Runs November
film descriptions
First Chicago run!
THE WEEPING MEADOW
(TRILOGIA I: TO LIVADI POU DAKRYZEI)
2004, Theo Angelopoulos, Greece, 162 min.
With Alexandra Aidini, Nikos Poursanidis
“Magnificent . . . There are moments of such breathtaking grace and artistry that you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re watching the most beautiful movie ever made.”--Ken Fox, TV Guide
This epic canvas of myth, history, and politics by Greece’s greatest filmmaker spans the years 1919-49. In a transgression of mythic proportions, the foundling Eleni falls in love with her adoptive brother Alexis and, after marrying his widowed father, flees with her lover to the port of Thessaloniki. Amid the unrest of the 1930s, Alexis departs for America, leaving Eleni to bear the brunt of Greek history: war, political repression, and civil war. Angelopoulos’s majestically fluid camerawork produces a steady stream of stunning images: an ornate theater converted into a refugee tenement, a tree festooned with slaughtered sheep, a funeral flotilla gliding across a lake’s mirrored surface. In Greek with English subtitles. 35mm. (MR)
November 4--10
Fri. at 7:00 pm only;
Sat. at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm;
Sun. at 3:15 pm only;
Mon.-Thu. at 6:30 pm only
First Chicago run!
DARWIN’S NIGHTMARE
2004, Hubert Sauper, Austria/Belgium/France, 107 min.
“An extraordinary work of visual journalism. . . There are images here that have the terrifying sublimity of a painting by El Greco or Hieronymus Bosch.”--A.O. Scott, The New York Times
Hubert Sauper’s acclaimed documentary is a 21st-century Heart of Darkness--an infernal journey of mounting horror into the core of an exploited continent. The setting is a devastated village on the shores of Lake Victoria, Tanzania. The story begins with the mysterious introduction of the Nile Perch, a rapacious predator and lucrative food fish that quickly eliminates all other fish in the area. From this demon seed, Sauper traces a vicious circle of global capitalism that links European supermarkets, Russian cargo planes, African civil wars, the AIDS epidemic, and the illegal arms traffic. Avoiding distancing devices such as statistics, narration, and talking-head experts, the film sticks close to the ground-zero victims of this ecological/economic disaster, drawing unforgettable portraits of prostitutes, fishermen, factory-workers, glue-sniffing children, garbage-picking locals, and Russian pilots playing daily roulette with the hazardous, wreck-strewn airport. In English, Swahili, and Russian with English subtitles. 35mm. (MR)
November 11--17
Fri. and Mon.-Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:15 pm;
Sat. at 3:15 pm, 5:30 pm, and 7:45 pm;
Sun. at 3:00 pm and 5:15 pm
First Chicago run!
FUSE
(GORI VATRA)
2003, Pjer Zalica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 105 min.
With Enis Beslagic, Bogdan Diklic
“Emotional wallop. . .effective humor.”--Leslie Felperin, Variety
A Bosnian town still reeling from war and ethnic cleansing hurriedly builds a squeaky-clean façade in a frenzy of whitewashing when news of an impending visit by Bill Clinton breaks. Overseen by the venal police chief and his profiteer buddy, the brothel becomes a “cultural center,” the mayor’s account books are relegated to the bonfire, and the fire department simulates an integrated Bosnian/Serb model of brotherhood. Unknown to all, a bereaved father and his ghostly companion make alternate plans for the festivities. Darkly humorous and fiercely irreverent, FUSE goes over the top in turning human folly into comic fodder. In Bosnian, Serbian, and English with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
November 18--23
Fri. and Mon.-Wed. at 6:15 pm and 8:15 pm;
Sat. at 3:15 pm, 5:15 pm, and 7:30 pm;
Sun. at 3:15 pm and 5:15 pm
First Chicago run!
WHISKY
2004, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, Uruguay, 94 min.
With Andres Pazos, Mirella Pascual
“A whimsical piece of deadpan drollery, WHISKY plays like Aki Kaurismäki, South American style.”--Todd McCarthy, Variety
This little comedy with a deceptively straight face sneaks up to pack a punch, not unlike the liquor of its title. Jacobo, the reclusive owner of a sock factory, hires his 60-something assistant Marta to pose as his wife during a visit by his estranged brother to settle their deceased mother’s estate. A humorless miser who could give Scrooge a run for his money, Jacobo is blind to the softer touches spinster Marta brings to the strange arrangement, and impervious to his sibling’s curiosity. When the brother impulsively whisks them off to a seaside resort, every aspect of the deception begins to unravel. In Spanish with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
November 25--December 1
Fri. and Sun. at 3:15 pm, 5:15 pm, and 7:15 pm;
Sat. at 3:15 pm, 5:15 pm, and 7:45 pm;
Mon.-Thu. at 6:15 pm and 8:15 pm
Coming in December!
Chicago premiere!
GAMES OF LOVE AND CHANCE
(L’ESQUIVE)
2004, Abdellatif Kechiche, France, 117 min.
With Sara Forestier, Osman Elkharraz
“A spirited and insightful comedy of manners.”--A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“Utterly charming. . . Beautifully played by its mostly nonprofessional cast, Kechiche’s film is bursting with life.”--Ken Fox, TV Guide
This dark horse ruled the 2005 César Awards with wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Most Promising Actress (Sara Forestier). Set in a Parisian suburb heavily populated by North Africans, the plot revolves around a high-school production of Marivaux’s 18th-century farce A Game of Love and Chance, which a shy boy attempts to use as a springboard to romance with the girl of his dreams (the vivacious Forestier). The simple plot is framed by a richly authentic portrait of urban youth culture, filled with energy, yearning, hip-hop slang, and a surprising persistence of the very issues Marivaux dealt with almost 300 years ago. In French with English subtitles. 35mm. (MR)
December 2--8
