Tomorrow @ O Cinema
Famous for sensational thrillers like Point Break, filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow staked a new claim as a serious-minded action auteur with The Hurt Locker, her 2008, Oscar-winning movie about a bomb-disposal squad in Iraq. True to her talents for delivering adrenaline, the scenes in which the team disarms roadside bombs are tense and gripping. Yet as action sequences go, they're unerringly restrained, edited to heighten our awareness of the surrounding environment and the looming threat of detonation. The movie outshines previous cinematic efforts to address war in its sensitivity to the psychological side of life in a combat zone: her characters are hooked on the rush, but internal contradictions and emotional costs start to show. Perfect for a Sunday late-night screening at O Cinema since you've got Monday off....
Coming Up
Today @ Tower Theater
Based on Alejandro Zambra's acclaimed novella by the same name, Bonsái, directed by Cristián Jiménez (Ilusiones Ópticas), is the story of Julio (Diego Nogera), a struggling writer and somewhat of a drifter. He's sleeping with his next-door neighbor, a translator named Blanca, and shows off his job as a typist for the famous author, Gazmuri. However, when he loses the gig, Julio begins spending his nights writing a novel in longhand (one that he tells Blanca is Gazmuri's) and his days transcribing the words, supposedly for "the master", but it's really his own old love story, and as it progresses we're taken back to his school days with his beloved Emilia. Bonsái premiered at Cannes in 2011 to favorable reviews and took the top prize at the Miami International Film Festival earlier this year. The film, powerful primarily in its subtlety, is a poetic musing on love, literature, and one man's search for meaning. With Jiménez's signature quirk à la Wes Anderson, Bonsái is sure to appeal to those with a taste for the delicate and literary....
Today @ Hardcore Art Contemporary Space
Kate Kretz turns Hardcore Art into an extraordinarily intimate space, exhibiting small pieces suggestive of grandmotherly crafted gifts we received as children. Only these beautiful silverpoints and embroideries (some of which are made from human hair) don’t allude to laughter and love, but rather evoke heartbreak and disappointment. Her work addresses the inherent worry that runs through our veins (one piece, created within six months of her daughter's birth — during a period of agoraphobia when she could hardly leave the house for fear that something would happen to her baby — features her own hair carefully stitched in cursive into a child's shirt, spelling out the sentence, "Your fragility in this sharp world is paralyzing"). Thoughout the meticulous process of constructing each piece, she's able to stabilize her emotions into a sense of peace, a creative method she describes as “saving her life." It seems her work demonstrates a tipping point, one where, with some effort, difficult times can be left behind — not forgotten, but accepted and used as a tool to move forward.
Today @ GableStage at the Biltmore
Some people are forced into war, while others choose to go into war zones to document the atrocities. In Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still, now playing at GableStage, Sarah and James have been making their living as a photojournalist-reporter duo in locations of crisis for almost a decade when Sarah is injured by a roadside bomb. They end up in a Brooklyn apartment, far away from the adrenaline-filled lifestyle they've gotten so used to. Sarah's photo editor shows up with his young girlfriend and she asks: what makes someone want to take photos of other people's misery rather than putting down the camera and helping them? Margulies was awarded the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Dinner with Friends. This is his most recent drama, which has never been staged in South Florida, directed by Joseph Adler, starring Steve Garland, Betsy Graver, Deborah Sherman, and Gregg Weiner.
Today @ Miami Art Museum
Curated with synesthetic effect, this cross-sensory exhibit puts music into a visual language by bringing together artists from all over the world who've used the vinyl record as a medium. Before technology glazed over, playing vinyl and collecting album art sleeves greatly impacted the lives of many throughout the 20th century. This show examines how artists have been inspired by and manipulated the record itself, featuring sound work, sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, photography, video, and performance that often marries fine art and pop culture. Some of the artists included: David Byrne, William Cordova, Jasper Johns, Christian Marclay, Ed Ruscha, 9th Wonder, DJ Rekha, Tim Lee, Laurie Anderson, and many more. Also, don't miss the slew of related events.
