Top Picks: the movie 'Testament of Youth,' the album 'The Silver Linings: The Songs of Jerome Kern,' and more

The short documentary 'Food for Thought, Food for Life' illustrates the importance of growing great-tasting food and the many ways of achieving this, Fathom Events presents a documentary about Ed Sheeran's concerts, and more.

|
Greg Allen/Invision/AP
Tony Bennett

Youth and war

The story of a rebellious British woman, Vera (Alicia Vikander), and her fiancé (Kit Harington) and brother (Taron Egerton) living through World War I comes to DVD with the release of Testament of Youth. Vera, compellingly acted by Vikander, sinks into despair as many of the people who matter most to her are consumed by war. The movie comes out on DVD and Blu-ray Oct. 20.

Art of the times

French artist JR, who, like Banksy, prefers to be the anonymous hand behind his giant black-and-white photographic images that plaster urban settings all over the world, has also directed Ellis,a 14-minute film written by Eric Roth and starring Robert De Niro. Filmed against a snowscape at the abandoned hospital on Ellis Island, “Ellis” premièred at the Oct. 4 New Yorker Festival. Check out its timely message about the hopes and fears of migrant journeys by viewing the trailer atwww.jr-art.net.

Food culture

Oct. 24 marks Food Day in the United States. If you want to explore the intersection of farming and environmental conservation, a good place to start is with the short documentary Food for Thought, Food for Life. It illustrates the importance of growing great-tasting food and the many ways of achieving this. Watch the film at foodforthoughtfilm.com.

Sunny side Bennett 

Jerome Kern and Tony Bennett are a match made in Great American Songbook heaven. The Silver Linings: The Songs of Jerome Kern is familiar territory for the ageless Bennett, whose recent forays into pop with Lady Gaga and others tarnished his patina with longtime fans. Adding sparkle to Kern classics such as “All the Things You Are” and “Pick Yourself Up” is the swingingly simpatico pianist Bill Charlap and his trio. Real songs, real singing, real playing – welcome back, Tony!

Jump for Ed!

Yearning to make it to one of chart-topping singer Ed Sheeran’s performances? Fathom Events has you covered. A film about Sheeran’s concerts will be at select movie theaters in October. It also includes a Q-and-A session with the singer. Ed Sheeran: Jumpers for Goalposts will be at theaters Oct. 22, 24, 25, and 26. For locations, go to www.fathomevents.com

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Top Picks: the movie 'Testament of Youth,' the album 'The Silver Linings: The Songs of Jerome Kern,' and more
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Arts/2015/1016/Top-Picks-the-movie-Testament-of-Youth-the-album-The-Silver-Linings-The-Songs-of-Jerome-Kern-and-more
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe