Brother in Ice

Reuniting as a songwriting team for their first full album, author David Hajdu and jazz pianist Renee Rosnes explore a wide range of art songs about the complexities of contemporary adult life, with a group of elite musicians improvising nimbly around four vocalists. No mere “moon-June-spoon” lyricist, Hajdu (who’s been a critic at The New Republic and The Nation) has high literary aims, and Rosnes’ sympathetic melodies and harmonies ennoble his themes. A reinterpretation of Rosnes’ instrumental “The Quiet Earth” deepens Hajdu’s fable on tenacity, “Little Pearl,” into a jazz-noir songbook standard, while Rosnes brings equal conviction to the flippant humor of “I Like Pie,” which she spins into a brisk cabaret number. The studied drama of some vocals here may not appeal to Rosnes’ core jazz audience, but the musical-theater sensibility makes for performances of spirited character.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan scripted and made his directorial debut with this Turkish family drama, based on an autobiographical story (Cornfield) by his sister, Emine Ceylan. The black-and-white film is structured around vignettes of seasonal changes. Winter: Turkish life is seen from the perspective of a young schoolteacher. Spring: A student from the first segment and her little brother experience the world of nature as they walk home. Summer: The children join their parents and grandparents in a family gathering, talking and eating roast corn around an outdoor fire on a summer night. Fall: In a symbolic sequence, the youngsters find their roles in society.