CRUCIAL VIEWING
Melika Bass' NOCTURAMA (Three-Channel Video Installation)
Comfort Station Logan Square (2579 N. Milwaukee Ave.) — Friday-Tuesday, sundown to sunup, through July 15th [except July 13th]
In order to view Chicago artist/filmmaker Melika Bass' new site-specific installation, you must circumambulate the odd, contained Comfort Station Logan Station, enduring minor bushwhacking and the associative feelings of peering into windows that aren't your own. The issues Bass deals with seem as simple and elegant as her compositions: interiority, domesticity, the performance of gender, the quiet moments of preparation for one's day, the solitude and vulnerability of lonely slumber, voyeurism. The figures move slowly and deliberately, like they are caught in a dream. Each projection—there are three—is a portrait of a single action. Part of the joy of experiencing this piece is in the small ways it reveals itself. Watch it from across the street, watch watchers watching, bend back branches if you must, match the car sounds to their own incursive light. The three videos loop, but at such different speeds that every intersection and juxtaposition is unique and ephemeral, if only subtly. I thought of specters and spectators. Organized by Michael Green. (2012, Looping Video Installation) JM
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More info at www.comfortstationlogansquare.com.
Hayao Miyazaki's CASTLE IN THE SKY (Japanese/Animation Revival)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Friday, 6pm; Saturday, 3pm; and Wednesday, 6pm
The runaway success of NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND gave Hayao Miyazaki and longtime cohort Isao Takahata the momentum they needed to found their own animation factory, and in 1985 Studio Ghibli was formed. One year later and Ghibli was debuting its first feature, the heartfelt adventure CASTLE IN THE SKY, providing an exhilarating standard for things to come. Taking cues from a long tradition of adventure stories—Gulliver's Travels being the obvious one, but you can feel the influence of Hergé here as well—Miyzaki's third film is certainly his most action-packed, and if it lacks some of the quieter pleasures associated with his later films, it more than makes up for this in the bounty of thrilling set pieces that stretch from the rails of a rustic mining town to the pirate-infested skies far above. Beyond it all is the mythical floating castle of Laputa, sought after by various parties including power hungry Colonel Muska accompanied by a seemingly inexhaustible standing army, tough-as-nails ski-pirate Ma Dola and her rowdy boys, and the two intrepid kids caught up at the center of it all, restless Pazu and the enigmatic girl he rescues, Sheeta. Amidst breathtaking battles with airships and automatons, the film achieves something more than merely introducing Ghibli to the masses; it makes a case for what animation is truly capable of. Released from the live-action burden of special effects, CASTLE IN THE SKY slips more comfortably into the ranks of the timeless adventure stories than just about any film since, retaining today every ounce of wonder that it packed when it launched the celebrated studio more than a quarter century ago. Showing in Japanese with subtitles on Friday; the English-dubbed version screens Saturday and Wednesday. (1986, 126 min, 35mm) TJ
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
Michael Mann's MANHUNTER (American Revival)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Friday, 7 and 9:15pm
A turning point in the career of Michael Mann—the film in which ambiance takes on equal importance to the detailed observation of professional ritual—MANHUNTER marks the beginning of this curious director's ongoing fusion of Howard Hawks and Stan Brakhage. Though its story of an FBI agent's pursuit of a demonic serial killer is suspenseful enough and the cast contains stellar turns by Joan Allen, Dennis Farina, and Brian Cox, among others, you may find that your strongest memories of the film are in Mann's eerie use of florescent light or an unfurnished suburban home. Much commercial art of the 1980s was built on the fetishization of material excess, often in the form of designer decor or ultra-modern lighting schemes that make commodities out of any subject: In retrospect, many key films of the decade act as subversions of this aesthetic by making material wealth seem either unreal (e.g., Nicolas Roeg's EUREKA, Alain Resnais' MELO) or a thin veneer for existential dread (e.g., Scorsese's AFTER HOURS, Edward Yang's TAIPEI STORY). MANHUNTER definitely belongs to the latter category, although a supermarket confrontation between the main character and his son unexpectedly evokes the work of William Klein. The film's surfaces wouldn't be so compelling, though, if they didn't find counterpoint in Mann's great conflict—the professional's sacrifice of his humanity in the perfection of his craft. (1986, 119 min, 35mm) BS
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.
Steven Spielberg's JAWS (American Revival)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Sunday, 5:15pm and Monday, 7:30pm
If PYSCHO forever changed bathroom behavior, then JAWS no doubt gave us pause before diving head first into the ocean; but like the best horror movies, the film's staying power comes not from it's superficial subject matter, in this case a mammoth, man-eating shark and the ominous abyss of the deep blue sea, but from the polysemic potential and wealth of latent meanings that these enduring symbols possess. JAWS marks a watershed moment in cinema culture for a variety of reasons, not excluding the way it singlehandedly altered the Hollywood business model by becoming the then highest grossing film of all time. A byproduct of such attention has been the sustained output of scholarly criticism over the years. At the time of its release, JAWS was interpreted as a thinly veiled metaphor for the Watergate scandal (an event that was slightly more conspicuous in the book), but since then a variety of readings have emerged, including socioeconomic and feminist analyses; however, Marxist theorist Fredric Jameson may provide the most intriguing interpretation by connecting the shark to the tradition of scapegoating. Like Moby Dick or Hitchcock's titular birds, the shark functions a sacrificial animal onto which we project our own social or historical anxieties (e.g., bioterrorism, AIDS, Mitt Romney). It allows us to rationalize evil and then fool ourselves into thinking we've vanquished it. But by turning man-made problems into natural ones we forget that human nature itself is corrupt, exemplified here by Mayor Vaughn who places the entire population of Amity Island in peril by denying the existence of the shark. Jameson's reading is in keeping with the way in which Spielberg rarely displays the shark itself (the result of constant mechanical malfunctions); as opposed to terrifying close-ups, we get point of view shots that create an abstract feeling of fear, thus evoking an applicable horror film trope: the idea is much more frightening than the image. JAWS is a timeless cautionary tale because it appeals to the deep-rooted fears of any generation. And because sharks are scary. (1975, 124 min, Newly-restored 35mm print) HS
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Hong Sang-soo's THE DAY HE ARRIVES (New South Korean)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Check Venue website for showtimes
Time folds over itself in this floating romantic comedy from South Korean director—and SAIC alum—Hong Sang-soo. Hong continues his exploration of self-absorbed, self-reflective alter ego filmmakers within an intricate meditation on the significance of events and repetition. After a self-imposed exile from filmmaking, Sang-Joon returns to Seoul to reconnect with old friends and students, as well as past lovers. Sang-Joon's arrival, accompanied by his own narration, feels foggy and almost like an arrival in purgatory rather than a return home. Hazy memories are kept dim by bouts of drinking as he torpidly moves between former attachments. At one point, Sang-Joon hooks up with a bartender simply because she reminds him of his ex—both roles played by the same actress. It is one of many clever directorial folds, toying with the film's objective realism as events play over each other. Shot in black and white, Hong's latest work has been compared to Woody Allen's STARDUST MEMORIES and Alain Resnais' LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD, and it isn't difficult to see why. Time here being what it is, and the film's listless existentialism, points to a playful rumination on film and filmmaker, life and life on film. Hong's THE DAY HE ARRIVES may not be his most accomplished work, but like the work of those other filmmakers, even second-tier Hong is well worth it. (2011, 79 min, 35mm) BW
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
Preston Sturges' CHRISTMAS IN JULY (American Revival)
Northwest Chicago Film Society (at the Portage Theater) — Wednesday, 7:30pm
Adapted from his 1931 play A Cup of Coffee, Preston Sturges' screwball comedy CHRISTMAS IN JULY satirizes our favorite superstition: the American Dream. Dick Powell stars as Jimmy MacDonald, a lowly office clerk at J. B. Baxter & Sons Coffee who enters a rival company's contest to win a grand prize of $25,000. Jimmy submits the absurd slogan "If you don't sleep at night, it isn't the coffee, it's the bunk!" based on a newfangled scientific theory that claims coffee causes drowsiness. To amuse themselves, Jimmy's co-workers play a prank by delivering a telegram from Maxford House Coffee that says he won. As the misunderstandings multiply between Sturges' cast of characters, Dr. Maxford awards Jimmy the big cash prize. He and his girlfriend Betty (Ellen Drew) immediately go on a shopping spree to celebrate Christmas in July with the children who live in their tenement house on New York's East Side. Unfortunately for Jimmy, Dr. Maxford and the department store owner, known as both Mr. Shindel and Mr. Swindel, soon catch on to the hoax. At the heart of CHRISTMAS IN JULY is Sturges' hallmark—the pun. While Jimmy intends the word "bunk" to refer to a bed, Sturges plays on its meaning of nonsense. At first, people believe the slogan is bunk, but after Jimmy apparently wins the contest, it makes sense. His boss, Mr. Baxter, as well as Jimmy himself trust Maxford House Coffee's contest rather than themselves to judge ideas. When Mr. Baxter eventually discovers the prank, the slogan is "baloney" again. Early in CHRISTMAS IN JULY, Jimmy's co-worker, Mr. Waterbury, gives his take on striking it rich, "Ambition is all right if it works. But no system could be right where only half of one percent were successes and all the rest were failures. That wouldn't be right." And yet, we still live in the age of false advertising even if we no longer buy it. Showing with James W. Horne's 1935 Laurel and Hardy short THICKER THAN WATER (21 min, 16mm). (1940, 67 min, 35mm) CW
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More info at www.northwestchicagofilmsociety.org.
Todd Solondz's DARK HORSE (New American)
Facets Cinémathèque — Check Venue website for showtimes
Todd Solondz, master of the pitch-black suburban satire, doesn't make films that are easy to digest. To some, Solondz may seem to practice a sadistic cinema of cruelty, callously exploiting subject matter, such as pedophilia and teen pregnancy, that would be too controversial for most directors; however, to suggest that Solondz is an anti-humanist or misanthrope is to adopt a narrow-minded, idealized view of human behavior. Instead, Solondz's unique brand of tragicomedy offers a fusion of pathos and dark humor that suggests a kind of moral relativism or absurdist outlook. In DARK HORSE, his most recent film, Solondz executes this tricky balancing act to perfection, creating a character that is both sympathetic and contemptible. A product of the man-child phenomenon, Abe is a lonely accountant who works for his dad, pilots a gargantuan yellow Hummer, and maintains a collection of action figures (think a more pathetic version of George Costanza or Steve Carrell's 40-Year-Old Virgin). After meting Miranda, based on a character from STORYTELLING, he abruptly proposes in hopes of finally growing up. Both a coming of age film and a romantic (black) comedy, DARK HORSE may be the director's most accessible work to date, but those viewers hoping for a cringe-worthy moment comparable to the first scene of HAPPINESS will be disappointed—Solondz may be showing a glimmer of optimism, albeit begrudgingly. (2011, 86 min, 35mm) HS
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More info at www.facets.org.
Billy Wilder's THE APARTMENT (American Revival)
Music Box — Saturday and Sunday, 11:30am
For many—including Wilder himself—this was the director's finest hour, the film in which all the elements converged with grace, sass, and a tinge of tragic inevitability. It was inspired by a line that Wilder wrote in his notebook sometime in the 1940s and couldn't forget: "Movie about the guy who climbs into the warm bed left by two lovers." By the time the film was made (during the so-called "New Permissiveness" of the early 60s), the two lovers had multiplied into several men and countless mistresses and the warmth of the bed had turned musty. The guy, however, retained all the bittersweet sympathy of that initial premise. As incarnated by Jack Lemmon (in the most tolerable performance of his career), C.C. Baxter is the ultimate schlemiel, a resigned bachelor who lends his apartment to his insurance company superiors because he can't imagine any alternative to advancing in a job that kills him. Shirley MacLaine plays the disabused mistress who turns out to be the girl of his dreams, one of the great creations of the movies: her Fran Kubelik is a woman who seems ideal even in her faults—youthful, spontaneous, naive, sexy, resilient: exactly the type who could humanize an office drone like Baxter. The romance between them is so affecting (to say nothing of the dialogue, which pops as only Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond's writing can) that it's easy to overlook what a superior piece of filmmaking THE APARTMENT is. Wilder remains underrated as a visual artist; and here, working in sparkling black-and-white 'Scope, he creates some remarkable effects, such as the unforgettable loneliness of the apartment itself and the modernist nightmare of the insurance company office (an image borrowed from King Vidor's THE CROWD), where rows of desks seem to extend into infinity. Wilder also employs small objects with an imaginative economy worth of Hitchcock. As he explained in Cameron Crowe's book-length interview Conversations with Wilder: "When Baxter sees himself in [Fran's broken compact] mirror, he adds up two and two. He gave it to the president of the insurance company [Fred MacMurray], the big shot at the office, now he knows what we know. And we see it in his face in the broken mirror. That was a very elegant way of pointing it out. Better than a third person telling him about the affair—that we did not want to do. This was better. This gave us everything, in one shot." (1960, 125 min, 35mm widescreen) BS
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More info at www.musicboxtheatre.com.
Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS (American Revival)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Sunday, 3pm and Thursday, 6pm
Slavoj ?i?ek wrote, "In order to unravel Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, one should first imagine the film without the birds, simply depicting the proverbial middle-class family in the midst of an Oedipal crisis—the attacks of the birds can only be accounted for as an outlet of the tension underlying this Oedipal constellation, i.e., they clearly materialize the destructive outburst of the maternal superego, one mother's jealousy toward the young woman who tries to snatch her son from her." That Hitchcock conceived of (and plotted) THE BIRDS as a comedy shows his gleeful perversity. It also goes a long way towards explaining the film's enduring fascination. Most disaster movies simply revolve around the spectacle of things blowing up; if they make any room at all for humor or interpersonal relationships it's usually of the throwaway or half-hearted variety. It's just window dressing for explosions. But in his own crafty way, Hitchcock shows us that comedy, not tragedy, can be the best way to reveal the layers of a character while, crucially, misdirecting the audience's attention. Using a meticulously scored soundtrack of bird effects in lieu of traditional music cues, paired with George Tomasini's brilliant picture editing, heightens the feeling of disquiet. It all culminates in the stunning final shot: the superego has saturated the entire landscape. (1963, 119 min, New 35mm Print) RC
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
Richard Donner's THE GOONIES (American Revival)
Music Box — Friday and Saturday, Midnight
The retreat into infantile adventure as a way to resolve genuine economic problems is a hallmark of the early Spielbergian oeuvre, and Richard Donner's autumnal 2.35:1 children's epic (bankrolled by Spielberg) is no exception. The middle-class gifted children of drizzly seaside Astoria, Oregon, facing eviction of their families by an expanding preppie country club, are inspired by their region's poorly-documented colonial past to literally descend deep into the earth to recover an entombed bounty of pre-fiat riches. Pursued by a small, villainous Italian-American crime family unconsciously preserving the tricks of the pirate trade (robbery, counterfeiting, murder), our perpetually-yelling heroes combine their scholastic talents (mechanical engineering, Spanish proficiency, and sight- reading) to linearly "complete" a variety of video-game-adaptation-ready action sequences and save their steep, hilly neighborhood from becoming what would have been the Pacific Northwest's shittiest golf course. Millions of the film's original viewers, by contrast, would in fact ultimately lose their homes in this decade's housing bubble. (1985, 114 min, 35mm) MC
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More info at www.musicboxtheatre.com.
Joe Swanberg's CAITLIN PLAYS HERSELF & MARRIAGE MATERIAL (New American)
Gorilla Tango's Skokie Theater (7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie) — Friday, 7pm
The last year has seen Joe Swanberg transform from the poster boy/whipping boy of noncommittal indie movie-making into the most stubbornly personal, ascetic filmmaker in the American independent scene. The old Swanberg made movies that were more or less formless (which, depending on who you asked, was either charmingly handmade or unbearably irritating); the new Swanberg makes movies that are monkishly fixated on camera placement and so predicated on structure that the failure of one single scene can undermine the whole. This screening collects two of the seven (!) features Swanberg shot in 2011: CAITLIN PLAYS HERSELF, about a performance artist's creative struggles, and MARRIAGE MATERIAL, which follows a young couple who've been asked by their married friends to babysit. Swanberg's style is anti-dramatic: it's not about cluing an audience into why an event takes place, but why it doesn't. In that regard, MARRIAGE MATERIAL is the stronger of the two—a spatially and temporally compact film that uses a typically Swanbergian non-event to explore the characters' reluctance, emotional distance, and inability to commit (or finish a sentence). Co-presented by Chicago Filmmakers. Joe Swanberg in person. (2011/2012, 55 min/58 min, DVD Projection) IV
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More info at www.chicagofilmmakers.org and www.gorillatango.com.
Vincente Minnelli's AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (American Revival)
Block Cinema (Northwestern University) — Wednesday, Sundown (approx. 8:45pm)*
John Sayles's LIMBO has nothing on this ending: a magnificent seventeen-minute ballet, and then suddenly The End. What will happen between Gene Kelley and Leslie Caron? Perhaps Vincente Minnelli's wisest insight was knowing that we wouldn't really care. Seen today it's the details that grab your attention: It's: the artfully faux-Paris, artificial settings executed with such skill even the bottles behind the bar in a café become a study in early '50s MGM production design. It's the Gershwin, of course (there are at least eleven of his tunes on the soundtrack). And, more than anything, it's Oscar Levant, stealing every scene he's in—a particularly memorable dream sequence finds him conducting an orchestra of his own doppelgangers. And who can deny that the real sparks fly between Levant and Kelley, not Kelley and Caron? It's irrelevant whether or not you actually buy Kelley as a painter—the Technicolor is such an eyeful and the score so tuneful that it's enough to sit in a darkened theatre and drink it in. *Outdoor screening: East Lawn of the Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Dr. (1951, 113 min, Video Projection - unconfirmed format) RC
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More info at www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu.
Roman Polanski's CARNAGE (New International)
Transistor (3819 N. Lincoln Ave.) — Monday, 8pm
An investment banker (Kate Winslet) and her Blackberry-addicted corporate lawyer husband (Christoph Waltz) are trapped by escalatingly-absurd social circumstances in the Brooklyn apartment of a housewares salesman (John C. Reilly) and a high-minded writer (Jodie Foster) in Roman Polanski's brief comedy of bourgeois mores and misbehavior. The film's confined setting—the living room of the apartment, with occasional detours to such geographically remote locations as the kitchen, the bathroom and the hallway—serves as a showcase for Polanski's keen mise-en-scene and the meticulous production design of Dean Tavoularis (THE GODFATHER, APOCALYPSE NOW); they imbue the whole thing with a heightened sense of constructed reality—one where every detail counts. (2011, 80 min, DVD Projection) IV
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More info at www.transistorchicago.com.
Roland Emmerich's INDEPENDENCE DAY (Contemporary American Revival)
Landmark's Century Centre Cinema — Friday and Saturday, Midnight
Roland Emmerich—the preeminent stealth Pop artist of big, loud Hollywood movies—came into his own with this alien invasion blockbuster, which allowed the writer/director to pander to all kinds of wish-fulfillment fantasies (couples reuniting, national pride, honorable presidents) while giving him plenty of reasons to obliterate landmarks of American culture—a template he would subsequently repeat in GODZILLA, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and the batshit-crazy apocalypse smorgasbord 2012. Part macho weepie, part buddy picture, part special effects extravaganza, it'd probably be a really dull mess if not for Emmerich's compulsive showmanship and his penchant for identifying and isolating pop-cultural touchstones, from West Coast earthquakes and Area 51 to crop dusters and Jewish humor. This might seem like the apex of crass commercialism, but only if you don't look too closely; the tone is so playful that it could almost (almost) be viewed as subversive, and—as always—Emmerich's sidelines as a kitsch collector and gay rights activist (no surprise that Harvey Fierstein shows up as Jeff Goldblum's boss) sneak in. (1996, 145 min, Digital Projection - unconfirmed format) IV
ONGOING FILM/VIDEO INSTALLATIONS
Opening on Friday (7-10pm) at Johalla Projects (1821 W. Hubbard) is local artist Ivan Lozano's one-person show C___ of the Eye / C___ of the Hand: New Work by Ivan Lozano, which includes media-based pieces reflecting on pornographic cinema, religion, and other themes.
The Art Institute of Chicago currently has experimental filmmaker Paul Sharits' 1975 16mm four-projector installation SHUTTER INTERFACE on view, through August 1. It is showing in the Modern Wing as one of the finalists under consideration for purchase for the AIC by the Acquisition Committee of the Society for Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Also on display is filmmaker, musician, and artist Tony Conrad's 1973 paper work Yellow Movie 3/5-6/73, which, though not a moving image work, is cinematic in its inspiration. Check last week's Cine-File for a review of SHUTTER INTERFACE. More info here.
(Final Three Days) Adds Donna (4223 W. Lake St.) presents the exhibition Faith Made, featuring video installation work by Allison Trumbo and Michael A. Morris and additional work by Adam Farcus. The show runs through July 8.
Iceberg Projects (7714 N Sheridan Rd.) continues with Deborah Stratman's exhibition The Name Is Not the Thing Named, which includes the eponymous video loop (2012, 11 min) and a series of photographs. Gallery hours Saturdays and Sundays 10-4pm, by appointment; see http://icebergchicago.com.
MORE SCREENINGS AND EVENTS
The Nightingale (1084 N. Milwaukee Ave.) hosts Untrained Explorations, a youth film festival on Friday at 7pm. Organized and curated by Emma Todd Coleman, the program features youth-produced work by Ben Fout, Erin Law, Dan Sobor, Morley Musick, Kush Thompson, and Bunee Tomlinson; and produced at or with Free Spirit Media, The Global Action Project, and Chicago Filmmakers.
The Sundown in K-Town Film Festival, presented by the Better Boys Foundation and Facets Multi-Media, begins a series of screenings this week, which will continue through July 27. On Tuesday at 8:15pm, at the Better Boys Foundation Center (1512 S. Pulaski Rd.), the program consists of THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON (1971) by Mike Gray and Howard Alk, CICERO MARCH (1966) by The Film Group, and PROLETARIAT (2010) by Kia Clair, produced at the BBF's FilmLAB@1512. The screening is followed by a panel discussion with Billy Che Brooks, Former Deputy Minister of Education, Illinois Chapter, Black Panther Party; Mike Gray, Journalist, Novelist and Screenwriter; Flint Taylor, Founding Partner, People's Law Office; and Kia Clair, FilmLAB@1512 Filmmaker. On Thursday at 8:15pm, also at the BBF, are the films AND THIS IS FREE (1965) by Mike Shea, JERRY'S (1976) by Tom Palazzolo, and MOONS (2010) by Angelo Williams, produced at the BBF's FilmLAB@1512. The panelists on Thursday are Gordon Quinn, Artistic Director, Kartemquin Films; Tom Palazzolo, Filmmaker; and Angelo Williams, FilmLAB@1512 Filmmaker.
Southside Hub of Production (5638 S. Woodlawn Ave.) presents the program A Pivotal Moment: Alberto Aguilar on Thursday at 7pm. This event features three works by Aguilar and students from South Loop Elementary: A PIVOTAL MOMENT (2012), OTHELLO 8M40S (2011) and THE INFINITE SERIES (2009). There will also be a live performance by Aguilar's daughters, Madeleine and Isabella and a reading from Aguilar's novel False Awakening by his nephew Julian.
Facets Cinémathèque holds over Mia Hansen-Løve's 2011 film GOODBYE FIRST LOVE (110 min, 35mm) for a single screening on Saturday at 1pm.
Also at the Gene Siskel Film Center this week: Valery Todorovsky's 2008 Russian musical HIPSTERS (125 min, 35mm) and Jannicke Systad Jacobsen's 2011 Norwegian coming of age drama TURN ME ON, DAMMIT! (76 min, 35mm) both play for a week; and Tomomi Mochizuki's 1993 Japanese animation THE OCEAN WAVES (72 min, DigiBeta Video; Japanese language version only) plays Saturday at 5:30pm, and Monday and Tuesday at 6pm in the Studio Ghibli series.
Also at Doc Films (University of Chicago) this week: Chang Cheh's 1972 Hong Kong action film THE WATER MARGIN (120 min, 35mm) screens on Saturday at 7 and 9:30pm; Frank Capra's 1943 war documentary DIVIDE AND CONQUER (57 min, 16mm) is on Wednesday at 7pm; and Buster Keaton's 1926 silent comedy THE GENERAL (listed at 75 min, 16mm; co-directed by Clyde Bruckman) screens on Thursday at 7pm.
Also at the Music Box this week: Jonathan Gruber and Ari Daniel Pinchot's 2012 documentary FOLLOW ME: THE YONI NETANYAHU STORY (88 min, Unconfirmed Format) and Jay and Mark Duplass' 2012 comedy THE DO-DECA-PENTATHALON (76 min, Unconfirmed Format) both open; Joel and Ethan Coen's 1987 film RAISING ARIZONA (94 min, Unconfirmed Format) screens on Saturday at 9:30pm, as part of the "Films That Changed My Life" series with Jay Duplass and host Robert K. Elder in person; Glendyn Ivin's 2009 Australian drama LAST RIDE (90 min, Unconfirmed Format) is held over for 3:30pm shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only; Kirby Dick's 2012 documentary THE INVISIBLE WAR (95 min, Unconfirmed Format) is held over in the 11:30am matinee slot on Saturday and Sunday; and the Friday and Saturday Midnight films are THE GOONIES (see Also Recommended) and Larry Charles' THE DICTATOR (83 min, Unconfirmed Format).
The Chicago Cultural Center presents Axelle Ropert's 2009 French film THE WOLBERG FAMILY (95 min, DVD Projection) as part of the Cinema/Chicago summer series (repeats July 14).
The DuSable Museum screens Landon Van Soest's 2009 documentary GOOD FORTUNE (73 min, Video Projection - unconfirmed format) on Sunday at 2pm.
The Logan Square International Film Series (Comfort Station, 2579 N. Milwaukee Ave.) presents Robert Altman's 1973 film THE LONG GOODBYE (112 min, DVD Projection) on Wednesday at 8pm.
The Sex +++ Film Series at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (800 S. Halsted) screens Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams' 1996 documentary SHINJUKU BOYS (53 min, DVD Projection) on Tuesday at 7pm.
