FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2016
WHAT: Election Slate
WHEN: August 2-9, November 3-4
COST: Regular
screenings: $10 general admission, $8 museum members. Admission is free for
kids 17 and under.
INFO: 532-6097, ddt@honolulumuseum.org honolulumuseum.org (publishable)
High-res images available on request.
HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I—In the midst of one of the most dramatic, polarizing, high-stakes election seasons in history, the Honolulu Museum of Art presents a slate of political satires, documentaries, and Hollywood classics that delve into the political process, from filibustering to back-room handshake deals to hubris-fueled falls from grace.
Exactly one week before America decides whether to vote His Orangishness into office, the Doris Duke Theatre screens the 2011 documentary You've Been Trumped. The film tells the story of the billionaire real-estate tycoon's attempt to turn a protected Scottish wilderness into a luxury resort and golf course.
Some things never change. The stories told in the Hollywood classics Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The Candidate are as relevant today as they were at the time they were produced. Both films tell the story of idealistic politicians who enter the political process with lofty ambitions, only to realize that changing the system is not as easy as they thought.
The intense new
documentary Weiner (pictured above) examines one of
the biggest political train wrecks in recent memory: Carlos Danger
Anthony Weiner. The film follows the former New York congressman, fresh off of
his sexting debacle, as he inexplicably attempts to mount a campaign to become
mayor of New York City. Audiences will cringe, but won’t be able to look away.
In June 2016, Hawai‘i became the first U.S. state to place firearm-owning residents in a federal criminal record database. Aug. 9 the museum presents Under the Gun narrated by Katie Couric. The documentary examines the ongoing political debate over gun control, and what leads to political inaction even as the frequency of mass shootings increases at a terrifying rate. Audiences can join local policy makers for a post-screening discussion addressing gun control in Hawai‘i.
Register to vote
The Doris Duke Theatre will have voter registration forms available during the screenings. Audiences are encouraged to register and perform their civic duty come election day, Nov. 8.
Weiner
Directed by Josh
Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg. 2016. USA. 100 min.
August 2 at 1 p.m. +
7:30 p.m.
August 3 at 1 p.m. +
7:30 p.m.
August 6 at 1 p.m.
Sexts, lies, and Carlos Danger—watch the wildest political
meltdown in recent history as it unfolds. It’s 2013 and former congressman Anthony
Weiner—still reeling from the sex scandal that ended his political career two
years earlier—is back in the spotlight as he mounts an audacious comeback
campaign—to become mayor of New York City. But it’s not long before the onetime
rising political star self-destructs—again. Granted unfettered access to the
candidate and his campaign, filmmakers Josh Kriegman (a former Weiner aide) and
Elyse Steinberg capture a jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes look at the disintegration
of a political machine. The New York Times, which calls Weiner a “rivetingly watchable documentary,” make the film a
Critics’ Pick.
Winner of the 2016 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary.
See the trailer
Read the Variety review
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Directed by Frank Capra. 1939. USA. 129 min.
August 4 at 1 p.m. + 7:30 p.m.
This screen gem is the To
Kill A Mockingbird of politics—if To
Kill a Mockingbird was a comedy—preserving viewers’ faith in democracy (as
if that ever really existed). James Stewart is the idealistic young Jefferson
Smith, a Boy Rangers leader who is appointed by the governor to fill a senate
seat left vacant by a death. At the Capitol, Smith comes under the mentorship
of senior Sen. Joseph Paine (Claude Rains). However, Paine isn't as noble as
his reputation would indicate, and Smith’s plans promptly collide with
political corruption. Determined to stand up against his corrupt peers, Smith
takes his case to the Senate floor for a filibuster—one of the great scenes of
American cinema. Back in 1939, the film caused a stir in Washington, D.C.,
reports the Washington Post: “The
Washington Press Club sponsored a premiere at Constitution Hall that was
attended by congressmen, Senators and Supreme Court justices. About halfway
through the film, people started walking out. At another dinner, Capra was criticized
for showing graft in the Senate. The Washington press corps, who didn't like
the way reporters were portrayed, joined in the attacks against Capra.” But
like Capra’s good-guy winners, the film triumphed—audiences flocked to see it,
making Stewart a star, and earning 11 Oscar nominations, including Best
Picture. What film took the title that year? Gone With the Wind.
It’s a great opportunity for audiences to see on the big screen the film that almost 80 years after it was released remains the standard bearer of Washington-related films.
Read the New York Times review
Under the Gun
Directed by Stephanie Soechtig. Narrated by Katie Couric. 2015. USA.
August 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Under the Gun examines the events and people who have kept
the gun debate fierce and the legislative progress slow, even as gun deaths and
mass shootings continue to increase. Through the lens of families impacted by
the mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, Isla Vista and Tucson, as well as those
who experience daily gun violence in Chicago, the documentary looks at why
politicians find it difficult to act and what is being done at the state and
local levels. The film is executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric.
In June 2016, Hawai‘i became the first U.S. state to place firearm-owning residents in a federal criminal record database. Join us for a post-screening discussion with local policy makers to address questions of gun control in Hawai‘i.
Read the Variety Review
Election
Directed by Alexander
Payne. 1999. USA. 105 min.
November 3 at 1 p.m.
+ 7:30 p.m.
Twelve years before he made The Descendants, Alexander Payne turned his insightful eye to high
school student body campaigns in this brilliant satire of the American
electoral process that made the character Tracy Flick a household name. Matthew
Broderick plays a high school teacher whose personal life becomes complicated
as he works with students during the school elections, particularly with aspiring
student body president Flick, an obsessive overachiever played by Reese
Witherspoon. You may be laughing in despair in light of our real-life election.
Watch the trailer
Read the New York Times review
You’ve Been Trumped
Directed by Anthony Baxter. 2011. USA. 95 min. Nov 1 at 1pm + 7:30pm
Called a “riveting expose” by New York Magazine, this
documentary captures the cultural chasm between the glitzed-out
developer-cum-presidential candidate Donald Trump and a deeply rooted Scottish
community in his attempt to turn protected wilderness into a luxury resort and
golf course. What begins as an often amusing clash of world-views grows
increasingly bitter and disturbing. Funny, inspiring and heartbreaking in
turns, You’ve Been Trumped was viewed as an entertaining
parable for our celebrity driven times when it was released in 2011. Today it
can be viewed as a sobering warning to Trump supporters who believe he can
#makeAmericagreatagain.
Read the New York Times review
I Am JFK Jr. – A Tribute to a Good Man
Directed by Derik Murray. 2016. USA. 92 min.
Nov 2 at 1pm + 7:30pm
John F. Kennedy Jr., the devastatingly handsome son of America’s most
glamorous president and society style icon Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was the
closest thing the U.S. had to a prince. The country mourned his untimely death
at 38 as if it had lost a great leader and statesman, when in fact he struggled
to pass the bar, and his magazine George was starting to
slump. In the anniversary month of his tragic passing comes an intimate,
revealing and poignant look at his life in and out of the spotlight. Network
Entertainment and Spike TV delve into the compelling life of “John John”
through the distinctive lens of many of the people who knew him best, from
A-list celebrities to close friends and staffers who worked closely with him at
George magazine, in the original documentary film, I Am JFK Jr.
The Candidate
Directed by Michael
Ritchie. 1972. USA. 110 min.
November 4 at 1 p.m.
+ 7:30 p.m.
Robert Redford is pitch perfect as Bill McKay, a young
liberal California Democrat who campaigns for the United States Senate. To
raise his standing in the polls, his original platform is continuously watered
down in this scathing satire about how campaigns and elections can easily
become corrupted. Though it’s labeled a political comedy, there are scenes that
are as chilling as any psychological thriller, as when Melvyn Douglas, playing
McKay’s father, tells him, “Son, you’re a politician,” following McKay’s
victory, and lets out an evil chuckle. And in the final scene, McKay, achingly
handsome and bewildered, asks his campaign manager (played beautifully by Peter
Boyle), “What do we do now?” It’s as spine tingling as the last scene of The Omen. The horror, the horror.
Read the New York Times review
-end-
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