Did we just watch Sean Baker’s magnum opus tonight? I believe this is the case, although I hope the definition might be only temporary (I admit that I don’t know whether that works). Dressed up at times as a laugh-a-minute rom-com, Anora is at heart a study of a young woman whose life is bereft of love, friendship, and tenderness. When a Prince Charming appears on the scene, she dives in, hoping for the best.

I’m guessing that you probably know this doesn’t work out but it’s a heck of a journey, all the way to the devastating last scene. Speechless.

And… Mikey Madison. Fantastic.

It seemed to me that it would be fun to watch this movie after all the talk talk talk of the election, and the terror of waking up to gruesome election results on Wednesday.  The concept was to fight scary with scary. The Substance served up a heaping portion of gore and tremendous entertainment. I’m sorry it was a bit much for some of you. Watch the trailer next time!

Our short this week was Be a Lady They Said featuring Cynthia Nixon.

Next week, I’ll try to lighten up. A bit.

Another magic moment at NewScreen tonight… Babak Jalali’s quietly observed Fremont (named for the California city in which our protagonist finds herself living, after escaping from Afghanistan as a translator to the US military) is ultimately a love story. Each character is vividly drawn in delicious black and white, rather Jarmushian at times, and with a great deal of subtle humor thrown in. The film was perhaps a bit too quiet to make it a hit, but please try to see it if you can. It’s available on Prime.

Our short feature was another outstanding music video, Xena, featuring a track by Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti, remixed by Skrillex.

This film devastated us tonight. As far as I know, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, but I really couldn’t take account through my own teary orbs.

Lucas Dhont’s Close first celebrates a beautiful, innocent friendship between two young boys, Remi and Leo (pictured above) spending one last golden Belgian summer together before heading off to high school, and then mourns the gradual decay of that friendship due to peer pressure. “Are you two together?” asks one of the girl students, planting a destructive seed in Leo’s head.

Were they “together”? Who cares?

Outstanding performances from Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele as Leo and Remi, and Émilie Dequenne as Remi’s adorable mother. I was thinking how she looked familiar… Duh. Rosetta. Nice to see a child actor develop like this.

Another great NewScreen night. Thanks to all who shared!

Charlotte Wells’ beautifully observed feature debut Aftersun struck a particular chord with me (substitute Mexico for Turkey). Unlike this movie, though, my daughter and I remain very much involved in each other’s lives, and we enjoyed watching this together recently.

Judging from the heartfelt reaction of our diverse NewScreen audience, it seems that it’s not necessary for this particular chord to be struck in order to enjoy Aftersun. It’s a gentle movie, and not much happens. Or does it?

What a lovely way to start 2023! Thanks for coming, peeps.

Vicky Krieps’ portrayal of Empress Elizabeth of Austria (also the queen of Hungary) was delightful. Part true, part imagined, the spirit of “Sissy” (as she was known at the time) lives on in Maria Kreutzer’s anachronistic celebration of a free-spirited woman in the nineteenth century. A happy ending, and a new beginning.

So… the freshly-baked banana bread tradition almost took a hit tonight, as I was a bit behind schedule with my preparations (what a shocker, no?), but I decided that, although it might be rude to bake in front of the early guests, the loaf must go on. It turns out that I could almost bake this thing in my sleep, and… aprez-movie… happy guests.

I misbehaved a bit.

I’m pretty sure I’ve watched this more than 20 times by this point, but who’s counting?

Thanks to those who attended. I hope to see more of you in the near future. Stay tuned ))