Events

Overly-busy students who missed out on the Homecoming Weekend concerts need not despair, as both the Amherst College Choral Society and the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra will feature encore performances for the upcoming Family Weekend. The Choral Society’s concert will boast music by Morten Laurisdsen and Antonio Lotti, while the Orchestra’s program, “Russian Revelries,” will feature Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. (Choral Society Concert: Fri., 8:30 p.m. Orchestra Concert: Sat., 8:30 p.m. Both concerts in Buckley Recital Hall. No admission charge.)

Students interested in the practice of traditional medicine and childbirth assistance will want to attend the “So You Want to be a Doula?” workshop at Smith College. Greek in origin, the term “Doula” describes a woman trained to provide physical and emotional support to women before, during and after childbirth. (Sat., 9 a.m., Seelye Hall, Smith College. No admission charge.)

The third and final parts of the miniseries “Napoleon,” starring Isabella Rossellini as Josephine, will be screened this week. The film series is a part of the exhibition “Empress Josephine: Art and Royal Identity,” which has been on display in Mead Art Museum since Sept. 17. The screening will be followed by “A Conversation with Isabella Rossellini,” during which the actress will discuss her role as Josephine. (Screening: Thurs., 7 p.m., Mead Teaching Gallery. Discussion: Sat., 3:30 p.m., Stirn Auditorium. No admission charge.)

Editors’ DVD Pick of the Week

“25th Hour,” Spike Lee’s most striking film since “Do the Right Thing,” depicts New York drug dealer Monty Brogan in his final day of freedom before a foreboding jail sentence. The film features standout performances by Brian Cox, Edward Norton (whose electric “Fuck you” monologue in front of the mirror is worth the rental price alone), as well as the lovely, orchestral jazz of composer Terence Blanchard. Shot in the months following 9/11, this darkly elegiac film rings of a true and solemn mourning as only Lee, who was raised in Brooklyn, can devise.