365 Things To Do In the Georgetown (Texas) Area

142. Cinema Art

  I love movies.  Movies tell a story you never knew or wish had been told or allow you to experience what you never would.  I love the feeling of being totally immersed in the story, the emotions, the place.  I like all genres:  adventure, documentary, drama, sci-fi, action, romance, comedy, crime, epic, family, fantasy, film-noir, horror,  musical, mystery, thriller, war, western. 

In film theory, genre refers to the method based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed.  Genre has always been a vague term with no fixed boundaries and it is argued that genres are merely made up by critics. 

In any case, I find myself particularly drawn to alternative, independent and foreign films.  They are quirky and different and I believe the film-makers often are forced to try harder because they have not received huge budgets from a major Hollywood studio.  It also means the film-maker has the opportunity to break the rules of traditional narrative and experiment with new or different ways of telling stories.  Foreign films, in particular, provide a unique insight based on cultural norms with which we may not be familiar.

The Regal Cinemas Arbor 8 at Great Hills in Northwest Austin, is dedicated to showing alternative and independent films, first-run foreign productions and restored classics.  I recently saw the documentary "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" by Werner Herzog.  He was able to get permission from the French government to gain access to the Chauvet Cave that was discovered in 1994.  The Chauvet Cave contains hundreds of pristine cave paintings dating back over 30,000 years.  It was fascinating.

There is another documentary coming that won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, called "Buck".  It is a true story about one of the most well-respected horse trainers in the industry who uses praise and cooperation rather than fear and punishment as his methods.  Buck Brannaman was the unusually perceptive cowboy whose remarkable ability to communicate with horses inspired both Mick Evans' novel "The Horse Whisperer", and the hit Robert Redford film that followed.  It opens at the Regal Arbor Cinema in mid-June. 

So, if you're looking for something a little different from the big Hollywood production, try the Regal  Cinemas Arbor 8.  

Location:   Regal Cinemas Arbor 8
                9828 Great Hills Trail
                Austin, TX 78759
                512-231-9742

http://www.fandango.com/regalarborcinemagreathills_aaeuj/theaterpage

Published Sunday, May 22, 2011 8:16 PM by Sun City Realty