BFS May showings bring hot jazz and deep space

BOZEMAN FILM SOCIETY

The Bozeman Film Society continues to roll out indie, art-house and specialty film events in May, at downtown Bozeman’s Ellen Theatre.

On Wednesday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m., Ethan Hawke lights up the screen as jazz legend Chet Baker, whose tumultuous life is thrillingly re-imagined with wit, verve and style in “Born to Be Blue.”

In the 1950s, Baker was one of the most famous trumpeters in the world, renowned as both a pioneer of the West Coast jazz scene and an icon of cool. By the 1960s he was all but washed up, his career and personal life in shambles due to years of heroin addiction.

In this innovative anti-biopic, director Robert Budreau zeroes in on Baker’s life at a key moment in the 1960s, just as the musician attempts to stage a hard-fought comeback, spurred in part by a passionate romance with a new flame played by Carmen Ejogo.

Creatively blending fact with fiction and driven by Hawke’s virtuoso performance, “Born to Be Blue” unfolds with all the stylistic verve and improvisatory genius of great jazz.

According to Peter Traverse of Rolling Stone, “Everything that makes Ethan Hawke an extraordinary actor – his energy, his empathy, his fearless, vanity-free eagerness to explore the deeper recesses of a character – is on view in ‘Born to Be Blue.’” The R-rated film runs 98 minutes.

On Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m., “The Martian” screens as part of the BFS Science on Screen (SoS) film series.

BFS is one of only 23 independent nonprofit cinemas across the country awarded SoS grants. The series aims to expand film and scientific literacy by creatively pairing screenings of popular culture and documentary films with lively presentations by local scientists.

“The Martian” features guest speaker Dr. Mac Burgess, of the Montana State University Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology.

The film is set on Mars, where astronaut Mark Watney—played by Matt Damon—is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But the protagonist has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet.

With only meager supplies, Watney must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home. In his presentation “From Mars to Montana: The Dirty Secret Behind Soil,” Burgess will share the reality of growing food in poor “Martian” soil – and draw a few parallels with soil closer to home.

The presentation of the “The Martian” is a collaboration with Gallatin Valley Farm to School. Rated PG-13, the film runs 134 minutes.

Tickets are available at.theellentheatre.com, by calling The Ellen Theatre box office at (406) 585-5885, or by visiting the box office Wednesday through Saturday, 1–3 p.m. They may also be purchased two hours prior to any performance. Visit bozemanfilmsociety.org for more information.