There is nothing–I repeat, nothing!–more intriguing cinematically this weekend than the selection of children’s films at the Central Library. Oh, you can check out the movies you should have seen over the past few weeks, or haul your child to see Terabithia, which, for my money, ought to have left that mysterious book alone (and allowed our collective imaginations to outdo the ridiculous CGI). This Saturday’s showings are particularly fascinating: Folklore Restaurant, for ages 3 and up, and later, the manic Bonkers, which looks like oodles of fun.
Ah, but you scoff, do you? Worldly sophisticate you are, why would you, childless you, take in morning movies amongst the kiddies? Or, cutting-edge parent that you might be, why waste time with a movie, especially ones with subtitles?
Because here you will find a morning and afternoon of cinematic magic, that’s why. For the childless and jaded, I can think of no better opportunity for a person to reclaim their love of cinema by watching youngsters react to the beauty they witness on the silver screen. And with these Saturday screenings, you’re also watching movies made with, dare I say it, love–a love of storytelling, filmmaking, and a respect for the audience.
At 10:15 you’ll see Folklore Restaurant, a lovely fairy tale, locally made, which is described as a “trio of fox tales from Native America, Finland, and Japan.” The director, Tomoko Oguchi, will be on hand to answer questions and perhaps give the enthralled some insight into her animation techniques (using washi, a Japanese paper). Screened with Folklore Restaurant will be a number of number of other shorts, including Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears.
Around 1:00, we’ll get a sneak preview of the Childish Film Festival’s Dutch film Knetter (Bonkers). Here’s a film that kids can really sink their teeth into, and a have a blast besides. The story of a girl whose mother suffers from manic-depression (hence the name–she’s bonkers), this is a crazy-fun film that appears not to sugarcoat life. There’s a single mom with a mental illness, sexually active, the grandmother dies, the girl gets an elephant. In America, the subjects would be driven into our heads with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, or softened for the kiddies. Can’t have Mom with boyfriends, and discover the two of them (gasp) in bed. If you do, well, then the movie’s for adults–got to spare our young ones the grim nature of life. Hogwash, I say. Why is it that Europeans alone seem to understand that children can learn about the darkness of life from the art they participate in? It beats me, but the preview for Bonkers is one of the most loving, exciting, and hilarious shorts I’ve seen in ages. Parents: don’t deny your child this experience. If only this child of a single-mom with depression had this to latch on at an impressionable age, well, I’d have been a lot happier knowing there were others like me out there. Maybe I’d have even finagled an elephant as a pet!
Both movies are being shown in the Pohlad Hall at the downtown library, the first at 10:15 (ages 3 and up) and the second at 1:00 (8 and up due to subtitles). Whole Foods Market’s providing the snacks. See you there!
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