Runs
Chicago premiere!
THE HAWK IS DYING
2005, Julian Goldberger, USA, 106 min.
With Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams
“Enthralling. . . legitimately weird.”--Nathan Lee, Village Voice
“Giamatti is great. . . his performance is riveting.”--Pete Vonder Haar, FilmThreat.com
Southern Gothic meets a Herman Melville-like obsession with a willful wild thing when a misfit central-Florida auto upholsterer looks for escape from grief in a fantasy life in which a magnificent red-tailed hawk figures as god/adversary/demon/confidant. George (Giamatti), a man with the soul of a novice shaman and the life of a swamp-bound cracker, perversely brings destruction on much of what he touches until he is broken by the winged beauty he seeks to subjugate. Giamatti (SIDEWAYS, THE ILLUSIONIST) in a daring, soul-baring performance, gives extraordinary life and depth to this adaptation of a novel by acclaimed Southern writer Harry Crews. 35mm. (BS)
May 4--10
Fri., Mon., and Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm;
Sat. at 3:15 pm and 8:00 pm;
Sun. at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm;
Tue. at 6:00 pm;
Wed. at 8:15 pm
Chicago theatrical premiere!
SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY
(SANG SATTAWAT)
2006, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/Austria/France, 105 min.
With Nantarat Sawaddikul, Jaruchai Iamaram
“Casts a witchy kind of spell.”--Leslie Felperin, Variety
“Empathetic and formally breathtaking. . . exhibiting a pensive grace.”--Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
The mystery and elusiveness of memory are at the heart of this low-key, hauntingly meandering film by Asian cinema’s enfant terrible. Set in a provincial hospital, where a timid courtship between a newly arrived doctor and his self-assured supervisor ensues, the story is less a narrative than an extended observation that turns back on itself with subtle changes. This director brakes for visual beauty, and startling moments of contemplation punctuate the film with the impact of blinding revelation. SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY was commissioned by the city of Vienna to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Significantly, Variety pronounced it “fugue-like.” Award-winning director Weerasethakul (BLISSFULLY YOURS, TROPICAL MALADY) is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In Thai with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
May 11--17
Fri. at 8:15 pm;
Sat. at 3:15 pm, 5:30 pm, and 7:45 pm;
Sun. at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm;
Mon.-Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Chicago premiere!
EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN
2006, Paul Fox, Canada, 95 min.
With Paulo Costanzo, Steph Song
“Pyramid schemes, monster grow-ops and lucrative white lies: you’re either in the game or getting played.”--Steve Gravestock, Toronto International Film Festival program
When amiable slacker Ryan gets the boot from his employer and his girlfriend in the same day, life turns upside down and the generational alignment soon slips out of wack. His middle-class parents become champion pot-growing entrepreneurs overnight, while Ryan himself develops a yen for lizard loafers and an affinity for cash, lots of it. This first foray into comedy screenwriting by cult novelist Douglas Coupland (Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture) is right on target in hilarious trend-spotting. En route to the meaning of life, the feckless hero buys into a money-laundering scheme, learns Mandarin to impress a sultry movie set-dresser, is caught by a porn-queen’s web-cam, and acquires a luxury loft. The soundtrack features bands including Fembots and Sloan. 35mm. (BS)
May 18 --24
Fri. and Mon. -Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm;
Sat. at 3:15 pm, 5:15 pm, and 8:00 pm;
Sun. at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm
Chicago premiere!
POISON FRIENDS
(LES AMITIÉS MALÉFIQUES)
2006, Emmanuel Bourdieu, France, 100 min.
Thibault Vinçon, Natacha Régnier
“Deft, entertaining. . . thoroughly Parisian.”--Lisa Nesselson, Variety
“A sly look at the venom that can exist in the most charmed of circles. . . a psychological guessing game.”--John Powers, Vogue
Deliciously, intriguingly French, POISON FRIENDS conjures up the elite world of a Paris university where four young would-be writers vie for a fame they each hope will be theirs. Director/writer Bourdieu activates chemistry lethal to budding friendships when smug, charismatic André effortlessly becomes teacher’s pet and leader of a pack that includes the morose son of a famous author, a frustrated playwright, and a lovely, ambitious librarian. The term writer’s block takes on a new meaning as jealousy alters the balance of power and changes the course of dream careers. A triple award winner at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, the film made its U.S. debut in the New York Film Festival. In French with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
May 25--30