This April, the Triplex is celebrating a collection of films shot in Great Barrington and surrounding Berkshire towns in the 1960s and ’70s that are reminders of just how out there our little community can be.
We kick off our series on April 18 with Max Kalmanowicz’s “The Children,” a cult-classic horror movie about a group of children who terrorize their small town after being transformed into radioactive zombies. On April 25, we screen Aram Avarkian’s “End of the Road,” the story of Jacob (Stacy Keach), a man turned catatonic by the state of the world who is taken in by a highly unconventional doctor (James Earl Jones). And on April 27, Arlo Guthrie and Matt Penn join us for a screening of “Alice’s Restaurant,” Arthur Penn’s cinematic adaptation of Guthrie’s classic anti-war ballad.
These are three very different movies, but if there is one thing that connects them, it is the influence of the Vietnam War. These are stories of people trying to find peace in a violent, unsettled world. Arlo comes to Housatonic in “Alice’s Restaurant” to be a part of a movement that can make the world a more loving place. Jacob comes to the country to regain his sanity in “End of the Road.” And the protagonists of “The Children” take up arms to protect their small town as an insidious violence creeps in.
Ultimately, tragically, the legacy of these movies might be their depiction of ideals being torn apart by human frailty. Each one tells a story of how hard it is to hold together these peaceful communities, even in a place as beautiful as the Berkshires. We will be discussing that legacy in talkbacks following each of the screenings, and after our short film program “Counterculture Now,” a collection of short films from local filmmakers that carry on the tradition of the counterculture movement, on April 28.
We hope you will join us for one (or all!) of these movies to not only get a glimpse of what our area looked like back in the day, but to discuss the ways we are still struggling to sustain a community of peace, love, and understanding 50 years later.
Now Playing
“Wicked Little Letters”
An uproarious period piece with Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley.
A satirical farce about the biases lurking under the surface of a small town, “Wicked Little Letters” reunites Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley from “The Lost Daughter” in a hilarious period piece. When an anonymous writer begins sending profane letters to residents of a small town, all eyes turn to Irish immigrant Rose (Buckley), until the women in town suspect it is not that simple.
“Problemista”
A surreal look at what it takes to make it in America.
From producer Emma Stone, “Problemista” is a surrealist satire of art and the American dream written and directed by Julio Torres (“SNL,” “Los Espookys”). The story of Alejandro (Torres), an El Salvadoran trying to keep his visa current by working for a ferocious art critic (Tilda Swinton), “Problemista” uses Torres’ trademark outré style to depict what it takes to make it in America today.
“Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire”
Let. Them. Fight.
The next chapter in Legendary’s modern take on the kaiju genre comes to the Triplex. Grab some popcorn and sit back as Godzilla and Kong team up to take on a dangerous new enemy (and smash a few buildings along the way). Ends Thursday!
Coming Soon
“Civil War”
From writer/director Alex Garland (“Ex Machina,” “Annihilation”) comes a dystopian tribute to the courage of journalists. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Cailee Spaeny as war correspondents traveling through a near-future America on the brink of all-out war, “Civil War” is an action-packed thriller that was made for our political present.
“Love Lies Bleeding”
A neon-soaked neo-noir that draws inspiration from David Lynch and the Coen Brothers, “Love Lies Bleeding” is an erotic thriller unlike any that you’ve seen before. Starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian as lovestruck bodybuilders who get caught up in a criminal underworld, “Love Lies Bleeding” deploys elements of director Rose Glass’ trademark body horror to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
