Bread and Tulips. A middle-aged housewife (Licia Maglietta), her plumber husband and two sons go touring their own country. But when the bus accidentally leaves her behind, fate or circumstance or both guide her towards Venice. There she starts a warm, simple, semi-new life and meets all kinds of ordinary but interesting people. Her husband hires an inept and overweight mommy’s boy to find her. She moves in with an Icelandic waiter (Bruno Ganz) who speaks as if he’s in the 18th century and seems determined to commit suicide. It is good to see Ganz after all these years, quietly commanding the screen as he did in films such as Australian director Gillian Armstrong’s underrated Last Days of Chez Nous in the early Nineties and, back in 1977, Wim Wenders’s The American Friend with Dennis Hopper. This unashamed fantasy/romance never strikes a single, sentimental note and is like a glass of good sangria. Neil Sonnekus
Lucky Numbers. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is better known for the nearby Three Mile Island disaster. But it was also the sight of a state lottery scandal in 1980, and that is what this comedy is based upon. Directed by Norah Ephron, it concerns one Russ Richards, a celebrity TV weatherman who has a snowmobile business in the non-snowiest winter of that town. He is losing money at an alarming rate, so he and his lover, the lottery ball girl Crystal Latroy (Lisa Kudrow), start hatching plans. There are some problems, however. One of them is that Russ is as thick as pig poo. Another is that Crystal is not exactly honest. Yet another is that their adviser Gig (Tim Roth), doesn’t have too many scruples about having people killed. Though it has lots of hilarious moments, the script seems somewhat forced in what could have been a delightful, Coen brothers-like bit of subversion. NS
A Time for Drunken Horses (Johannesburg only). This Iranian film is a family drama set in Kurdistan on the Iran-Iraq border, depicting the hardships of life there when a 12-year-old has to take charge of the household after his father’s death. Tasks in hand include saving a handicapped brother and keeping the horses going by feeding them alcohol. Written and directed by Bahman Ghobadi, using non-professional actors, the film has been described as heartbreaking.
@happening
NATIONAL
Playwriting workshop. The Royal National Theatre Studio is bringing a team of writers, directors and devisers to run two week-long playwriting workshops in Cape Town and Johannesburg from July 9 to 13. The workshops are aimed at experienced writers and community theatre writers. To book, contact Warrick Grier: Tel: (011) 447 0854 or 083 342 7235 or Mannie Manim: Tel: (021) 685 7800.
GAUTENG
Antiques fair. Visit the Sandton Square Antiques & Collectables Fair on July 1 from 9am to 4pm on the upper and lower levels of Sandton Square. Tel: 082 883 4933 or (011) 802 1611.
Art lecture. Art historian Karin Maria Skawran will present a lecture entitled The 20th Century: Watercolours In Europe and South Africa on July 4 at 6pm at the Association of Arts Pretoria, 173 Mackie Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria. Tel: (012) 346 3100.
Book sale. A wonderful selection of books will be on sale at St Vincent School for the Deaf, corner of Jellicoe and Tottenham avenues, Melrose, on June 30 from 8am to 12.30pm. Tel: (011) 465 4949.
Camera club meeting. The slide section of the Camera Club of Johannesburg meets on July 2 at 7.30pm at the Media Building, 69 Kingsway, Auckland Park. Tel: 082 569 1873 or (011) 680 6155.
Holidays at the zoo. The Johannesburg zoo is running an exciting holiday programme until July 13 that caters for children of all age groups. Moonlight tours are available for the whole family. Booking is essential. For more information: Tel: (011) 646 2000 extension 210 or 214 or fax (011) 486 0244.
Launch. The Johannesburg launch of U3A will take place on July 3 at 10am in the church hall of St Martin’s in the Veld, corner of Cradock Avenue and Eastwood Road, Dunkeld. U3A is a learning cooperative for “third-agers” people no longer in full-time employment. Membership costs R25 a year. Tel: (011) 880 7174 or 082 557 1401.
Music appreciation lecture. Barney’s Full Colour Classics celebrate the 100th anniversary of Guiseppe Verdi’s death with an evening of Italian opera on July 5 at the Mange Tout kitchens, 102 Aberdeen Street, Westdene. Classic FM presenter Mary Rrich will present a lecture entitled From Castrati to Pavarotti and Arnold Hoon will serve a three-course meal. Only 50 seats are available and cost R150 a person. Tel: (011) 482 3671 or 082 774 1129 or e-mail [email protected].
WESTERN CAPE
Fund-raising event. Call (021) 557 7050 until June 30 and pledge your support for the fifth annual Kfm 94.5 Round Table Radiothon in aid of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital. The radiothon aims to raise R1-million for equipment for two of the hospital’s theatres.
Scriptwriting workshop. The Writing Studio is holding a weekend workshop at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town from 10am to 5pm on June 30 and July 1. The workshop will take writers through the process of working on a draft of a screenplay for feature film and will also examine writing for television, the stage and novels. To book: Tel: 083 948 2543 or e-mail [email protected].
KWAZULU-NATAL
Music classes. Jazz pianist Nkululeko Langeni will be giving music theory and harmony classes at the Bat Centre Music Room every Saturday from 9am to 2pm. Hourly sessions cost R35 for children and R50 for adults. Tel: (031) 907 2841.
Tarot meeting. The Tarot Society will be hosting a meeting entitled Learn About Your Tarot Angel using Visualisation on June 30 at the Westville Library from 2pm to 4.30pm. Tel: (031) 266 9377.