Two Films by John Cassavetes to be Shown at Rio’s Museum of Modern Art

By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Thursday, December 6th, and Friday, December 7th, will see the cinema at Rio’s ‘Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro’ (Rio de Janeiro’s Museum of Modern Art, or MAM) show two films by influential American Director John Cassavetes.

The first is ‘Shadows’ which will screen at 6:30 PM on Thursday, and ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ which will be shown at 6:30 PM on Friday. Both films are free entry.

After their successful Kurosawa season in October, the Museum of Modern Art are continuing in their bid to present free showings of influential works from world cinema’s boldest pioneers, with a two-film presentation of indie cinema icon John Cassavetes.

Cassavetes gained many admirers for his raw and uncompromising approach to film-making, using a cast of regulars which included friends and family, as well as self-financing many of his movies. He is often dubbed as ‘the godfather of independent cinema.’

Thursday’s film, ‘Shadows,’ is the auteur’s full-length debut behind the camera. The 1959 movie focuses on a romance between Tony and Leila in New York City. Tony believes that Leila is a white woman, but after meeting her dark-skinned brother, a jazz singer named Hugh, Tony discovers that Leila’s race may be more complicated than he thought.

‘A Woman Under the Influence,’ showing on Friday, is both an epic and intimate depiction of domestic strife at the heart of an American family.

Both Peter Falk and Gena Rowland won plaudits for their performances as a husband and wife who are, almost at the same time, in love and in perpetual turmoil. Famed critic Roger Ebert called it, ‘perhaps the greatest of Cassavetes’ films.’

What: 2 x Cassavetes
When: Thursday, December 6th, at 6:30 PM, and Friday, December 7th, at 6:30 PM
Where: Museum of Modern Art’s Cinemateca – Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, 85 – Aterro do Flamengo – Tel: (21) 2240-5743
Entrance: Free