Repetition and Hopelessness in “Taste of Cherry”
The Independent was invited to cover “Taste of Cherry” during the Boston Festival of Films from Iran at the Museum…
The Independent was invited to cover “Taste of Cherry” during the Boston Festival of Films from Iran at the Museum…
“Snow White” (1916) was shown for one night only — and not one more — on Screen One of The West Newton Cinema, an independent theater nestled between a massage parlor and audiologist ten miles west of Downtown Boston. Current showings are pasted on the low marquee and the ticket booths are covered in multicolored post-its and flyers. It has stood on Washington Street for nearly 90 years, and was recently saved by the West Newton Cinema Foundation (or WNCF), a nonprofit organization formed by the local community to keep the theater alive through financial difficulties and the age of streaming.
When the lights dimmed and the screen began to flicker, I felt like I was standing in front of an altar. There was something holy about that crisp October night in Cambridge, when The Brattle theater transformed from a movie house into a cathedral of cinema. The smell of buttered popcorn floated through the air as strangers shuffled to creaky seats, their plastic cups fizzing with delicious cherry cola. It wasn’t just a screening. It was a gathering of believers. A horde of cinephiles grouped, itching for their fix.