The free Environmental Perspectives in Film series is back on the Gorham campus for another season. Don’t miss this opportunity to relax and enjoy a mid-week movie break. Arrive alone or with a friend and leave with a fresh new perspective on the value of the connections between all species and the planet itself.
Following each film, Professor Travis Wagner, Department of Environmental Science, will lead an optional discussion. Films are shown at 6:30 p.m., locations as below or TBA. The wonderful free refreshments include selections of locally-baked, organic muffins, cookies, fruit, “natural” soda, organic popcorn and other satisfying, yet more sustainable munchies.
With participant’s help, a good-faith effort is made to compost, recycle, or return-for-deposit the food packaging and organic leftovers. Better taste, less waste. Tear out this week’s column and post it on your bulletin board to remind you of these upcoming films:
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Oct. 13 in 101 Bailey Hall
“Never Cry Wolf” PG Would you eat a mouse? Would it have to be cooked? This film got lots of rave reviews on Amazon and averaged 4.5 stars. Sean Axmaker writes Amazon’s review and tells us that “Charles Martin Smith plays green biologist Tyler, sent by the Canadian government to “prove” that the wolves are depleting the caribou herds, but what he finds is a natural world in perfect harmony where he becomes a tolerated outsider.” Based on a book by Farley Mowat, the film features an occasionally nude biologist that engages in a pissing contest with a wolf pack in the Canadian wilderness. Find out who wins. The film offers great vistas of the Canadian North lands.
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Nov. 17 in 102 Bailey Hall
“A Civil Action” PG-13 Stars John Travolta and Robert Duvall. Four stars from Amazon.
An enviro-legal thriller set in a New England town not far from Portland, Maine. Amazon’s review by Doug Thomas states: “a labyrinthine case involving industrial pollution by two highly regarded corporations, contaminated drinking water and the deaths of innocent children in New England, circa 1981…a maddening and rewarding look at the elusiveness of the courtroom case.”
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Dec. 1 in the John Mitchell Center Lecture Hall
“Koyaanisqatsi” (unrated) The title means “life out of balance.” Difficult to pronounce but apparently amazing to view, this work by first-time filmmaker Godfrey Reggio on a tiny budget with no script, attracted the support of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. With great music by Philip Glass, this film has delighted college students for years. On Amazon, Wing J. Flanagan writes that the film is “the essence of “pure cinema” – a work of art that simply could not exist in any other medium. It is as arresting, lyrical, awe-inspiring, emotionally satisfying and intellectually challenging as any film could be”. B. Bird, also on Amazon, adds: “The cinematography and soundtrack offer a stunning experience for the viewer to contemplate man’s struggle with himself.”
January (date and location TBA)
“Watership Down” PG Would you believe the struggles portrayed in “Atlas Shrugged” set in a community of rabbits? Well, not quite, but this animated feature was not made for children. A long book by the same title was made into a thankfully shorter movie (92 minutes). The viewer will soon understand that this is not a movie about rabbits. Amazon gives it 4.5 stars and calls it “rich storytelling…engaging and satisfying”.
February (date and location TBA)
“The Prophecy” (PG) Three star average from Amazon. You could buy the DVD used for $9.25 or come to the film series for free. The Amazon review, in part: “John Frankenheimer updates the mutant-monster films of the 1950s with a modern environmental twist in this well-meaning but clich?-ridden late-’70s horror film. Robert Foxworth is so earnest it hurts as a rabble-rousing ghetto doctor who packs up his pregnant wife (Talia Shire) and heads out to the Maine woods to investigate claims of environmental pollution.”
March (date and location TBA)
“Three Mile Island” Anyone who reads this title and doesn’t know what it refers to should probably come see the movie and chew on the organic goodies while they last…
April (date and location TBA)
“Where the Rivers Flow North” (PG-13) Five stars from Amazon. The Amazon reviewer notes that the film is “beautifully photographed.” Rip Torn offers a commanding performance in this 1993 drama set in Virginia in 1927. A logger defends his property against a pair of power-company executives seeking to build a dam. The strength of the relationship portrayed between Torn and Native American actress Tantoo Cardinal gives the film much of its spirited appeal.