Nashville for Free

The Frist Center always does an awesome job picking movies that relate to its exhibits when it does a film series. They currently have an exhibit called Fairy Tales, Monsters, and the Genetic Imagination, so they created the Unexpected Tales film series to complement it.

Tonight’s film in that series is Pan’s Labyrinth, a Guillermo del Toro classic. I’ve never seen it, but it has a sunning 95% approval ratting on Rotten Tomatoes and a quick look at the trailer proves that it’s spooky and weird as any film you’ll ever see. A perfect fit for the exhibit it’s accompanying.

Here’s the synopsis:

In 1944 fascist Spain, an imaginative young girl, along with her pregnant mother, begins a new life with her stepfather, a fierce captain of the Spanish army. At night she meets a fairy who leads her to a faun in the center of a labyrinth. The faun informs her that she is a princess and can only prove this by undertaking three grim tasks. If she is successful she will meet with her real father, the King. If she is not successful, she will never be a princess. The young girl is thrust into living two lives: one that is dark and oppressive and another that is terrifying yet alluring.

The film starts at 7pm at the Frist Center. Get there early, as the best seats and popcorn are served on a first-come, first-served basis.

-Emily

This screening is in conjunction with Tracey Snelling’s “Woman on the Run,” which is on view in the Frist’s upper-level gallery. It’s actually a pretty cool exhibit that’s made of “nearly life-sized facades, cardboard cutouts, comic strips, photographs, signs, and videos, accompanied by a soundtrack.” It’s a really ambitious piece that tells a whole story about a woman who’s wanted for questioning in the murder of her shady husband.

But that isn’t free to see, unlike the screening of The Last Seduction. It’s a neo-noir film about a “devious sexpot” who steals her husband’s drug money and hides out in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme. There was talk about an Oscar nomination for leading actress Linda Fiorentino when it came out in 1994, but the film was disqualified because it came out on HBO before being released in theaters.

The screening takes place Friday, December 16th at 7pm at the Frist’s auditorium. There’s usually free popcorn, so get there early.

-Emily

Admittedly, I’ve only seen two David Lynch films in my life, on two distant sides of his spectrum: Elephant Man and Mulholland Dr. Now, the main difference is this: whereas Elephant Man actually maintains a coherent plot-line throughout its journey into the souls of men–disfigured internally end externally in different ways–Mulholland Dr. is purposefully delinear, shockingly abstract and cryptically imaginative. Without spoiling the film (because it doesn’t makes sense anyway), the story introduces a few characters rather conventionally for the first hour and a half. And just as you begin to feel comfortable with them, actors begin switching roles, scenes fly in and out with no clear direction and a sort of dreamlike state takes over. The ending provides little resolution, and any semblance of meaning you derived from the beginning is quashed by the obscurity of the final chapter. Surprisingly, this has become David Lynch’s trademark.

Mulholland Dr. was so obscure, that it prompted an English teacher at a Q&A to question the themes and general meaning behind the film, expressing a confusion that generated laughter and applause from the audience. To this, Lynch gave a very responsible answer (worth a watch).  Where ideas originate is a mystery to us all, and Lynch approaches the writing process with abstract ideas that he falls in love with, regardless of whether he himself knows their meaning. In the case of Eraserhead, he claims to have only found a meaning halfway into the film’s production. This is very freeing to a filmmaker and an audience, his purpose being to allow an audience to inject their own meaning and find their own truths into his work. His films are much more an exploration of ourselves than a directed message.

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It’s going to be a busy week at the Frist. As a thank you to the community the Frist Center is offering free admission to EVERYONE for almost a month starting this week. It started yesterday and will continue through February 19th.

While you’re there be sure to check out William Eggleston: Anointing the Overlooked, a photography exhibit featuring over 50 photographs by the famous photographer, a Memphis, TN native whose work has influenced countless photographers and directors including David Lynch.

Eggleston was one of the first photographers to really use color film. He helped legitimize it as an art medium when most photographers wouldn’t touch the stuff because they were so stuck on black and white. You might recognize some of his pictures, including the album art from Radio City by Big Star. Even if you don’t recognize his stuff you’ll undoubtedly be able to see how influential his work has been.

-Emily

It’s my opinion that Films at the Frist is one of the most consistently good film series’ in Nashville. The Frist does a great job at picking fun and classic films that people actually want to see that coincides with their different exhibits.

To Catch a Thief is a classic Hitchcock film that stars two of the greatest stars of their era: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. In this movie Cary Grant plays a retired cat burglar with the not-so-creative handle “The Cat.” Unfortunately for him, someone starts robbing people in a style very similar to his, so the cops think that he’s back to his old ways. They come to arrest him but he gives them the slip and tries to prove his innocence. Somewhere along the lines he picks up Grace Kelly.

If you know anything about Grace Kelly then you’re not wondering why this film was picked. Her wardrobe in this movie is apparently completely fantastic, so it fits in perfectly with the Frist’s current major exhibit, The Golden Age of Couture. This film will be shown Friday September 10th at 7pm at the Frist.

Let me recap for you: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Hitchcock, pretty dresses. For free. Touchdown. What? Yes. Rock’n'roll.

-Emily

If you enjoy seeing free movies, then this is a good weekend for you. I already wrote about the showing of The Graduate at the Belcourt on Saturday, and now I’m here to tell you about a screening of the classic comedy-drama (dramedy?) film, Sabrina.

You might remember that right now the Frist is hosting The Golden Age of Couture, and everyone knows that Audrey Hepburn was famous for wearing absolutely fantastic clothing, so you can see why this film was picked. Here’s what the Frist has to say about Sabrina:

Sabrina, a rags-to-riches Cinderella story, was the film that began a lifelong association between French designer Hubert de Givenchy and actress Audrey Hepburn. Paramount Pictures’ costume designer for this film, Edith Head, was the designer of Hepburn’s pre-Paris clothing in the film, but the clothing Sabrina wears after returning from Paris with a much more elegant wardrobe, were all designed by Givenchy. After this film was shot, Givenchy continued to design much of Hepburn’s personal and professional wardrobe and helped define her dual role as an actress and fashion icon.

Fashionistas and Audrey Hepburn fans, rejoice! And who cares if Emma Thompson says Ms. Hepburn can’t act, she’s still fabulous, and Humphrey Bogart will be there, and who doesn’t like him?

The showing will be held at the Frist Center on Friday August 13th at 7pm.

Guys, I know it’s been rough. Between the flooding and the power outages and the rationing of water I know that we’re all stressed out. This is a depressing time for us, but it’s amazing to me how we’ve all banded together over the past few days, really helping each other out.

We all need some distractions in times of crisis, and thankfully The Frist Center and Cheekwood are offering free admission Wednesday through Friday. If you’ve been working to pile sand bags to save our second water treatment plant or have been driving around feeding the displaced homeless, or even if you just donated money and are working to spread the news, come on by and chill out. We need it.

The way Nashville has banded together, it blows my mind. I know we’ve all been complaining that national news hasn’t covered this as much as they should, but I think part of it has to do with how well we’ve been handling it. Go Nashville!

Don’t forget to check out Nashvillest for up to date information.

My sister-in-law came to stay with me and Tyler Wednesday through Sunday of last week. She’s not just any sister-in-law. She’s a 15 year old, hyper hyper, girly girl teenager. And i love the crap out of her. She had never really been to Nashville aside from helping her big bro move into Vanderbilt about 3 years ago, so I really wanted to show her everything I could.

Now. Tyler and I are buh-roke. We can’t spend a fortune to take her on a bunch of different tours or anything fancy like that. So I used my keen sense of cheapness and not only showed her a great time, but re-realized what a beautiful city I live in.

I guess what I want to tell you is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money or go anywhere fancy schmancy to have a good time. Sometimes you just have to appreciate what’s in your own backyard.

Friday night we took her to The Frist Center. It was their birthday and everyone got in for free. Score! Incase you missed it, I blogged about that particular event here. Always keep up with The Frist Center. They are constantly having “Free Days.”

Later on, we took her to the majestic Centennial Park. Take your dog and go for a walk (you probably need the exercise.) Or sharpen up your photog skills. Play the coolest game of hide-and-go-seek ever, do whatever–there’s a ton of space there, and it’s free, so use it! There are also free events being held there all time time. I’ve seen free yoga classes, free movies in the park, free symphony concerts, it’s a pretty long list.

Now, since you all probably live in Nashville you may scoff at the typical things to do here, but don’t be embarrassed to bring out your tourist-y side. Walk down broadway, 2nd avenue, church and commerce. Walk around the State Capitol, heck GO into Legislative Plaza! It might not interest a lot of you, but did you know that you can sit in on any committee meeting? If there’s something you’re interested in, go and listen to the legislation being passed (or trying to be passed) about it. Plus, you never know what you will find there. I went earlier this week (it’s part of my “real” job) and as I walked in there were piglets, cows, donkeys, chickens and some other farm animals. People, there was a milking contest outside of Legislative Plaza. And I got to hold a little piggy!

I have lived in Nashville all my life (minus the 5-6 years I was in Bowling Green, but let’s just forget about that…please…) but I still love driving on I-65 and seeing the Nashville skyline. I love those little honky tonks on Broadway and I don’t know how many pictures I have with that Elvis statue on 2nd avenue.

One of the best ways to do stuff for free that would normally cost you money is simply to ask. Is there a new gym or yoga place you want to try out? Don’t be shy, call the manager and say you are looking around and was wondering if you could drop in on a class for free. They will say yes if they want your business, which they do.

There are a ton of things you can do right here in this beautiful city of Nashville every single day. Sometimes you just have to get creative and maybe bat an eyelash or show off your pearly whites. Or, of course, you could always read our blog and follow our twitter for daily updates!