By Margaret Miller, a long-time Creston Valley resident
I grew up in a family that loved to watch movies. My dad was the force behind this, and during my early years, I was exposed to a wide range of quality films.
I remember Friday nights as a child – Dad re-arranging furniture in our living room so everything faced the TV. It was a simple black and white set, only about 21 inches in diameter. There were no big flat screens back then, and colour television wasn’t introduced in my birth country, Australia, until 1975. Sometimes my family enjoyed kid-friendly matinees at the local cinema or evening screenings of classic 1960s and 70s dramas.
Dad rarely paid to see what he probably thought of as “fluff”. A movie was more than simple entertainment for him. It was an opportunity to confront important issues, not to escape from them. So, he preferred dramas about courage and integrity, about justice and the danger of bigotry and hate. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. To Kill a Mockingbird. Twelve Angry Men.
Decades have passed, but my love of film endures. Thankfully, I live in a rural community where others feel the same.
Last month, the annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival - presented by Wildsight - offered locals a choice of in-person or online viewing. It was another great line-up of short films about climate change, environmental protection, Indigenous rights, and the value of outdoor adventures. It was an entertaining and thought-provoking evening.
Kootenay Film Society is another positive addition to Creston Valley’s cultural landscape. Formed by a group of local movie buffs dedicated to regional film making, the society holds its annual 7th Siding Festival of Film in fall. It’s worth remembering.
Thankfully, Creston’s beautiful Tivoli Theatre, which first opened in 1945, continues to offer wonderful movie experiences. There’s something magical about the glow of the cinema’s exterior lights on a winter evening. And it offers the best of both worlds – art deco architecture and the screening of modern high-tech films.
Fun begins at the Tivoli even before the lights go down. Reconnect with friends or neighbours by the concession. Buttered popcorn. A wave or verbal greeting to others sitting a few rows away, perfectly acceptable in our friendly town. The furriest patrons at the theatre are the teddy bears occupying the end seats of alternate rows to maintain safe, socially distanced viewing.
Last week, I enjoyed the cinema’s screening of West Side Story, a remake of the acclaimed 1961 musical about rival street gangs in 1950s New York. The original version of the movie was a favourite of mine for decades, so I was curious about this 2021 production. Thankfully, director Steven Spielberg, a name movie buffs will recognize, pulled it off. It was another intelligent look at the dangers of hate and division. Another testimony to the power of group behaviour.
The scenes and songs pulled me in. High energy dance numbers, tender love songs, witty word plays about social problems, scenes of rivalry and intimidation. Now, more than a week later, some of the lyrics still swirl in my head.
Tonight, tonight, it all began tonight…
There’s a place for us, somewhere a place for us….
But it’s the fight scenes I can’t seem to let go of. Or, more precisely, the tense lead-up to choreographed fight scenes. Images of angry young men gathering in the streets, looking for a fight. Young men with clenched fists.
To quote Riff, the leader of the Jets gang:
“We’re gonna jazz it tonight…
They began it and we’re the ones to stop ‘em once and for all!
The Jets are gonna have their way, the Jets are gonna have their day.
We’re gonna rock it tonight.”
Sadly, events of the film did not end well for most characters. Hate and anger led to tragedy. The Jets did not have their way.
As I discovered decades ago, quality films endure if their message is relevant. And in 2022, a hard-hitting musical set in the 1950s remains relevant. Very relevant.
READ MORE: Valley Views: Screen Culture