Many filmgoers assume that any movie categorized as an “art” film must be boring. This distinction is unfortunate and inaccurate. Has there been a funnier film, in recent years, than Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine, or a more exciting crime thriller than the Brazilian youth gang saga City of God? Both of these films were brought to Springfield through Kerasotes’ Art Films Program, which features some of the best of independent, foreign, and documentary cinema. This is an ongoing program that devotes one local screen, currently at Parkway Pointe, to films that in past years probably would not have played here.
Normal has the Normal Theatre and Decatur has the Avon, but Springfield has never had an independent art film theater. Springfieldians looking for something other than the commercial fare would have to drive to either of these two cities or venture to the Tivoli, Plaza Frontenac Cinema, or Hi-Pointe Theatre in St. Louis. Some foreign films would play here in the past, but they were usually exceptions. Back in the ’70s, as the Golden Age of European cinema was beginning to wind down, some of the more prominent foreign films would play here. At the time, the Esquire — now closed — was the place to see Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, François Truffault’s Day for Night, or Federico Fellini’s Amarcord, but all three of these films had one thing in common. All had won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Unless it had the name Oscar attached to it, either through a win or a nomination, we were out of luck here.
Realizing this void has existed far too long, Kerasotes decided to try out showing non-commercial films on one of their local screens. This program was the brainchild of Tony Kerasotes and the head film buyer Pat Rembusch, but it is now in the hands of film buyer Scott Cottingham. At the beginning the bookings were sporadic. Screens were available for only the major releases during the peak box-office months, particularly the summer. Kerasotes now has a more serious commitment to the ongoing success of this program, and now we see these films on a weekly basis. “In the last two years we have missed only five or six weeks,” Cottingham says.
Cottingham has been with Kerasotes now for six years. His first experience with exhibition was as a theater manager in Bismarck, N.D., and, for a time, he worked in the sales department at Disney. As coordinator of the arts film program he has taken personal interest in its success. He has great appreciation for films that are challenging and inspire discussion and debate.
Cottingham carefully chooses all the films to be shown, and he divides the potential candidates into three tiers. At the top tier are the crossover hits, films that begin as independents but break out into mainstream hits. The prime example of a top-tier film is My Big Fat Greek Wedding. That film began as just another arts film selection, coasting along for several weeks almost unnoticed, but then something strange happened. Word of mouth kicked in, sending the film into the box-office stratosphere. There is no greater proof that these small films can also be crowd pleasers. If audiences would seek out other films from this program they might be pleasantly surprised.
Second-tier films are those that have some popularity with critics and film buffs, but they can’t quite reach a large audience. The Polish Brothers’ dark and quirky Northfork, the best film of the year so far, falls into this category. The reviews were excellent, and it is highly regarded by more discriminating audiences, but it may be just a little too offbeat for the average moviegoer. Nevertheless we are lucky that it was given a one-week booking here. Films in the third tier are just too obscure to succeed in a town this size. Cottingham, however, does encourage requests from patrons. Never rule anything out.
Film distributors don’t consider Springfield a major market, and with a limited number of prints available, usually about 250 total, we generally have to wait longer for smaller releases. Now with this program gaining in popularity and Kerasotes building closer relationships with the various indie companies through more consistent bookings, these films are coming to Springfield more quickly.
Kerasotes sends a free Arts Film Newsletter via e-mail each
week. To subscribe, go to www.kerasotes.com and register your e-mail address.
The video alternative
Not every art film comes to Springfield, but home video
offers buffs another chance. You would be surprised at what you can find at
your local video store, but it takes a lot of searching. With all the mom-and-pop
shops gone, the video market here consists of three major chains — Blockbuster,
Hollywood, and locally owned Family Video. These chains have 10 different stores
in town, and not one will have everything you need. In fact selections will
be different within the same chain.
Family has the best prices, but they recently dismantled
their foreign sections, incorporating the titles alphabetically with the rest
of the stock. Hollywood and Blockbuster still have foreign film sections, but
Hollywood has the better selection.
Hollywood also has more classics, including films by Federico
Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, François Truffault, Akira Kurosawa, Jacques Tati, and
Jean Cocteau. The newer films just don’t compare with the works of these masters.
All three chains stock last year’s most successful foreign language film, Y
tu mamá también, but look before you rent. Hollywood offers only the censored
R-rated version, and Family offers the uncut unrated version. Surprisingly,
Blockbuster has both versions. Be aware of the ratings, because unrated foreign
films are not uncommon. As for American independent films, no store isolates
them into an individual section.
If your preference is DVD then you are almost out of luck
on foreign films. Only a handful of recent releases can be found on DVD here.
The remedy is the mail order rental service, Netflix, which offers unlimited
rentals for a $20 monthly fee. This is certainly preferable to the butchered
full-screen video versions.
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2003.
