CRUCIAL VIEWING

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (New Thai)
Music Box — Check Venue website for showtimes
A hushed and floating aureole of a film, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE captivates and holds us firm in some timeless stupor. The northern Thai jungle throbs patiently—with past lives and past events, monkey ghosts and ethereality—while Boonmee comes full circle, or doesn't. The film centers on an elderly Thai farmer, Uncle Boonmee, who is dying of kidney disease. Fading in his farm home, his son and wife appear as spirits (in easily one of the most affecting family dinner scenes on film) to ease Boonmee into non-being. As in SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY and TROPICAL MALADY, Weerasethakul's Buddhism informs the fluidity of time and body, though here he forgoes the formal duality of those films for something like a drifting continuum. Boonmee laments his karma, having killed in the past either too many communists or bugs on his tamarind farm, and later dreams of a stunted future where images of one's past are projected until they arrive. Are we some Baudrillard-like copy of a copy, reborn and born again—or perhaps a continual permutation of events and memories? As in his past work, Weerasethakul lets us linger just long enough in dense but controlled compositions. The distance of his subjects in the frame methodically draws us deeper into his hypnotic world where the sound of our breathing heightens anticipation. It amplifies the pulse and hum of the darkened, textured jungle on screen. But the frame here is also Weerasethakul's most purposeful one, leading us gently into fabled recollection, and cunningly deep inside a haunting cave-womb. History and spirit have a composite curiosity that envelops both Boonmee and the viewer. Weerasethakul's latest masterwork offers as much as one is willing to ask. (2010, 114 min, 35mm) BW
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More info at www.musicboxtheatre.com.

Martin Bell's STREETWISE (Documentary Revival)
Thalia Hall (1807 S. Allport) — Sunday, 7:30pm
Every year, untold numbers of well-meaning young academics embark on solitary, condescending projects to "give a voice" to "those who cannot speak" who are in fact speaking all the time—leaving the real work to visual ethnographers (like Martin Bell, Cheryl McCall and Mary Ellen Clark) who here (shooting on the streets of Downtown Seattle in the Summer of 1983) produce a 90-minute sequence of non-stop proverbial pictures-worth-a-thousand-words. With surprisingly good camera coverage and exceptional, occasionally-covert sound recording, this unflinching vérité portrait of Pike Street teen runaways—begging for change, dumpster diving, turning tricks and providing uncensored, in-depth interviews, set to the sidewalk boom-box top-40 of Eurythmics, Talking Heads, and Spandau Ballet—is the staggering and voyeuristic pop-operatic portrayal of underclass youth that Harmony Korine and Larry Clark's patently preposterous KIDS (1995) once purported to be. The movie's professional production values—which, for some, raised the possibility that certain scenes were overtly staged—also provide a possible reading of the entire film as an unconventional fiction: a perspective from which STREETWISE would have become a legendary exemplar of cinema. Instead the film's stories—and, one suspects, its subjects—have been long forgotten. But this weekend, the Chicago architectural landmark (and former movie house) Thalia Hall will screen a rare 16mm print, along with the 15-minute video short I TOUCHED HER LEGS (2010) by Eva Marie Rødbro, in a program curated by local filmmaker Ben Russell. (1984, 91 min, 16mm) MC
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More info here.

Li Hongqi's WINTER VACATION (New Chinese)
Talking Pictures Festival at Block Cinema (Northwestern University) — Friday, 7:30pm
Set in a small industrial town and primarily concerned with a group of disaffected teen boys and their families, WINTER VACATION draws inevitable comparisons to the work of Zhang-ke Jia (PLATFORM, THE WORLD, STILL LIFE, 24 CITY) in its insistent and idiosyncratic look at modern China. But Jia's films are downright baroque compared to the minimalist style of Li. The film is slow and features little action—more often than not the characters are sitting quite still or standing stationary—and Li's compositions and long shots favor empty space and the generic, sterile surroundings (both inside and out), but once one is used to the pacing and visual bareness, one begins to see a rich vein of emotion laying just below the surface of the characters' lives. Li's formal elements provide considerable insight into the desperation and stasis they feel (and are actually quite stunning). While his film is part of a larger wave of recent Chinese cinema that is offering a serious critique of contemporary society there, it is also doing so through a delightfully acerbic use of humor. It is a dryly-comic film; the humor creeps up unexpectedly, maintaining a disciplined restraint to match the minimalism of every other aspect of the film. But, a few times, it bursts forth and bites you in the ass, providing (for me at least) several uncontrollable genuine belly laughs. Who says severe minimalism can't be fun? (2010, 91 min, DigiBeta) PF
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See below for some additional information on the Talking Pictures Festival.
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More info at www.talkingpicturesfestival.org and www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu.

Julian Schnabel's MIRAL (New International)
Landmark's Century Centre Cinema — Check Venue website for showtimes
Even before it began shooting, this adaptation of Rula Jebreal's autobiographical novel about growing up Palestinian in Jerusalem encountered resistance. After asking for assistance for location shooting from the Israeli Defense Force, Schnabel reportedly received a letter that said, "Helping you to make this movie would be like helping Hitler make a movie out of Mein Kampf." The making of a film told from the point of view of a Palestinian girl is considered a political act; to its detractors, many of whom haven't seen it and don't plan to, the distribution of this film as well as the mere act of watching it are also considered political acts. But those who do see it will be rewarded with a subjective personal experience mirroring the journey of the characters onscreen, a genuine chance to see the world from a different perspective. As in his other films, especially THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, visual elements such as vivid, almost hallucinogenic colors, tilt-shift cinematography, and rough handheld camerawork are used at various moments to lend palpable textures without ever overwhelming the central story. The use of some lovely violin songs by Laurie Anderson is especially inspired. Part of the senseless political backlash is no doubt in reaction to the film's purposefully small scale. Although the movie ends on the eve of the 1993 Oslo peace accord, certainly a bittersweet moment considering the morass of the current situation, it does not attempt to tell the history of either the Israeli state or the Palestinian struggle. Some may call that one-sided or even biased; Schnabel himself has proudly concurred, saying, "We need to understand 'the other.' And that's the reason I made the movie about 'the other' from 'the other's' point of view." (2010, 106 min, 35mm) RC
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More info here.

ALSO RECOMMENDED

Fred Camper's SN (Experimental Revival)
White Light Cinema at the Nightingale — Saturday, 8pm
Local film and art writer and artist Fred Camper screens his legendary (in some circles) nearly-unseen (this is only its third public screening ever) silent Super-8mm film SN. Comprised of ten sections, one of which consists of three short reels randomly selected from a possible sixteen, Camper's film is an unsettling, hermetic work that continually pushes in on itself, a "closing down" of options (as Camper puts it) that force the viewer to consider the formal elements of the film: editing rhythm, camera movement, and, most importantly, the tension created by changing spatial configurations and the play between depth and shallowness in the image, both within each section and among the individual sections. A striking example comes late, in the longest reel: as Camper pans across the New York City skyline from different buildings the initial depth one sees collapses and flattens, becoming a near-blur and forcing attention away from the "subject" to the flatness of the screen itself. It is an encapsulation of the kind of re-focusing and re-seeing that Camper is attempting to engage his audience in throughout. In this respect, it shares a similar agenda as his current art making. SN is not an easy film and perhaps not one for the casual viewer but, even if one does not understand it completely, there are magical moments and rewards for those willing to really look. Camper in person. (1976-84, 105 min, Super-8mm) PF
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More info at www.whitelightcinema.com.
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Note: this listing is conflict of interest ad absurdum, we realize, so take it for what it's worth. The screening is organized by and the review is written (though three years ago) by C-F editor Patrick Friel.

The Chicago International Movies and Music Festival
Various Locations — Through Sunday
The Chicago International Movies and Music Festival, now in its third year, continues with numerous film screenings, live film events, panel discussions, and, of course, concerts through Sunday. Among the highlights are a revival screening of Tim Irwin's 2005 documentary WE JAM ECONO: THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN, with musician Mike Watt in person (Friday); Filmmaker Sam Green and musician Dave Cerf's "live documentary" UTOPIA IN FOUR MOVEMENTS (Saturday); and Spanish director Carlos Saura's I, DON GIOVANNI (Sunday), plus much more.
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HIGH ON HOPE (New Documentary)
Heaven Gallery — Friday, 11pm and Saturday, 1am
The immediate impulse upon trying to recommend a foreign historical-subculture account like the Northern England rave documentary HIGH ON HOPE is to divide the potential audience into "fans" (implicated as unrefined fetishists who will basically consume anything related to their object of interest) and a much larger, "disinterested" group which will require extreme convincing. However, the technically impressive and emotionally sincere HIGH ON HOPE is ultimately about far more than the particular late-80s acid-house scene of Lancashire. Instead, literally anyone who has ever been implicated in an unlicensed and transcendent artistic ritual gathering—whether it be a basement punk show, a private warehouse dance party, or a long-running loft microcinema—will find a fount of inspiration here, as director Piers Sanderson tracks down and interrogates the unlikely charismatic Blackburn duo (Tommy Smith and Tony Creft) who possessed an unceasing dedication to the fine art of locating and accessing abandoned warehouses in their depressed post-industrial mill town; covertly decking out these former factory floors with homemade bass cabinets and turntables, they would get the word out at the last minute to an increasing populace of beatific, unemployed young punters, who then danced till dawn to... house music from Chicago. Indeed, perhaps more so than CIMMfest offerings FIX: THE MINISTRY MOVIE (or the Chicago hip-hop-related KEEP IT MOVING), HIGH ON HOPE holds the closest ties to our city's indigenous musical forms: while the startling authentic video footage primarily features the contemporaneous Northern variations on house (from the likes of 808 State, Orbital, and the KLF), the film significantly concludes with Chicagoan Larry Heard's sublime 1986 "Can You Feel It" (it should be stated to the disinterested camp: you might not even feel it). But the fact that the unique brand of uptempo, synthetic, and metronomic disco popularized here at downtown's Warehouse and Music Box(not that Music Box) should have been assimilated so effortlessly by disenfranchised small-town Brits munted on ecstasy—a fascinating historical "accident" that almost makes one want to give up on understanding culture—is emphatically not the subject of this film. It is instead an elegy for a radical, communal, working-class cultural revolution: won and lost over the matter of a few dozen (increasingly massive) weekend happenings, as the gradually-awakening state violence apparatus came to take the distribution of love into their own hands. The CIMMfest organizers have brilliantly scheduled this film late at Heaven Gallery (1550 N. Milwaukee, 2nd Floor); anyone familiar with Wicker Park crotch nightlife will recognize this address as one of the Lubinski Furniture lofts, historically a notorious, veritable micro-Blackburn of hard-partying art students and assorted gatecrashers. (2009, 72 min, video) MC
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GRAVITY WAS EVERYWHERE BACK THEN (New Experimental)
Wicker Park Arts Center — Saturday, 10:30pm
Taking obvious stylistic cues from David Lynch and Guy Maddin, self-taught animator Brent Green has crafted, quite literally, a unique world for his two characters to live inside. In his backyard, Green recreated/reimagined the mythical house that Kentuckian Leonard Wood constructed in hopes to cure his dying wife, imprecisely photographing its expressionist curves and the actors within via stop-motion. The story begins with Leonard Wood courting his future wife, with the two moving in to his handmade house. When his wife falls ill, Wood begins building rooms within rooms, numbered stairs to nowhere, and a 32-foot high tower for the laundry room, all in the hopes of forcing a miracle from God. Though the story itself is tragic, the real emotional weight of the movie comes from its live accompaniment. Members of The Dirty Three and The Bitter Tears provide live foley, music, and dialogue, with Brent Green's insightful, poetic narration spoken throughout. (2010, 75 min, video with live accompaniment) DM
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More info and complete schedule at www.cimmfest.org.

Talking Pictures Festival (Evanston)
Various Locations — Through Sunday
Also in its third year and running through Sunday is Evanston's Talking Pictures Festival, with an eclectic mix of U.S. and international features, documentaries and shorts. Among the highlights are Li Hongqi's acclaimed Chinese narrative WINTER VACTION (see above), Alexei Fedorchenko's Russian drama SILENT SOULS (both selected by and screening at Block Cinema), local filmmaker Peter Gilbert's new documentary BURNING ICE, and Lyn True, Nelson Walker, and Tserling Paro's lyrical documentary SUMMER PASTURE.
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More info and complete schedule at www.talkingpicturesfestival.org.

Ingmar Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING (Swedish Revival)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Friday, 6:15pm and Tuesday, 6pm
In his first full-scale collaboration with cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Ingmar Bergman set the bar set pretty high when he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film. More importantly, the film marks a turning point in the focus of Bergman's films, sharing both the moral questioning of earlier works, as well as the psychological examinations so prevalent in the films that followed. Adapted from a 13th century Swedish ballad, this tale of murder and revenge is as grim as if it had been penned by Kierkegaard himself, and the subjective camera's presence has a powerful ability to make us disgusted by the acts on screen. Though not graphic by today's standards, the film was nevertheless controversial upon its release, mainly due to the on screen depiction of a girl's rape and murder. Outside of the plot, it is also a visual turning point for Bergman, who utilizes vast, natural landscapes more organically than in his previous films, while keeping the implied allegory. The medieval manor house where much of the film takes place, and the historical costuming of the characters, are both treated without awe by the filmmaker, creating an understated backdrop for some heavy questioning of the human condition. SAIC professor Jim Trainor lectures at the Tuesday screening. (1960, 89 min, 35mm) JH
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.

Mohsen Makhmalbaf's GABBEH (Contemporary Iranian Revival)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Thursday, 7pm
Mohsen Makhmalbaf is one of the most inventive of all Iranian filmmakers, rich in imagination and curiosity about the world; his best moments, like Jean Cocteau's, take advantage of his unique perspective to suggest untapped possibilities of the medium. For the uninitiated—and especially those who only know Iranian cinema for its social realism—GABBEH is an ideal introduction to his work. The film, adapted from a regional folktale, begins with a woman materializing from a tapestry (the "gabbeh" of the title) to tell an old couple her story, and the surprises keep coming from there. Makhmalbaf's narrative preserves the simplicity of traditional folklore, using it as a canvas on which to launch all sorts of formal masterstrokes. The movie is rich with editing tricks (many of which shift the story from reality to fiction), awesome location photography in the mountainous Iranian hinterlands (the film can also be appreciated as an ethnographic fantasia in the Flaherty tradition), and some of the most romantic use of color you'll ever see outside of a musical. This may lack the political orientation of major Makhmalbaf (e.g., MARRIAGE OF THE BLESSED, A MOMENT OF INNOCENCE), but few of his films so constantly express the joy of filmmaking like this one does. (1996, 75 min, 35mm) BS
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

The Host and the Cloud: An Evening with Pierre Huyghe (Special Event)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Friday, 7pm
Two months before the Art Institute opens an installation of his video project Les Grandes Ensembles (The Housing Projects), Doc Films is hosting this free event in which the multimedia artist Pierre Huyghe will screen his recent film THE HOST AND THE CLOUD (2010) and discuss his work with Jennifer Wild, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies and Hamza Walker, Associate Curator and Director of Education at The Renaissance Society. Huyghe has worked both in and with film (One of his most famous projects, The Third Memory, reconstructs parts of Sidney Lumet's DOG DAY AFTERNOON), but his work is more concerned with the creation of culture as a whole. Some of Huyghe's other projects include staged public events in Central Park, puppet theater, and collaborations with architects. According to his biography at the European Graduate School's website, "his works make use of themes [of] pleasure, adventure and celebration... Often filming recreated scenarios, he attempts to use the power of cinema to re-envision memory." Seeing that Huyghe has focused so the interactions between art and audience, the town hall approach of this event should be quite productive. Presented by The Open Practice Committee and The Renaissance Society. BS
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Rouben Mamoulian's THE GAY DESPERADO (American Revival)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Sunday, 7pm
While it may be the silliest Mamoulian picture, this eccentric little operetta about a Mexican bandit who decides to reorganize his group of ne'er-do-wells as a Chicago Mob after seeing an American Gangster film (apparently this is what producer Jesse Lasky got when he proposed Mamoulian direct an adaptation of Faust) is easily the director's most enjoyable film. A lot of that isn't due so much to Mamoulian's direction; rather it is Ida Lupino's being insanely cute (a brief sequence in which the young actress tries on a selection of sombreros is one of the most delightful sequences in late 30s cinema) and Lucien Andriot's photography. In his evaluation of Mamoulian's filmography, Tom Milne wrote that the film's "rich textures of shadows and sunlight make one almost swear after the film is over that it was shot in color." Think of a live action version of Walt Disney's THE THREE CABALLEROS, or maybe a highly textural Three Stooges short, but really there's nothing quite like it. (1936, 86 min, 35mm) JA
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

King Vidor's HALLELUJAH (American Revival)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Tuesday, 7pm
Doc Films' revival of STORMY WEATHER last week may have had the most intense audience reaction of any film shown in the city this year, a screening which featured thunderous applause after every musical number, and a post show discussion in which the most rewarding moments were of patrons talking about their experience seeing the film when it premiered in 1943. It's easy to look at films like THE PIRATE and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and think of them as the most intense examples of the American Musical, but looking at films like STORMY WEATHER, CABIN IN THE SKY, and HALLELUJAH, it's clear that the sort of visceral electricity running through those aforementioned later works was conceived in these earlier all black cast musicals. King Vidor's HALLELUJAH is the first one of major note; it's one of the best examples of early talkie filmmaking, and also one of the most honest pictures of African-American life made in the first half of the Twentieth Century. Given that it somehow is able to fit some forty-odd singing and dancing sequences into 106 minutes, you could say it predicts the brevity of most punk rock, too. (1929, 106 min, 16mm) JA
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Andy Warhol's VINYL (Experimental Revival)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Monday, 7pm
Employing one set, a few props, and only two different camera positions in the course of 63 minutes, Andy Warhol's very loose adaptation of A Clockwork Orange is nonetheless a work of intense formal precision; those susceptible to it will find the film a spellbinding experience. Anthony Burgess' novel is reduced to just a handful of scenes: a young thug's sadistic assault on some innocent people, his arrest, and his subsequent torture/S&M seduction by state officials. The rest of the film consists of failed gestures of some sort, such as tripped-up proclamations or actors dancing by themselves. As in his later NUDE RESTAURANT (1967), Warhol creates something like euphoria within an apathetic void. Clockwork may not seem like the most obvious choice for Warhol's sole literary adaption (One of Richard Brautigan's quasi-novels would have seemed more a propos); but on further reflection Warhol's aesthetic mingles quite provocatively with Burgess' parable of free choice amidst social oppression. In spite of the restrictions both formal and ideological, Warhol displays a gifted pictorial sense throughout the film. He arranges his actors like a skilled portraitist (No one ever moves more than a couple feet in any direction), with superstar Edie Sedgwick sitting placidly on the right side of the frame for almost the entire duration. Her feminine beauty stands out like stark, contrasting brushstroke against the surrounding canvas of male homoeroticism. This screening of VINYL will be proceeded by George Kuchar's celebrated short film HOLD ME WHILE I'M NAKED, another mid-60s celebration of amateur eroticism. (1965-66, approx. 80 min total, 16mm) BS
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Sofia Coppola's SOMEWHERE (New American)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Friday, 10:30pm and Sunday, 1pm
One of last year's more divisive movies, SOMEWHERE is equally a crowd pleaser and a bore. Along with GREENBERG, it's also the second major-American indie of last year that asked audiences to deal with an unlikeable main character. Sofia Coppola, born into fame, shows us what celebrity looks and feels like from the other side. It's a rare movie in that it has the all the allures of a celebrity-dom storyline and bloodline but all the hum-drumness of the experience of daily life. While celebrity actor Johnny Marco's (Stephen Dorff playing himself) daily routine is privileged, spoiled, and idle, it is experienced with the same matter-of-factness as the average person's: he picks up/drops off his daughter, he watches her ice-skate, he smokes cigarettes, he gets a mould made of his face for a movie, they go on vacation, etc. In an unpopular feat, Coppola subversively turns the weight given to the lives of the rich and famous into something as light and trifling as a feather. (2010, 97 min, 35mm) KH
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Harmony Korine's TRASH HUMPERS (New American)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Saturday, 7 and 9pm and Sunday, 3pm
With it's creepy atmosphere, toilet bowl-dirty aesthetic and anarchic mise-en-scéne, TRASH HUMPERS is like some kind of mutant that grew out of a puddle of vomit from a dark, East-Coast alley in a Lloyd Kaufman Troma movie. It's bound to test your tolerance for how much vulgarity you can handle. But while a lot of shock-cinema puffs up and stretches out bad taste to make it more cartoonishly palatable, TRASH HUMPERS seems more interested in tuning into the ghoulishness and eeriness that exists at the lower frequencies of bad taste. TRASH HUMPERS isn't a movie that singles-out and shines a light on something that's disgusting (like when John Waters has us watch Divine eat fresh dog shit), it lets its grossness find its own way to you, like a smell that slowly appears under your nose or some slime that you gradually notice is causing your shoe to stick. While TRASH HUMPERS does have its obvious acts of indecency, it doesn't employ clarity to offend you but, rather, vagueness to unsettle you. Because of the way it likes to roll itself in its own lo-fi VHS-aesthetic muddiness, its sharpest points and roughest angles have become dampened and rubbed out. It's like meeting a monster that's already dead (actually): it's not really scary, but it is pretty creepy and it's unthreatening enough for you to wonder at it. (2009, 78 min, 35mm) KH
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

MORE SCREENINGS AND EVENTS

Block Cinema (Northwestern University) presents Illuminating the Shadows: Film Criticism in Focus, a conference on film criticism, from Thursday, April 21 through Saturday, April 23. Opening the event on Thursday at 7:30pm is Errol Morris' new documentary TABLOID, introduced by Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips. See next week's list for more information on the conference or visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu. [Note: this event is co-organized by C-F editor Patrick Friel]

Filmmaker Alexander Stewart's screening series at Roots & Culture (1034 N. Milwaukee Ave.) presents Naomi Uman's newest work, the feature-length VIDEODIARY 2-1-2006 TO THE PRESENT, part of her Ukrainian Time Machine project. The screening is on Sunday at 7pm, with Uman in person.

Filmmaker Sam Green (in town for his presentation at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival, see above) will present a selection of his films at UIC's Gallery 400 (400 S. Peoria Ave., lecture room) on Monday at 5pm.

The Experimental Film Society at SAIC (112 S. Michigan Ave., Rm. 1307) presents two screenings this week: Frame the Film Frame in the Film Frame: Humanist Variations on a Formalist Theme (Monday, 4pm) included Gary Beydler's HAND HELD DAY (1974), Lewis Alquist's FRAME (1991), Roberta Friedman's BERTHA'S CHILDREN (1976), Peter Rose's THE MAN WHO COULD NOT SEE FAR ENOUGH (1981), and Richard Mortillaro's A PRIORI. On Wednesday at 4pm, they present 16mm in the 21st Century: Naomi Uman and Ben Russell, with Uman's REMOVED (1999) and CLAY (2008) and Russell's DAUME (2000), THE QUARRY (2002), and TERRA INCOGNITA (2002).

The Film Studies Center (University of Chicago) presents Japanese Magic Lantern: The Minwa-za Company of Tokyo and the Art of Utsushi-e, a performance/lecture event, on Thursday at 7pm. This program is listed as being full, but you could take your chances with wait-list admission just before the start time. The Minwa-za Company will also have a welcoming event at the Japan Information Center on Tuesday at 6:30 (RSVPs required) and will present a Family Matinee Performance on Wednesday at 1pm at the International House at the U of C. See next week's list for information on additional evening performances or see their complete schedule here.

The Northwest Chicago Film Society at the Portage Theater screens Bud Pollard's 1946 black cast musical BEWARE (showing in a 35mm print from the Library of Congress) on Wednesday at 7:30pm as part of an absolutely-fascinating looking program of music-themed work. Also showing are the 1938 cartoon KATNIP KOLLEGE, a 35mm Technicolor trailer for Otto Preminger's CARMEN JONES, and Gjon Mili's amazing 1944 jazz short JAMMIN' THE BLUES (also in 35mm).

Also at the Landmark's Century Centre Cinema this week: Abbas Kiarostami's CERTIFIED COPY continues; and Susanne Bier's IN A BETTER WORLD, François Ozon's POTICHE, and Robert Redford's THE CONSPIRATOR all open.

Also at the Gene Siskel Film Center this week: Sylvain Chomet's THE ILLUSIONIST and Michael Webber's new documentary THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM both play for a week; and ZAHARA, GAZA ON AIR, FIX ME, and JAFFA, THE ORANGE'S CLOCKWORK all play in the Chicago Palestine Film Festival.

Also at Doc Films (University of Chicago) this week: on Saturday at 2pm Andrew Wong's 2010 Chinese film THERE THEY WERE screens; Alfred Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW screens twice on Wednesday; and Michael Pressman's 1991 film TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE screens in the second slot on Thursday (replacing the originally scheduled TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES).

Also at the Music Box this week: James Gunn's SUPER continues; the touring Found Footage Festival screens Friday at 10pm; on Wednesday, Actor Alex Winter presents Michael Winner's 1985 Charles Bronson film DEATH WISH 3 (7:30pm) and his own (co-directed with Tom Stern) 1993 film FREAKED (9:45pm), with the A.V. Club's Scott Tobias; Joseph Losey's 1968 film BOOM! is in the Saturday and Sunday matinee slot (with UNCLE BOONMEE, see above); and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW screens on Saturday at Midnight.

On Friday at 8pm, Chicago Filmmakers presents the Short Story Film Showcase, with work by Jack Newell, Marie Ullrich, J. Antonio Mendoza, Amir George, Neil Needleman, David Schmudde, Ryan McKenzie, Casey Puccini, and Allan Callaghan.

Facets Cinémathèque screens Peter Byck's documentary CARBON NATION for a week. Director Byck in person at the 7pm Friday screening and the 3 and 7pm screenings on Saturday and Sunday.

The Chicago Cultural Center screens Duane Baughman's film BHUTTO about Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto, on Saturday at 2pm.

The Logan Square International Film Series (3421 W. Medill Ave.) screens the animated feature TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (from DVD) on Sunday at 7pm.

Local film instructor Therese Grisham is presenting a series of lectures and screenings on Italian cinema titled Screening Italy: Italian Cinema through the Lens of History at Sentieri Italiani. Screening on Saturday at 4:30pm is Luchino Visconti's THE LEOPARD (from DVD). It's at 4:30pm. More information here (call the number listed to RSVP).

Saturday Cinema continues with two new films by Aline Cautis: escape strategies 001 & escape strategies 003. The minute-long films will be shown continuously looped, from 8pm-Midnight on Saturdays through April 23. View from the street: 2nd Floor window at 1369 W. Chicago Ave.