New York MET in Riga
Through the last month of summer, Forum Cinemas will broadcast popular performances of the Metropolitan Opera in English with subtitles.
From August 2, viewers can see a recording of the Akhnaten opera by Felim McDermott about the Egyptian pharaoh performed by the countertenor Anthony Roth and Nefertiti performed by the mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges. This production amazes not only with vocal parts, but also with the inclusion of acrobatic and even circus elements, which is a rare phenomenon for the opera genre.
You can enjoy the opera “Troubadour” by Giuseppe Verdi in Italian on August 16. The spectacle will be performed by Sondra Radvanovski, one of the best Verdian sopranos of her generation and Marcelo Alvarez, a sought-after tenor in leading opera houses.
The summer season will end on August 30 with Rossini’s production of “The Barber of Seville”, enjoying the singing of mezzo-soprano virtuosos Isabel Leonard, tenor Lawrence Brownlee and baritone Christopher Maltman.
Where to watch: Forum Cinemas
forumcinemas.lv
The Last Bus
Director Gillis McKinnon directed a piercing and sentimental road movie about love. The elderly Thomas intends to overcome the distance of 3,000 kilometers from Scotland to England on public buses in order to fulfill the last wish of his wife. He repeats the path that lovers first traveled many years ago.
Thomas meets different people on the road. Being on the threshold of his life, he allows himself to contemplate other people’s destinies, to live moments of joy and grief together with fellow travelers.
Colorful and at the same time quiet landscapes like hotels frozen in the past, many kilometers of trails and conversations of other passengers — all this touches the heart of not only the character but also the viewer. This film tells the story of love carried through the years while touching many social problems at the same time.
Where to watch: Splendid Palace, K. Suns
imdb.com
Incredible but true
A non-trivial surrealistic comedy by Quentin Dupuy about the thoughtless fulfillment of desires and the price you have to pay for them.
The director shows an ironic and very categorical view of the desire for eternal youth and the tragic consequences of this. The film’s 40-year-old heroes Alan and Marie move into a new and unusual home. In his basement there is a hatch that can incredibly change the lives of the heroes just by them going down there. Over the course of three acts filled with comical and sometimes absurd conversations, a terrible but instructive tragedy unfolds in front of the audience about how beauty is not the main value in a person’s life.
Where to watch: Splendid Palace, KinoBize
nytimes.com
Sugar and Stars
The film, based on real events, tells about orphan Yazida’s difficult path to his culinary dream.
Even as a child wandering from one foster family to another, the hero realizes that he wants to be a confectioner and engage in baking but in order to become a famous chef he needs to overcome obstacles. Only hard work allows Yazide to fight with the environment that does not give an opportunity to manifest and prove his exclusivity and genius.
Sebastian Tulare’s film is not just about fortitude — it’s about the courage to take risks to achieve your goals. “Sugar and Stars” recalls that a difficult fate and continuous black stripes in life are not a sentence at all but instead a growth point in order to become great.
Where to watch: Splendid Palace
variety.com
Fleabag
On August 22, the Forum Cinemas directly from London’s West End will broadcast the world-famous one-man show “Fleabag” with the inimitable Phoebe Wallace Bridge. The audience may be familiar with this production thanks to the popular BBC series “Fleabag”, which is the basis of the performance.
Phoebe easily and freely talks about her sexual adventures, life’s troubles, emotional trauma and conflicts with the world around her that sometimes does not understand her. The ability to laugh at yourself and healthy skepticism are the hallmarks of the main character. And although morally she is far from a role model you can definitely learn the right attitude towards life’s problems from her. And this sincerity and immediacy buys the viewer.
Where to watch: Forum Cinemas
vanityfair.com
Home theater with KinoBize
From August 15, a new cinema season will begin at the KinoBize cinema and currently on the website in the Home Cinema catalog you can rent Latvian, documentary, festival (and not only) films for online viewing.
One of the latest novelties from Berlinale is the all throughout French movie “Passengers of the Night” with Charlotte Ginsburg. This is a film about loneliness, acceptance and the fact that sometimes it is enough to find at least one person you can rely on to make life sparkle with bright colors.
The Latvian mythological thriller “Upurga” is perceived quite differently — about the liberation of the wild inner essence of a person, squeezed in the civilized world but striving outwardly. Eroticism, nature of the mysterious forest and madness plunge the viewer into a trance and force break away from reality, causing a deep cathartic effect.
Where to watch: KinoBize
