Since neither Igor nor I had an opportunity to participate in any of the May Day events, and I couldn’t even get out of the office to watch a march, I suggested watching one of the Labor Movement documentaries screening at the Siskel Center during the first days of May. We went to see the American Dream documentary produced by Barbara Kopple in 1990. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I didn’t know about the labor strike against Hormel Foods of 1986. My complete cluelessness added suspense because throughout the whole documentary, I didn’t know how it would end! Sometimes (often?) it’s important to learn not only about impressive victories, but also about great failures.
There was something else, quite unexpected, that caught my attention while I was watching this documentary: the way everyone talked. A couple of weeks ago, I saw an article reporting a recent study finding that people now use fewer words than they did twenty years ago, and this documentary was striking proof of that! As a frequent participant in political rallies, I know very well how even the best speakers talk these days! In this movie, the union leaders, the members, and everyone talked intelligently, used a lot of words, and spoke complicated sentences. Nobody was shouting slogans; instead, people reasoned, considered different aspects of the matter at hand, listened to others’ arguments, and offered counterarguments. And trust me, none of this was rehearsed! There were heated debates, and at one point, a debate turned into a physical fight, but still!
I was shocked! Where did all of this go?! How did we get there? And how can we return to normality?!
On Wednesday, I went to a show at Guarneri Hall for the first time after a long break. The show was rather unusual – it was an accompaniment for a classic silent movie.
Pianist and composer Stephen Prutsman returns to Guarneri Hall for the third time, amping up the fun for one of our most-anticipated events of the season. A Night at the Movies pairs a silent-era film comedy with a brilliant, original film score written and performed live by Prutsman and a small ensemble.
In Buster Keaton’s College, Ronald, a nerdy scholar, pans sports in favor of academics. This attitude wins him no points with his peers and especially coed Mary, who favors the athletic Jeff. Ronald’s effort to win back Mary through his failed attempts at various sports is the setup for Keaton’s unique physical comedy in this hilarious film from 1927.
I think that most of the audience had more fun than I did; for me, it was more educational than funny, and I am unsure what cultural context I am missing. Still, I didn’t regret going, but I liked the other two concerts I attended there more.
Guarneri Hall always has small receptions following each concert, where you can grab a glass of wine and some bites. Since that’s too late for me, I would grab some fruit, cheese, and crackers and not stay for long. This time, an older gay couple asked me if they could join me at the table, and at first, we had a lively conversation about silent movies. They told me about their visit to the Lumiere Museum in Lyon a month earlier, and I shared how I watched Lumiere le Cinema at Siskel. Then we talked about other cultural venues and places to have a pre-concert dinner. And then they asked me where I lived before coming to the US. Since it was not the first question they asked, I felt it was appropriate, and told them that I am from Russia, and that I have lived here for thirty years. Then they asked me whether I ever go back, and I replied: not since the war started. They nodded, but then immediately started telling me how they had visited Russia, what Moscow and Saint Petersburg were like, and how they loved museums. Then, they started about Navalny, “who is the only person who is capable of changing the course” (they spoke in the present tense, so it looks like they completely missed the last several years of development). At this point, I stopped nodding politely and told them that although I condemn the killing of political opponents, Navalny wouldn’t be better for Russia. To which they said that “they stay away from politics” and “of course, we were true innocents abroad“, but then kept going on at length about the great culture.
… just saying that when people are “selectively innocent” about politics, that’s when bad things happen.
I didn’t plan to go to any movies this week, but once again, that one was impossible to skip, so I ended up making time.
The film is based on a novel by Georgiy Demidov and tells the story of a recent law school graduate who learns about torture in Stalin’s prisons, and, believing that this is a plot against the Soviet state, tries to bring the case to the General Prosecutor, only to be arrested for this attempt (more details here). I didn’t do any research on the film before watching it, so I didn’t know who Georgiy Demidov was, which is why I was a little bit puzzled about the “target audience.” The movie is impeccably produced, the cinematography is brilliant, and no matter how much you know about the topic, you can’t take your eyes away from the screen. The story itself, however, was one of the thousands I’ve heard, so I wondered what was a reason yet another movie on this well explored and recently unpopular subject was produced.
Since the name Georgiy Demidov didn’t ring a bell for me, I looked him up. What I learned about him explained a lot, and everything started to make sense. He was one of these writers, who started to write after he became a prisoner of the Stalin’s regime, similar to Varlam Shalamov (with whom they were friends for some time). Then I realized that the movie is a time capsule projecting the view on what happened 90 years ago not from our current perspective, but from the perspective of people who were there at that time.
It doesn’t look like it’s easy to find books by Georgiy Demidov, but I keep looking.
I am still unsure whether it was a good idea, but that was my typical full-blown FOMO: I read about this new film, which tells the story of the invention of cinema by the Lumière brothers, featuring over 100 original shorts, and I really-really-really wanted to see it! And there was not a single screening I could attend. Finally, I decided to do this silly thing: I got a ticket for 8:15 PM on Tuesday, hoping I’d be able to come to the Siskel Center after the egg coloring in the ODS. I decided that if the residents wanted me to stay longer, I would not go, but we were done coloring by 7:30, so I left around 7:45, and was at the Siskel Center on time.
The film was very long. The program said it was 106 minutes, but it was still not over at 10:10 PM, when I decided I needed to go, otherwise I won’t be able to get up the next day!
My other laments: in the clip, the comments are in English, but at the screening, the comments were in French, and the subtitles were white, which made it difficult to read over the black and white screen, so often, I would choose to pay attention to the screen rather than the story. I found the most interesting to see how they chose what exactly they were filming, and how exactly.
Here is the Siskel Center description of the film, and the trailer:
In one of those wonderful coincidences of history, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers Auguste and Louis, whose brilliant invention, the cinematograph, helped to inaugurate the most beloved art form of the last 130 years. Institute Lumière director Thierry Frémaux uses LUMIÈRE, LE CINÉMA! to guide the viewer through over a hundred shorts—some famous, some forgotten, some never before seen—directed by Lumière and company. In the process, Frémaux illuminates how the brothers employed the camera as a creative instrument as they (and their operators) mastered framing, staging, and subject selection for quotidian and exotic microdocumentaries as well as the first ever fictional motion pictures. The result is not only a glorious re(telling) of the genesis of cinema but a profound meditation on the beautiful world captured—and the mysterious world imagined—by the Lumières.
Even though I definitely did not get enough sleep on the third day after I came back from Finland, I think it was totally worth it!
Just watched it at the Siskel Center – the theater was packed, and a significant part of the audience was not Russian-speaking. The English subtitles were OK – some nuances were definitely missing, but still quite accurate. They should have run the subtitles in the end, when they play a recording of “Broad and vast is our mighty country” – it’s not like every English speaker knows this song, and I think it’s important that during the time of a tightening oppressive regime they play “where man is gloriously free.”
The documentary is unimaginably depressing. Not only because of what exactly it shows, not only because the audience physically feels the pressure of the Russian propaganda machine, but also because of how Pasha chooses to be blind even after he left Russia: everything was fine before February 2022, and then all of a sudden…
As always, I didn’t read any reviews before watching, and now I see some interviews with Pasha, and I am oging to try to watch at least some of them (I have no idea when I find time, but…)
There was a free screening for the Gene Siskel Center members of this incredible movie, The Day Iceland Stood Still. I was in yet another work emergency, and would opt to skip if I didn’t have prior plans to go with a friend.
This documentary is so timely in many ways! It is yet another proof that everyone has to fight for their right, and that a good fight pays off :). Looking at Iceland nowadays, youwould never imagine that it was lagging in women’s rights until fairly recently! And what beautiful people all these women are! It was such a delight to listen to them share the memories of this day fifty years ago!
A documentary about women, made by women, and a message to all of us!
Magellan is the Philippines’ Entry For Best International Feature at the Oscars, and the reviews were raving. I decided it’s a must-see, even though the movie is almost three hours long. Judging by the description, I expected more or less a traditional, colorful historical movie with a pronounced social message:
At the dawn of the modern era, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Gael García Bernal) navigated a fleet of ships to Southeast Asia, attempting the first voyage across the vast Pacific Ocean. On reaching the Malay Archipelago, the crew pushed to the brink of madness in the harshness of the high seas and overwhelming natural beauty of the islands, Magellan’s obsession leads to a rebellion and reckoning with the consequences of power. A vast, globe-spanning epic from Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz (NORTE, THE END OF HISTORY), MAGELLAN presents the colonization of the Philippines as a primal, shocking encounter with the unknown and a radical retelling of European narratives of discovery and exploration.
My first reaction was disappointment: it felt more like a Tarkovsky movie, just with prettier landscapes. Iwas even thinking of quietly leaving the screening. But gradually, my perception changed, and I kept watching. If you watch the trailer, it does not give a good impression of the movie. The trailer is more dynamic and less picturesque. And doesn’t show even a percent of violence.
Maybe three hours is too much to say “colonialism is bad.” You decide.
OMG, that was something! I knew this documentary would be interesting, but it was so powerful and thought-provoking that I found it challenging to participate in the Q&A immediately after: I felt I needed to process everything I had seen before asking any questions.
Wiesel’s “Night” is a classic; it’s part of most high schools’ curricula. It’s one of these rare books that “almost everyone read.” Still, so many things we do not know; at least, I didn’t know. Most importantly, I never saw any footage of Elie Wiesel’s public speaking. And the whole documentary is just that: his own voice. The film producer/editor Michael Chomet, who spoke with the audience after the screening, said the film was commissioned by the family, but the artistic direction was his, and the family didn’t see the movie until it was finished.
The parts which impressed me most were:
The footage of Wiesel talking with Ronald Reagan before receiving the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, when he explains to the President how his planned visit to the German cemetery will be perceived, and what he should do, and how, later, when speaking at the public ceremony where he receives this medal, he repeats the same speech. The way Reagan reacts and responds. (As I said, it’s hard to believe we had such an intelligent and sensible Republican President)
His Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, when he says he understands Palestinians but disapproves of their methods
His urge to speak up, not to be silent
The footage of 13-year-old high schoolers from a New Jersey magnet school, when they discuss “Night” (Rudavsky told us that they made a separate short documentary based on this footage)
Said multiple times, both by Wiesel and his former student: suffering is not a badge of honor; suffering is not something that defines you, it’s something that informs you. I can’t stress enough how much I agree with this statement.
I can talk at length about this documentary, but I still won’t be able to convey everything I felt while watching. Five-star rating.
Spending the first day of the year sitting at home and crossing off overdue tasks from my list was not the most exciting thing, though it did bring some satisfaction. But I had lots of hopes for January 2. It was the first workday of the year, and the weather was supposed to be great (and it was). I went to the office not because I had to, but because I had ambitious plans.
My plan was to go skating after lunch, then, after work, to go to the Chicago Architectural Center to finally see two already-not-so-new exhibits, and then go to the Siskel Center to see Mistress Disspeller. All of the above activities belonged to the category “I want to do this, but I chronically have no time for it.”
Skating became problematic since last season, when Millennium Park cut the skating season short. Instead of having the skating rink operating until mid-March, they close it on February 9, and this year, the last day will be February 1. Since I will be out of the country from January 16 to 29th, I have only two weeks left! And you can’t go skating when it’s raining or when it’s really cold, which limits the options even further. All of the above was a long explanation of why I headed to the skating rink on Friday. I knew it could be a mistake, because it would still be a winter break day, which would mean a big crowd, but the reality surpassed my wildest expectations.
When I arrived four minutes before the start of the session, expecting to show my pass on my phone and put on the skates, I saw a line circling half the rink, and I was told it was for those who had already purchased tickets online! I wanted to turn around and go back to the office, but the sun was shining, the weather was perfect, and I had already paid for a session, so I decided to stay. It took me ten minutes to check in, and when I finally put the skates on, there was barely any space left on the rink. I think there were actually these hypothetical one hundred people there! And at least a third of them couldn’t or almost couldn’t skate.
I made an effort :). I navigated around the people who were moving rather erratically, but after twenty minutes, I gave up.
While this portion of my plan could be considered at least a partial success, the other two failed completely.
I checked the CAC schedule on their website the day before, and the schedule said they are open until 7 PM both Friday and Saturday. I thought that finally, I would go there not to purchase a gift, but to see exhibits. When I arrived at five minutes to five, I saw several people standing puzzled by the CAC door, and when I came closed, I saw a sign, which said that there are “winter hours” in effect, and the Center will be only open until 4 PM on the days it will be open (and it will be closed Tue-Wed, but that was not important at the moment). I felt crushed and decided that I could comfort myself by having dinner at Lea’s Cafe instead of eating a vegan sandwich from work, which was in my backpack.
Lea’s Cafe didn’t fail me :). It was a perfect comfort food, and I even took half a baguette home, because it was a lot.
But after that, there was a huge disappointment at the Siskel Center. I read about this documentary, and it looked interesting, so I was looking forward to seeing it, but it was nothing like what I thought. I honestly could not figure out what the idea behind it was, and how people could act the way they did. It is possible that, at least in part, it was a language and cultural problem combined. The documentary was in Mandarin with English subtitles, and the melody of the language is very different from any other languages I know or know how they sound. I was reading the subtitles, and could not map the words to the emotions projected on the screen. It felt rushed; maybe Mandarin words are too short for translation, I don’t know. Or maybe, it was something wrong with me. At some point, I thought of leaving, but then decided to stay to the end and see whether something would change my mind.
I hope that this day of disappointment won’t represent the rest of 2026, and that my delights won’t be solely culinary!
Now tell me, why I didn’t know about this movie?! I dropped everything I was doing (and trust me, I had enough to do!) and started watching! (That was on Sunday, and I just finished it)
Hettie's Reflections 