Cemetery Cinema: The Straight Story & Wings of Desire
“Why am I me, and why not you? Why am I here, and why not there? When did time begin, and where does space end? Isn't life under the sun just a dream?” - Damiel in Wings of Desire
The Coolidge returns to Mount Auburn Cemetery to present our popular Cemetery Cinema outdoor film program! David Lynch's The Straight Story, a reflective, late-life journey set in the American Heartland begins the evening, followed by Wim Wenders's classic tale of an Angel in love in Wings of Desire.
This incredibly unique screening experience will take place at sunset on Tuesday, September 22 at the historic and beautiful Mount Auburn Cemetery. (Rain date: Wednesday, September 23).
Mount Auburn Cemetery is located 580 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge. Parking will be available at the cemetery, and light concessions will be sold. Chairs, blankets, and snacks are encouraged, but no alcohol, please. Mount Auburn Cemetery is an active burial place and a sacred site to mourners. Please keep this in mind as you set up your seating space and refrain from touching or leaning against any of the monuments or headstones.
The seating area is Hazel Dell, both on grass and the sidewalk. For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or if you have any questions about your membership, please contact [email protected].
About The Straight Story
In between the dark, florid surrealism of the LA-set neonoirs Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr., director David Lynch took a detour to America’s heartland for this surprisingly down-to-earth and heartfelt road movie—the film he described, paradoxically, as “my most experimental.” Based on a true story, The Straight Story follows elderly World War II veteran Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) who, unable to operate a car, sets out on a six-week, 240-mile journey from Iowa to Wisconsin by lawn tractor to visit his ailing, estranged brother, a stubborn odyssey that puts a poignant twist on Lynch’s recurring explorations of the American character.
About Wings of Desire
Wings of Desire is one of cinema’s loveliest city symphonies. Bruno Ganz is Damiel, an angel perched atop buildings high over Berlin who can hear the thoughts—fears, hopes, and dreams—of all the people living below. But when he falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, he is willing to give up his immortality and come back to earth to be with her. Made not long before the fall of the Berlin wall, this stunning tapestry of sounds and images shot by the legendary Henri Alekan, is movie poetry. Wings of Desire forever made the name Wim Wenders synonymous with film art.
About Mount Auburn Cemetery
Founded in 1831 as America’s first landscaped cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery is a place of exquisite horticultural beauty and cultural importance. A National Historic Landmark, its renowned landscape inspired the creation of the nation’s public parks. Still an active burial place, Mount Auburn Cemetery also provides comfort and solace to countless families, with hundreds of burials and cremations taking place annually. The Friends of Mount Auburn, the Cemetery’s non-profit education trust, offers more than 100 public programs each year to celebrate Mount Auburn’s many facets and raises funds to support the preservation of this national treasure. For more information visit mountauburn.org.
