SARATOGA SPRINGS – We have certainly elevated our film profile in recent weeks with BowTies blooming all over. But we also need to be aware of other offerings around the area. Here’s a few noteworthy screenings:
The First Season — Putnam Den
On Thursday, November 21 at 6 p.m. an interesting evening program has been put together at Putnam Den. A screening of the documentary The First Season, which profiles Paul and Phyllis van Amburg, who believe that a small, family farm in the Schoharie Valley is the best place to raise their children, take their life savings and buy a defunct dairy and fight to defy the odds as they become full time farmers.
The First Season, filmed with an intimate, cinema verite style, bears witness to the Van Amburg’s struggle as they fight against relentless toil, financial ruin and the harsh reality of dairy farming to achieve their version of the American dream.
Light food will be served before the screening and there will be a Q & A with at least one of the Van Amburg family members afterwards.
Admission is $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Visit putnamden.com to order tickets online or they are available at the venue.
McCabe and Mrs. Miller- Film Forum
A Robert Altman 1971 classic screens at the Spring Street Gallery for free on Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. This “anti-western” pairs Warren Beatty with Julie Christie (Best Actress Academy Award nominee). Beatty, as McCabe, wanders into a small wilderness village with an idea to use his gambling winnings to establish an upscale casino-brothel-bathhouse. His business partner is Mrs. Miller (Christie), a prostitute who, despite her dislike for McCabe, helps him achieve his goal.
The screenplay is based on Edmund Naughton’s 1959 novel McCabe and was Altman’s follow-up to “M*A*S*H.” The soundtrack features songs by Leonard Cohen.
