The Visitor

Tom McCarthy had a breakout hit as writer / director with his debut feature The Station Agent. He has followed up with another acclaimed film which is also garnering talk about a possible Oscar nomination for the wonderful character actor, Richard Jenkins, in his first leading role in over 50 films.

The Visitor, was a big hit with our audience of 470. The film thoughtfully deals with a variety of themes including how people from different cultures can positively impact one another, how music transcends boundaries and cultural divides, how one's judgement of others can be easily be clouded by political constraints, and how small arbitrary decisions can completely redirect one's life. McCarthy, an acclaimed character actor himself, obtains wonderful naturalistic performances from both of the experienced actors (Richard Jenkins and Hiam Abbass) as well as the two younger actors.

Here is an informative interview with the writer/director.

http://theeveningclass.blogspot.com/2008/04/visitor-evening-class-interview-with_18.html

Let us know your thoughts on the film.

Julian D.

Young@Heart

Our opening screening for the 2008 fall season, Young @ Heart, was a tremendous success before an appreciative audience of 460. This inspirational, entertaining and uplifting film was extremely well received by the audience. Watching this documentary became a very moving experience not only due to seeing a chorus of 70+ year olds learning and singing difficult songs from classic rock and punk rock but also due to experiencing how their lives and relationships unfolded throughout the six weeks of the film shoot. It was revealing to see how the lyrics of these songs became so much more meaningful in this setting. Young @ Heart was preceded by the Oscar nominated short, I Met The Walrus, in which John Lennon's words during an interview with a 14 year-old Toronto boy, are played over the backdrop of supporting computer animation and pen illustrations. A very thought-provoking short, still very pertinent despite the fact that the interview occurred 40 years ago. The short can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA2luBCxZIw&feature=related.

What are your thoughts about the film or short?

Julian D.