Nice
Press!
This
great article by Christopher Smith appeared in the July 8th,
2005 issue of the BANGOR DAILY NEWS—wow!
Smiles
on a Summer Night
Last summer, when the River City Cinema Society took over downtown Bangor's
Pickering Square for six consecutive Friday nights in July through mid-August,
Bangor became one tough, ugly place.
Guns were drawn at twilight, people were murdered in the streets, wanton women
lingered under lamplights, men minced in shadows, and bourbon, served neat,
was the drink of choice.
From this, the uninformed reader might assume that the society is little more
than a bunch of street hooligans shaking things up as the Brady Gang did 68
years before them. But no. The truth is that all of this mayhem took place
onscreen in the society's first summer film festival, Noir Beneath the Stars,
which found upwards of 400 people arriving each Friday at sundown to see a
free series of noir classics.
By anyone's standards, the series was a smash, so much so that tonight, the
society will begin offering its second free summer series, Smiles on a Summer
Night, a collection of classic comedies composing six films: The Marx Bros.
comedy, "A Night at the Opera" (July 8); Charlie Chaplin's "Modern
Times" (July 15); Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in Howard Hawkes' "His
Girl Friday" (July 22); Alfred Hitchcock's New England-based black comedy, "The
Trouble with Harry" (July 29); Woody Allen's "Sleeper" (Aug.
5); and Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" (Aug. 12).
Popcorn and soft drinks will be sold. People are encouraged
to bring lawn chairs. Shows begin at sundown, with a rain date planned
for Aug. 19.
Why comedies this year?
"With everything that's happening in the world, we believe people need a
good laugh," says society co-founder Jorge Gonzalez. "These movies
are considered classics in the genre. If last year's turnout told us anything,
it's that people love movies - all movies - and that they will come downtown
to see them."
"Think of it as a cross between a drive-in theater and a big community picnic," says
Gonzalez's wife and society co-founder, Kathy Tenga-Gonzalez. "Being
outside is the fun factor. For us, there's nothing better than to see hundreds
of people
watching a movie and laughing at the same time. It's a community feeling.
What we're happy about is that people of all ages will be able to see these
movies
the way they were intended to be seen - on the big screen."
And what a screen. Thanks to a grant by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation,
the society was able to purchase an enormous, portable screen and state-of-the-art
digital video and sound equipment that allows for a bright, crisp picture
and rich sound even in locations designed with neither in mind, such as
Pickering Square.
To raise money for the event, the society secured 11 sponsors - WBRC Architects
and Engineers, Bangor Savings Bank, Eaton Peabody, Granville Lumber, Bangor
Center Corporation, Cuddy & Lanham, Bennett Auto Center, Merrill Bank,
Bangor True Value Hardware, Quirk Auto and VBK Attorneys - before it got
creative. Really creative. It devised a unique opportunity for the public
to participate
in the series.
For a tax-deductible donation of $50, those interested in supporting the
society and the event can take part in their Smile and be a Groucho fund-raiser,
in
which donors will be photographed wearing Groucho glasses and sporting
a chocolate cigar. The photo will appear in a fun, personalized promotional
poster designed
by the Gonzalezes, of which two copies will be made - one for the donor
to
keep (along with the Groucho glasses and the chocolate cigar) and another
to be hung in an undisclosed area of Downtown Bangor.
"The idea is to get people to rediscover downtown," says Tenga-Gonzalez. "In
order for donors to see where their posters are hung, they'll need to visit
downtown-area shops to find them. Our hope is that the posters will be a
draw to businesses some people have never seen before. We'll also show the photos
in a special section of our Web site (www.rivercitycinema.com) and on the
big
screen just before the movie begins."
Founded in 2001 by the Gonzalezes, Barbara Clark, David Clark, Michael
Grillo and Sandra Johnson, the society's longtime goal has been to have
their own
cinema in the Bangor area. For those eager for the group to succeed, the
realization of that goal has been a while in coming.
"
A plan is in place for it to happen," says Gonzalez. "We have a
vision and it's clear. First, we want to find a downtown location for a cinema
center
that will support diverse audiences. By the end of the year, we hope to have
a board of key people that will help with fund raising. By the first of next
year, we hope to be showing movies. Phase two is to grow into an educational
facility."
Such a facility would contain editing bays to assist local filmmakers in
the cutting of their movies. Also available to them would be the necessary
equipment
to polish dialogue and sound. "Eventually, we want to have a center
where people can learn about cinema, where they can have a place to complete
and
exhibit their work, where classes and summer camps can be held, where we
can provide outreach activities to schools, and of course where we can show
great
movies."
It's a broad, ambitious vision, with the roadblocks to achieving it being
the usual - time and money. When asked why the society hadn't secured bank
financing
to move forward, the response was clear.
"
We are a nonprofit organization," says Gonzalez. "A commercial
center such as this would fail because there is no money in it. Like a museum,
we
need the financial support of the community. Think of it as the Met in New
York City. In order to sustain it over the long term, we need the commitment
of the community."
According to Tenga-Gonzalez, such a complex would be the perfect engine
for moving traffic downtown - foot traffic - with businesses benefiting
as a
result. "A
few years ago, when the Museum of Modern Art closed for expansion and temporarily
relocated to Queens, businesses there saw a huge lift," she says. "But
once MOMA left, it was like someone let the air out of a balloon. Now,
they
are trying to bring something back to Queens - something that promotes the
arts
- to enjoy the economic lift provided by that audience."
"What we learned from Noir is how supportive the people of Bangor are about
our ideas," says Gonzalez. "Businesses and the community pulled
together to make the series possible and to make it a success. There is a
lot of interest
in a downtown cinema, particularly after the opening of The Strand in Rockland.
People are eager to see the independent films not shown at the commercial
cinemas around town. If we had a year-round presence, it would allow that
to happen."
This year, as last year, the society is collaborating with the Maine International
Film Festival to bring two films to the Bangor Opera House on July 16 -
Ruaridh Webster's "The Barn," a British indie in which two crooked men find
themselves locked in a barn with increasingly surreal results, and "Reel
Paradise," in which a man moves his family from New York City to a remote
Fiji island so they can bring free movies to the public.
It's the sort of movie that likely will have some significance to the Gonzalezes,
who hail from New York City themselves. Indeed, the idea that they will
join the rest of the society next Friday night in bringing free movies
to the
public is an irony that can't be ignored.
More information about the series, the society, and how to become a Groucho
can be found on the society's Web site, www.rivercitycinema.com.
©2005
Christopher Smith. Used with permission.
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Christopher
Smith is
the Bangor Daily News film critic. His
reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Discovering and Happening,
respectively,
Weekends in Television, and are archived at
www.rottentomatoes.com.
He can be reached
at BDNFilm1@aol.com. |
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