Two movie back-to-back events this weekend, one Friday, Jan. 6, and another Saturday, Jan. 7, could help us sail through the post holiday doldrums entertained and with a better understanding of our world and our place in it.
At 7:30 pm Friday at the Capawock Theatre in Vineyard Haven, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society (MVFS) is screening “The Way,” directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his father Martin Sheen.
Rated PG-13, “The Way” was released early in 2011. It is a moving story of a father’s attempt to come to grips with the loss of his son and the lessons he learns along the way. Martin Sheen plays a despondent father, Tom, who travels to St. Jean Pied de Port, France, to collect the remains of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while hiking. Tom decides to embark on the historic Camino de Santiago pilgrimage to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. While the trip includes humorous episodes, Tom does not expect the effect it will have on his life as he learns that, “you don’t choose a life, you live one.”
The MVFS will be screening three more films this month. On Saturday, Jan. 14, “Le Havre” will be shown at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven. It is A political fairy tale and a portrait of the French harbor city that gives the film its name. On Saturday, Jan. 21, at the M.V. Hebrew Center, the film “Project Nim” from the maker of “Man on Wire” will screen. It recounts the story about the attempt to teach language to Nim the chimpanzee. The beautiful movie “Melancholia,” about the end of the world starring Kirsten Dunst and Alexander Skarsgård, will play Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Katharine Cornell Theatre.
These events are sponsored by the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council, the Permanent Endowment for Martha’s Vineyard, and the Farm Neck Foundation.
Admission is $8; $5 for MVFS members. Doors open 30 minutes prior to screening. For more information, visit mvfilmsociety.com or call 508-696-9369.
“The Hedgehog” Then on Saturday, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival (MVFF) presents the second of their Winter Film Festival series at the Chilmark Community Center.
There will be dinner and/or snacks at 5 pm, followed by short films for children ($5). At 6:30 pm there will be live music and a dinner featuring fresh ingredients from local farms. Chris Fisher will cook the farm fresh meal, and Todd Christy will be brewing his Chilmark Coffee. Amy Miller is scheduled to provide some of her delicious baked goods. Dinner is $5 for kids; $10 for adults.
The feature film, “The Hedgehog,” will play at 7:30 pm ($6 for MVFF members; $12 for non-members.)
“The Hedgehog” is a 2009 adaptation of the bestselling 2006 novel “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery. It is a three-character fable in which 11-year-old Paloma, attempting to confront the realities of the adult world and certain that she does not want to reach the ripe old age of 12, learns compassion from two eccentric and very different adult residents in her fancy apartment building.
Paloma is the daughter of wealthy parents who, like most of us, inhabit a world filled with real and imagined personal issues. It is a stifling environment for her. Her association with the two adults outside her family circle feeds her need to grow. It is a moving story about love, life, and the beauty of unexpected friendships.
In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. This film is not rated. For more information, visit tmvff.org.
