Hello cinema friends,
Two questions: What makes a work of art? And, what makes a family? This weekend we welcome two very different films to the Cinema that ask these two very different questions.
A badly damaged painting in the Renaissance style appears before a small-time art dealer. Something about this unremarkable antique captures the imagination of our dealer, and a purchase is made. A restorer is brought in, and in the process of removal and addition of paint, a claim is made: this is the Salvator Mundi—the lost 16th painting of Leonardo da Vinci.
Is it a miracle, a forgery, a scheme, an asset—and does it matter?
The Lost Leonardo doesn’t seek just to prove or disprove the authenticity of the Salvator Mundi, rather it asks a series of serious questions of our culture and of the systems that wield power: What makes a work of art when truth is a foggy notion? What makes a work of art in a global art market? What makes a work of art in an age where fortunes and politics are in mesh?
Another story, another question: In the rolling verdant hills of rural Iceland on a small sheep farm, a young couple is reasonably successful. They are married, they are in love, and the farm is under control—but all three of these truths could prove temporary, as they cannot conceive a child. Through some folkloric magic, they make a discovery in their barn one day, and the couple finally becomes a family. But at what costs, and against what forces, societal, ancient, and otherworldly, can this little family stay together? Lamb is the dark, surreal, atmospheric, funny, terrifying, and touching debut effort from Valdimar Jóhannsson. We are still very much in Spooky Season
The Lost Leonardo opens Friday and plays alongside Titane. Lamb opens Friday after an exclusive sneak preview Thursday at 9PM.
There are no dumb questions,
Ted
