When you look at this week’s crop of local film screenings, one name stands out: the Academy of Music. Given the sheer abundance of screenings on offer, it’s hard to believe that it has been some four years since the Northampton landmark—built in the late 19th century and deeded to the city soon after—stopped showing nightly films.
At the time, the news was treated as the beginning of the end for the local film scene. I was working then as the manager of Pleasant Street Theater; for weeks, panicked patrons who were surprised by the news dropped by to talk about the future. (Indeed, Pleasant Street closed—albeit briefly—a year later, before being brought under the nonprofit umbrella of the Amherst Cinema group.) In 2007, nobody was sure what was going to happen to the Academy.
Fast forward to today, and putting an end to under-attended nightly shows seems like the Academy’s smartest play. Without the scheduling restrictions demanded by major film studios, the theater has been able to stage much more varied fare, including not only film but concerts, plays and puppet shows. And while there were always other places to catch a movie, there is still no better place than the Academy to see a live show.
This week, the venerable venue brings the big guns, mostly in concert with the Northampton Arts Council. For five days straight, we’ll be treated to films with flavors local and international, and for two afternoons running the wondrous Alloy Orchestra sets up shop, performing live scores to a brace of black and white classics. One note: the Arts Council shows—everything except Salmonboy—are cash only.
First out of the gate is Salmonboy: A Story of Fire & Water, screening Saturday at 8 p.m. A “poetic narrative documentary” about local Star Drooker and his sons—one living, one who died in infancy—the film centers around the colorful Fire & Water cafe and performance space that Drooker once ran in town. After this first public screening and fundraiser, the producers will be on hand for a Q&A.
On Sunday and Monday, the Alloy Orchestra take the stage. Over the last two decades, the inventive trio have composed and performed unique accompaniments to classics from the silent era, making use of just about anything they can find—their instrument case includes not only drums, but also hubcaps and truck springs, among other oddities. Thanks to a strong local following, these 2 p.m. performances are sure to fill up quickly—especially with a special $5 admission—so be sure to get there early.
For the Sunday show, the trio take on one of cinema’s true touchstones: Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi icon Metropolis. A dystopian look at a futuristic society, it presents a world where the divide between rich and poor has grown so vast that the latter spend their lives toiling underground for the (literal) upper class. An epic at its premiere, it was cut to ribbons by producers, and eventually reduced to a watered-down 90 minutes. The Alloy version will include a half hour of the missing footage.
On Monday, they accompany Buster Keaton’s Civil War comedy The General. The story of a locomotive engineer and his two loves—his engine (The General) and his girl (the kidnapped Annabelle Lee)—it was a train wreck in its initial release, but is now considered one of Keaton’s crowning achievements.
Kids rule the roost on Tuesday, when The Eric Carle Museum presents Picture Book Art Day with the help of Weston Woods film studio. Celebrating food in children’s literature, they bring everything from Mo Willems’ “The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog” to William Steig’s “Pete’s a Pizza” to the big screen. Also on tap: a visit from Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar, and free passes to the museum.
And finally this week, the one-of-a-kind Eep! screens on Wednesday at 2 p.m. A Dutch/Belgian co-production, the film is a fairy tale about a bird watcher who finds a tiny half-bird, half-girl creature in the grass. While he and his wife adopt her as their own, the child soon finds herself giving in to her urge to fly, and leads her family on a cross-country journey. The young flier is played by Kenadie Jourdin-Bromley; the actress is one of fewer than a hundred people worldwide to be diagnosed with primordial dwarfism. Now seven years old, the young performer is making quite a splash.”
Jack Brown can be reached at cinemadope@gmail.com.