Film aficionados will fall in love with Ron Mann’s newest documentary, Altman, playing November 7 to 10 at The Cinemateque. The film celebrates one of America’s most daring filmmakers, Robert Altman (MASH, Gosford Park), for everything he was—an artist, a visionary, a legend.
Mann pieces together a vibrant image of Hollywood in the 1940s from scavenged archival footage—clips of Altman’s first films, extra shots taken on set during their production, and snippets of home videos. The world Mann recreates is rough, colourful and nostalgic; the viewer is thrust into a sunny California fuelled by American idealism—a place where life is easy, and everything is possible.
In the midst of this naive optimism appears Altman, the documentary’s strange and enigmatic hero. In the war against the superficiality of a growing film industry, Altman is a warrior for cinematographic realism. He challenges the age-old film-making conventions, producing a kind of media never seen before, and redefining American cinema forever. As actor Keith Carradine describes in an interview about the notorious director, Altman’s work “show[s] Americans who [they] are.”
Though heroic, Mann’s portrait of the famous filmmaker is also surprisingly human. Altman is not just a story about film; it is also a story about compassion, love and integrity. Mann unveils the family and friendships, failures and successes, wild parties and wise words that shaped the man into the artist he would one day become. Altman, we learn, made his films much like he lived life: with authenticity, conviction and ultimately, great pleasure.
— SCREENINGS —
Altman
Friday, November 7 – 6:30pm
Saturday, November 8 – 6:30pm
Sunday, November 9 – 2:00pm
Monday, November 10 – 8:40pm
McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Friday, November 7 – 8:35pm
Sunday, November 9 – 4:00pm
Tuesday, November 11 – 6:30pm
Nashville
Saturday, November 8 – 3:30pm
Sunday, November 9 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, November 11 – 3:30pm
Thursday, November 13 – 6:30pm
The Long Goodbye
Saturday, November 8 – 8:35pm
Monday, November 10 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, November 11 – 8:45pm
$11 Adult
$9 Senior / Student
Restricted to 18+ unless otherwise noted
$3 annual membership required for those 18+
The Cinematheque
1131 Howe Street, Vancouver
24hr Film Infoline: 604.688.FILM