On Sunday, November 16, beginning at 5 p.m., the 119 Gallery in Lowell will host a special screening of the 1946 film La Belle et La Bete, with a live soundtrack performed by local cellist Wisteriax. Tickets, which can be purchased online through the 119 Gallery web site, are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
La Belle et La Bete (1946), directed by Jean Cocteau. A half-ruined merchant lives in the country with his son Ludovic and his three daughters. Two of the daughters, Felicie and Adelaide, are real shrews, selfish, pretentious, evil. They exploit the third daughter, Belle, as a servant. One day, the merchant gets lost in the forest and enters a strange castle. He picks up a rose for Belle and the castle’s owner appear. He is a monster, half-human, half-beast, and possesses magic powers. He sentences the merchant to death, unless he give up one of his daughters. Belle sacrifices herself for her father and goes to the castle, discovering that the Beast is not so wild and inhuman as it seems.
Wisteriax performs a live soundtrack. “I’ve played the cello since I was a little girl, though any of my former teachers will attest that I never studied very seriously. At some point in my college career, I wanted to join a rock band. But the only instrument I really knew how to play was cello. I soon joined forces with my first band, a dark synthpop group who did minor key versions of early 80’s tunes. I learned about how to amplify the cello to make it audible above the other instruments. But I wasn’t satisfied with that after awhile. I started borrowing guitar effects pedals to see how they would change the cello’s sound. Some worked very well, and others didn’t. I found that the more I could mutate the sound, the happier I was.”
lowellfilmcollaborativema.org 