This month, the Cane Fire Film Series is screening the indie drama Little Men from director Ira Sachs.
When 13-year-old Jake ( played by Theo Taplitz) experiences the passing of his grandfather, his family moves from Manhattan back into his father's old Brooklyn home. Once there, Jake befriends the charismatic Tony (played by Michael Barbieri), whose single mother Leonor ( played by Paulina Garcia), a dressmaker from Chile, runs the shop downstairs.
Soon, Jake's parents Brian (played by Greg Kinnear) and Kathy (played by Jennifer Ehle) -- one, a struggling actor, the other, a psychotherapist -- ask Leonor to sign a new, steeper lease on her store. For Leonor, the proposed new rent is untenable, and a feud ignites between the adults.
At first, Jake and Tony don't seem to notice; the two boys, so different on the surface, begin to develop a formative kinship as they discover the pleasures of being young in Brooklyn. Jake aspires to be an artist, while Tony wants to be an actor, and they have dreams of going to the same prestigious arts high school together. But the children can't avoid the problems of their parents forever, and soon enough, the adult conflict intrudes upon the borders of their friendship.
Directed by Ira Sachs with his trademark humanism and insight, Little Men highlights the New York City landscape with a story of life-defining friendships in the midst of familial turmoil.
The Cane Fire Film Series screens Little Men this Monday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Downtown Lafayette. Tickets are $12. For more informaiton visit AcadianaCenterfortheArts.org.