Saturday, December 2, 2017

[News Boquete] Sunday, December 3 @ 1:00pm - "Sideways" - Weekly Matinee Movie at the BCP Theater

"The Clubhouse" in the BCP "Hex Room"is now open, and food and drink will be available for purchase by our film-goers 
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We don't charge admission, but do ask for donations to pay to support BCP and the Film Club program.

Upcoming Films: 
  • 12/10 - Queen of Katwe (USA - 2016)
  • 12/17 - The Iron Giant (USA - 1999)
  • 12/24 - Joyeux Noël (2005 - France)
( I did a lot of research and put a lot of thought into selecting films for the holiday season, and chose two films to be screened before Christmas based on my strong association of Christmas with an admonition to seek "peace on earth."  Both films show the possibilities of peace - and how hard it is to achieve and maintain.  The Iron Giant setting is small-town Maine from fall to winter in 1957.  Joyeux Noël is based on the true story of allied and German soldiers setting down their rifles and fraternizing on Christmas day, 1914 during the bloody trench warfare in France during WWI.)   
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Sunday, December 3 @ 1:00pm - Sideways (USA - 2004)   2hrs, 7 minutes

Ratings:  7.5 - IMDB, 96% - Rotten Tomatoes, 4/4 - Roger Ebert  - Rated"R" 

This review by Esteban Gonzalez at letterboxd.com reflects my feeling about the film:

"Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and... ancient on the planet."

And thanks to that emotional speech that Paul Giamatti's character gives to Virginia Madsen's Maya explaining why he is so passionate about Pinot Noir, the sales for that wine actually rose by more than 20% compared to the past year. The characters in this film are fascinating, but it was the wine that took the center stage and became a metaphor for the entire film. I'm not an expert in wines, but we all know that the older a wine the better its taste. Ironically however, the two lead characters in this film played by Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, are reaching middle age without feeling as if they've accomplished anything. In Church's case especially it seems that his best years as a successful actor are way behind him. The two are anticipating their week long road trip together through California's wine country before Church's character gets married. The two seem not to really like the way their lives have turned out, Giamatti plays a depressed writer who has to settle as an English teacher while Church is eagerly looking forward to the week long escape where he can finally enjoy his freedom before having to settle into the constraints of a married life. During their road trip Church begins having a fling with Sandra Oh's Stephanie, while Giamatti finds a lot of things in common with Stephanie's friend, Maya. Is it too late for the pair to find love or like wine are the best years of their lives still ahead of them? Alexander Payne's direction is solid, but it's his painfully funny screenplay that takes all the credit for the film's success. Sideways is one of my favorite road trip movies, and definitely my favorite from Alexander Payne (Nebraska closely behind it). A well written script also results in fantastic performances and Thomas Haden Church has never been better. The same could be said for Virgina Madsen who also received an Oscar nomination for her supporting performance. Sideways couldn't have worked however if it wasn't for Paul Giamatti's portrayal of this depressed, but sincere character. Sideways is perhaps one of Payne's best character studies and that is why I enjoy it so much.


David van Harn
Curator, Boquete Film Club

Link to trailer


 

 

David van Harn

Curator, Boquete Film Club

 

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