BA624

Even if science was your worst subject in school, you'll likely respond to the seven inspiring individuals whose stories are shared in this wonderful film by Michael Apted. My favorites were physicist Michio Kaku, who explains a tough subject with clarity,humor, and passion; and Gertrude Elion, a tireless pharmaceutical researcher who won a share of the Nobel Prize for her research into drugs that now cure 80% of childhood leukemia.

Every portrait is a good one--the Indian environmental scientist who invents a cheap way to make water safe in his very poor nation; the primatologist who follows her heart to Madagascar and uses her MacArthur grant to create a wildlife preserve for lemurs; and so much more.

This film just screened at the Santa Barbara Film Festival to packed houses, and we were lucky enough to have both director and star participate in a Q&A. I loved this story of a woman's passion for music and how she must learn to demand from her life the same intense connection she finds in her work as a prompter for the opera. The film focuses on Siv, who is rehearsing for a production of AIDA at the same time she is preparing to marry a divorced father who shares custody of two kids. The backstage rehearsal and performance scenes are well-scripted and filmed, as are the struggles Siv experiences to fit into a household that still feels the presence of her new husband's ex. A great film debut by a fine theatre director, and an irresistible performance by the leading actress/singer, a renowned comedienne