Suggested by Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, this graceful and well-acted drama set on an Australian sheep farm shortly after the end of World War II is written and directed by distinguished London stage director Michael Blakemore, who also costars; the other leading cast members are Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi, and Kerry Fox. Your first reaction may be to wonder whether in fact we need another Uncle Vanya so soon after Louis Malle’s Vanya on 42nd Street, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the freshness and skill of this version. Fine Arts. Read more
Winner of the audience award at the Sundance film festival and two years in the making, this informative and chilling documentary by Heather MacDonald (1994) is about a telling sign of the New Barbarism–the 1992 Oregon ballot proposal to deny civil rights to homosexuals–and the accompanying political campaigns for and against it. More terrifying than anything shown in the film are the outcomes of similar propositions in Oregon and other states since 1992; when she showed this film in Berlin, MacDonald had plenty to say about those proposals, and she’ll be present at the Saturday screening to discuss them. Film Center, Art Institute, Columbus Drive at Jackson, Saturday, August 5, 8:00, and Tuesday and Thursday, August 8 and 10, 6:00, 443-3737. Read more
