Some films can take your breath away. You forget your life, your work and your worries; they grab hold of you and refuse to let you go until the closing credits role.
We go to the movies for many different reasons. For many it is just about entertainment. For some, it is a form of escape. A great film, that envelopes you in its world, that takes hold of your primary senses and runs with them, can be a wonderful release.
Last Friday, before heading to President Shirley Tilghman's installation party, I heard on National Public Radio that the weekend box office draw for the top 10 films in the country was more than twice that of the same weekend last year.
I finally had a chance to go home to New York recently. I did not look out the window as the train approached the Hudson. These days a lot of people are looking to escape.
Fortunately, there are plenty of films to escape to this weekend. Even if you are sans car, there are a few good options in and around campus.
The new Swedish film, "Together," playing at the Garden Theaters, is a quirky emotional roller coaster of a film, and a real treat.
European independent films often have a totally different feel to them compared to their American counterparts, independent or otherwise, and this film is no exception. There is a certain rawness to the approach to storytelling in "Together" that Hollywood filmmakers simply cannot get away with.
"Together" will challenge your expectations both with its subject matter and with its old-fashioned cinematic style, which relies heavily on the use of zoom lenses and stark changes to the depth of field.
This jerky style has all but vanished from contemporary American cinema but was popular in the '70s and contributes to the strong '70s sensibility of the film.
It's an ensemble piece which takes place primarily in and around an ad hoc Socialist cooperative called "Together" and is set in the Stockholm of 1975.
The story revolves around the characters' struggle for a sense of togetherness, both in their interpersonal relations and with respect to their self-identities.
The film is charged with issues of sexual, political and familial tension and manages to achieve both exhilarating highs and woeful lows. It is simultaneously quite funny and deeply touching.
The cast is uniformly strong, and I was especially impressed by the children, who give some of the most natural performances I have ever seen from child actors. When one child remarks, "God, all adults are idiots," the audience realizes how, in many ways, the children understand far more than their parents what being together is really worth.
For those of you who have yet to see the newly renovated Garden, you will not recognize it. They have more or less started from scratch, and the theaters now rival the more pricey options on U.S. 1. Stadium seating replaces the condemned balcony and decaying mezzanine of years past. Juniors and seniors out there will be amazed by the dramatic changes.
The wide-release (read "Hollywood") movie in town is "Hearts In Atlantis," based on one of Stephen King's kinder, gentler novels. Note: Sir Anthony Hopkins will NOT be eating anyone in this film.
If you missed the witty animated comedy "Shrek" this summer, you have exactly three more chances to see it on the big screen in Princeton.
The UFO, well into its second year, and complete with a brand new Executive Committee at the helm, will screen the film Friday and Saturday evenings.
Macauley C.S. Peterson '01 is a contributor to The Independent Film & Video Monthly and Princetonian's Access Arts columnist.
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