The Seattle Times: ArtsPage

16 favorite foreign films

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:42:53 PDT

Hello readers. We have a winner in today's favorite-foreign-film contest. Out of a number of reader submissions, we pulled "Run, Lola, Run" out of a hat, which means that a reader calling him/herself "mathteam" will win two free tickets to Seattle International Film Festival. (Check back next Thursday/Friday for another giveaway.)

"Run Lola Run" first showed in Seattle in the late '90s at SIFF, coincidentally. Here's what longtime Seattle Times reviewer John Hartl had to say about it then: "Possibly the showiest, most energy-charged movie in this year's Seattle International Film Festival, this German production offers multiple versions of the same story: a woman trying to save her boyfriend from a vicious gangster."

We thought you might also like to see a list of the other foreign films recommended by readers. Descriptions here are cribbed from Seattle Times reviewers Moira Macdonald, John Hartl, Jeff Shannon and others.

"Amelie," a beguiling romantic comedy from French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Delicatessen," "City of Lost Children"), starring Audrey Tautou.

"The Band's Visit," by Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin, a film about music, unlikely friendship and finding a little bit of home in a faraway place.

"Brotherhood of the Wolf," a 2002 French creature feature full of chills, action, romance and adventure. Note: This one's heavy on violence and gore.

"Das Boot," a classic war film set on a German submarine in WWII.

"Cinema Paradiso," a beautiful Italian art-house film about beautiful Italian art-house filmgoing.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," a ground-breaking, dreamlike martial-arts fantasy directed by Ang Lee.

"Departures," from Japan, an elegant, beautifully mounted meditation on death, funeral customs and parent-child relations.

"Diva," a gorgeous, 1981 French thriller that touches on opera and obsession.

"Hanna," a British-German thriller starring Saoirse Ronan as a feral child who is part angsty adolescent, part homicidal secret agent.

"House," a Japanese horror film made in 1977, which marked the bold debut of director Nobuhiko Obayashi.

"Life Is Beautiful," an Oscar winner from Italy that audaciously mixed humor and the Holocaust.

"Salo," a notoriously brutal and sexual film by director Pier Paolo Pasolini, subtitled "120 Days of Sodom."

"Sitcom," a satire directed by Francois Ozon, in which a suburban French family goes to ruin.

"Still Walking," a portrait of a Japanese family mourning a lost son.

"Waste Land," a surprisingly inspiring documentary about Brazilian trash pickers.

Have more recommendations? Feel free to add them to the comments thread.

Freebie alert: May 18 is Art Museum Day

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:46:04 PDT

May 18 is Association of Art Museum Directors' Art Museum Day, which means some special opportunities for museum visitors in Seattle. Seattle Art Museum and Seattle Asian Art Museum will offer free general admission that day (Note: the SAM exhibit "Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London" is exempt). And at the Henry Art Gallery, new members will get $10 off a membership, current members will get a free coffee/hot drink card to be redeemed at Molly’s Café , and there will be pencils and lapel pins for all.

6 things to do this weekend for $10 or less

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:16:08 PDT

Cheap or free: Here at ArtsPage, that's our favorite price. This edition of our regular weekend preview is built around low- or no-cost amusements in the greater Seattle area. Some require a little drive (the Camano Island art-studio tour) and some are in the city, within easy reach of (cheap!) public transportation.

If you have other activities to suggest to readers, please do, in the comments thread.

Now for the weekend itinerary, which begins in the U. District ...

18 artists, $137,500: The 2013 Artist Trust awards

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:31:05 PDT

Artist Trust, which supports Washington artists through grants, professional development and other resources, announces the recipients of the 2013 Irving and Yvonne Twining Humber Award, as well as fellowships in a variety of disciplines.

Norie Sato is the winner of the $10,000 Humber Award. Sato, active in the Seattle art scene since

moving here in 1972, is the creator of significant public artworks, locally and across the country. She was the lead artist for Sound Transit's Seattle Central Link light rail, and has worked on projects for transit systems in Portland, Salt Lake City and Tempe. Recent projects include a 300-foot-long glass facade for the San Francisco International Airport and work for the new Port of Portland headquarters. Her work has been recognized five times by the Public Art Network's Year in in Review. In a statement for Artist Trust, Sato writes,

...this has come at an especially important time for me. In 2011, my studio building where I had been for over 30 years was condemned. Since then, my “studio” has been in storage and I have worked in-between spaces that belong to other artists, fabricators or printmakers, my computer, and my dining room or basement, but without a real studio base. I am now building a new studio where I can finally bring my things out of storage and begin working again.

Recipients of $7,500 fellowships are: emerging fields & cross-disciplinary arts: Robb Kunz; SuttonBeresCuller; traditional & folk arts: David Boxley; Sharon Glenn; Delbert Miller; Oleksandra Pryveda; visual arts: Leo Berk; Chris Crites; Michelle Forsyth; Ronald Hall; Jeremy Mangan; Richard Martinez; Amie McNeel; Saya Moriyasu; Preston Singletary; performing arts: Etienne Cakpo; Amy O’Neal.

Win two free tickets to SIFF

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:46:05 PDT

As you probably know by now from our incessant yammering about it, Seattle International Film Festival begins its nearly monthlong movie marathon tonight, May 16, at McCaw Hall. We'll have a writer/editor and photographer reporting on red-carpet arrivals at tonight's gala screening, so keep an eye on seattletimes.com/entertainment and our @SeaTimesArts Twitter feed -- plus this blog -- for updates.

We also have a little giveaway today via our promotions dept: Two free tickets to a SIFF movie of your choice. Here's how to win: Leave a comment on this blog post naming your favorite foreign-language film of all time. We'll choose one winner by 1 p.m. Friday, May 17. DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE your email address or Twitter handle or some other way we can contact you if you're it.

Here, to whet your appetite, is a list of 10 good SIFF movies to see in the coming week. And if don't win the tickets, you can still join us for a free screening of the winning short films in this year's Seattle Times/SIFF 3-Minute Masterpiece digital-film contest. That's at 10 a.m. this Saturday at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, and everyone's invited.

The KING FM Young Artist Award winners are ...

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:16:08 PDT

Cellist Olivia Marckx, 13, of Bellevue, and violinist Sarah Hall, 18, of Arlington, are the winners of the 2013 Young Artist Awards, presented by KING FM and Seattle Chamber Music Society. The two were chosen from 11 finalists by a panel of nine judges as well as by votes from the public on KING's website. They'll perform in a live broadcast at 8 p.m. May 24 on KING (98.1). Learn more about them, and the awards, here. More than 70 musicians between ages 6-20 entered this year's competition, according to KING.

Who's worthy of 'Idol' love?

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:16:04 PDT

From Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson:

Viewer ratings for “American Idol” may have hit the skids this year. And the bicker-a-thon between divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj was a total turn-off. But the final episodes this week give us two fine singers who really deserve their time in the sun, and have the right stuff for a bright musical future. Whatever its faults (and there are more than a few), this long- running TV singing contest still can muster up some worthy talent we’d never know existed otherwise.

Who do you think will get the confetti bath and "Idol" crown?

Kree Harrison possesses one of those classic country voices that can stomp and torch and twang. Though some of her song choices (and the choices made for her) failed to show it off to best advantage, there were times when her rich, deep tones and innate warmth triumphed. My favorite performance of hers is a sultry but vulnerable rendering of “Help Me Make It Through the Night."

And then there is Candice Glover, my pick for "Idol" winner and the one who can do amazing things with her effortlessly elastic pipes, without losing the essence of a song’s meaning. As for the side chatter about whether Candy is “current” enough for today’s tough pop market: What’s not ever current about a singer with an awe-inspiring vocal range, who can be jazzy and soulful, sassy and subtle in one breath? And isn’t it about time an American gave those thriving British soul sisters a run for it? Hard to pick a top number from Candice’s great “Idol” run, but I do love her gutsy-sweet rejuvenation of an old Dionne Warwick tune.

'River of Stars' - Guy Gavriel Kay's novel of an almost-China of the Song dynasty

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:01:05 PDT

Guy Gavriel Kay is a writer who takes a period of history and then makes a "quarter turn" towards fantasy to create the settings for his novels. His latest, "River of Stars," is set in a country that's a lot like China during the Song dynasty....but not quite.

Hear this noted fantasy author explains how he does what he does tonight on "Well Read," the books and authors television show on state public affairs network TVW. It airs at 7 and 10 p.m. tonight, at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow on Tacoma Public Television Station KBTC and at 11:30 a.m. Sundays on UWTV.

If you can't wait, here's the link. For more information, here's the Seattle Times review.

Symphony musicians, board ratify new contract

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:01:05 PDT

After 15 months of negotiations, the Seattle Symphony players organization and the SSO board of directors have approved a new contract, through August 2015.

Details, from the SSO:

The financial terms include concessions in musicians’ salaries for the remainder of the 2012–2013 season, a move to a more economical healthcare plan, and a temporary reduction in the size of the orchestra. This will be followed by salary and pension increases in subsequent years and the gradual restoration of vacant positions. The new contract includes a significant new electronic media agreement that will allow the launch of a new series of live recordings online and on CD, and provide unprecedented audio and audio visual access, via the Internet, to rehearsals and concerts for public engagement, promotional, educational and community purposes.

The length of the symphony season will stay at 45 weeks, and regarding that "temporary reduction" part: The minimum size of the orchestra will be reduced from 85 musicians, stated in the previous contract, to the current level of 81 musicians, with auditions planned next season to fill the openings.

"With this new agreement, we are pleased to demonstrate our good faith to lovers of classical orchestral music and to the donor community. The musicians have spoken; we want excellence, music education for our children, a vital connection to our community, and stability for the Seattle Symphony," said Tim Hale, chair of the Seattle Symphony and Opera Players' Organization, in a statement. Leslie Jackson Chihuly, chair of the SSO board, said, “We express our deep gratitude to the entire orchestra for its willingness to work creatively with us on this agreement, and for again agreeing to make concessions. Settling the contract is a great step forward and allows the entire organization to move toward our shared goals, both artistically and financially."

Baz, beer, Bach: 10 things to do this week

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:38:57 PDT