This salon will be held on Zoom. Watch The Squid and the Whale on Kanopy and then join us for the discussion!
March 18 – The Squid and the Whale (2005) 81 min directed by Noah Baumbach, starring Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, and Jesse Eisenberg
It's 1986, and Bernard and Joan Berkman are divorcing. They share a home in Brooklyn with their two sons and one cat. The process of splitting is told in alternating funny and excruciating detail in director-screenwriter Noah Baumbach's semi autobiographical art house hit. The toxic stew of recriminations, hurt, revenge, and shared custody play out on their sons, aged sixteen and twelve. Pathologies appear that are disturbing yet altogether understandable, affecting every relationship around them. Baumbach's film achieves a remarkable intimacy through direct and honest storytelling, and the cast, also including William Baldwin and Anna Paquin, is perfect. Nominated for Best Original Screenplay. (Image used with permission of Kanopy Inc.)
CinemaLit / March 2022 – Family Dramas: Epic and Intimate
March at CinemaLit features a diverse roster of films exploring the complex dynamics of family. Though they are nominally dramas, each comes leavened with humor and heart. Lion (2016) and Nowhere in Africa (2001) explore the geographic, cultural, and interpersonal boundaries of family, while The Squid and the Whale (2005) and Lady Bird (2017) are coming of age stories emphasizing parent-child relationships.
This year's Academy Awards will be doled out on March 27. Each of these films was a nominee or winner in major categories. Come see what the Academy judged as excellent in years gone by. We think they're still excellent.
Matthew Kennedy, CinemaLit’s curator, has written biographies of Marie Dressler, Joan Blondell, and Edmund Goulding. His book Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s, was the basis of a film series on Turner Classic Movies.
“I don't have a favorite film,” Matthew says. "I find that my relationships to films, actors, genres, and directors change as I change over the years. Some don't hold up. Some look more profound, as though I've caught up with their artistry. I feel that way about Garbo, Cary Grant, director John Cassavetes, and others."
“Classic films have historical context, something only time can provide,” Matt observes. “They become these great cultural artifacts, so revealing of tastes, attitudes, and assumptions.”
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