Flee

I had heard so many great things about the documentary Flee so I was really excited to finally be able to see it at the Broadway last night.  It is even better than I anticipated!  Jonas Poher Rasmussen interviews his friend Amin Nawabi about his harrowing escape from the civil war in his home country of Afghanistan, his years in exile in Russia, an ill-fated attempt to escape only to be sent back, and finally claiming asylum alone in Denmark.  Nawabi relates his experiences so that he can make peace with his past, especially the guilt he feels for abandoning his family and the pressure he feels to succeed to compensate for it, in order to have a future with his partner Kasper.  Amin's story is incredibly poignant, particularly the scenes of him and his family trying to leave Russia, but what makes this documentary even more compelling is that it uses animation to tell the story to preserve his anonymity.  I have never seen anything like it before and I was really struck by the different types of animation employed in order to convey different emotions.  When Amin is being interviewed by Rasmussen, he is shown lying on a couch with an overhead shot so that the audience is looking down on him.  To me, this feels like we are looking into his soul as he reveals his deepest secrets for the first time.  The scenes showing his happy childhood in Kubul and his interactions with Kasper in present-day Copenhagen are very bright and colorful whereas the scenes in Moscow are dark and dreary to depict his state of mind.  Many scenes of terror, including the capture of his father and his sisters' escape on a container ship, are shown in black and white with indistinct and chaotic line drawings as if the memories are too painful to remember clearly.  Archival footage of actual events in Afghanistan and Russia is used very effectively to establish the veracity of Amin's account and the haunting score filled with plaintive violin solos does much to enhance the traumatic nature of Amin's memories.  This documentary, which highlights the power of storytelling as a way to heal, is something really special and I highly recommend it.

Thierry Fischer Conducts Rachmaninoff, Honegger & Nathan Lincoln de Cusatis

I was really excited for last night's Utah Symphony concert because it was the first opportunity for Music Director Thierry Fischer to conduct the orchestra this season (I was also really excited to hear Rachmaninoff).  The orchestra began with Symphony No. 3, Symphonie Liturgique, by Arthur Honegger.  I was not familiar with this piece (or this composer) but I loved it because it was written after World War II and was inspired by Honegger's desire for peace.  Each movement is named after a liturgical text.  The first, which was my favorite, is "Day of wrath" and it is very turbulent and powerful with a bold theme played by the brass.  The second is "Out of the depths have I cried" and it is more lyrical and contemplative and I really loved the almost mournful solo by the flute.  The third is "Grant us peace" which begins as a march featuring lots of percussion and then ends with a beautiful solo played the cello.  What I loved about this piece is that I could really feel each of the emotions suggested by the titles as the orchestra played.  Next came the premiere of The Maze by Nathan Lincoln de Cusatis.  This piece was commissioned by Concertmaster Madeline Adkins and was inspired by a hike through an isolated area of Canyonlands National Park.  The music emphasizes the vastness of the landscape and the geologic forces that created it.  Adkins was the soloist with the violin acting as a guide through the hike and I really enjoyed how the themes played by the violin sound like the flow of the river.  After the intermission the orchestra played Symphonic Dances by Sergei Rachmaninoff and I absolutely loved this piece!  I think the first movement is incredibly romantic with a theme played by various woodwind instruments which is then repeated by the violins followed by a theme played the piano and harp.  During the second movement, which features a beautiful waltz, I always see couples whirling around a red and gold ballroom and the music takes me back to imperial Russia.  The final movement is almost mournful but it ends triumphantly with timpani and a gong.  I really enjoyed all three pieces (and seeing Fischer back on the podium) and would highly recommend getting a ticket to tonight's concert which will feature the same program (go here for tickets).

The Messenger at PTC

Last night I had the opportunity to see an incredibly timely and relevant play called The Messenger at Pioneer Theatre.  This play by Jeff Talbot, which is having its world premiere at PTC, is loosely based on the Henrik Ibsen play An Enemy of the People and I found it to be very powerful.  In 1882 the Mayor of a small town in Norway, Peter Stockman (Mark H. Dold), is proud of the mineral baths that have brought tourists to the town, provided jobs for the citizens, and bolstered the housing market.  However, his sister Dr. Therese Stockman (Ora Jones) is concerned about a mysterious illness that is afflicting her patients, and has killed at least one of them, so she decides to investigate.  When she receives a report showing that the water is contaminated, she feels compelled to warn the public of the danger to their health.  She confides in her friend Kristine Hovstad (Meredith Holzman), the owner and editor of the newspaper The Messenger, and asks her to publish the report.  This brings her into conflict with her brother, who fears that the mineral baths will be closed which will put many people out of work and ruin his chances for reelection, and with her friend, who has her own agenda about what should be published.  Therese takes matters into her own hands and reveals her findings at a public meeting (which features characters played by Alexis Grace Thomsen, Marcello Joseph Say, Victoria Wolfe, and Connor Mamaux-Partridge in the audience who refuse to believe the science and heckle her) which puts her life and the life of her daughter Petra (Turna Mete) in jeopardy.  She must weigh the individual rights of her friends and family against the greater public good.  The parallels between 19th century Norway and contemporary America are incredibly striking as the debate between keeping people safe from a contagious disease vs. keeping the economy going rages on.  I also enjoyed the discussion about the role the media plays in a crisis and the isolation that being a whistleblower causes.  These themes are still very relevant today.  The entire cast is strong but I was especially impressed with Jones who has a commanding presence, particularly in a scene with Dold where she lashes out at her brother for never listening to her.  She gave me goosebumps.  At first I found the staging of the public meeting to be a bit jarring.  The characters yelling insults at Therese seem to be members of the audience because they are in contemporary costumes but I eventually decided that they are meant to represent the role social media plays in swaying public opinion.  I loved the set because it appears to be deconstructed as the play goes on which represents the disruption that this situation has caused Therese and I also loved the bold primary colors used in the period costumes for the women (Therese has a gorgeous red velvet coat).  I didn't realize that this was a one act play performed without an intermission so I was absolutely stunned by the final line of dialogue.  I just sat there in my seat for a minute or two before I noticed that everyone around me was on their feet giving a thunderous ovation.  It was such a powerful moment!  I thoroughly enjoyed this thought-provoking play and highly recommend it.  Unfortunately there are only a few performances left (go here for tickets).

Sundance Film Festival 2022

I didn't participate in the Sundance Film Festival last year because it was completely virtual and I prefer seeing films on the big screen and I really enjoy interacting with film aficionados from all over the world.  When I heard that the festival would be in-person this year, I immediately bought a Salt Lake City package which entitled me to ten tickets rather than access to every film screened in SLC as in year's past.  It seemed like a lot of money for only ten tickets but I eagerly selected my films and began anticipating an experience that I really love.  Then came the disappointing news that, due to the surge in Covid cases from the Omicron variant, the festival was canceling all in-person screenings in order to be completely virtual once again.  I assumed, incorrectly, that refunds would be issued to those who didn't want to watch films on their computers but festival organizers insisted that all packages were non-refundable and refused.  I was really angry about this but, since my only other option was to donate the cost of the tickets to the festival, I decided to make the best of it and I eventually picked 21 films.  My first film was The Princess and I was really excited about this documentary because I have been fascinated by Diana ever since I got up early to watch her wedding.  This is a story that has been told many times but the use of archival footage without any narration or contemporary interviews provides an intriguing new take on the Princess of Wales and I really enjoyed it.  There was even footage that I, a self-avowed expert on the Royal Family, had never seen before!  My second film was The Worst Person in the World and this was, without a doubt, my most anticipated film of the festival (it will have a wide release in theaters in a few weeks and I will definitely be seeing it again).  Renate Reinsve is incredibly appealing as an aimless young woman who drifts from relationship to relationship, first with Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) and then Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), in order to discover that you don't need to have life figured out yet.  As someone who does not even remotely have life figured out yet, I loved this film!  My third film was Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and, even though it was not at all what I was expecting (I thought it would be a lot funnier), I loved Emma Thompson's brilliant, and incredibly brave, performance as a widow who has a sexual awakening after hiring a male prostitute.  I also loved her chemistry with Daryl McCormack.  My fourth film was Summering, a coming of age story about four girls who have an unexpected adventure the weekend before they start middle school.  It reminded me of Stand By Me but it wasn't nearly as endearing.  I enjoyed the magical realism but the story doesn't really go anywhere with too many unresolved plot points.  My fifth film was A Love Song.  This is a subdued (maybe too subdued?) but moving portrait of grief and loneliness with fantastic performances from Dale Dickey and Wes Studi as former high school sweethearts who meet each other once again.  My sixth film was Emergency and it is another festival favorite for me.  Two Black college students, along with their Latino roommate, are forced to take racism into account when deciding how they will respond to an emergency.  It brilliantly combines comedy, suspense, and biting social commentary to create a thought-provoking and entertaining film that I absolutely loved!  My seventh film was FRESH and it gives new meaning to the term "meat market."  Daisy Edgar-Jones plays a woman fed up with dating apps and Sebastian Stan is the charming but psychotic man she falls for after meeting him in the produce section.  It is a gruesome dark comedy but I loved the killer soundtrack.  My eighth film, 892, was another one of my most anticipated.  It is a tense and heartbreaking true story about a former marine who holds up a bank for the $892 disability check that is owed him but is caught up in the bureaucracy of the VA.  It features a riveting and powerful performance by John Boyega.  My ninth film was Living and I selected it because it stars Bill Nighy and I will see anything he is in!  He plays a paper-pushing bureaucrat in post-war London who decides to live a more meaningful life after receiving a terminal diagnosis.  It is very slow but charming and features a lovely performance by Nighy, especially in a scene where he sings on a playground swing that he helped build.  My tenth film was Call Jane, the first of two films I saw about a real-life underground collective that helped women have access to abortions in the late 1960s.  This is a fictionalized account about a suburban housewife (Elizabeth Banks) who finds the group when she needs a life-saving abortion and the hospital refuses to perform it.  The lighthearted tone didn't quite work for such an important and timely subject, although I really enjoyed Sigourney Weaver's irreverent performance.  I got a last minute ticket to my eleventh film, After Yang, because it received such glowing praise and it definitely didn't disappoint.  When an android companion malfunctions, his owner accesses his memories and they cause him to reevaluate the nature of humanity.  This is beautiful, contemplative, and moving with lovely performances from the whole cast.  I loved it!  My twelfth film was Master which follows the recent trend of using the horror genre to explore the theme of racism.  A young Black student at an elite New England college is haunted by an incident from the past and plagued by an ongoing problem in the present.  In my opinion the social commentary works better than the supernatural elements do but they both contribute to a very palpable sense of dread.  My thirteenth film was Dual and I chose it because I absolutely loved The Art of Self-Defense and was eager to see another film by Riley Stearns.  I am a huge fan of dark absurdist comedies and this is a fantastic satirical exploration of identity in which a woman is forced to fight her clone in a duel to the death.  Karen Gillan's deadpan delivery as both characters really worked for me because it emphasizes the dehumanization they both experience.  My fourteenth film was Resurrection and I don't know what this says about me because it is absolutely bonkers but I loved it.  Rebecca Hall is brilliant as a woman who comes undone when an emotionally manipulative former lover suddenly reappears in her life and it is her committed performance that makes the bizarre twist in the third act seem completely plausible.  My fifteenth film was Lucy and Desi, a touching portrait of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz that emphasizes their enduring legacy.  It is a very straightforward documentary but it is at its best when it utilizes their own voices culled from hours of audio tapes provided by their daughter Lucie Arnaz.  My sixteenth film, Cha Cha Real Smooth, was one of the biggest crowd-pleasers of the festival and I was lucky enough to snag a ticket when more were released.  This is a heartfelt and charming coming of age story about a recent college graduate trying to navigate life and love and features incredibly appealing performances from Cooper Raiff and Dakota Johnson.  Even though I am a bit older (ahem) than the target audience I really related to the main character because I also felt completely lost during this period in my life.  I loved everything about this film!  My seventeenth film was Brian and Charles and this put a huge smile on my face.  It is a hilarious mockumentary about an eccentric inventor in Wales who builds a robot to be his friend and it reminded me of the British comedies I loved as a teenager.  My eighteenth film, Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul, was another mockumentary this time about a pastor of a megachurch and his wife as they attempt to rehabilitate their tarnished image after a scandal.  It is laugh out loud funny but it is also a scathing indictment of the hypocrisy so often found in the megachurch culture.  Regina Hall is fantastic, especially when the cameras stop rolling and the mask drops.  My nineteenth film was LAST FLIGHT HOME and it was incredibly difficult for me to watch having recently lost my own father.  This documentary is a beautiful and moving tribute from a daughter to her extraordinary father as he ends his life on his own terms.  I cried through most of it.  My twentieth film was The Janes and I was really eager to see this having watched Call Jane.  This documentary explores the same underground collective that helped women gain access to abortions in Chicago during the late 1960s but it is much more compelling because it puts the real names and faces to the characters in the fictionalized story.  My final film was the funny and delightful Am I OK?  I loved this story about friendship and self-discovery with yet another fantastic performance from Dakota Johnson.  It was nice to end on such a lighthearted note after so much heavy content.

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The Pink Cloud

Last night I took a break from Sundance to see The Pink Cloud, a movie that premiered at Sundance last year, at the Broadway.  It has an intriguing, and incredibly prescient, premise and I found it to be very unsettling.  Giovana (Renata de Lelis) and Yago (Eduardo Mendonca) meet and have a one night stand on the beach.  Their tryst is interrupted by a warning to take shelter immediately because toxic pink clouds, which kill people within ten seconds of exposure, are mysteriously appearing around the world.  Even though they are little more than strangers, Giovana and Yago end up quarantining together in her mother’s spacious and luxurious apartment and, at first, it seems like an adventure as they wait for the clouds to dissipate.  However, weeks turn to months then years and the tension begins to mount.  Giovana is ever hopeful that her former life will resume at any moment but Yago is perfectly content to make a life with her in their beautiful apartment and suggests that they have a child.  She is reluctant but eventually agrees.  The birth of her son Lilo causes her to spiral into a deeper depression because she views his life as hopeless and she retreats even further from reality while Yago and Lilo become more comfortable in it.  This movie begins with a title card stating that it was written in 2017 and shot in 2019 so any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental.  However, I couldn't help but view this movie through the lens of my own experience in lockdown.  I was particularly struck by the subplot involving Giovana's friend Sara (Kaya Rodrigues), who succumbs to loneliness, because I had to quarantine by myself and I also felt very cut off from the world.  Sometimes what happens on the screen made me uncomfortable, and even angry (when the couple reacts differently to the situation it is the woman who is pressured to give in), but the narrative is compelling and the images are beautiful.  I loved the ethereal pink color palette that suffuses almost every shot and I also enjoyed the meticulous production design as the apartment changes and deteriorates as time goes on.  Lelis and Mendonca have great chemistry and give powerful performances as they portray the ebb and flow of a complicated relationship.  This is an atmospheric psychological thriller that might hit a little too close to home but I definitely recommend it.

Note:  I am looking forward to seeing some of the movies premiering this year at Sundance at the Broadway when they are given a wide release!  I am compiling a list!

Utah Opera's Flight

I usually do not like operas based on contemporary librettos or ones that are sung in English so when Utah Opera announced the 2021-2022 season I was not very interested in Flight.  However, the more I heard about it, the more excited I became to see it.  I had the opportunity last night and, to my surprise, I really loved it.  A Refugee (John Holiday) has been living at an international airport for weeks because he lacks the documentation to leave while a Controller (Abigail Rethwisch) watches everything that happens from high above in her tower.  She enjoys having the power to send planes into the sky while he is powerless.  Soon they are joined by Bill (Daniel O'Hearn) and Tina (Julia Gershkoff), a couple going on a tropical holiday to try and rekindle the spark in their marriage, an insecure Older Woman (Deanne Week) waiting for her much younger fiance, whom she met on holiday in Mallorca, to join her, a Steward (Evan Hammond) and Stewardess (Edith Grossman) involved in a passionate relationship whenever they can find a stolen moment to be together, and the Minskman (Stephen Pace) and his pregnant wife, the Minskwoman (Elise Quagliata), on their way to a diplomatic assignment in Minsk until she has second thoughts about going and he leaves without her.  When a dangerous electrical storm grounds every flight, they are stranded in the terminal together all night.  This brings out the worst in them and the Controller laments the fact that her domain has been invaded by people.  In the morning, when flights are resumed, the Minskman returns because he cannot live without his wife and she goes into labor.  The birth of the child causes everyone to regret their behavior the night before, particularly their behavior towards the Refugee.  When the Immigration Officer (Seth Keeton) arrests the Refugee, many of them intercede on his behalf but the officer is unmoved.  The Refugee then relates how he came to be in the airport which causes the Controller to plead for mercy.  The officer ultimately decides to turn a blind eye and allow him to remain at the airport and, after the others board their flights, the Refugee is welcomed home by the Controller.  I found this narrative to be incredibly compelling and, while I certainly enjoyed the beautiful music and the outstanding performances by everyone in the cast, I loved the search for belonging that is a theme running through every character's arc.  It is very powerful, especially when the Controller finds belonging with the Refugee.  I also loved that the airport represents a sort of limbo (anyone who has ever had a long layover before reaching a destination can attest to this) for the characters which allows for an intriguing exploration of human nature.  The minimalistic set, which is a modern departure lounge of an unnamed international airport with large windows showing a plane on the tarmac, arrival and departure monitors, a gate, a podium, and rows of black seats (which reminded me of those at LAX), is highly effective and the costumes are fun, especially the uniforms worn by the Steward and Stewardess.  Finally, I loved the lighting effects used to mimic the takeoff and landing of a plane.  I am so glad that I gave this opera a chance (I probably would not have gotten a ticket if I wasn't a season subscriber) because I loved it so much more than I thought I would.  There are two more performances (go here for tickets) and I definitely recommend taking a flight with Tri-Star Airlines!

One For the Pot at HCT

Last night I went to see Hale Centre Theatre's production of One For the Pot and it was the second madcap comedy that I've seen in as many days. I was not at all familiar with this show but I love British farces and all of the slamming doors and mistaken identities kept me laughing out loud from beginning to end! Jonathan Hardcastle (Mark Fotheringham) is a wealthy mill owner who is trying to find the son of his former business partner to bestow a large amount of money on him. He places an advertisement in the newspaper asking him to come to his manor to confirm his identity and prove that he is his partner's only living relative. Billy Hickory Woods (Bryan Dayley) and his friend Charlie Barnet (Kyle Baugh), who is pretending to be his lawyer in order to benefit from this bequest, arrive on the day that Hardcastle's daughter Cynthia (Megan Heaps) is celebrating her birthday with a dance organized by Hardcastle's sister Amy (Tamari Dunbar). Hardcastle's lawyer, and Amy's boyfriend, Arnold Piper (David Marsden) is on hand as is Cynthia's latest admirer Clifton Weaver (Jamie Rocha Allan). Hilarity ensues when Billy's heretofore unknown brothers Rupert, Michael, and Francois (all played by Dayley) also show up to claim the money, and romance Cynthia, forcing Charlie to enlist the butler Jugg (Jeff Blake) to keep them away from Hardcastle and Billy's suspicious wife Winnie (Jasmine Fuller). The action becomes more and more frenetic as the situation descends into the absurd with characters running in and out, hiding in unusual locations (my favorite was a window seat), incapacitating each other through various means, and impersonating each other. The physical comedy is absolutely hilarious and I was especially impressed with Dayley (I've seen him in other HCT comedies and he is brilliant) because I have no idea how he was able to exit the stage as one character and enter seconds later as another character! What a workout! Most of the brothers end up wearing the same black tuxedo so they are only differentiated by Dayley with an accent and a facial expression. It was amazing because you could immediately see which character he was playing as soon as he came on stage. I laughed at just about everything he said and did! I was also impressed with Heaps because she is the understudy for all of the female roles and her performance as Cynthia was flawless (once again, I must commend all of the understudies who keep these shows open through the madness). Director Ryan L. Simmons added a live band into the mix with a set that rotates on a turntable between the lounge and the ballroom where they perform during the dance. This play is set in the late 1950s so the music is a lot of fun and the musicians (Byran Matthew Hague on guitar, Daniel Pack on bass, and John Nielsen on drums) are outstanding. The only element that didn't really work for me was the audience participation initiated by Baugh because it seemed a bit forced. Otherwise, this show is a delight and I recommend it for a fun night out.  It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through April 2 (go here for tickets).

The Play That Goes Wrong at CPT

I have attended productions of The Play That Goes Wrong at PTC and HCT and, since it is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen, I was really looking forward to Centerpoint Theatre's version last night. I started laughing before the show even began because the sound and lighting technician was searching the audience for a missing dog and I don't think I stopped until the cast had to manually close the curtain at the end. The titular play that goes wrong is the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society's production of The Murder at Haversham Manor by Susie H. K. Bridewell. The cast includes Max (Tyler Clawson) as Cecil Haversham/ Arthur the Gardener, Chris (Michael Gardner) as Inspector Carter, Jonathan (Blake London) as Charles Haversham, Robert (Dylan Padilla) as Thomas Colleymore, Dennis (Mitchell Gibb) as Perkins the Butler, and Sandra (Niki Waite Padilla) as Florence Colleymore. The Director is Chris, the Stage Manager is Annie (Jenni Cooper), and the Sound and Lighting Director is Trevor (Jacob Sommer). The set is slowly falling apart, the props malfunction or go missing, the sound designer accidentally plays Duran Duran instead of the sound cues, the aforementioned missing dog is never found, one actor cannot stay still while playing the murder victim, one actor cannot remember his lines, one actor constantly breaks the fourth wall to milk the audience for applause, and the leading lady is injured halfway through the show and must be replaced first with Annie and then with Trevor (with scripts in hand) but the show must go on! The physical comedy is absolutely hilarious! My favorite scenes were when Cecil and Thomas have to answer a phone call with their hands full, when Sandra and Annie have a long and drawn out fight for the chance to play Florence, when Cecil and Thomas have a sword fight with broken swords, and when Arthur the Gardner and Trevor (who is playing Florence) have an awkward kiss. The cast is one of the best I have seen at CPT and they all have superb comedic timing but I especially enjoyed Gibb because of his facial expressions. The set is also one of the best I have seen at CPT because it falls apart so spectacularly, particularly the second floor study which is the source of much physical comedy. I highly recommend this show because watching this play fall apart is the perfect distraction from a world that seems to be falling apart. It runs on the Barlow Main Stage through February 12 (go here for tickets).

Note:  Since I've seen this play performed by three different theatre companies in as many years, it was really fun for me to notice the subtle differences in the productions. I particularly enjoyed the different ways a fire was staged.

Scream

Last night my plans were unexpectedly canceled so I decided to see Scream instead.  I had initially been on the fence about seeing it because I am just a casual fan of the franchise but I have to admit that I had a blast with this latest installment!  Twenty-five years after the original murders in Woodsboro, someone wearing the Ghostface mask is once again terrorizing a new group of teens.  After her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) survives an attack, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) returns to Woodsboro with her boyfriend Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) and reveals that she is the biological daughter of the original killer Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich).  After subsequent attacks, she realizes that the victims all have a connection to the original killers so she contacts Dewey Riley (David Arquette) for help.  He then notifies Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and the three of them come to suspect Tara's group of friends, including Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding), Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison), and Liv McKenzie (Sonia Ben Ammar), because that is the formula used in the Stab movies based on events in Woodsboro.  Of course this leads to an epic, and very bloody, conclusion revealing the identities of the killers!  I absolutely loved how meta this movie is about the horror genre and the discussion that Tara has with Ghostface over the phone about the elevated horror found in The Babadook, Hereditary, and The Witch had me laughing out loud (because I love those movies).  I also found the motivation for the killings to be incredibly clever and a spot-on reflection of movie culture today (unfortunately).  Arquette, Campbell, and Cox each have a poignant moment as legacy characters but I really appreciated the fact that they play a secondary role in the plot and that the young cast is allowed to shine (I especially enjoyed Ortega and Barrera).  The kills are absolutely brutal and there were a few moments when I actually jumped in my seat.  I correctly guessed the identity of one of the killers fairly early on (I followed the formula used in the Stab movies) but I enjoyed this movie so much more than I was expecting.  I suspect that hard-core fans of the franchise will love it!

Belle

I am not a huge fan of Japanese anime, mostly because I haven't seen very much of it, but I found the trailer for Belle to be absolutely beautiful so I went to see it last night.  It is a modern retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast and I loved it!  Suzu (Kaho Nakamura) is a quiet and mousy high school student who is still mourning the loss of her mother who died saving the life of a drowning child.  She used to enjoy singing and writing songs with her mother but, since her death, she has lost her love of music.  Her friend Hiro (Lilas Ikuta) encourages her to join a virtual world known as "U" because she can be completely anonymous there.  She is able to channel all of her emotions into writing songs and performing them as her avatar Belle and she becomes very popular until an avatar known as Dragon (Takeru Satoh) interrupts her performance.  A vigilante group, let by Justin (Toshiyuki Morikawa), wants to unveil him (reveal his identity) but Belle is drawn to the pain she sees in him and wants to protect him.  When she and Hiro locate Dragon in the analog world, she realizes that she must reveal her true identity to him in the digital world in order to reach him.  There are so many themes explored in this movie but the one I especially enjoyed is that it is better to be your true self than to hide behind a persona.  This is a theme that really resonates with me (go here, here, and here) and it is portrayed so beautifully when Suzu sings a song in U as herself and Belle's millions of fans support her by singing along with her.  This moment literally took my breath away!  I also enjoyed it when Suzu uses her newly acquired confidence to stand up to some cyberbullies who are harassing her for her friendship with Shinobu (Ryo Narita), the most popular boy at school, and to approach Ruka (Tina Tamashiro), the most popular girl at school.  This suggests that the online world is not necessarily such a bad place because being Belle has helped Suzu find her voice in more ways than one.  Finally, I loved that Suzu's decision to find Kei (the boy using the Dragon avatar) helps her to understand her mother's actions and make peace with her death.  The animation is dazzling (I especially loved all of the fantastical creatures in the virtual world and the ballroom in Dragon's castle where he and Belle have their iconic dance) and the music is incredible (especially "Lend Me Your Voice").  I loved this movie so much and I highly recommend it!

Note:  I saw the subtitled version (which I tend to enjoy more) but there is also an English dubbed version.

Reckless Girls

I enjoyed the Book of the Month so much I decided to renew my subscription again this year. My January selection was Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins (the other options were Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly, Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho, and The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis). I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs (a contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre) by Hawkins so I was really looking forward to this selection. Lux McAllister was at loose ends and working as a waitress in San Diego after dropping out of college to care for her dying mother when she met a wealthy and charming playboy named Nico Johannsen. He planned on sailing around the world on his boat, the Susannah, and she impulsively followed him to Hawaii to join him on his voyage. However, things don't work out as planned and she is now stuck working as a housekeeper at a resort hotel while he makes desultory attempts to repair his damaged boat. Their luck seems to change when they meet two college students named Brittany and Amma who want to hire Nico to take them to Meroe Island, a mysterious and deserted atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a grisly past. The $50,000 they are offering will repair the boat and allow them to resume their journey so Nico accepts and Lux, who is dying for an adventure, comes along. When they arrive at the island, they are dismayed to see a catamaran anchored in the harbor belonging to a wealthy Australian couple named Jake and Eliza. They all eventually become friends, especially after the four of them partake of the food and wine offered by Jake on his luxurious boat, and they enjoy their time in paradise. Soon they are joined by a mysterious stranger and the tension mounts as the island becomes less and less hospitable and secrets about each of them are revealed. The narrative alternates between Before, when each character's backstory and motivations are slowly revealed, and After, when the events on the island take place. There are also articles and interviews pertaining to the history of Meroe Island interspersed throughout which add to the foreboding atmosphere and sense of unease. Most of the characters are unsympathetic, including the main narrator Lux, but they are compelling and I was definitely invested in finding out what happens to them. Some elements of the plot do require the suspension of disbelief but I enjoyed it for all of the twists and turns and I appreciated the commentary on class and gender. I would definitely recommend this to fans of thrillers with the proviso that there is quite a bit of profanity (which, in my opinion, is used for shock value rather than character development).

A Hero

Last night I went back to the Broadway to see A Hero, another independent foreign film on my list, and I found it to be incredibly compelling and thought-provoking.  Rahim (Amir Jadidi) has been in debtors' prison in Iran for several years after being unable to repay a loan.  His girlfriend Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldust) found a purse full of gold coins at a bus stop and wants him to use them to pay back his creditor Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh).  He is allowed two days leave from prison and attempts to sell the gold coins but, because of fluctuating prices, it isn't enough to pay the entire debt and he doesn't have anyone to provide a guarantee for the remaining balance.  He starts to have second thoughts and decides to find the owner of the purse and return it.  When the administrators of the prison learn about what he has done, they contact the media to interview him for a human interest story because they need some good publicity and he becomes a celebrity of sorts.  He is given leave from prison again, a charity raises money to help him pay back the debt, and the local council offers him a job.  However, several minor inconsistencies in the story come to light which threaten to turn public opinion against him and things quickly spiral out of control.  I found the character of Bahram to be the most fascinating because he is viewed as the villain of the story just for wanting what is rightfully his and questions why Rahim is being celebrated for simply doing the right thing.  I also really enjoyed the moral ambiguity surrounding all of Rahim's actions because he often does the right thing but for the wrong reasons and it made me think about what I would do if faced with a similar situation.  I think the emphasis on social media is really interesting because it gives an exaggerated view of both Rahim's heroism and duplicity and it shows how easy it is to change public opinion with a rumor.  Jadidi is incredibly appealing in this role and he is somehow very sympathetic even when Rahim makes one bad decision after another.   This is a simple story with complex themes and I highly recommend it.

Drive My Car

There were quite a few new releases at my favorite art house theater this weekend but Drive My Car has received so much critical acclaim lately (including the Golden Globe for best foreign language film) that it was on the top of my list last night.  Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a theater actor and director, and Oto (Reika Kirishima), a television screenwriter, are a married couple with a complicated relationship living in Tokyo.  He eventually discovers that she is having an affair with a young actor named Koji Takatsuki (Masaki Okada) but he chooses to ignore it and rebuffs her attempt to discuss it.  When she dies unexpectedly of a brain hemorrhage, he takes a job directing a multilingual version of the play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov at a prestigious festival in Hiroshima.  He requests accommodation an hour away because it is his practice to review his lines by listening to a cassette tape of the play recorded by Oto while driving but, for liability reasons, the festival organizers insist that he have a driver at all times and hire Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), a taciturn young woman who is also mourning the death of a loved one, to drive him.  Yusuke casts his wife's lover to play Vanya, a role he once played to acclaim but can't bring himself to reprise because of the emotional weight of it, and rehearsals are fraught with tension.  As Misaki drives Yusuke to and from rehearsal, they help each other to live with their guilt and grief.  This film is three hours long, with a slow and meditative pace, but there is so much to unpack that I hardly noticed.  I was absolutely captivated by the use of Uncle Vanya as a symbol for the regret Yusuke and Misaki feel about the death of their loved ones, the use of Yusuke's Saab 900 as a symbol of both sanctuary and escape, and the use of multiple languages within the play as a symbol for the understanding the characters seek.  I loved the emotionally restrained performances of Nishijima and Miura because their journey to self-discovery and healing is all the more poignant when it happens.  I also loved the ethereal mood of this film and the many profound silences that permeate it, including a scene where Yusuke and Misaki simply hold their lit cigarettes out of a sunroof in a moment of solidarity that needs no dialogue.  I loved this film so much and highly recommend it because it is definitely a journey worth taking.

Hamilton at the Eccles (Again)

Even though I recently saw a performance of Hamilton at the Eccles Theater, I decided that I had to see it again during the SLC run so I bought another ticket for last night.  I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing this musical and I actually anticipated every song even more than I usually do!  The standouts for me were, once again, Julius Thomas III as Hamilton and Darnell Abraham as George Washington.  Thomas has a beautiful voice and I always love his versions of "Dear Theodosia" and "Hurricane" every time I see him perform.  Abraham (one of my favorite actors in the role) is incredibly powerful in "Right Hand Man" and "One Last Time" and both of these songs gave me goosebumps and earned thunderous applause from the audience.  The role of Aaron Burr was played by the understudy, Manuel Stark Santos, and I think he did a great job.  I was especially impressed with his performance in "The Room Where It Happens" because there was a mishap with the table and he handled it so well.  I also really enjoyed his versions of "Your Obedient Servant" and "The World Was Wide Enough" because I could really feel his anger and then his remorse.  The role of Eliza was also portrayed by the understudy, Milika Cheree (she played Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds the last time I saw it), and I honestly preferred her to Victoria Ann Scovens.  Her characterization of Eliza was different than any I have seen before and I loved her renditions of "Helpless" and "That Would Be Enough" but her performance of "Burn" was so powerful that I had a tear in my eye (that has never happened before).  I was less than enthusiastic about Rick Negron as King George when I saw him last time and, while he is definitely not as flamboyant as others I have seen in the role, he grew on me last night.  I laughed at his shenanigans during "I Know Him" and "The Reynolds Pamphlet."  I also really enjoyed watching Paris Nix as Thomas Jefferson.  I thought he was fine in his previous performance but last night he really seemed to feed off of the crowd, especially in "What'd I Miss," "Washington On Your Side," "The Reynolds Pamphlet," and "The Election of 1800" (I loved his reaction to winning the election).  The crowd last night was really boisterous and appreciative and even applauded in the middle of songs, particularly when Washington stormed the stage in "Right Hand Man" and during the dance break in "Yorktown."  I loved the energy and it was so much fun to be a part of it.  I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see it again!

Note:  I love that I ended 2021 and began 2022 by seeing my favorite musical!

Robert Trevino Conducts Walker, Grieg & Stravinsky

I was so happy to be back at Abravanel Hall last night for my first Utah Symphony concert of 2022 because it was absolutely amazing!  The orchestra began with Sinfonia No 4 "Strands" by George Walker.  I was not at all familiar with this piece (or this composer) but I really enjoyed it because it is very dramatic.  I particularly loved a theme played by a solo cello as well as themes played by the timpani and percussion, especially the gong at the end.  Next came Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto.  I was really excited for this because it is one of my favorite pieces and the orchestra and soloist Benjamin Grosvenor performed it brilliantly.  The instantly recognizable opening notes played by the piano gave me goosebumps and each successive repetition of the theme during the first movement was equally thrilling (the entire audience gave a rousing round of applause after this movement).  The second movement was my favorite because it is a just a bit melancholy and I loved the interaction between the piano and the solo horn.  I also really enjoyed all of the Norwegian folk dances featured in the third movement.  Grosvenor's fingers literally flew up and down the keyboard so he was very entertaining to watch.  He received a well-deserved standing ovation after which he performed a beautiful encore featuring Dance of the Beautiful Maiden by Alberto Ginastera.  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Petrouchka by Igor Stravinsky.  This ballet tells the story of three puppets who are brought to life at a fair in St. Petersburg and Stravinsky's music is incredibly stirring.  I could almost picture the action in my head as the orchestra played.  I especially loved the fanfare played by the brass to announce the carnival barker, the drum roll that announces the puppet show, and the theme played by the flutes as the puppets are brought to life.  All of the Russian folk music used as the puppets dance is quite exhilarating and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole piece.  This program will be performed again tonight and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

The 355

I am a huge fan of espionage movies so I have been looking forward to The 355 for weeks.  I had the chance to see it last night at a Thursday preview and I was really disappointed because it is an absolute mess.  After a computer drive capable of hacking into every secure system around the world is stolen, Mason "Mace" Browne (Jessica Chastain), a CIA agent, Khadijah Adiyeme (Lupita Nyong'o), a former MI6 agent, Marie Schmidt (Diane Kruger), a German BMD agent, and Graciela Rivera (Penelope Cruz), a psychologist with the Colombian DNI agency, decide to join forces to try to recover it.  After they are betrayed by members of their own agencies, they find an unexpected ally in Lin Mi Sheng (Fan Bingbing), a Chinese MSS agent, and go rogue to recover the drive and exact revenge.  The premise is really intriguing but the execution is terrible.  The characters are very thinly drawn and there are some major pacing issues because every time I thought there was a resolution something else would happen (I lost track of how many times the agents capture, lose, and recapture the world-ending device).  By the third act I didn't care about the fate of the device or any of the characters because I just wanted it to end.  I also predicted a major plot twist early on and I was almost disappointed when I was proven right.  All of this might be forgiven if the action sequences were exciting and engaging but the cinematography and editing are some of the worst I have ever seen.  The shaky hand-held camera work (I also lost track of how many times the camera makes a 360-degree sweep around the characters) and the disorienting split-second changes in focus gave me an actual headache.  The all-star cast is completely wasted here but at least they look good in fabulous costumes (the only good thing I can say about this movie).  I definitely recommend giving it a miss!

American Underdog

I am a sucker for inspirational sports movies and I have very vivid memories of watching Kurt Warner win Super Bowl XXXIV so I spontaneously decided to see American Underdog last night.  It is a very average biopic but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.  Warner (Zachary Levi) dreams from a very young age of becoming the MVP in the Super Bowl after watching his idol Joe Montana in Super Bowl XIX.  However, he faces many seemingly insurmountable obstacles such as being benched until his fifth year as a college athlete, not being selected during the college draft, being cut by the Green Bay Packers on the first day of training camp, being forced to stock shelves at a grocery store to make ends meet, giving up on the NFL to play in the Arena Football League, and having to prove himself over and over again to the antagonistic offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams.  Through it all, it is his relationship with his wife Brenda (Anna Paquin) and her disabled son Zack (Hayden Zaller) that inspires him to never give up.  He is finally given an opportunity when the Rams' starting quarterback is injured in a preseason game and, despite throwing an interception during his first play, he goes on to achieve his dream.  This movie focuses more on Warner's personal life than it does on football and, while I did appreciate seeing his struggles off the field, I wish it had included more of him on the field.  The few football sequences we get are a lot of fun, especially the requisite training montage featuring "Boom" by P.O.D. and the trash talking from Ray Lewis (Nic Harris) during his first game, but the depiction of his success with the Rams feels very rushed.  I also think the use of actual footage from several key games is sloppy.  Levi and Paquin give very affecting performances but nobody else makes much of an impression (Dennis Quaid has little more than a cameo).  There are flaws but there are also quite a few stand up and cheer moments (my favorite is when a stock boy who worked with Warner puts the Sports Illustrated with him on the cover out for display) and I did enjoy it.  This might be one that you can wait to see on a streaming platform but it is worth seeing.

Note:  The one and only time I waited at the stage door was for Zachary Levi after She Loves Me on Broadway.  He signed autographs and posed for pictures with everyone in line (Jane Krakowski flounced after only a few) and I found him to be incredibly charming.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Last night I saw my first film of 2022, The Tragedy of Macbeth, at the Broadway and I could not have picked a better one to start the year because it is a brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's Scottish play.  After Macbeth (Denzel Washington), the Thane of Glamis, is victorious in battle, he is met by Three Witches (all played by Kathryn Hunter) who prophesy that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland.  When King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson) bestows the title of Cawdor on him, he starts to believe the prophecy will eventually come true.  However, the ambitious Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) is not content to wait and spurs him on to take matters into his own hands.  After the brutal murder of Duncan, his son Malcolm (Harry Melling) flees and Macbeth takes the throne but he is forced to kill again and again to keep it.  Both he and Lady Macbeth come undone because of their guilt over their bloody deeds until another prophecy comes true and Macbeth is defeated by Macduff (Corey Hawkins).  This adaptation is quite faithful to the original text but the action is stripped down to just the essentials and the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are much older and the motivation for their actions is informed by their age and the notion that time is running out for them to achieve their ambitions.  Both Washington and McDormand give riveting performances and the rest of the cast is also outstanding, particularly Stephen Root in a small role as the Porter.  This film is very moody and atmospheric with black and white photography, menacing sound design, and sets that feel more theatrical than cinematic.  I loved the use of light and shadow against stark geometric shapes, especially as Macbeth walks down a long corridor to reach the king's chamber.  I also enjoyed the staging of Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane and the fight between Macbeth and Macduff on the ramparts of the castle.  Finally, the use of birds as a portent of danger in the opening scene, as a representation of the Three Witches, and as a representation of the ghost of Banquo (Bertie Carvell) is incredibly unsettling and, therefore, highly effective.  I love the play Macbeth and this adaptation is one of the best I've seen (the people in my audience applauded at the end) so I highly recommend it.