In the Middle of the Pool, I Call Your Name...

Tonight was the last Pool film of the summer, part of The L Magazine's SummerScreen series. The Open Space Alliance and others have made the Pool available to North Brooklyn denizens since 2004. Beginning next year, the Pool will become a pool again, as Mayor Bloomberg has allotted $50 million for a project to restore the space by 2011 (let's practice holding our breaths now). Here's a taste of what might be, courtesy Brownstoner and an unsung photographer from 1937:



And in closer detail, here's tonight, courtesy me:











The final film was Rushmore, part of the Wes Anderson canon that is considered by some to embody the "hipster ethos." But I don't agree, because all of his movies, to this eye, contain a poignant earnestness just under the snazzy surface. The dialogue, the silences, and the great song choices all highlight the bind we're in...of caring but trying to look like we don't. Uber-earnest songs like "Oh Yoko!," complete with exclamation point, are a reminder of what it is to feel and not be afraid to say so.


And the whole thing, in every sense: