Movie Night

Our Movie Night, taking place once a month, combines fun with spiritual exploration. A wide range of films are selected, including various spiritual paths, cinematic styles and genres. We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission (optional).

Movie Nights Currently Scheduled:

>> Wednesday, October 7th, at 7pm: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring. "Rarely has a movie this simple moved me this deeply," wrote Roger Ebert when reviewing this film. Written and directed by Ki-duk Kim, and staring Ki-duk Kim, Yeong-su Oh and Jong-ho Kim. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is a tale taking place primarily on a a small floating temple, over an isolated lake. The changing seasons represent the passing years in the life of an old monk and his young disciple. It is a visually striking film, poetic in nature, and loaded with beautiful metaphors, most of which will stay with you long after the film is over.
Click here for the film's trailer.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 donation at the door is appreciated but not required.

Previous Movie Nights:

>> Movie Night: Tue, Sept 2nd, 2014, 8:00pm. We will be screening Kumaré. Kumaré is a documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.
"As Kumaré plays out, both Gandhi and the film become something else, something much more thoughtful and moving." (RT)
Join us for an evening of fun! Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served. Open to all. No need for RSVP. Bring a snack or drinks to share or $5.

>> Movie Night: Wed, Aug 27th, 2014, 7:20pm, at NYC's Film Forum. Join us for a special screening of THROUGH A LENS DARKLY: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People. This award-winning documentary was directed by Thomas Allen Harris, a Monroe Yoga studio participant.
Click here for the film's flyer.
Since we will need to purchase tickets in advance and finalize time, please contact Ronen if you are interested in joining.

>> Movie Night: Tue, July 22nd, 2014, 8:00pm. We will be screening Searching for Sugar Man. "Searching for Sugar Man tells the incredible true story of Rodriguez, the greatest '70s rock icon who never was." (RT).
With a 95% approval rating on RottenTomatoes.com and an Academy Award for Best Documentary, this film is "engaging, cleverly structured and enormously satisfying; a feel-good story that hits the mark."
Join us for an evening of fun! Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served. Open to all. No need for RSVP. Bring a snack or drinks to share or $5.

>> Movie Night: Tue, Feb 18th, 2014, 8:00pm. We will be screening Millions. "Danny Boyle's Millions, a family film of limitless imagination and surprising joy," writes Roger Ebert.
It is a delightful uplifting story. Join us for an evening of fun! Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served. Open to all. No need for RSVP. Bring a snack or drinks to share or $5.

>> Movie Night: Wed, Oct 30th, 2013, 8:00pm. Just in time for Halloween, we will be screening Young Frankenstein. Join us for an evening of laughing yoga practiced in good company! Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served. Open to all. No need for RSVP. Bring a snack or drinks to share or $5.
A critical favorite and box office smash, the 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein ranks No. 28 on Total Film magazine's "List of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films of All Time", number 56 on Bravo TV's list of the "100 Funniest Movies", and number 13 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest American movies.

>> Movie Night: Wed, July 24th, 2013, 8:15pm . We will be screening The Gods Must Be Crazy. Join us for this treasure of a film, worth seeing again and again. Have fun practicing laughing yoga in good company! Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served. Open to all. No need for RSVP. Bring a snack or drinks to share or $5.
This surprise witty comedy out of South Africa, broke all box office records for a foreign film back in 1984

>> Movie Night: Wed, June 12th, 2013, 8:15pm . We will be screening The Princess Bride. Join us for this classic worth seeing again and again. Have fun practicing laughing yoga in good company! Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served. Open to all. No need for RSVP. Bring a snack or drinks to share or $5.
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father; Prepare to die!" The Princess Bride was voted the 38th greatest comedy film of all time.

>> Movie Night: Tue, May 7th, 2013, 8:00pm . We will be screening A Fish Called Wanda. Join us for a fun practice of laughing yoga! Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served. Open to all. No need for RSVP. Bring a snack or drinks to share or $5.
A Fish Called Wanda is a strange tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge and seafood... The film is included in most 100-funniest-films-ever lists and a must see. If you've seen it before, nothing like seeing it again in good company. If you haven't seen it before, well, here is your chance!

>> Movie Night: January 16th, 2013, 8:15pm . We will be screening Monty Phyton's Life of Brian. An animation short titled Why Me? will be screened first. Popcorn, Water and Tea will be served along with lots of laughs. Open to all. No need for RSVP. $5 optional donation (at the door). Please note that a yoga class will be ending at 8pm so if you come earlier, please wait for the lights in the studio to be turned on before entering.

>> Wednesday, December 7th, at 8:15pm.
If you've never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail you are missing on a wonderful parody about King Arthur's quest to find the Holy Grail. Creative, full of mockery, and plain fun, Monty Python holds nothing holy.
Join us for an evening of fun, screening this 1974 film at the studio. Popcorn will be served as well as plenty of laughs.
Admission is free but if you feel like contributing towards expenses, may the dreaded Knights who say Ni be with you!

>> Wednesday, August 24th, at 8:15pm.
We will presenting the 2000 American psychological thriller film Memento.
Memento is a brilliant film that works on multiple layers. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from a short story titled Memento Mori. It stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia, which renders his brain unable to store new memories. Aside of being a fantastic thriller and receiving a near universal critical acclaim, the film was also viewed favorably by many medical experts for its accuracy. Physician Esther M. Sternberg, Director of the Integrative Neural Immune Program at the National Institute of Mental Health said: "This thought-provoking thriller is the kind of movie that keeps reverberating in the viewer's mind, and each iteration makes one examine preconceived notions in a different light. Memento is a movie for anyone interested in the workings of memory and, indeed, in what it is that makes our own reality."
Our primary interest in Memento is that in exploring a very unique condition of the mind, the story allows us to inspect the way we ourselves interact and make decisions regarding everything around us. This film is easily included in my top ten films list.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission.

>> Wednesday, July 27th, at 8:15pm.
We will presenting the1987 Danish film Babette's Feast.
Babette's Feast is an extraordinary film. It was written and directed by Gabriel Axel, based on a story by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), who also wrote the story which inspired the 1985 Academy Award winning film Out of Africa. The film tells the story of a French refugee named Babette Hersant, who escaped the bloody French revolution and ended up in Denmark, taken in by two elderly and pious Christian sisters. She spends the next fourteen years as their cook, until one day she gets notice she won the lottery in France. While the sisters expect Babette to use the money to get back to France, Babette asks, and is granted permission, to prepare a special dinner for the sisters and their small congregation on the account of the founding pastor's hundredth birthday. What follows is an extraordinary experience. It possibly the only film to truly merge art, in the form of food preparation, with compassion and spirituality. If you’ve never seen this film (and surely if you did), you should not miss it, nor should you come hungry for the screening!
It is a film that, I hope, will stay with you in the most positive way for years to come as it did with me.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission.

>> Wednesday, June 22nd, at 8:15pm.
We will presenting the 2004 British film Millions.
Millions faithfully aims right at the heart – emotionally and otherwise, but so doing without much melodrama and preaching. Director Danny Boyle skillfully uses a host of visual cinematic tools to convey Frank Cottrell Boyce’s novel (and screenplay) in a manner that engages adults as well as older children. It tells the story of 9 yo Damian, a devout Catholic boy, who is fascinated by saints to a point he knows them all by name, years alive, and the miracles they performed. Damian, wonderfully played by Alexander Etel, is accompanied by his older brother and his father, following the passing away of his mom. The story, though simple, includes some interesting plot twists. It is not a children film nor a Christian fable but rather a direct, even if seemingly naïve, examination of the way we justify our actions, respect others and struggle, mostly with little success, to maintain what we believe are our core values.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission.

>> There was no Movie Night in May.

>> Wednesday, April 27th, at 8:15pm.
We will be screening the 2002 Mickey Lemle biographical film Ram Dass: Fierce Grace. The film documents Ram Dass's transformation from Richard Albert, a privileged and self-indulging Harvard psychology professor, to spiritual devotee in India, and then to Ram Dass, an inspiring American guru and author of Remember, Be Here Now. The film's perspective is in the aftermath of Dass's 1997 massive stroke that left him physically incapacitated, and with impaired memory and speech. Lemle looks back at Dass's childhood, the controversy surrounding his research in psychedelics at Harvard (together with Timothy Leary), his pilgrimage to India and devotion to his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, his work with the Seva Foundation in social projects, and his impact as an author and guru to his followers. The film was named one of the Top Five Non-Fiction Films of 2002 by Newsweek.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission.

>> Wednesday, March 23rd, at 8:15pm.
We will be screening the 1972 Franco Zeffirelli memorable film Brother Sun, Sister Moon. This film, staring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker, is a biopic loosely based on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.
While several films were made on this topic, Brother Sun, Sister Moon is unique in several ways including its attempt to draw parallels between the work and philosophy of Saint Francis and the ideology that underpinned the worldwide hippie movement of the 1960s and early '70s. The romantic soundtrack was composed by the singer-songwriter Donovan, which reflected the 'flower power' mood of Zeffirelli's film and its lush cinematography in particular. Donovan also sang all the songs on the soundtrack itself. Aside of the beauty of this film and its message, it is an example of Bhakti Yoga in Christianity.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission.

>> Wednesday, February 23rd, at 8pm.
We will be screening the 2008 documentary Enlighten Up!, written and directed by Kate Churchill. The filmmaker, armed with the belief that yoga can positively transform anyone's life, follows a volunteer - a journalist named Nick Rosen who has very little interest in the ancient discipline, while they journey halfway around the world. Searching for the true meaning of yoga, Rosen meets a variety of yogis, devotees and gurus who espouse widely different views on the purpose and significance of the age-old practice.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission.

>> Wednesday, January 19th, at 8pm: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, written and directed by Ki-duk Kim, and staring Ki-duk Kim, Yeong-su Oh and Jong-ho Kim. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is a fictional story, taking place primarily on a a small floating temple, at an isolated lake. The passing seasons represent the passing years in the life of an old monk and his young disciple. Its a visually striking film, poetic in nature, and loaded with beautiful metaphors, most of which will stay with you long after the film is over.
We will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.
Open to all. $5 admission.

>> Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 at Monroe Yoga and Tai Chi.

Celebrating December we are adding a special event on Wednesday, December 15th, at 8pm: We will be watching the 1993 classic Groundhog Day, staring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Groundhog Day is a film that happily marries comedy and romance, with spirituality and self-improvement like, I believe, no film was ever able to achieve. It is a film with several layers, which makes repeated viewings fun and satisfying. As the film illustrates spiritual transcendence, we will have a brief discussion of related spiritual concepts and ideas prior to the viewing, and a brief open discussion about the film’s experience at the screening’s conclusion. Popcorn will be served.

Open to all. $5 admission.