Austria
FALLING
(FALLEN)
2006, Barbara Albert, Austria, 88 min.
With Nina Proll, Birgit Minichmayr
The reunion of five thirty-something girlfriends at the funeral of their favorite teacher starts with nostalgia and confession and blasts off blearily into a 24-hour revel in which the feisty femmes crash the wedding of an ex-lover, dance trippingly around their individual and collective pasts, and handily play show-and-don’t-tell. In German with English subtitles. Preview courtesy of Kino International. 35mm. (BS)
Saturday, March 17, 5:45 pm
GRBAVICA: THE LAND OF MY DREAMS
2006, Jasmila Zbanic, Austria, 90 min.
With Mirjana Karonovic, Jasna Ornala
Single mother and cocktail waitress Esma always told her young daughter that her absent father was a Bosnian war hero. Now, taunted by schoolmates, teenage Sara demands proof, but the truth is a darker secret than she can imagine. Stunning lead performances make this Academy Awards submission a must-see. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. In Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles. Preview courtesy of Strand Releasing. 35mm. (BS)
Wednesday, March 14, 6:00 pm
KLIMT
2006, Raúl Ruiz, Austria/Germany/U.K./France, 99 min.
With John Malkovich, Veronica Ferres
Only the hyperactive imagination of prolific avant-garde dynamo Raúl Ruiz (TIME REGAINED) could do justice to the life and times of artist Gustav Klimt and 1900 Vienna in all their decadence and excess. Spectacularly sumptuous period costumes and sets showcase the performance of Chicago’s own John Malkovich as the scandal-ridden rake whose gilded masterpieces are drenched in eroticism. Nikolai Kinski, dead-ringer son of the late, great Klaus, is Egon Schiele. We screen Ruiz’s international release cut of the film. In English. Preview courtesy of Outsider Pictures, U.S. 35mm. (BS)
Sunday, March 18, 3:00 pm
Thursday, March 22, 6:00 pm
ZORRO’S BAR MITZVAH
(ZORROS BAR MIZWA)
2006, Ruth Beckermann, Austria, 90 min.
If Zorro were Jewish, he might have celebrated his religious coming-of-age with a multimedia masked-man-themed extravaganza much like one Vienna teen in this humorous and only slightly ironic look at European trends in Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. Three boys and a girl and their extended families prepare for the ceremonial day in a manner that ranges from staunchly traditional to way out there. In German and Hebrew with English subtitles. Preview courtesy of First Run/Icarus Films. Beta SP video. (BS)