Spanish Language Film Series Set At KinoSaito In Verplanck

VERPLANCK, NY — A free series of Spanish language films will be presented at the KinoSaito gallery in Verplanck.

The gallery’s free-admission Spring 2024 Spanish Language Film Series will be held at 6 p.m. on Fridays: March 29, April 26 and May 31.

According to organizers, the lecture, screening and discussion program will focus on three theatrical Spanish language features: Two Monks (Dos monjes, 1934), Talk to Her (Hable con ella, 2002), and Official Competition (Competencia oficial, 2021).

The series will take place at KinoSaito’s St. Patrick’s School, 115 7th St. in Verplanck.

Refreshments will be provided.

The first film — on March 29 — is Juan Bustillo Oro’s classic 1934 melodramatic film “Two Monks.” Oro is considered to be the pioneer of Mexican gothic cinema, according to a spokesperson.

It tells a story of an unwell monk savagely attacking a new brother in his cloister who he recognizes from his past. The film portrays the men’s tragic shared past once from the point of view of each, heightening the difference between the two accounts with visual flourishes drawn from the language of German expressionism.

Before the screening, guest speaker Paula Halperin, associate professor of cinema studies and history and director at SUNY Purchase College’s School of Film and Media Studies, will present a historical introduction and lead a post-screening discussion.

The two other films are:

On April 26th, Talk to Her (116 minutes) by Pedro Almodóvar, is a psychological drama that also incorporates flashbacks of two men who’ve met in the past and coincidentally are connected later in the future. One man, a travel writer, begins a relationship with a famed female matador who then falls into a coma after a bull ring tragedy, and while waiting at her hospital bedside, he recognizes a male nurse keeping a similar watch over a comatose ballet dancer. In 2003, the film won Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and Best Film Not in the English Language at the BAFTA. Almodóvar creates a yummily ridiculous melodrama of unusual emotional power. The New York Times described it as, “The most mature work this director has ever brought to the screen… [has] the freakish, elegant calm of early Tennessee Williams.”

Official Competition (114 minutes), which will be screened on May 31st, is a dark comedy directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn about a billionaire entrepreneur who decides to get into the movie business to extend his legacy before he passes. He commissions international auteur director Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz), Hollywood heartthrob Felix Rivero (Antonio Banderas), and titan of the stage Ivan Torres (Oscar Martínez) to create a cinematic sensation. Lola incorporates an unexpected series of “rehearsals” for the participating actors who have huge egos in this sharp showbiz skit.

Each film presented in the series will be introduced by a film history expert and will have a facilitated discussion afterward.

Seating is limited, so advanced registration is required here.