Friday Afternoon Movie at Bernardsville Library: June 23

Bernardsville Public Library will continue its monthly series of afternoon movies with a showing of Werner Herzog's "Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World" on Friday, June 23 at 2:00 pm.

In the movie, released in 2016, Herzog, the Oscar-nominated documentarian whose credits include "Grizzly Man" and "Cave of Forgotten Dreams," chronicles the virtual world from its origins to its outermost reaches, exploring the digital landscape with the same curiosity and imagination he previously trained on earthly destinations. Herzog leads viewers on a journey through a series of provocative conversations that reveal the ways in which the online world has transformed how virtually everything in the real world works-from business to education, space travel to healthcare, and the very heart of how we conduct our personal relationships.

A.O. Scott of The New York Times in describing the movie wrote, "The devices in our hands and on our desks, and the invisible, ubiquitous networks that link them, are often seen to be ushering us toward utopia or hastening the arrival of the apocalypse. Mr. Herzog, an unseen interviewer with an unmistakable voice, seems receptive to both views. He listens to scientists and entrepreneurs celebrate the expansion of knowledge and learning that the digital revolution has brought forth, and to others who lament the erosion of privacy and critical-thinking skills."

Future films in the Friday afternoon series range from documentaries to comedies to classics and drama and will be shown on the fourth Friday of the month at 2:00 pm. They will be selected for cultural enrichment and for appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests in the community. The series is made possible by gifts to the Friends of the Bernardsville Library and is organized by a committee of Friends. Ed English, a long-time filmmaker, heads the committee. The hope is that viewers will linger after the films to discuss them. In some cases, books and other supporting materials will be recommended before the films. Upcoming films include the 2015 version of "The Great Gatsby" on July 28 and "My Blue Heaven" starring Steve Martin on August 25.

There is no charge to attend the movies; advance sign-up is requested, but not required. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.