CRUCIAL VIEWING
The 14th Annual European Union Film
Festival — Final Week
Gene Siskel Film Center
The EU fest's final week includes,
perhaps, one of the most important films that will screen in Chicago
this year: Manoel de Oliveira's THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA. Any opportunity
to see work by the Portuguese master is one that should not be passed
up (can you tell that we like de Oliveira here at Cine-File?). Other
notable films this week include SLEEPING BEAUTY, Catherine Breillat's
fairytale follow-up to her acclaimed BLUEBEARD; and Romanian filmmaker
Radu Jude's new film, THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD. The closing-night
film is Michael Winterbottom's THE TRIP, screening on Thursday, but
not before another eleven selections are shown. See the films of the
name directors, but try to catch something by someone you've never heard
of as well. Visit our
Blog for reviews of a sampling of individual films.
PF
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More info and complete schedule
at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
Abbas Kiarostami's THROUGH THE OLIVE
TREES (Iranian Revival)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Thursday, 7pm
Fresh on the U.S. release of Kiarostami's latest, CERTIFIED COPY,
Doc Films is reviving the director's most complicated narrative puzzle
prior to that one. The film is a fictionalized account of the making
of Kiarostami's AND LIFE GOES ON (1992), itself a fictionalized account
of Kiarostami's visit to Koker following a major earthquake that devastated
locations of yet an earlier film, WHERE IS THE FRIEND'S HOUSE? (1987).
This is a mind-blowing hall of mirrors, comparable to those constructed
by Philip Roth in his novels Zuckerman Unbound
and The Counterlife, in which the author is faced with multiple
doubles of himself. But it would be a mistake to classify THROUGH THE
OLIVE TREES as a self-regarding exercise: As in the preceding films
of the so-called Koker Trilogy, the central theme is how artists are
at a loss to navigate the problems of the real world (or, as Jonathan
Rosenbaum has put it, "the status of filmmaking among ordinary
people"). Kiarostami devotes much of the narrative to a romantic
crisis of two locals hired to act in the film-within-the-film; their
"real-life" story is so funny and urgent that the filmmaking process
comes to seem trivial in comparison. Kiarostami heightens the sense
of metaphysical displacement with some of the most bewitching mise-en-scene
in contemporary movies, with monumental images of Koker's hilly terrain
that render all human activity at once quaint and eerily undersized.
Given the film's unique power on a big screen and the fact that it is
still without U.S. distribution, this rare screening is absolutely
crucial viewing. (1994, 103 min, 35mm) BS
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Note: Kiarostami's newest film,
CERTIFIED COPY, continues at the Landmark's Century Centre Cinema. See
last week's list for a review.
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.
ALSO RECOMMENDED
Anthony Mann's RAILROADED! (American
Revival)
Northwest Chicago Film Society at
the Portage Theater — Wednesday, 7pm
In the past year, the welcome revival screenings of GOD'S LITTLE
ACRE, T-MEN, and REIGN OF TERROR have taught Chicago that there is no
Anthony Mann title worth dismissing. Now, the Northwest Chicago Film
Society brings us RAILROADED!, another title pulled from the cobwebs
of Mann's ever-surprising filmography. The movie comes from Mann's fruitful
period as a director of B crime movies, in which he triumphed over limited
productions with visual invention and intense psychological curiosity.
By 1950, James Stewart would take notice and recruit Mann to direct
Westerns for Universal; but in 1947, Mann was still working overtime
to make art out of unlikely projects like this. (He finished the film
just months after T-MEN, and he would have another in the can by the
end of the year.) This is a hard-bitten noir about a beautician who
tries to clear her brother of a false robbery charge, enlisting the
help of a homicide sergeant in her pursuit. It has been praised for
the surprising level of detail in the depiction of detective work and
for the ambition (given the budget) of its mobile long-takes. This film,
along with the others Mann directed around this time, merited a mention
in Manny Farber's seminal essay about tough guy cinema, "Underground
Films." In that piece he wrote, "Anthony Mann's inhumanity
to man, in which cold mortal intentness is the trademark effect, can
be studied best in... RAILROADED. The films of this tin-can de Sade
have a Germanic rigor, caterpillar intimacy, and an original dictionary
of ways in which to punish the human body." The feature will
be preceded by the vintage short
PHILO VANCE, DETECTIVE. (1947, 72 min, 16mm) BS
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More info at www.northwestchicagofilmsociety.org.
Tony Cokes: Notes on Evil (and Others)
(Experimental)
Conversations at the Edge Series at the Gene Siskel Film Center — Thursday, 6pm
Videomaker and artist Tony Cokes' work
is something of a rarity: actively political experimental videos that
are no-holds-barred in their social, economic, and political critique
and yet, somehow, don't come across as strident. Cokes achieves this
by positioning his work as "third-person" pieces (none of the first-person
commentary that can often be so deadly) and through his use of appropriated
or "commissioned" imagery and text. From his earliest piece, 1988's
BLACK CELEBRATION (about the Watts Riots and economic injustice), through
the on-going Evil series (focused primarily on 9-11 and its aftermath),
he creates powerful works through minimal means: a simple combination
of disparate elements—text (mostly on-screen), images, and music—that
are frequently at odds with each other. Cutting or angry third-party
commentary is softened by picturesque cityscape footage of Manhattan
or pure abstract imagery. His use of music (mimicked German techno-pop
or songs from the Magnetic Fields, for example) also lessens the harshness
of the rhetoric. Ironically, this gives the words more weight; one is
distracted from the tone of the quotes Cokes uses and focuses more intently
on their content. Only in the most recent piece showing, Evil.20.b.om.h. (2010-11)
does this not hold up; here Cokes uses computer-generated voice-over
for the text instead of displaying it on-screen. The impersonal, artificial
cadence causes the viewer to struggle to just comprehend what
is being said instead of allowing them to understand it. But
the other five videos being shown do successfully navigate their juxtapositions
of image/text/sound, injecting some needed radical content into a genre
that is usually focused solely on the pictorial or the personal.
Tony Cokes in person. (1988-2011, approx. 75 min, multiple video
formats) PF
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More info at blogs.saic.edu/cate.
Kim Jee-woon's I SAW THE DEVIL (New
South Korean)
Music Box — Check Venue website for showtimes
Shot in borderline-giallo lurid colors, I SAW THE DEVIL is Kim Jee-woon's
termitic answer to the revenge films of Park Chan-Wook, complete with
protracted torture scenes and Park regular Choi Min-sik—seemingly the
most revenged-against actor in film history—as one of the leads. Choi
(at his rattiest and badger-iest) plays a cartoonish serial killer who
is being tormented by an equally cartoonish government agent (Lee Byung-hun,
stoic and skeezily-dressed). Instead of teasing out faux-operatic profundities
a la Park, Choi sticks to a brutal, pulpy scuzziness that is more concerned
with characters than themes, but ends up honing in on his two leads
so intently that the themes, however simple, come through on their own. (2010,
141 min, 35mm) IV
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More info at www.musicboxtheatre.com.
Burt Kennedy's
HANNIE CAULDER (American Revival)
Facets Cinémathèque — Saturday, Midnight
Reviewing his resume, this film's director seems like the Troy McClure
of post-Classical Hollywood: "Hi, I'm Burt Kennedy, and you might
remember me as the director of such hits as DIRTY DINGUS MAGEE, KATE
BLISS AND THE TICKER TAPE KID, and WHERE THE HELL'S THAT GOLD?!!?"
Actually, Kennedy has a higher pedigree than you might expect: He came
to prominence in his early 30s as the screenwriter of Budd Boetticher's
major Westerns (including SEVEN MEN FROM NOW and RIDE LONESOME), and
one of his last major credits was as co-writer on Clint Eastwood's unsettling
moral drama, WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART. Still, it may be worth noting
that Kennedy's roots are in showbiz: Literally born into vaudeville,
he was made part of his family's "Dancing Kennedys" stage
act as early as infancy. Kennedy's most popular films as director—the
light Westerns SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER and YOUNG BILLY YOUNG—improbably
split the difference between these two sides of his personality; this
feature, largely forgotten, brings some cheesecake allure and a frequent
light touch to a standard retaliation plot. Raquel Welch stars as a
homesteader's widow who toughens up (and puts on tight pants) to take
revenge on the men who killed her husband; rounding out the cast is
the intriguing combination of Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine, Christopher
Lee, and Strother Martin. Part of Facets Night School series; introduced
by Michelle Zaladonis. (1971, 85 min, DVD projection) BS
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More info at www.facets.org.
Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS
(British Revival)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Wednesday, 7 and 9pm
Even as every plot device from this thriller has been worn smooth
by decades of reuse, THE 39 STEPS stands out in Hitchcock's body of
work for its uncommonly playful lightness. Billed as a tale of international
espionage, this is actually a paean to the bachelor. Richard Hanney
(Robert Donat), looking every inch the rake with an Errol Flynn swagger
and an Ed Wood mustache, begins and ends his adventure in the music
hall, where unmarried women drink and workingmen brawl. Visiting London
from Canada for a few months, the already carefree Hanney thinks nothing
of bringing a strange woman back to his furnished apartment, and when
she dies abruptly, he steps into her adventure seamlessly, certain that
the next right step will appear before him as he strides ahead. Villains,
passersby, and policemen fall in behind him as he makes his way to a
circled town on a map of Scotland, though the purpose of the mission
is mysterious even to him. The speed of the editing leads us through
uncluttered sets and spotlit scenes so surely that we need to do nothing
but react strongly. Hanney seems to operate the same way; men chase,
he runs. If he sees a woman he romances her. If he has an audience he
gives them a rousing speech. The adventure serves to showcase his polyvalence
rather than the other way around. His bravado is irresistible to the
audience, to the dames, and to us, the viewers. (1935, 86 min, 35mm)
JF
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.
Henri-Georges Clouzot's DIABOLIQUE
(French Revival)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Tuesday, 6pm
A once-shocking, influential thriller
now more suited to killing a cold, rainy afternoon, DIABOLIQUE (LES
DIABOLIQUES)—based on a 1952 Boileau-Narcejac novel—is somewhat equally
popular with deeper-digging aficionados of Hitchcock (whom director
Clouzot beat out for the screenplay rights) as well as feminist film
theorists, who mined the (wholly subtextual) lesbian relationship between
the two suburban boarding-school teachers (Simone Signoret and Clouzot's
wife, Véra) who conspire to murder the headmaster with whom they are
both involved (Paul Meurisse). Screening as part of the Siskel's "Psychological
Horror Film" series, it's worth observing how Clouzot's comparatively
breezy genre-interpolation (from suspense, to supernatural horror, to
twist-ending policier) was transformed by Hitchcock into films
that could instead only be decrypted in psychoanalytic terms (e.g. THE
BIRDS, coming next month). Intriguingly bookended in Clouzot's filmography
by the nail-biting classic WAGES OF FEAR (1953) and the hallucinatory/meditative
MYSTERY OF PICASSO (1956), DIABOLIQUE is also notable for its third-act
arrival of the retired police inspector Fichet (Charles Vanel), disheveled
and disingenuous, whom Cine-Filers of a certain age will recognize as
the template for Peter Falk's Columbo. Lecture by Jim Trainor.
(1955, 114 min, 35mm) MC
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
David Mamet's THE SPANISH PRISONER
(Contemporary American Revival)
Logan Square International Film Series (3421 W. Medill)
— Monday, 7pm
David Mamet's Mannerist, deliberately stiff light thriller (or is
it an homage to light thrillers?) where there are seemingly no characters,
only people-shaped cogs in a neat little contraption that manufactures
plot twists. The presence of poker-faced stage magician Ricky Jay in
the cast gives away Mamet's game—to perform a series of writing-directing
tricks for the audience—early on, but this—combined with the movie's
controlled airlessness—is itself just a part of Mamet's complicated
directorial ruse, which fascinatingly mirrors the one in the film. Campbell
Scott plays a man being conned into believing he's being conned; he
serves as the straightman to a cast—which includes Steve Martin, Ben
Gazzara, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ed O'Neil, and Felicity Huffman—which delivers
every line of dialogue with the flavor of impeccable stage patter. Altogether
peculiar, perverse entertainment. (1997, 110 min, DVD projection)
IV
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More info here.
MORE SCREENINGS AND EVENTS
The Experimental Film Society
at the School of the Art Institute presents Films: By and About:
Jack Smith on Tuesday at 5:30pm (112 S. Michigan Ave., Rm. 1307).
This excellent program includes Smith's own films SCOTCH TAPE (1962)
and I WAS A MALE YVONNE DE CARLO (1970) and two absolutely terrific
films he appears in: Ken Jacobs' LITTLE STABS AT HAPPINESS (1963), and
Ron Rice's CHUMLUM (1962).
The Red Cannels collective,
visiting from NYC, presents To Construct New Neighborhoods of Alliance:
Film/Video Program from NYC on Friday at 7pm at the Biblioteca
Popular del Barrio (1921 S. Blue Island Ave.). The program, about
race and the urban experience, includes NOW (Santiago Alvarez, 1965),
EL PUEBLO SE LEVANTA (THE PEOPLE ARE RISING) (Newsreel, 1971), QUEEN
MOTHER MOORE SPEECH AT GREENHAVEN PRISON (People's Communication Network,
1973), and RICHIE PEREZ WATCHES "FORT ACHACHE: THE BRONX" (Paper
Tiger Television, 1983). More info here.
ACRE Projects (1913 W. 17th
St.) presents Like a Rock: Work by Tony Balko and Olivia Ciummo,
an exhibition of moving image and photographic work, on Friday at 6pm.
More info here.
Roots & Culture (1034 N.
Milwaukee Ave.) presents Eyeball Witness: Suitable Video Vol. 2 on Sunday at 7pm. The program, curated by Scott Wolniak, includes videos
by Andrew Fansler, Derek Fansler, Ken Fandell, Eric Fleischauer, Gabriel
Fowler, Charles Irvin, Emily Jones, Mike Lopez, Danielle Paz, David
Servoss, Kwabena Slaughter, Clay Smith, Alexander Stewart, Kirsten Stoltmann,
Selina Trepp, and Erik Wenzel.
On Monday at 7pm Mess Hall (6932
N. Glenwood Ave.) presents Four Shorts from the Factories, a
program of documentary shorts from Cambodia made by Mark Hammond and
Nico Mesterharm in collaboration with several Cambodian students. The
films (A DAY AT THE FACTORY, A DAY AROUND THE FACTORIES, A DAY OFF FROM
THE FACTORY and A WEEKEND WITH THE MANAGER) "look at the economic
downturn viewed through the prism of workers, a female Cambodian manager,
union representatives, entrepreneurs and small businesses surrounding
the [garment] factories." Also showing are
two episodes from the Cambodian soap opera "At the Factory Gates." Anne Elizabeth Moore will introduce the screening and lead a discussion
afterwards.
Lampo
presents Jon Satrom's Prepared Desktop on Saturday at 8pm at
the Graham Foundation (Madlener House, 4 W. Burton Pl.). This event
is free, but is currently "sold out." You can get on the wait list
at www.lampo.org/current.
The Archer Ballroom (3012 S.
Archer Ave. Apt #3) is hosting BYOB CHI (Bring Your Own Beamer Chicago) on Saturday starting at 7pm. It's described
as "a collaborative happening of moving light, sound and performance." More info here.
A DIY Film Festival is part
of the activities of the Chicago Zine Fest this weekend. This
screening, curated by Eric Ayotte, is on Saturday at 12pm at Columbia
College Chicago. More info here.
Also at Doc Films
(University of Chicago) this week: Stan Brakhage's great experimental
film DOG STAR MAN (1961-64) screens on Monday; Arthur Leonard's
1947 black cast musical SEPIA CINDERELLA is on Tuesday; and Jon
Amiel's 2003 film THE CORE is the late film on Thursday.
Also at the Music Box
this week: Rachid Bouchareb's OUTSIDE THE LAW opens; through
some strange cosmic coincidence, Richard Brooks' 1958 film CAT ON
A HOT TIN ROOF screens as one of the Saturday and Sunday matinee
films. The film stars, of course, Elizabeth Taylor in one of her most
acclaimed (and sultriest) roles (Taylor also stars in BOOM!, showing
in a couple of weeks.); the other weekend matinee is Aaron Katz's
COLD WEATHER; the Friday and Saturday midnight films are Joel and
Ethan Coen's THE BIG LEBOWSKI and the new anime film EVANGELION:
2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE.
Chicago Cultural Center hosts
the Cinema Q series on Wednesday at 6:30pm. This week it's JOJO BABY,
Mark Danforth and Dana Buning's documentary portrait of the local artist
and nightclub legend. Also showing are two music videos of The Joans,
directed by Peter Neville. JoJo Baby and Neville in person.
Block Cinema
(Northwestern University) presents Yasujiro Ozu's 1934 film A STORY
OF FLOATING WEEKS on Thursday at 7:30pm, with new live score composed
and performed by Alex de Grassi.
Also this week at Facets Cinémathèque
is Craig Macneill and Alexei Kaleina's 2009 film THE AFTERLIFE,
which plays for a week.
Chicago Filmmakers
hosts one of their quarterly Open Screenings on Friday at 8pm.
It's free, so stop by to just watch or bring something to show (20 minutes
max).
At the Portage Theater
this week: the Wednesday matinee (1:30pm) film is Charles Walters' 1951
comedy/romance 3 GUYS NAMED MIKE (from DVD); Robert Alaniz's
new independent comedy D.I.N.K.S screens Friday at 8pm; on Saturday
starting at 1pm it's the Universal Horror Party 2, with the films
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN,
THE WOLFMAN, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and REVENGE
OF THE CREATURE.
Links Hall (3435 N. Sheffield
Ave.) presents Yakov Protazanov's 1924 Soviet film AELITA: QUEEN
OF MARS this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sort of. Note that it's
showing with a new Surround-sound score by Dan Schaaf, who has also
shortened it considerably, tweaked it digitally, and added sound effects
and songs and dialog (performed live).
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.
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