Film: The grueling existence of undocumented aliens is captured with dramatic sensitivity in Chris Weitz’s A Better Life, the ironically titled film about a gardener’s helper in Los Angeles, desperately trying to carve out a decent living for himself and his teenage son, while always looking over his shoulder for the law. Veteran Mexican actor Demian Bichir gives a haunting performance, almost too painful to watch, as illegal immigrant Carlos, who seems to get a break when his boss offers to sell him his truck and gardening equipment. He manages the deal, thanks to a loan from his sister, but his fortunes take an immediate downturn when the trunk is quickly stolen. Then matters get worse. Weitz — it’s hard to imagine he began his career making American Pie — captures an L.A. that is rarely seen in films and gets some impressive work from chiefly non-professional actors. Playing at area theaters. – H. Erstein
Theater: Kevin Crawford, artistic director of the annual Shakespeare-by-the-Sea at Jupiter’s Carlin Park Seabreeze Amphitheatre, has been associated with Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival since its beginnings 21 years ago, and he remains the company’s chief asset. He is currently featured as Prospero, the banished duke who seeks revenge against his enemies, in The Tempest, one of The Bard’s last plays, and he directs the production as well. With sorcery at the heart of the play, many modern productions emphasize that with theatrical effects and pyrotechnics, but Crawford goes in the other direction, underplaying the magic in favor of simple, human touches. Continuing through Sunday. Admission is free, with a $5 donation requested. Call (561) 963-6755 for more information. – H. Erstein
Art: Tonight, West Palm’s Armory Art Center opens an exhibit of work by 15 South Florida artists who specialize in ceramics. SoFlo: Ceramics, which opens with a reception at 6 tonight and runs through Aug. 26, features work across the clay gamut, from sculpture to abstract works, and demonstrates how much variety can be brought to a basic medium.
Artists participating in the exhibition are Deborah Ardonato, Shannon Calhoun, Angi Curreri, Chandra DeBuse, Angela DiCosola, Rebecca Gilling, Bryan Hiveley, Virginia Jenkins, Judith Berk King, Justin Lambert, Victoria Rose Martin, Helen Otterson, Jonathan Read, Chris Riccardo and Bonnie Seeman. Admission to tonight’s reception is $5 for non-members. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Call 832-1776 or visit www.armoryart.org for more information.
Music: Delray Beach’s new jazz series at the Arts Garage right off the downtown drag in Pineapple Grove is proving sell-out popular, according to the folks at the Creative City Collaborative who run it. On Saturday, the series will feature the noted South Florida saxman Ed Calle, a Venezuela-born musician who’s appeared on hundreds of records as a sideman and released his own discs of Latin-flavored jazz (the most recent is In the Zone, from 2006).
Calle is a well-known educator as well, teaching at Miami-Dade College and working as a jazz clinician at universities all over the world. Calle appears at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Garage, which is on 180 N.E. 1st St. Next up in the series are saxophonist Turk Mauro (Aug. 13), Brazilian singer Rose Max (Aug. 27), singer and violinist Nicole Yarling (Sept. 10) and the Debbie Orta Jazz Group (Sept. 24). Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, with VIP tables of up to six people going for $150. Visit www.delraybeacharts.org for more information.