Posts from — October 2008

           The American flag wasn’t the only thing with flying colors at the Barrow Street Theatre this September 25^th. Each actor performing in “In Conflict” successfully fulfilled the roles of various soldiers being interviewed after returning home from the war. Most of the actors even had to play several different roles of soldiers with completely opposite experiences.

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Combine charisma, wisdom, and wit, and what do you get? Author Francine Prose. Her name certainly suits her profession and her personality shows how well she can live up to the surname of Prose. At a recent by her at Baruch College, she surprised the audience by sharing one of her earlier short stories instead an excerpt from her newest novel. Through it, she describes her writing process and in it, she reveals her skillful use language. [Read more →]

Francine Prose, prolific author of more than 12 books and countless short stories, arrived at Baruch College yesterday evening for a reading of her newest novel, Goldengrove.

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The off Broadway play In Conflict is a production in conflict. Its shortcoming lies in the director’s (Douglas C. Wager) inability to transform Yvonne Latty’s text (In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss, and the Fight to Stay Alive) into anything more than an embellished audio book.
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Bartlett Sher’s revival of the 1950’s Rogers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” is more like a rebirth. The production illuminates the controversy that played such a big part in the original production. Unlike most revivals, “South Pacific” is not a foggy reenactment of an outdated show; it is brought to us in full color, with all the vivacity of the first showing.
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The Holocaust, not again!

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“Waltz with Bashir” is director Ari Folman’s autobiographical documentary about a soldier’s pilgrimage to remember his service in the first Lebanese war. Countless interviews with former comrades help to jog Folman’s memory; slowly bits and pieces of his experiences surface, finally culminating in the monumental realization that he played an active role in the 1982 massacre in Sabra and Shatila.

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source: www.baruch.cuny.edu, photo by Marion Ettlinger

It begins much like any other show.  There are introductions outlining the point of the evening, there are forgettable speeches received with light applauses, and there are refreshments devoured before the arrival of most guests.  Yet, amidst all this sits a woman with an air of confidence and self-acknowledgment, knowing full well that all these arrangements have been made in her honor.  In that crowd of dozens, it is easy to point out Francine Prose, the Fall 2008 Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence. [Read more →]

Ari Folman’s film Waltz with Bashir is a bizarre and intriguing animated film regarding certain events that occurred during Folman’s life. The movie opens with the scene of menacing dogs, foaming at the mouth, running through the streets of an undisclosed city. This perplexing scene is just enough to spark the viewer’s interest. The film draws on the life of the director and the events that occur are so unreal, that it would be hard for anyone to fabricate them if they tried. While there are many humorous and dreamlike moments, the topic however, is very serious. The film deals with the idea that war really does have an adverse effect on those who are directly touched by it whether they know it or not. [Read more →]

Cannes 2008 – Jour Deux

Most people go to movies to get away from reality for a few hours, and to immerse themselves in a world of pretense. Waltz with Bashir is a movie made in Israel, and it was included in the Lincoln Center film festival. Film festivals show movies that are different from the average Hollywood film. The idea is that people can see movies that are from various cultures or genres. Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary.

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