My interest in movies was piqued by a film appreciation class I took in college (for which my husband has been giving me unmitigated grief for years. C'mon, it was an elective.) In that class, kind of unoriginally nicknamed "Darkness at Noon," I learned about mise-en-scène, film noir, dramatic tension, (Battleship Potemkin, baby carriage, steps...) the difference between good and bad acting, and saw many marvelous films.
During the decades I lived in DC, I frequented the wonderful E Street Cinema, which showed indie and foreign movies. When I arrived in the Upper Valley, I realized it was pretty much a movie desert—or, if not completely a desert, it was at least arid, especially since I am not a fan of superhero movies and have aged out of kid stuff.
Enter Arthur Kahn, who started the Thetford Arthouse Cinema, now in its fifth season. Arthur lives in Tennessee but spends half the year in Vermont and is a longtime film buff. He presents 24 films per season (which runs from June to October) and shows them at the theatre on the Thetford Academy campus.
I asked him what criteria he uses to choose the films. He said he rotates among old and new, sad and tragic, happy and comic. He tries to alternate between male and female directors, and keeps a balance among foreign and domestic films. (He did admit that every once in a while, he throws in one of his “pets,” a movie that he has a particular affection for.) What results is a mishmash of films, but oh, what a mishmash! If you are a regular moviegoer, you probably have seen some of what he presents, but you’ll always find something new and wonderful.
I cannot recommend the Thetford Arthouse Cinema enough. Definitely a hidden treasure of the Upper Valley. And let me add that the movies are FREE… and there will be snacks.
For more information and the schedule, check out the website: www.thetfordcinema.org
Carin Pratt is one of the remarkably knowledgeable crew at the Norwich Bookstore—and an ardent recommender of books. Before she landed in these parts, she spent 27 years at CBS News, including two decades as the executive producer of Face the Nation.
Editor: This Friday’s movie? Here’s a hint:
