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Visionary director Wes Anderson's first animated film utilizes classic handmade stop-motion techniques to tell the story of the best-selling children's book by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach). Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers—Boggis (Brian Cox), Bunce (Hugo Guinness) and Bean (Michael Gambon)—who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost. Also featuring the voices of Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson and Jarvis Cocker. Official Web Site

From The New Yorker by Richard Brody
For his stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book—about a fox who steals from three grotesque farmers, who go to absurd lengths to capture him as he leads his family and friends on increasingly desperate adventures in order to survive—the director Wes Anderson, co-writing the script with Noah Baumbach, greatly amplified the story and its emotional spectrum. Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voiced by George Clooney and Meryl Streep)—he’s a journalist, she’s an artist—bring to life a view of marriage that’s as bittersweet and insightful as that of any recent live-action movie, and their idiosyncratic son (Jason Schwartzman) is set up in a touching rivalry with his cousin (Eric Anderson, the director’s brother). Visually, the movie is a wonder, with its profusion of detail and exquisitely focussed “performances” by the figurines, whom Anderson frames in images as precisely composed as those featuring actors in his live-action work. The voice performances are sparkling and apt; the adventure plot is realized with a scenographic splendor that’s as understated as it is dazzling, and is also invested with a surprising moral weight. Though the emotional realms—and the philosophical twists—that Anderson evokes are unusually sophisticated for a children’s film, its exuberance is a universal tonic.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/fantastic_mr_fox_anderson#ixzz0WpZBLHmq

Following the film, Dave and John will lead an animated discussion at a fantastic eatery nearby.

La Danse (2009) dir Frederick Wiseman
Playing at The Brattle Theater at 7:00 PM

The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the world’s great ballet companies. In his new film LA DANSE, acclaimed documentarian Frederick Wiseman(Titicult Follies and Belfast Maine) follows the rehearsals and performances of seven ballets and provides an intimate look at this legendary company. The film shows the work involved in administering the company and the coordinated and collaborative efforts of choreographers, ballet masters, dancers, musicians, and designers.

Frederick Wiseman is one of the world’s great documentary filmmakers. Eschewing voice-over narration, talking head interviews and onscreen bluster, Wiseman stands back and lets his subjects speak for themselves for as long as it takes to tell their stories. This technique has resulted in some of the most powerful documentaries of the past 50 years. Brattle Description

PLEASE NOTE: The film starts at 7:00 PM is over 2 1/2 hours long-and its a Friday night. When you RSVP please indicate if you can attend our pre-movie meetup at Le's at 5:30. Since Fred Wiseman is a Boston native, I suggest pre-ordering tickets at The Brattle's online site: http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/calendar.html

One of the finest dance films ever made, but there’s more to it than that. If you did not already know the names of the stars of the Paris Opera Ballet — Aurélie Dupont and Laetitia Pujol stand out particularly — you will nonetheless have acquired an almost tactile sense of who they are. “How can we know the dancer from the dance?” wondered William Butler Yeats in his poem “Among School Children.” It’s a simple and also endlessly mysterious question, one that Mr. Wiseman, in his patient, meticulous, magical way, both restates and answers. NY Times

Wiseman’s films are as much living organisms as they are subjective portraits. Time Out New York

La Danse will screen at The Brattle througout the weekend but this will be the only time Fred Wiseman will be present as well.

Hope to see you there,
Tom