Film: Beyond the Lights

Watch a film every first Friday of the month.

January 5

Beyond the Lights. The pressures of fame have put superstar singer Noni on the edge, until she meets Kaz, a young cop who works to help her find the courage she needs to develop her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be. PG-13, 116 mins., 2014. Closed captions (CC) in English.

February 2

Shanghai Triad.  Academy Awards and Golden Globes nominee, SHANGHAI TRIAD, is an absorbing tale of the Chinese underworld in the 1930's, focusing on a pampered night club singer Xiao, played by Gong Li who takes on a young boy to be her servant. Based on the novel Rules of a Clan by Li Xiao. R, 107 mins., 1995. Closed captions (CC) in English.

March 1

Apocalypo. As the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression. R, 132 mins., 2006. Closed captions (CC) in English.

April 5

Clara Sola. In a remote village in Costa Rica, forty-year-old Clara endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother. Her uncanny affinity for creatures large and small allows Clara to find solace in the natural world around her. Tension builds within the family as Clara’s younger niece approaches her quinceañera, igniting a sexual and mystical awakening in Clara, and a journey to free herself from the conventions that have dominated her life. R, 106 mins., 2021. Closed captions (CC) in English.

May 3

The Lighthouse. Two lighthouse keepers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) fight each other for survival and sanity on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind horror masterpiece The Witch. R, 109 mins., 2019. Closed captions (CC) in English.

June 6

Four Good Days. A mother helps her daughter work through four crucial days of recovery from substance abuse. R, 100 mins., 2021. Closed captions (CC) in English.

July 5

Wuthering Heights. A servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff. NR, 105 mins., 1939. Closed captions (CC) in English.

August 2

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Based very loosely on the intricate novel by Joanne Greenberg. A young woman's devotion to a childhood fantasy kingdom has taken over her entire life and causes her endless pain and degradation. Placed in a mental hospital, she has the great good fortune to have a truly caring therapist who tries to help her accept reality, even though reality isn't so great either. R, 92 mins., 1977. Closed captions (CC) in English.

September 6

Tortilla Soup. Three grown sisters, Maribel, Leticia and Carmen try to cope and live with the fact that their father Martin, a veteran chef, is slowly losing his sense of taste. Martin has one simple rule: be at home for Sunday dinner and attendance is both mandatory and non-negotiable. A rift in the family develops when the sisters develop relationships and an obnoxious woman sets her sights on Martin's affections. PG-13, 103 mins., 2001. Closed captions (CC) in English.

October 4

A Bronx Tale. A father becomes worried when a local gangster befriends his son in the Bronx in the 1960s. Restored in 4K UHD for the first time. R, 61 mins., 1993. Closed captions (CC) in English.

November 1

Dance Me Outside. Director Bruce McDonald explores living in a northern Ontario native reservation. This Canadian drama based on a book by W.P. Kinsella, examines the tension between Native Canadians and Anglos in Canada from a Native perspective. Silas Crow, who lives on a Northern Ontario reserve, wants to take a mechanic's course in Toronto with his friend Frank Fencepost. But before he can enroll, the teen must write a short narrative describing his home. The film is a series of alternatively poignant vignettes from Crow's narrative. R, 104 mins., 1994. Closed captions (CC) in English.

December 6

Queen of Glory. Sarah Obeng (Nana Mensah), a doctoral student at Columbia University, is weeks away from following her very married boyfriend to Ohio when her mother suddenly passes away. Her inheritance? King of Glory, a small Christian bookstore serving a Ghanaian immigrant community in the Bronx. Aided by an only-in-New York ensemble of Eastern European neighbors, opinionated aunties, and a no-nonsense ex-con employee, Sarah must face her new responsibilities while figuring out how to remain true to herself. NR, 78 mins., 2021. Closed captions (CC) in English.