Mass MoCA Presents String Quartet & Mexican Sci-Fi02:39PM / Friday, September 25, 2009
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The string quartet Ethel will perform its original score to the Mexican science-fiction-meets-spaghetti-western film "La Nave de los Monstruos" ("The Monsters' Ship") at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art's Hunter Center on Friday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m.
Presented in association with the Williamstown Film Festival, the event pairs a classically trained group of musicians and a score that is far from classical with a film that conflates two divergent genres. The story pits former Miss Universe astronauts from Venus and extraterrestrial monstrous creatures against a lone Mexican cowboy who fights to save humanity.
The film begins when the last man on Venus has died. In order to save their planet, two Venusian astronauts, Beta (Lorena Velazquez) and Gamma (Ana Bertha Lepe), blast off to find men on other worlds. After collecting a motley crew, the Venusians crash land their "Ship of Monsters" into the closest planet, Earth, which they have overlooked. Upon landing in rural Mexico the two interstellar babes find themselves face-to-face with the sly, witty, and affable, singing cowboy Lauriano (played by Jose Gonzalez, a.k.a "Piporro").
The remainder of the film is an action-packed story of survival and cunning as Lauriano and Gamma take on Beta (who is also a vampire) and the hideous monsters in order to save planet Earth. Practically forgotten over the years, "La Nave" has recently resurfaced as one of the classic sci-fi films produced in Mexico during the 1950s and '60s.
Featuring four Juilliard-trained performers, Ethel draws inspiration from a plethora of musical styles such as bluegrass, jazz and rock. It is common for this string quartet (that explicitly calls itself a "band") to incorporate lighting effects, video, and choreography into their musical performances.
Celebrating its eleventh season, the Williamstown Film Festival has gained a reputation as, in the words of one alumnus, "an absolute must-stop on the film festival circuit." "Against the Current," a film by Peter Callahan, will also be screened at Mass MoCA on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 8 in its New England premiere and will be the focus of WFF's annual benefit dinner. The entire WFF schedule is available at williamstownfilmfest.com.
Tickets for "La Nave de los Monstruos" are $15 in advance or $18 day of the show; $10 students. Mass MoCA members receive a 10 percent discount. Tickets are available at the box office off Marshall Street from 11 to 5, Wednesdays through Mondays or charged by calling 413-662-2111 during box office hours at www.massmoca.org. |
