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Community Corner

First Friday Films: Moonlight Kingdom, 2012

Set in 1965 on a series of islands off the beautiful New England coast, this black comedy celebrates the quirky adventures of tween-agers Sam Shukusky and Suzy Bishop. Are they soul mates? Well, they certainly fall in love, and as they are outcasts anyway, decide to run away together. Feeling misunderstood and marginalized by the adults who surround them (and who fail to see them as people) is just how they wake up in the morning. As the townsfolk mobilize to search for them, a serious storm is brewing. 

Get ready for dead-pan humor, clever dialogue and spoofing of pretensions. Directed by Wes Anderson who co-wrote the screenplay with Roman Coppola, the film was nominated for a 2012 Academy Award for Best Writing Original Screenplay and won Spirituality & Practice's "One of the Most Spiritually Literate Films of 2012" award. The indie film uses music from Benjamin Bitten, Mozart and Hank Williams; Alexandre Desplat wrote the original score.

The cast includes Jared Gilman as Sam, Kara Hayward as Suzy, and Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Frances McDormand, Bob Balaban and Harvey KeitelMatt Zoller Seitz, Editor-in-Chief of RogerEbert.com says, "The film subtly communicates that the right choice is the one that's based on empathy, attention and understanding, not mindless adherence to ritual or ostrich-like evasion of unpleasant truths." For his full review, see http://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/the-wes-anderson-collection-chapter-7-moonrise-kingdom

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality & Practice portray director Wes Anderson as, "... an incomparable explorer of individuality as it is played out in different groups and places. He has a special knack for developing characters who are outsiders or rebels and are both funny and touching at the same time. When circumstances or other people turn against them, they struggle to be true to themselves and to keep their souls alive." See http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=22916 for their full review.

Join us for popcorn during, discussion after. Run time 94 minutes; rated PG 13. 

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