Forty Shades of Blue

"Atmospheric and haunting....It demands patience and it rewards it amply."--Newsweek

Director Ira Sachs visits to introduce his latest feature, the affecting Forty Shades of Blue (Friday screening only). Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for drama at Sundance this year, Forty Shades of Blue is the quietly affecting story of Laura (Dina Korzun), a young Russian woman trapped in a relationship with a legendary American musician twice her age (played by Rip Torn). Set in Memphis--like director Ira Sachs's previous feature, The Delta--the city and its blues and R&B hangouts provide a vivid backdrop for the unexpected drama when Torn's grown, semi-estranged son returns for a visit. Sachs's light, lyrical style perfectly serves an updated version of the women's picture, steadily building in emotional intensity as Laura ponders her destiny. With an original musical score by Dickon Hinchliffe of Tindersticks. (108 mins.)

Director Ira Sachs will introduce Friday's screening. Sachs began his filmmaking career in New York working for Martin Scorsese and has also produced a number of shorts, one of which was included in Underground Zero, a collection of films produced in the wake of September 11 that screened here in 2002.