Convergence Art Guild�s Film Odyssey

The Convergence Art Guild�s Film Odyssey launches into its second full year with a new date and time and a new idea for the new year. This year the overarching theme will be �Films of a Lifetime� and each film selected this year will be a film that any cinematically literate person should see at some point in their lives and see on a big screen with other people if at all possible (this will be provided by the Guild). Each month will feature a sub-theme of its own. The films will be shown every Saturday beginning at 7:30 P.M. at The Convergence Art Guild at 99 South Main St. in Halifax. Films will be free of charge (donations to the Guild will be welcome).

The theme for January 2011 (second decade of the 21st Century!) will be �Afterlives�. What, if anything, lies beyond life as we know it on this earth? Who can say? Actually, no one can (though many try) but film makers around the world have hazarded many a guess. The films listed below are among the more entertaining and/or artistic tries.

January 8: Orpheus (1949, France)

Renowned writer-director Jean Cocteau (Beauty and the Beast) continued his exploration of the power of myth with this dreamlike modern dress version of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this version Orpheus (Jean Marias) is a controversial poet who has fallen into disfavor with the intellectual crowd. This is just as well since all the poets in favor seem to get snatched up by an elegant princess (Maria Casares) with a lethal car and two motorcycle riding henchmen. This lady is no less than death itself and she wants Orpheus! Can he save himself and his wife, Eurydice (Marie Dea)?

January 15: Death Takes A Holiday (1934, U.S.)

A group of frolicking socialites on the Italian Riviera is visited by Prince Sirki (Frederic March), an unusual gentleman with an undue interest in all human pursuits. Oddly enough, no one in the entire world seems to be dying during the prince�s visit. This is because the prince in, in fact, Death and he�s come to earth on holiday to see what makes human beings tick. He gets more than he bargains for when lovely Grazia (Evelyn Venable) falls in love with him and he with her. How can this end? Mitchell Leisen directs this stylish film, badly remade as Meet Joe Black, which shows the superiority of the original.

January 22: Blithe Spirit (1945, GB)

Cinema great David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago) began his directorial career by partnering with theater great Noel Coward and this entertaining bauble, from Mr. Coward�s celebrated stage success, was one of their biggest hits. Novelist Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison), doing research for his latest book, invites wacky spiritualist Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to conduct a s�ance in his home. Alas, the result is the return of his long dead first wife Elvira (Constance Cummings) to his great surprise and the greater dismay of second wife Ruth (Kay Hammond). Living a sort of �celestial bigamy� is not a good situation. How will this all end?

January 29: Wings of Desire (1987, Germany)

Angels Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) exist in an ethereal monochromatic realm in the skies above a then divided Berlin. They can enter unseen anywhere and hear every human thought and know every human emotion. They look on it all with benign indifference until Damiel begins to consider what being human might really be like after falling in love with a beautiful circus aerialist (Solveig Dommartin) . Angels may descend to earth in human form but can�t go back. Can he make the leap? Director Wim Wenders modern classic was remade in Hollywood as City of Angels but this film�s blend of spirit and poetry can�t be matched.

To enjoy these films or for more information:

Convergence Art Guild
99 South Main St.
Halifax, Virginia 24558
www.convergenceart.org