Now, You Can Do Anything: The Films of Chris Langdon (Experimental Revival) 
Film Studies Center (University of Chicago) — Friday, 7pm 
When a figure like Thom Anderson (LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF) uses descriptors like "the first punk filmmaker" and "the most important unknown filmmaker in the history of the Los Angeles avant-garde," it is wise to take note. Doubly so when the Academy Film Archive's Mark Toscano takes an integral role in the career resurrection and print restoration of the same person. Such is the case with the artist formerly known as Chris Langdon. Langdon earned his BFA and MFA from Cal Arts, studying with Robert Nelson (see a program of his work at Doc Films on Monday), Pat O'Neill, and John Baldessari. In addition to wide-ranging work in painting, sculpture, photography, and graphics, Langdon made some forty films in the mid-70s. He also helped Baldessari and artist Jack Goldstein actualize their own moving image works. In the mid-90s, Langdon retired from his artistic practice and began another life chapter. Now known as Inga Uwais, she spent several years in China and works as an acupuncturist and herbal doctor. She has also recently returned to art-making. These films have long been out of circulation, which has only heightened the hushed (but exuberant) tones with which they are spoken. Through a collapse in the distinction between high and low culture, these formally divergent films are vital, funny, and brash. Many offer a subversive engagement with the Los Angeles art scene from which they emerged. To wit, bondage is invoked to discuss structuralism, while a satirical portrait of Picasso—made in the immediate wake of his death—"reveals the questionable authority of moving images." This is only the second public screening appearance in thirty-some years that Inga has made. A rare and not to be missed event. Curated and introduced by Mark Toscano, Academy Film Archive, with Inga Uwais (formerly Chris Langdon) in person. (1972-76, 90 mins total, 16mm) JM
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More info at filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu.

Films by Robert Nelson (Experimental Revival) 
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Monday, 7pm 
Robert Nelson, who died this January at 81, had a wildly productive 1967. In addition to THE OFF-HANDED JAPE... & HOW TO PULL IT OFF and THE AWFUL BACKLASH, both of which screen tonight, he made HOT LEATHERETTE, the masterpiece THE GREAT BLONDINO and GRATEFUL DEAD, which is psychedelic in the ways one might expect and in ways one might not. An avid and active member of San Francisco's burgeoning art and counter-cultural scene of the 1960s, Nelson collaborated with makers like the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Steve Reich, and, in the films screening tonight, William T. Wiley and William Allan. While the works in this program are distinct in their methods and internal logics, each bears Nelson's abiding playfulness and openness toward what a film can be. His works have an improvisational quality and level of vitality that is difficult to achieve forty-some years later. The intimacy, playfulness and humor Wiley and Nelson share in THE OFF-HANDED JAPE and BLEU SHUT (1970) is contagious. In the former, the two play Dr. Otis Bird and Dr. Butch Babad, who perform and demonstrate a variety of japes. Watch as they demonstrate (at the behest of Nelson and Wiley playing nominally distinct characters) indigestion, how to alert a friend that his fly is down, and "the verge of remembering." The two, with their bushy mustaches and matching BLONDINO t-shirts play with the same notions of friendship-cum-brotherhood that cultural touchstones like the Blues Brothers and Ramones do so well. And, it is worth noting that their then-partners Gunvor Nelson and Dorothy Wiley were the subjects of last week's Monday night screening at Doc. The soundtrack of BLEU SHUT is another occasion for Wiley and Nelson's familial and jocular repartee. Here is another ostensible game created for the purpose of their amusement and to structure the film. As they try to determine which of the equally nonsensical names belongs to the boat before them, they giggle and joke, seeking, as we do, the logic that binds seemingly distinct ideas. A clock in the upper-right corner of the film keeps us apprized of elapsing time and, through this kind intrusion, we experience duration in a wholly new way. THE AWFUL BACKLASH also utilizes an overarching temporal structure as an evocative metaphor through which duration is revealed. In a tight shot, Allan's hands adroitly untangle a terribly snarled fishing reel. The soundtrack meanders between diegetic string unwinding and recordings of Nelson mumbling and breathing. (1967-70, 53 min total, 16mm) JM
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky's THE TURIN HORSE (New Hungarian) 
Gene Siskel Film Center — Check Venue website for showtimes
Béla Tarr's starkest feature to date begins with an unnamed narrator recounting a central episode in the life of Friedrich Nietzsche. Shortly after he achieved enlightenment through his philosophy, the 45-year-old writer witnessed a peddler beating his horse; the sight so overwhelmed Nietzsche that he stopped the man in his action, embraced the horse, and wept. Several days later, Nietzsche would be diagnosed with mental illness and retreat to the care of his mother and sisters, with whom he'd remain for the last ten years of his life. This anecdote, it should be noted, contains more plot than anything that follows in THE TURIN HORSE. The film proceeds as a gradual shutting down, ridding itself of detail and ultimately momentum, ending on a note of morbid finality. Is this an allegory for Nietzsche's mental breakdown? Or does Tarr see in his breakdown an allegory for the end of civilization? Is the film something else entirely? The direction—credited to Tarr and his wife, Ágnes Hranitzky—is careful and poker-faced; like all of Tarr's films since DAMNATION (1987), it's rooted in slow, hesitant camera movements that approach every action like it were a 50-foot statue or the stuff of biblical verse. The movie depicts an old man (possibly the one who beat that poor horse) living with his daughter on a small, isolated plot of land. They subsist on the little they make from delivering goods from their horse-drawn cart. But when their animal stops eating and refuses to walk, the two are effectively stranded; when a violent, prolonged dust storm kicks up, they're unable to leave their house. The minimal story is rendered consistently gorgeous by the work of cinematographer Fred Keleman (a noted filmmaker in his own right, here shooting in stunning high-contrast black-and-white) and Steadicam operator Tilman Büttner, the muscle behind Aleksander Sokurov's single-take feature RUSSIAN ARK. The camera skulks through scenes or else hovers in place before some elemental detail, such as the wrinkles of an old bed sheet hanging to dry. Some viewers will be hypnotized by the aesthetic; for them, it might feel as though Tarr has stopped time itself. People who hate the movie will probably feel this way too, but it's hard to deny that Tarr and his collaborators have created a theatrical experience like very few before it. (2011, 146 min, 35mm) BS
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.

Raoul Walsh's THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS (American Revival)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Saturday, 5:45pm and Thursday, 6pm
An ambitious faux-historical drama adapted from Rex Beach's pulpy adventure novel by screenwriter Borden Chase (RED RIVER, WINCHESTER '73, BEND OF THE RIVER), THE WORLD IN HIS ARMS is an over-the-top crowd-pleaser, a Technicolor swashbuckler with many cheap laughs and endless chase scenes: it's an A-movie acting like a B-movie (or vice versa). Gregory Peck stars as the tough, womanizing Jonathan Clark—a legendary sea captain partying hard in the rowdy melting-pot of 1850 San Francisco. The (frankly ridiculous) plot involves a group of stranded Russian aristocrats trying to get to Sitka, Alaska (then a booming Russian seal hunting colony), one of which is the beautiful and mysterious Marina (Ann Blyth). While the straight-faced romance subplot makes for a capable date movie, many cultural stereotypes also vie for the viewers' entertainment, including the heroic Aleutian accomplice Ogeechuk (played by former Detroit Lions guard Bill Radovich) and Anthony Quinn, who hams it up repeatedly as the boorish rival captain "The Portuguese." This beats the hell out of anything else in town running at midnight; unfortunately the year is 2012, so it's only playing in the late afternoon. (1952, 104 min, 35mm) MC
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.

ALSO RECOMMENDED

Park Chan-wook's THIRST (New Korean)
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Thursday, 7pm
THIRST is l'amour fou taken to its grotesque extreme, the two lovers ripping out each other's throats, breaking necks, biting into each other's veins. Childhood acquaintances brought together by chance: he (Song Kang-ho) is a likeable Catholic priest, Belmondo's Leon Morin without a sense of purpose, turned into a vampire by a blood transfusion; she (Kim Ok-vin) works in her mother-in-law's dress shop and wants nothing more than to murder her infirm husband. The plot, as has been pointed out numerous times, is from Zola's Thérèse Raquin, with the writer's preface (which assigns the lover the sanguine temperament) taken literally. She is guiltless; he has only his guilt to give the world. He blasphemes; she simply acts. Across gray hospitals, empty streets, and dull apartments, they fuck, plot, fight, and finally kill, over and over again, until the white floor of their apartment is covered in blood. There's an innocence to their sin. (2009, 134 min, 35mm) IV
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Alan J. Pakula's KLUTE (American Revival) 
Music Box — Sunday, 11:30am
BARBARELLA treated Jane Fonda as an object of fascination. But KLUTE was the first to treat her as an object of dissertation. When we first "see" her, it's a tape recorder unspooling a recording of her voice, an image that reoccurs frequently. This motif of documentation signals the film's intent to make "Jane Fonda" a topic for study and dissection. Her character, Bree Daniels, is not only a call girl but also a struggling actress; and as the audience, we see both Bree playing Bree and Jane playing Bree. Where does the celebrity end and the character begin? The whole setup is so meta, it's no surprise she won for Best Actress at the Oscars. Godard would push this theme even further in TOUT VA BIEN and especially LETTER TO JANE. KLUTE is the first film in Pakula's so-called Paranoia Trilogy (alongside ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and THE PARALLAX VIEW); its focus on private fears is best summed up when, nearing the climax, a character says, "Everyone knows everything. So it doesn't matter what I do." (1971, 114 min, 35mm) RC
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More info at www.musicboxtheatre.com.

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's THE KID WITH A BIKE (New International)
Gene Siskel Film Center — Check Venue website for showtimes
THE KID WITH A BIKE is the newest, Cannes-approved film from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, masters of the naturalistic youth drama. The titular kid is a wayward boy named Cyril, who desperately searches for his father before coming to the realization that he was intentionally abandoned at a foster home. During one of his escape attempts, he accidentally befriends a hairdresser who tracks down his bike and agrees to become his guardian; however, Cyril's desire for a father figure leads to an act of brutal violence at the encouragement of a neighborhood hoodlum. THE KID WITH A BIKE touches on themes of moral responsibility and redemption, but like 1999's ROSETTA, the film is ultimately about a quest for normality. Similar to Ken Loach's KES or Andrea Arnold's FISHTANK, THE KID WITH A BIKE successfully walks a tightrope between genuine pathos and histrionic sentimentality. The subject matter of the duo's films is often weighty, and in the hands of most other directors it would surely be exploited for melodramatic purposes, but the Dardennes always manage to produce poignancy without veering into overemotional territory. In THE KID WITH A BIKE this is accomplished in part by the film's brevity. Less than an hour and a half in length, the narrative is lightweight and straightforward, stripped of any superfluous elements. Only the essentials are intact, including the addition of music (a novelty for the Dardennes), which is used in an understated, economic manner similar to Bresson's soundtracks. Stylistically, the Dardenne's handheld camerawork is in full effect, as they attempt to keep up with Cyril during his many flights from authority. Despite the Dardenne's naturalistic approach and the compactness of the narrative, the film still carries metaphorical value, particularly in the symbols of the bike and the forest; in fact, the duo has commented that they envisioned the film as something of a fairy tale. As critics continue to wage an ongoing battle over the merits of Kenneth Lonergan's sprawling, overwrought juggernaut MARGARET, it's worth being reminded that a modest film like THE KID WITH A BIKE can be just as affecting. (2011, 89 min) HS
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More info at www.siskelfilmcenter.org.

Terrence Malick's THE THIN RED LINE (American Revival)  
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Tuesday, 7 and 9:45pm 
Marking an end to Terrence Malick's twenty plus years of hibernation, THE THIN RED LINE is less a war film than a full-fledged existential inquiry into, well, everything. It's the kind of film that one could build an entire PHIL 101 curriculum around, grappling with essential questions about divine providence, the soul, the value of a single human life, and the origins of good vs. evil. Taking place during the pivotal battle of Guadalcanal, THE THIN RED LINE follows a company of soldiers as they attempt to capture the island from Japanese forces. Malick displays his impeccable technical mastery: the camera movement is sweeping and fluid as it rolls over hills and snakes through tall grass. The director's signature blend of flashback, inner monologue, and voiceover gives the film the structure of an epic poem, told in turns by different voices. Though THE THIN RED LINE is often violent, it's rarely gruesome. Malick eschews grisly close-ups in favor of a metaphorical portrayal of war, often intercutting battle sequences with images of animals and nature. This editing style can be traced back to André Malraux's Man's Hope and Eisenstein's montage films, which give the impression or feeling of combat, as opposed to its explicit presentation. Like THE TREE OF LIFE, nature is at the forefront of THE THIN RED LINE, and Malick's insistence on reminding the viewer that life of all kinds continues to thrive in spite of death poses some weighty questions about the inevitability of human strife and conflict. (1998, 171, 35mm) HS
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Tomas Alfredson's TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY (New British) 
Doc Films (University of Chicago) — Saturday, 7 and 9:30pm; Sunday, 3:45pm 
Tomas Alfredson's TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY, the most recent adaptation of John le Carré's Cold War espionage novel, is a sophisticated anti-thriller perfect for cleansing the palate after a guilt-ridden helping of THE AVENGERS. Gary Oldman turns in a stoic, asexual performance as George Smiley, a discharged operative brought out of retirement to uncover the identity of a Soviet mole embedded at the uppermost echelon of the British intelligence agency. The film is a who's who of British star power, featuring supporting performances from Colin Firth, John Hurt, and others. Less Tom Clancy and more ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, the majority of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY is spent piecing together snippets of information, establishing a chronology of events, and illegally obtaining top secret dossiers. Indeed, the film's flat pacing and circuitous narrative arrangement prevent it from feeling like a high stakes game of international intrigue. Stylistically, Alfredson retains the dark, ominous ambiance of his previous effort, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN—complete with a few (understated) instances of grisly murder. Eschewing close-ups (with one striking exception) in favor of a detached distance from his characters, Alfredson's camerawork reflects the sense of suspicion that permeates the film. Though TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY downplays its sociopolitical setting, its Cold War paranoia resonates with a post-9/11, Patriot Act era of mistrust, in which everyone is a potential double agent. (2011, 127 min, 35mm) HS  
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More info at www.docfilms.uchicago.edu.

Wes Anderson's RUSHMORE (American Revival)
Music Box — Friday and Saturday, Midnight
In the final moments of RUSHMORE, amidst a sleepy dance number at a theater gala, precocious prep-schooler Max Fisher gives the order and the DJ reinvigorates the room by spinning Faces' "Ooh La La." Wes Anderson didn't reinvent rock n' roll, but in the stylistically sluggish landscape of American cinema circa 1998, he left enough audiences convinced he had.  Building on his BOTTLE ROCKET cred, Anderson patents his stilted and symmetric brand of Americana within these frames, with well-wrought whimsy and overtones of the British Invasion that would inform not just his work to come, but countless indie imitators across the burgeoning decade. Jason Swartzman gets his big break as Max, who against the backdrop of his expulsion from the hallowed halls of Rushmore Academy, falls strategically in love with a widowed first grade teacher (Olivia Williams, wonderful as always). Vying for her affections is a disillusioned industrialist (Bill Murray, at the turning point of his career), and as the two suitors, separated by some 35 years, engage in petty antics, hilarity can't help but ensue. It's a quirky hand that Anderson and company play, but they play it well, and the result is both heartfelt and awkward in the best possible ways. RUSHMORE ain't exactly rock n' roll, just as it's not Truffaut or Ashby or THE GRADUATE, but it's certainly one of the most notable hybrids of influence to emerge from the 90s, one that still feels like a breath of fresh air. (1998, 93 min, 35mm) TJ
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More info at www.musicboxtheatre.com.

John Hughes' FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (American Revival) 
Landmark's Century Centre Cinema — Friday and Saturday, Midnight & Portage Theater — Monday, 7:30pm
John Hughes' FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF is a picaresque tale about a confident young man doing what he can to postpone adulthood. In a performance that made him a bonafide leading man at the age of 23, Matthew Broderick creates a character so clever and charming that you can't help but root for him. Beginning with a little white lie about a serious illness to get a final day off before going to college, Ferris schemes to cheer up his best friend Cameron with a VIP tour of the city. Wrigley Field, the Art Institute, Michigan Avenue, and the Sears Tower ("I think I see my dad") are the backdrop for the greatest senior ditch day ever put on film. Its enduring appeal lies in the subplot, however, in which the evil dean of students, Edward Rooney (Jeffery Jones), vows to catch Ferris in the act and force him to repeat his senior year. In the film that not only taught countless youngsters how to properly play sick, but also showcased our city as the playground for Broderick's under stimulated Northshore slacker, there are moments of cinematic greatness. (1986, 103 min, Unconfirmed Formats) JH
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More info at www.landmarktheatres.com and www.portagetheater.com.

MORE SCREENINGS AND EVENTS

Chicago Filmmakers presents Chicago Protest Shorts '68/'03 (Various Formats) on Friday at 8pm. Screening are APRIL 27 (1968, Chicago Newsreel/Chicago Film Co-op by Jon Jost, Kurt Heyl, and Peter Kuttner), SOCIAL CONFRONTATION: THE BATTLE OF MICHIGAN AVENUE (1969, The Film Group), and excerpt from WHAT TREES DO THEY PLANT? (1968, produced by the City of Chicago), THE SEASONS CHANGE (1968, William Jersey), and WHERE WE STOOD (2004, produced by Linda Beckstrom, Blake Beckstrom, Jon Groot, and Seth Skundrick). Peter Kuttner and Linda Beckstrom in person. On Saturday at 8pm (social hour at 7pm), it's the May Shorts program in the Dyke Delicious series (Video Projection - unconfirmed formats). The films showing are A PIRATE IN ALPHABET CITY (2012, Catherine Crouch), JO (2012, April Wilson), MASK (2011, Jaime Peak), and two by Christine Chew, FALLING FOR CAROLINE (2009) and SLOW BURN (2012).

The Nightingale has an overflow weekend with five programs in the Swag Party: Emerging Curators Showcase, with curated shows by Devdutt Trivedi (Friday, 7pm), Carolina Fernandez Del Dago (Friday, 9pm), Nick Ian Capote (Saturday, 4pm), Patrick Quinn (Saturday, 6pm), and Kimberly Palmisano (Saturday 8pm); and if that wasn't enough, on Saturday at 10pm, it's a late night event: Movies & TV by Mark Toscano & Lori Felker, with recent work by Los Angeles-based filmmaker and film preservationist (see the Chris Langdon show in Crucial Viewing) Toscano and local film and video maker Felker, both in person.

Clara Alcott's short 2010 film KICK (Unconfirmed Format) screens Friday at 8pm at the First Lutheran Church of the Trinity (643 W. 31st St.) as part of the Version Festival. After the film there will be a performance by the electronic bands onyou and J+J+J. More info at www.versionfest.org.

The Southside Hub of Production (5638 S. Woodlawn Ave.) presents the Butter Elbow Animation Festival on Saturday, with screenings at 2, 3:30, and 6pm. From 7-9pm, there will be a Q&A session, after party, and t-shirt printing.

The Logan Theater screens Walter Hill's 1979 film THE WARRIORS (92 min, Unconfirmed Format) on Friday and Saturday at 11:15pm.

Alliance Française (54 W. Chicago Ave.) screens the documentary ABSINTHE (2010, 70 min; Video Projection - unconfirmed format), with director Chris Buddy in person, on Thursday at 6:30pm (absinthe served at 6pm).  

Also at the Film Studies Center (University of Chicago) this week: Bill Duke's 1984 feature THE KILLING FLOOR (118 min, 16mm), about "the struggle to build an interracial labor union in the Chicago Stockyards," screens on Thursday at 7pm with producer Elsa Rassbach in person. 

Also at the Landmark's Century Centre Cinema this week: George Dunning's 1968 animated Beatles film YELLOW SUBMARINE (90 min, 4K Digital Projection) screens on Saturday at 12pm; and Bobcat Goldthwait's GOD BLESS AMERICA (100 min, Unconfirmed Format) opens on Friday.  

Also at the Gene Siskel Film Center this week: the third and final program of School of the Art Institute of Chicago Undergraduate and Graduate Film, Video, and Audio Presentations (Various Formats) takes place on Friday at 4pm; Dustin Guy Defa's 2012 film BAD FEVER (77 min, HDCam Video) plays for a week; Michael Cacoyannis' 1964 Greek classic ZORBA THE GREEK (142 min, Restored DCP Video Projection) plays Saturday at 3pm and Wednesday at 6pm; local filmmaker Jack C. Newell's 2011 film CLOSE QUARTERS (88 min, HDCam Video) screens Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 4:45pm, and Monday at 7:45pm, with Newell, producer Ron Falzone, and several cast and crew members in person at all three shows; and on Tuesday at 8pm, the Kartemquin Spring Showcase (Various Formats) presents excerpts of several works-in-progress from four films being produced by the esteemed Kartemquin Films. Directors Maria Finitzo, Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickendon, Dinesha Sabu, and Bill Siegel in person.  

Also at Doc Films (University of Chicago) this week: Quentin Tarantino's 2004 film KILL BILL: VOLUME 2 (136 min, 35mm) screens Friday at 7 and 10pm and Sunday at 1pm; Joseph von Sternberg's 1930 classic MOROCCO (92 min, 35mm) screens on Sunday at 7pm; Terry Jones' 1989 comedy ERIK THE VIKING (107 min, 35mm) is on Wednesday at 7 and 9pm; and John Woo's 2009 adventure film RED CLIFF (150 min, 35mm) is on Thursday at 9:45pm.  

Also at the Music Box this week: Marcel Carné's 1945 French classic CHILDREN OF PARADISE (189 min, Restored DCP Video Projection) opens; Philippe Falardeau's 2011 Canadian drama MONSIEUR LAZHAR (94 min, Unconfirmed Format) and Kevin Macdonald's new documentary MARLEY (145 min, Unconfirmed Format) both continue; Tony Gilroy's 2007 film MICHAEL CLAYTON (119 min, DCP Video) screens on Friday at noon. The screening is free, but you must RSVP - see the MB website for details. Followed by a legal panel discussion; George Fitzmaurice's silent 1928 Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper vehicle LILAC TIME (80 min, 35mm) screens on Saturday at noon, with live organ accompaniment by Dennis Scott; and Sean Patrick Fahey's 2011 documentary BAILOUT (unknown run time, HDCam) screens on Wednesday at 8pm, with Fahey and several cast and crew in person.

Block Cinema (Northwestern University) screens Joseph Astor's 2011 documentary LOST BOHEMIA (73 min, Video Projection - unconfirmed format) on Friday at 7pm.

Facets Cinémathèque continues The Cinema of Lucian Pintilie (A Complete Retrospective) through Sunday (see last week's list for a review and Facets website for the schedule); Monday-Thursday, Julia Haslett's 2010 documentary AN ENCOUNTER WITH SIMONE WEIL (85 min, Unconfirmed Format) screens.

The Logan Square International Film Series and The Hideout (1354 W. Wabansia) present Bike-In Movie Theater, which will feature Steve Binder's 1964 concert film THE T.A.M.I. SHOW (123 min, DVD Projection) on Sunday at 8pm.

The Logan Square International Film Series presents Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 classic ALPHAVILLE (99 min, DVD Projection) on Wednesday at 8pm at Comfort Station Logan Square (2579 N. Milwaukee Ave.).  

Transistor (3819 N. Lincoln Ave.) screens Woody Allen's 1980 film STARDUST MEMORIES (96 min, DVD Projection) on Monday at 8pm.  

Also at the Portage Theater this week: Scotchworthy Productions presents RollerJam!, which will include the screening of their "Nazi zombie" short A CHANCE IN HELL and an extended preview of their upcoming film THE STORM!. Followed by a battle of the bands contest. Doors open at 5pm for mingling; the screening is at 7pm.