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Dates: Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, 2009
Location: Getty Villa, Auditorium
Having staged Aristophanes' Peace earlier this season, the Getty Villa continues to celebrate "the father of comedy" with this film series based upon his best-known work, the bawdy anti-war satire Lysistrata.
Frustrated by the decline of Athenian society into a state of permanent war with its neighbors, Lysistrata exhorts her fellow women of all warring factions to unite, and to force a peace by withholding "wifely favors" from all their men until a truce is concluded.
The four films included in this series span the past 40 years—from the Vietnam War through the invasion of Iraq—and reflect upon the timelessness and universality of Aristophanes' themes. In each, the filmmakers employ great wit and skill in transporting Lysistrata and her sisterhood of revolt into a contemporary context. Each film in its own way triumphantly proclaims: Lysistrata lives!
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(USA, 2006, 85 min., some English subtitles, not rated)
Saturday, November 14, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 15, 3:00 p.m.
In January 2003, Kathryn Blume and Sharron Bower, two actresses from New York City, thought to organize readings of Lysistrata as a protest of the imminent invasion of Iraq. Originally conceived as a local, citywide event, word of the Lysistrata Project spread rapidly across the Internet, gaining increasing momentum in the space of just a few weeks' time and eventually morphing into a worldwide "happening for peace." To the astonishment of all concerned, on March 3, 2003, nearly 1,100 simultaneous productions of Lysistrata were performed in 59 countries around the globe.
In Operation Lysistrata, documentary filmmaker Michael Patrick Kelly etches a moving portrait of Bower and Blume, illustrating how grassroots activism and art can intersect to form the basis of effective social protest. The film is the story of how two women transformed their individual aspirations for peace into a movement that allowed a global community to share in their vision.
Most movingly, the film incorporates many of the documentary recordings that eventually poured in from across the U.S. as well as England, Iceland, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Italy, Montreal, Nova Scotia, Greece, and Cuba.
Recommended for adults and teens.
Please note: The screening of Lysistratē, originally scheduled for Saturday, November 14, at 3:00 p.m., has been replaced by Operation Lysistrata due to technical problems with the film print.
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(USA, 2003, 84 min., rated R for pervasive strong language and sexual dialogue, some sexuality and drug content)
Saturday, November 14, 7:00 p.m.
The poster for this hip, witty, and very sexy recent transposition of the play from ancient Athens to contemporary Miami declared: In this battle of the sexes, these girls won't lay down! Directed by Melvin James, the film stars a roster of well-known black and Latino comedians and rap and hip-hop artists, including Trina (in her film debut), Sommore, Mr. Cheeks, Neferteri Shepherd, and Benji Brown.
Set and filmed in a Miami neighborhood known as a center of gang violence—with many local residents in supporting roles—a basketball court becomes the urban battleground, and barbershops and hair salons the opposing male and female encampments.
The film is a true sex comedy in the spirit of Aristophanes, and adheres surprisingly closely to the plot and imagery of the playwright's work. More than once, audience members will find themselves thinking: "Oh, no, she didn't!"
Recommended for adult audiences.
See a trailer for A Miami Tail (links to Fancast.com; may not be suitable for children or teens)
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(Sweden, 1968, 100 min., not rated)
Sunday, November 15, 12:00 p.m.
A classic of late-1960s Vietnam-era feminist cinema, this film by actress-turned-director Mai Zetterling follows the lives of three stage actresses as they prepare to leave their homes and men to set out on a theatrical tour of Lysistrata across Sweden. As the film progresses, on- and off-stage realities begin to blur, and portrayals of the mundane backstage and domestic lives of the traveling actors spin off into extreme enactments of their sexual and political fantasies.
Featuring three of the most celebrated beauties of this period—Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, and Gunnel Lindblom—this small, independent film is a true labor of love. An act of cinematic social protest, Zetterling's serious comedy of social manners is infused with wry humor, subtle artistry, and a burgeoning feminist vision.
Recommended for adults and teens.
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