Film Calendar

SERIES
Field Trips:
Cinema Science with The Field Museum
Join The Field Museum at the Music Box Theatre for a special series of film screenings dedicated
to diving into the science behind the big screen. In this ongoing series, The Field Museum brings
science professionals and lecturers to the Music Box Theatre to introduce the films and provide
a forum for discussion following the film.
Wednesday, June 1 at 7pm
THE MESSENGER
Tuesday, May 10 at 7pm
Directed by Su Rynard
Su Rynard’s wide-ranging documentary THE MESSENGER explores our deepseated
connection to birds and warns that the uncertain fate of songbirds might
mirror our own. THE MESSENGER brings us face-to-face with the human-made
perils that have devastated thrushes, warblers, orioles and many other airborne
music-makers. On one level, THE MESSENGER is the artful story about the
mass depletion of songbirds, and about those who are working to turn the tide. On another level, THE
MESSENGER is an engaging, visually stunning, emotional journey, with unique glances into the influence
of songbirds on our own expressions of the soul.
Featuring a discussion with Dr. Peter Marra, Director of Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington
D.C. In his 17 years with the Smithsonian, he has become an international leader in avian conservation
science focusing particularly on the ecology of migratory birds, urban ecosystem ecology,
and disease ecology.
Presented by
Sound Opinions at the Movies
THE HARDER
THEY COME
The latest installment in the Sound
Opinions at the Movies series is the
groundbreaking reggae sensation
THE HARDER THEY COME. Jimmy
Cliff stars as an aspiring young singer
who leaves his rural village for the city of Kingston, hoping to make a
name for himself. Robbed on his first day in town, he finds work with
a bullying preacher and an unscrupulous music mogul. In desperation,
the simple country boy turns outlaw, at war with both the police and
his rivals in the ganja trade. This gritty, groundbreaking film brought
reggae music to the international stage, made Jimmy Cliff a star, and
demonstrated that music and art can change the world. DCP provided
by Xenon Pictures.
Rock critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, the hosts of Sound Opinions from WBEZ, will be on hand
to introduce the film. Advance tickets are available at SoundOpinions.org.
The National Society
of Film Critics Series
The National Society of Film Critics is made up of the leading film critics in the United States,
whose purpose is to promote the mutual interests of film criticism and filmmaking.
The Music Box Theatre presents a brand new series along with three members of the National
Film Society of Film Critics who are living and working in Chicago. Chicago Reader film editor
Jim Jones, Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips and Jonathan Rosenbaum will present three
of their favorite films with a post show discussion!
Tuesday, May 31
STRANGER THAN PARADISE
presented by Jonathan Rosenbaum
(1984; dir. Jim Jarmusch; 89 minutes, 35MM)
STRANGER THAN PARADISE is an odd, low-key comedy about a trio
of misfits—an everyday guy, his Hungarian female cousin, and his
geeky best friend—who decide to take a road trip across the United
States on the spur of the moment. Over the course of their voyage, they have both good and bad luck,
meet a number of bizarre and interesting characters, and are frequently bored.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, former film critic for the Chicago Reader (1987-2008), maintains a website archiving
most of his work at jonathanrosenbaum.net
Tuesday June 7
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
presented by Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune film critic
(2007; dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 158 minutes, 35MM)
THERE WILL BE BLOOD won the 2008 Best Film award from the
National Society of Film Critics. Paul Thomas Anderson’s loose
adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel “Oil!” is actually about something, or many things—greed, capitalism,
American success stories—while succeeding as one of the great performance showcases in modern cinema.
Michael Phillips is the film critic of the Chicago Tribune. He started his career writing about the movies for
the Twin Cities weekly, City Pages. He’s pleased to be a new member of the National Society of Film Critics.
Tuesday June 14
LIFE IS SWEET
presented by Jim Jones, Chicago Reader editor
(1990; dir. Mike Leigh; 103 minutes, 35MM)
LIFE IS SWEET, chosen as best film of 1991, tells the story of a workingclass
family in suburban London whose easygoing patriarch, played
by Jim Broadbent, impulsively buys a snack-vending trailer in hope of making a few extra pounds.
J.R. Jones is film editor for the Chicago Reader and author of “The Lives of Robert Ryan”
[livesofrobertryan.com] (Wesleyan University Press). He was elected to the NSFC in 2015.
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