Top Picks: Margaret Glaspy's 'Emotions and Math,' the movie 'Mountains May Depart,' and more
Class divide
follows the life of Tao, a Chinese woman, over a span of 26 years, exploring issues of class division and China鈥檚 modernization. The eventual alienation between Tao and her son suggests that the viewer take a critical look at the traditional values being challenged by the rise of capitalism. The movie will be available on DVD and Blu-ray July 12.
Broadway love
In the wake of the shooting in Orlando, Fla., Broadway stars including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, and Bernadette Peters came together to record the song 鈥淲hat the World Needs Now Is Love,鈥� composed and written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Check out the video of the group performing the Broadway for Orlando song at . Proceeds from the track are going to the LGBT Center of Central Florida.
Serene jazz
The special edition of the album by trumpeter Matthew Halsall offers peaceful, serene jazz music. While 鈥淭he Journey Home鈥� is the most upbeat track, 鈥淭he End of Dukkha鈥� is the most intriguing. The album is now available.
Phantasmagoric film
The film , inspired by the journals of two ethnographers who traveled the Amazon in the 20th century, casts a spell. It鈥檚 an elegy for the Colombian tribes decimated by colonialism, but it doesn鈥檛 have the punch of an indictment. Its artfulness is much stranger and nuanced. 鈥淓mbrace of the Serpent鈥� is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Star sighting
It鈥檚 difficult to find a musician who doesn鈥檛 cite Joni Mitchell as an influence, but New Yorker Margaret Glaspy will make you a believer with her stunning debut . There鈥檚 nothing folksy going on here, but Mitchell鈥檚 naked, confessional songwriting is alive these many decades later in Glaspy鈥檚 thoroughly modern tales of love gone wrong, or just plain gone. Her pliant voice demands your attention, ranging from plaintive pleading to a growl in the space of a measure, and she鈥檚 no slouch on electric guitar, either. A star ascending.聽
