BRATTLEBORO — The Latchis Theatre announces the return of its Off the Beaten Path film series, which showcases recent films that may have slipped under the radar but are worth seeing.
The series, presented in collaboration with the Brattleboro Film Festival, starts this weekend with the award-winning animated film Song of the Sea, on Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5, at 4 p.m.. at the Latchis, 50 Main St.
Off the Beaten Path offerings continue Saturdays and Sundays in April at 4 p.m.
“We love our Hollywood blockbusters like Insurgent and 50 Shades of Grey, but they're not everyone's taste in films. Some people like a little more substance with their style, and for them, as well as anyone who just enjoys a great movie, we're presenting these four gems which may have slipped under the radar, but shouldn't have,” said Latchis Executive Director Jon Potter.
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, Song of the Sea tells the story of Saoirse, a little girl who can turn into a seal, who goes on an adventure with her brother to save the spirit world and other magical beings like her. It is rated PG.
“Song of the Sea was made primarily, though not exclusively, for young children. Its unhurried pace will serve as an antidote to, or even an inoculation against, the mad rush of most contemporary animation. This is a film made by the other crowd, people who care about helping children to care about the medium of film for the rest of their lives,” wrote Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal.
Off the Beaten Path continues on Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12, with Leviathan, an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for Best Foreign Language Film. In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family. Leviathan is rated R.
On April 18 and 19, Off the Beaten Path presents Two Days, One Night, a drama rated PG-13 about a young Belgian mother who discovers that her workmates have opted for pay bonuses in exchange for her dismissal. She has only one weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses so that she can keep her job. Marion Cotillard was nominated for the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
Off the Beaten Path concludes April 25-26 with White God, Hungary's nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Lili, age 13, fights to protect her dog Hagen. She is devastated when her father eventually decides to set Hagen free on the streets. Still innocently believing that love can conquer any difficulty, Lili sets out to find her dog and save him.