{"id":53148,"date":"2018-09-17T12:39:34","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T16:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=53148"},"modified":"2018-09-17T12:42:38","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T16:42:38","slug":"brock-film-society-kicks-off-new-season-with-first-reformed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/09\/brock-film-society-kicks-off-new-season-with-first-reformed\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock Film Society kicks off new season with First Reformed"},"content":{"rendered":"

First Reformed<\/span><\/em>, the latest work of acclaimed writer-director Paul Schrader, will open the Brock University Film Society’s<\/a>\u00a0fall 2018 season on Thursday, Sept. 20.<\/span><\/p>\n

Best known for works such as <\/span>Taxi Driver<\/span><\/em>, <\/span>American Gigolo<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>Affliction<\/span><\/em>, Schrader will be familiar to students of recently retired Brock Professor Barry Grant, who used Schrader\u2019s piece on film noir as a staple in all four editions of his book <\/span>Film Genre Reader<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

First Reformed<\/span><\/em> is a gripping thriller about a crisis of faith that is at once personal, political and planetary.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film centres on Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke), a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reformed church in upstate New York. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation. When a pregnant parishioner (Amanda Seyfried) asks Rev. Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Exclaim!<\/span><\/i> magazine calls <\/span>First Reformed<\/span><\/em> \u201cthe quintessential Schrader film\u201d that solidifies him \u201cas a true American master.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For more than 40 years, the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film has hosted the film society (previously known as a series) to bring some of the best in independent, international and Canadian cinema to St. Catharines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tickets are available on the evening of screenings at the Film House at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.<\/span><\/p>\n

General admission is $9 or $7 for members, plus tax. Memberships are available through the Film House<\/span> website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n