January 10th, 2006
With the new year comes a new set of movies about music at The Gene Siskel Film Center.
THE SPECIAL: THE STORY OF AN AMERICAN ANTHEM
2005, Bestor Cram, USA, 73 min.
Named after a Florida-bound locomotive in the early 1900s, “The Orange Blossom Special” has become an emblem of American bluegrass. THE SPECIAL captures the rich history of hard-luck composer Ervin T. Rouse and his famous song, which begins with a train whistle and can whip a crowd into a frenzy.
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM-A STRUGGLE FOR LOVE
2005, Ciro Cappellari, Germany, 60 min.
Fusing the sounds of South Africa with jazz improvisation and classical music, Abdullah Ibrahim (known as Dollar Brand before his 1968 conversion to Islam) has performed with legends like Don Cherry, Hugh Masekela, and Max Roach, as well as composing the scores for such films as Claire Denis’s CHOCOLAT. Produced in celebration of the composer’s 70th birthday, this portrait illuminates the complex and brilliant musician whose music has the ability to transform and heal.
930 F STREET
2004, Tarik Dahir and Jeff Gaul, USA, 87 min.
A music scene requires a great club-New York’s CBGB’s, L.A.’s Whisky A Go-Go, Chicago’s Lounge Ax. Renowned as one of the first venues to hold shows for all ages, Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club fueled the 1980s straight-edge punk movement. Kids wore big black X’s on their hands to signify that they were not there to drink-the music was what mattered. Interviews with patrons, staff, and bands (Bad Brains, Minor Threat, The Rollins Band, Clutch, REM) capture the time and the place.
ROMANTICO
2005, Mark Becker, USA, 80 min.
Director Becker set out to make a film about two mariachi musicians in San Francisco, but, when one of them returns to Mexico to take care of his mother, a story about sacrificing money for family unfolds. ROMANTICO combines the vibrant colors and sounds of a small town in Mexico, the bitterness of experiencing unequal standards of living in two neighboring nations, and the mingled joy and pain of living a simple, unassuming life as a mariachi musician.
Now that I have an iPass…
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