazing at the glam and glitz of Warhol’s New York. But the documentary was helped along in huge part by Darling’s close friend and executor, Jeremiah Newton, who guides the film towards empathy and realism, fleshing out Darling into the person she was beyond her beauty and stardom. It’s an important piece that intersects queer history and cinema. We’re excited to be able to shout this series out, and we can’t recommend more strongly keeping abreast of their calendar for the next year. Nothing but exciting things are on their way. (2010, 82 min)

David Lynch’s ERASERHEAD
Story Screen, Hudson – Monday, February 24, 8:30pm

I got a lot of my Lynch-love out over the last two weeks so I won’t burden you too much with rehashing. You can read my write up of Eraserhead from last September here. If you need more Lynch in your life (outside of going to support the lovely folks who have been showing his films since his death) I’ve got a million recommendations for podcasts, essays, and other writing. Hit my line, I’d be happy to share. Kingston Film Foundation is also having our very own Lynch tribute screening in March! More to come on that very, very soon. (1977, 89 min)