DPL Staff Movie Picks: April

Happy April, movie lovers! In the spirit of Poetry Month, we at Denver Public Library wanted to offer up our picks of films that were adapted from poems in honor of National Poetry Month! It's amazing how many great films are inspired by poetry!

Also, as you know, so many great movies are adapted from great books (Perks of Being a Wallflower, anyone?), so if you’re looking for your next great read, feel free to try our Personalized Reading List service, in which our librarians will review what you have loved to read in the past and create a list of new titles specifically designed for you.

See you next month, stay safe, sane, and watch a movie!

Laurie
Adoption (2022) DVD; Hungary

Explores baby fever, middle-aged loneliness, and unlikely friendships. Originally released in 1975, this new Criterion edition includes hallmark extras like insightful video essays on the director, Márta Mészáros, and the 1964 short, Blow-Ball. 

Claire
Aniara (2018) DVD & Kanopy; Sweden

A ship carrying settlers to a new home on Mars after Earth is rendered uninhabitable is knocked off-course, causing the passengers to consider their place in the universe. The film centers focus on a "Mimarobe" within the Mima, an artificial intelligence designed to evoke viewers' experiences of Earth's lush, verdant past through a totally immersive virtual-reality experience that taps into participants' memories and emotions.

Lily 
The Babushkas of Chernobyl (2015) DVD & Kanopy; Ukraine 

Taking place in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, one of the most radioactive places on Earth, this documentary follows a group of mostly older women who returned to their homes to live out their days in their ancestral home despite its many dangers. A timely look at the resilience of people forced from their home and the lengths they will go to maintain their culture and way of life. 

Dodie
Paterson (2016) DVD & BluRay

Talk about meta! Paterson is based on a poem of the same name by William Carlos Williams. Bus driver Paterson (Adam Driver) writes beautiful poetry, encouraged by his wife Laura (Golshifteh Farahani). After his works are destroyed, he encounters a stranger who places a journal in his hands, mysteriously recognizing Paterson’s gift for poetry. Writer/director Jim Jarmusch wrote the poem "Water Falls" attributed to a young girl in the film.

Daniel
The Prophet (2014) DVD

In Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet (which is the full title), a poet/painter/activist (voiced by Liam Neeson) who is being held under house arrest recounts valuable lessons in a series of vignettes to a mute young girl and her mother (who works as the housekeeper).  This animated adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s collection of poems has some gorgeous animation that outshines the movie even, as each of the eight vignettes featured is done by a different animator (aside from the movie’s story which has its own animation style too), so there are many different stunning artistic animations in this movie.

Le’ Trail
Beowulf (2015) DVD & Kanopy

This spectacular television drama reimagines one of literature's most enduring heroes, the great warrior BEOWULF. Featuring an ensemble cast of fascinating and fantastical characters, this epic drama follows Beowulf as he strives to be a man as well as hero, challenging the notions of good and evil, heroes and villains, and the rule of law against one's moral code. Featuring Kieran Bew, the late William Hurt, Ed Spee.

The Green Knight (2021) DVD & Blu Ray

A fantasy adventure based on the Arthurian legend, the film tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's headstrong nephew, who embarks on a quest to confront the eponymous knight, a gigantic tree-like creature.

O brother, Where Art Thou? (2001) DVD

Loosely based on Homer's "Odyssey", this is the story of three convicts-- escapees from a prison farm in Mississippi-- and their adventure as they travel home in hopes of recovering buried loot before it's lost forever in a flood.

Mulan (1998) & (2020) DVD

To save her ailing father from serving in the Imperial Army, a fearless young woman disguises herself as a man to battle northern invaders in China. Based on the children’s poem, The song of Mu Lan

Nearly all Denver Public Library locations are open for walk-in services but if you’re not yet comfortable coming out to public spaces, we still have so many services available! For Denver residents, we have Kanopy, which is always updating with new, awesome films ranging from documentaries to indie films and classics to blockbusters, all for at-home streaming. We also have several recurring virtual programs for all my movie lovers out there called Doc & Talk and What We’re Watching.

So many great films are coming out this month from Mobius and the new Fantastic Beasts film to Everything Everywhere All at Once! What are you excited to see?! Let us know in the comments below!