Author: theryder

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, playing in our virtual theater, explores the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact. Sacks was a fearless explorer of unknown mental worlds who helped redefine our understanding of the brain and mind, the diversity of human experience, and our shared humanity. Directed by Ric Burns. (111 min)

Critics Pick! A deftly edited mix of archival footage, still imagery, talking-head interviews and in-the-moment narrative, “His Own Life” — which in a perfect world would be a companion piece to Sacks’s book, not the substitute some might make it — illuminates details of what can only be called an extraordinary existence. It beautifully presents a portrait of his compassion and bravery. –The New York Times

WHY THE RYDER NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT (Yes, we know, everyone is asking for your support.)

Through the years, The Ryder has been generously supported by local shops and restaurants, many of them purchasing ad space simply because they wanted to support a community magazine. Their support has benefited not just the magazine, but also, indirectly, the Film Series.
When the pandemic struck in March we decided that it was our turn to step up. Rather than suspend publication, we made the decision to publish the magazine electronically without ad revenue. Ads would be run for free. We thought the pandemic would be under control by September and we could then make up for some of the lost funds. Clearly, we were wrong about that. Today, with the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, we are asking for your support to publish The Ryder into the spring.  Read more

A Conversation with SCOTT RUSSELL SANDERS Morgenstern’s Bookstore is hosting an online talk with Bloomington essayist Scott Russell Sanders. The conversation touches on the role of imagination in art, science, social reform, ethics, and everyday life. Friday, October 2nd @ 5PM LIVE Author Talks This talk with Scott Sanders is inspired by his recently  published work, The Way of Imagination, a 0guide on how imagination can help us navigate turbulent times and find solutions in the face of harrowing environment and social challenges. Click on these links to listen in on Zoom or Facebook live*

A Greek tragedy set in contemporary Israel, God of the Piano is the story of a concert pianist from a respected musical family who has never been able to live up to her father’s stratospheric expectations. When she becomes pregnant, she transfers her hope of being a musical prodigy onto her child. She is devastated when her son is born deaf, but she doubles down on her dream, obsessively grooming him for stardom. But as the young pianist grows up, his lack of respect for his grandfather becomes an obstacle to his career. This beautifully composed film has the pacing of a thriller. (Israel / 80 minutes)

“CRITIC’S PICK! Tal’s style has a simultaneous simplicity and density that has an affinity with the works of Lucrecia Martel and Michael Haneke. Rarely does a debut feature showcase a talent so fully formed. This is a remarkably potent film.” – Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

WHY THE RYDER NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT (Yes, we know, everyone is asking for your support.)

Through the years, The Ryder has been generously supported by local shops and restaurants, many of them purchasing ad space simply because they wanted to support a community magazine. Their support has benefited not just the magazine, but also, indirectly, the Film Series.
When the pandemic struck in March we decided that it was our turn to step up. Rather than suspend publication, we made the decision to publish the magazine electronically without ad revenue. Ads would be run for free. We thought the pandemic would be under control by September and we could then make up for some of the lost funds. Clearly, we were wrong about that. Today, with the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, we are asking for your support to publish The Ryder into the spring.  Read more

A Conversation with Scott Russell Sanders Morgenstern’s Bookstore is hosting an online talk with Bloomington author Scott Russell Sanders. The conversation touches on the role of imagination in art, science, social reform, ethics, and everyday life. Friday, October 2nd @ 5PM LIVE Author Talks This talk with Scott Sanders is inspired by his recently  published work, The Way of Imagination, a 0guide on how imagination can help us navigate turbulent times and find solutions in the face of harrowing environment and social challenges. Click on these links to listen in on Zoom or Facebook live*

We wish we were not writing this. Or at least that the circumstances were different. We’ve had requests to bring back the documentary, RBG, which we screened when it was released in 2018. Beginning Friday, RBG will be shown in our virtual theater. We are donating 100% of our share of the ticket sales (our share is approximately 50%) to Middle Way House.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg created a breathtaking legal legacy for women’s rights while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. The personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior’s rise to the nation’s highest court during a hostile time for women, is revealed in this inspiring and multidimensional portrait. Ruth Bader Ginsburg died last week at the age of 87; her voice is more essential than ever (97 min)

The idea that women are equal citizens — that barring them from certain jobs and educational opportunities and treating them as the social inferiors of men are unfair — may not seem especially controversial now. RBG uses Justice Ginsburg’s own experiences to emphasize how different things were not so long ago. The movie’s touch is light and its spirit buoyant, but there is no mistaking its seriousness or its passion. Those qualities resonate powerfully in the dissents that may prove to be Justice Ginsburg’s most enduring legacy, and RBG is, above all, a tribute to her voice. –A.O. Scott, The New York Times

WHY THE RYDER NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT TODAY

Through the years, The Ryder has been generously supported by local shops and restaurants, many of them purchasing ad space simply because they wanted to support a community magazine. Their support has benefited not just the magazine, but also, indirectly, the Film Series.
When the pandemic struck in March we decided that it was our turn to step up. Rather than suspend publication, we made the decision to publish the magazine without ad revenue. Ads would be run for free. We thought the pandemic would be under control by September and we could then make up for some of the lost funds. Clearly, we were wrong about that. Today, with the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, we are asking for your support to publish The Ryder into the spring. Read more

Did you have a stamp collection when you were growing up? Or maybe you collected baseball cards. Or bottle caps. You don’t have to be a vinyl enthusiast to appreciate Vinyl Nation, just one of the films playing this week in our virtual cinema.

The vinyl record renaissance over the past decade has brought new fans to a classic format and transformed our idea of a record collector: younger, both male and female, multicultural. Vinyl Nation digs into the crates of the record resurgence in search of truths set in deep wax: Has the return of vinyl made music fandom more inclusive or divided? What does vinyl say about our past here in the present? How has the second life of vinyl changed how we hear music and how we listen to each other? Directed by Christopher Boone and Kevin Smokler, Vinyl Nation is at once a provocative look at the vinyl renaissance and a love letter to the secret delights of collectors of everything, everywhere. (92 minutes)

There’s lots more playing this week:

from Iran: COUP 53: This twisty documentary takes a deep dive into the secret history behind the 1953 CIA-MI6 led coup that overthrew the democratically elected president of Iran, and changed the course of the Middle East. There are many surprises in Coup 53, including Ralph Fiennes in an unexpected role. The filmmakers to tell the story of the overthrow of the Iranian government in unprecedented detail, but also uncover dark secrets that have been buried for 67 years.

from Japan: We Are Little Zombies: Alone in the world with no future, no dreams, and no way to move forward, four 13-year-olds dress themselves in scraps from a garbage dump, track down musical instruments, and decide to form a kick-ass band. CRITIC’S PICK! Wry humor, absurd dialogue and unflagging energy propel this dazzling, manic debut from Makoto Nagahisa…. he throws an entire box of tricks at the screen. Splitting it in two, fading to black and white, writing over it, and dunking an entire scene into a fishbowl, he fashions a fantasia of pranks so unexpected and colors so intense, they could make you hallucinate. – The New York Times

from France: My Dog Stupid: A middle-aged writer takes in an enormous stray dog against the wishes of his wife and four spoiled adult kids. (The family dynamic is amazing.) The dog, affectionately named “Stupid,” serves as both literary muse and a remembrance of lost, youthful rebellion.

from Germany: Bungalow: A major work of the celebrated Berlin School, Bungalow is a mesmerizing portrait of a young German soldier named Paul who goes AWOL and returns to his childhood home in the countryside. Over a few summer days, Paul evades the responsibilities of everyday life and falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend, disrupting the lives of everyone in his circle.

from Portugal: Paulo Rocha Long un-screened in the United States, Paulo Rocha’s ​The Green Years​ and ​Change of Life​ are two key entries in the Portuguese New Wave. Both have been restored by the Portuguese Cinematheque and are showing this week in our virtual cinema.

WE’RE SHOWING LOTS OF OTHER EXCITING FILMS: HERE IS A COMPLETE SCHEDULE:

The August/September issue of The Ryder magazine is also our annual fiction issue. Some great short stories by local storytellers as well as several non-fiction features.

This twisty documentary takes a deep dive into the secret history behind the 1953 CIA-MI6 led coup that overthrew the democratically elected president of Iran, and changed the course of the Middle East. There are many surprises in Coup 53, including Ralph Fiennes in an unexpected role.

While making a documentary about the Anglo-American coup in Iran in 1953, Iranian director Taghi Amirani and legendary editor Walter Murch) (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The English Patient) discover extraordinary never-before-seen archival material hidden for decades. The 16mm footage and documents not only allow the filmmakers to tell the story of the overthrow of the Iranian government in unprecedented detail, but also lead to explosive revelations about dark secrets buried for 67 years. What begins as a history documentary about 4 days in August 1953 turns into a live investigation, taking the filmmakers into uncharted cinematic waters.

The roots of Iran’s volatile relationship with Britain and America has never been so forensically and dramatically exposed. Twists and reveals that would make John le Carré smile. – Financial Times

There are lots of other films that you can see this week in our virtual cinema including . . .

from Japan: We Are Little Zombies: Alone in the world with no future, no dreams, and no way to move forward, four 13-year-olds dress themselves in scraps from a garbage dump, track down musical instruments, and decide to form a kick-ass band. CRITIC’S PICK! Wry humor, absurd dialogue and unflagging energy propel this dazzling, manic debut from Makoto Nagahisa…. he throws an entire box of tricks at the screen. Splitting it in two, fading to black and white, writing over it, and dunking an entire scene into a fishbowl, he fashions a fantasia of pranks so unexpected and colors so intense, they could make you hallucinate. – The New York Times

from France: My Dog Stupid: A middle-aged writer takes in an enormous stray dog against the wishes of his wife and four spoiled adult kids. (The family dynamic is amazing.) The dog, affectionately named “Stupid,” serves as both literary muse and a remembrance of lost, youthful rebellion.

from Germany: Bungalow: A major work of the celebrated Berlin School, Bungalow is a mesmerizing portrait of a young German soldier named Paul who goes AWOL and returns to his childhood home in the countryside. Over a few summer days, Paul evades the responsibilities of everyday life and falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend, disrupting the lives of everyone in his circle.

from Portugal: Paulo Rocha Long un-screened in the United States, Paulo Rocha’s ​The Green Years​ and ​Change of Life​ are two key entries in the Portuguese New Wave. Both have been restored by the Portuguese Cinematheque and are showing this week in our virtual cinema.

WE’RE SHOWING LOTS OF OTHER EXCITING FILMS: HERE IS A COMPLETE SCHEDULE:

Don’t forget to check out the new issue of The Ryder magazine

The Ryder is normally distributed free throughout Bloomington and supported by local advertising. That is not the case during the pandemic. The display ads in this issue have been offered to restaurants and community organizations at no charge. So if you read an article that you like or just want to support locally produced, independent journalism, please consider making a donation.

A major work of the celebrated Berlin School, the debut of Ulrich Köhler (In My Room) is a mesmerizing portrait of a young German soldier named Paul who goes AWOL and returns to his childhood home in the countryside. Over a few summer days, Paul evades the responsibilities of everyday life and falls in love with his brother’s girlfriend, disrupting the lives of everyone in his circle. With Köhler’s penchant for deadpan humor and subtle performances, Bungalow becomes a quiet mockery of militarism, familial estrangement, and youthful ennui. New 4K Restoration.

Critic’s Pick! Köhler’s first film, newly available in the U.S., is a secretive and beautifully observant study of teenage disaffection. — The New York Times

Our annual fiction issue is on the stands. Special thanks to Fiction Editor Justin Chandler who read through the many submissions we received and chose the six that we have published. “Fiction is often most celebrated when it is most individualistic,” Justin says, “presenting an experience that is unlike any other, equating privacy and originality with authenticity. If that’s the case, is fiction capable of presenting life as a collective exercise? How do you tell the story of a pandemic? Of a divided populace? Of indifferent or even malevolent elected officials? It’s a year like no other and I hope that each of these stories offers you something new—if nothing else, the pleasure of reading, the opportunity to briefly step away from the endless barrage of information and to think newly and differently about the world.”

Henri is a middle-aged writer in crisis. He wrote one great novel 25 years earlier but not much since. Just at a time when he assesses of his life, an enormous gray dog, impolite and smelly, sneaks into his house. Against the wishes of his wife and four spoiled kids, he decides to keep the dog, whom he names, affectionately, Stupid. Merging elements of John Cassavetes and the Coen Brothers, My Dog Stupid is a refreshingly honest look at the ups-and-downs of love and aging starring iconic real-life couple Charlotte Gainsbourg & Yvan Attal, who also wrote and directed. Based on a story by American cult novelist John Fante. Although his books were championed by the likes of Charles Bukowski, considered precursors to the Beats and adapted into several movies, John Fante remains a fairly unknown quantity in the U.S., whereas in France he’s an author whose work can be found at any local bookstore. (France / subtitled / 105 min / 2020)

Here are some of the other films on our calendar:

Aria In 1987, ten of the world’s most creative and celebrated directors (Robert Altman, Jean Luc Godard) were each given the same brief: to choose a piece of opera music and then present a visual interpretation of that music with complete artistic freedom. “Ten directors work magic!” – Critics Choice, Time Magazine

HELMUT NEWTON – THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL One of the great masters of photography, Helmut Newton made a name for himself exploring the female form. Did he empower his subjects or treat them as sexual objects?

The 11th Green An investigative reporter, a post World War II government conspiracy, and extraterrestrials — what more could you ask for? “Wildly inventive . . . a work of meticulous historical reimagination. . .” – The New Yorker

CREEM Some consider Creem to be the greatest rock ‘n’ roll magazine ever published (with an iconic mascot designed by cartoonist, Robert Crumb). Started in Detroit in 1969 by Barry Kramer, the magazine aimed to be the anti-Rolling Stone. Alice Cooper, Cameron Crowe, and Michael Stipe talk about the magazine’s take-no-prisoners rock authenticity both in print and in real life.

We Are Little Zombies: Alone in the world with no future, no dreams, and no way to move forward, four 13-year-olds dress themselves in scraps from a garbage dump, track down musical instruments, and decide to form a kick-ass band. CRITIC’S PICK! Wry humor, absurd dialogue and unflagging energy propel this dazzling, manic debut from Makoto Nagahisa…. he throws an entire box of tricks at the screen. Splitting it in two, fading to black and white, writing over it, and dunking an entire scene into a fishbowl, he fashions a fantasia of pranks so unexpected and colors so intense, they could make you hallucinate. – The New York Times

Don’t forget to check out the new issue of The Ryder magazine

The Ryder is normally distributed free throughout Bloomington and supported by local advertising. That is not the case during the pandemic. The display ads in this issue have been offered to restaurants and community organizations at no charge. So if you read an article that you like or just want to support locally produced, independent journalism, please consider making a donation.

With IU reopening, we’ve received a number of emails asking when we will be screening films in person on campus. When we stopped showing films face-to-face in March we thought there was a fairly good chance that by late August the pandemic would be under control and we could resume in-person screenings. Clearly, that is not the case. And although the screening rooms on campus are open for limited classroom use, we would not be able to screen films in person and follow IU’s guidelines. We wish we could give you an expected date as to when we could watch a movie together again but (let’s face it) it’s really anybody’s guess.

We will be continuing with our virtual film program. You’re right – it’s not the same. But it’s still a nice alternative while we shelter-in-place.

Stay safe and be smart.