vernon film society
Bringing the best in world and Canadian film to film lovers of Vernon and the North Okanagan
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANIONDirector: Robert Altman
"A meditation on death that has you humming to the melody and laughing at the joke -- it's an elegiac picture that refuses to eulogize." Rick Groen , Globe and Mail The quintessential independent American filmmaker, Robert Altman's insightful and masterly films - often characterized by a roving camera and intimate character portraits - will be honoured this Spring when the five-time Academy Award® nominee receives an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His recent films GOSFORD PARK and THE COMPANY (which screened at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival®) have only affirmed his outstanding and lasting contribution to cinema. His latest film, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, premiered at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival. In typical Altman fashion, it boasts a gifted ensemble cast, including Woody Harrelson (NORTH COUNTRY), Tommy Lee Jones (MANDERLAY), Kevin Kline (DE-LOVELY), Virginia Madsen (SIDEWAYS), John C. Reilly ( CHICAGO ) and Meryl Streep (THE HOURS). The film follows the backstage antics during the final broadcast of America 's most popular radio show, which is being shut down after thirty years on the air. A fictionalized account of a real show - Garrison Keillor's - currently running in the United States, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION features singing cowboys, a country music diva (Streep) and many interweaving storylines involving secrets, strangers and power struggles. Pure fun and intrigue, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION is Robert Altman at his best. "Amusement comes from many sources, although first among equals are Kline, whose comic timing in an uproariously silly phone scene is in a class comparable to Buster Keaton and Cary Grant, and Harrelson, who locks in a hitherto unknown dry drollness that lifts his every line." Todd McCarthy , Variety
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