Seriously Saturday Night At The Movies

SERIOUSLY SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES
Let's raise our intellects while we raise our glasses. We'll trade insights during the post-film discussion, as we explore mind-expanding documentaries and thought-provoking films.

HOW DOES THIS WORK?
We open at 4:45 PT for a little meet & greet, then at 5:00 we 'go dark' (turn off our Zoom mics and cameras) and view the film on our individual TVs, computers, or other devices. Ten minutes after the movie ends (to allow for a trip to the fridge, phone call, etc.), we return to Zoom, turn on our mics and cameras, and begin the discussion. Of course you can watch the film ahead of time, if you prefer, and join just for the discussion.

THIS WEEK
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, directed by Will Sharpe
1 hr 51 min
Available on various streaming platforms found here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-electrical-life-of-louis-wain

English artist Louis Wain rises to prominence at the end of the 19th century for his surreal cat paintings that seemed to reflect his declining sanity.

"Olivia Colman provides crisp narration, first giving us the context of the period and cheerfully overlooking, as she does so much else, the repressive and colonialist elements of the era: 'Aside from its bizarre social prejudices, Victorian England was also a land of innovation and scientific discovery. Many of the world's finest minds were digging deep into the nature of electricity.' But while scientists and inventors were trying to use electricity to illuminate darkness and operate machinery, Louis Wain believed that electrical forces are what pull us forward in time and help us hold onto our memories. He called electricity 'the key to all of life's most alarming secrets.' This idea helped inspire his pictures of cats, which became more stylized and kaleidoscopic, almost psychedelic, over the decades.

"Today, we would call Wain neuroatypical. For example, he drew his intricate artwork with both hands simultaneously, each hand beginning at a side of the page, meeting up with perfect alignment in the middle. His interactions with other people had a blunt awkwardness that might be diagnosed today as on the autism spectrum." - Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com