By Susan Granger

Those who admire Iranian filmmaker Ashgar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “The Salesman” and “The Separation,” may discover “Everybody Knows,” his first foray in Spanish, isn’t quite up to the high standards he’s set for himself. Nevertheless, it’s intriguing.

For many years, Laura (Penélope Cruz) has lived in Buenos Aires, but now she’s back in her hometown, outside Madrid, for the wedding of her younger sister, Ana (Irma Cuesta), to Joan (Roger Casamajor).

Accompanying Laura are her teenage daughter, Irene (Carla Campra) and younger son, Diego (Ivan Chavero), while their Argentine father, Alejandro (Ricardo Darin) remains at home. They’re staying on the estate of Laura’s aging, alcoholic father, Antonio (Ramon Barea).

While the nuptial mass is underway, rebellious Irene sneaks up to the church’s belfry with Felipe (Sergio Castellanos), who tells her that his Uncle Paco (Javier Bardem) was Laura’s childhood sweetheart.

The Westport Library today announced the opening of its newly transformed library will take place on Sunday, June 23.

The Forum is central to the library’s new design. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The symbolic groundbreaking for the $21 million transformation project took place on Sept. 14, 2017. At the time, construction was estimated to take 18 to 21 months. With the opening date set, construction will be 21 months.

Central to the library’s new design is the Forum, a highly functional community space that can accommodate events for up to 600 people, an announcement said.

The Forum is supported by a high performance video wall, which can be used for showing films and enhancing presentations.

Mohsin Hamid, author of this year’s Westport Library WestportREADS selection “Exit West,” presented to about 40 persons tonight in the Saugatuck Elementary school auditorium via a video chat. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Hamid was raised in Pakistan and California. He has also lived in London and New York City. His work has been featured on bestseller lists, adapted to cinema, and translated into over 35 languages. The novel is about two refugees who find life and love on the run after being forced out of their country by civil war. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Susan Granger

Slam! Bam! Pow! “Captain Marvel,” the first female-led installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is so action-packed that there’s barely room for a coherent origin saga.

On the futuristic planet Hala, Vers (Brie Larson) is a Kree soldier being trained by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) to control her emotions, instead of shooting powerful photon blasts from her glowing fists.

When she’s captured by green-skinned, lizardlike, shape-shifting Skrulls, General Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) probes her mind for memories on primitive Planet C-53 (aka Earth).

In the 1995 back story, Vers crash-lands through the roof of a Blockbuster Video store on C-53, wearing her Starforce uniform, drawing the attention of skeptical cop Nick Fury (digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson), who’s an undercover S.H. I. E. L. D agent and devoted to a ginger cat.

Several hundred persons today attended the 13th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr celebration at the Westport Country Playhouse. The event, rescheduled from January due to weather conditions, featured keynote speaker James Forman, Jr. winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction. Forman, a professor of law at Yale Law School, authored “Locking Up Our Own:  Crime and Punishment in Black America.” Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The Westport Library today presented opus87, a Manhattan-based piano quartet specializing in classical and contemporary chamber music at the Saugatuck Congregational Church. Formed by friends at the Manhattan School of Music in 2016, opus87 continues to explore the piano quartet repertoire together. The group is comprised of violinist Francesca Abusamra, pianist Brian Daurelle, cellist Thea Mesirow and violist Dudley Raine. Contributed photo