Cinematheque announces Jan-Feb film schedule

[Press release from the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Forty-nine different programs of films—new and old, international and independent—will inaugurate the new year at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. The films fall into one of four series:

 

(1)    Premiere Showcase (January 4 – February 23) - The first Cleveland showing of 18 acclaimed new international films by Bruno Dumont, Claire Denis, Takeshi Kitano, Paolo Sorrentino, and others, plus major new documentaries like The Square and Let the Fire Burn.

(2)    A Second Look (January 3 – February 23) - return Cleveland engagements for some of the best movies of 2013, plus some miscellaneous classics in new or good 35mm prints, or new digital restorations.

(3)    Independent of Reality: The Films of Jan Nemec (January 4-19) – four programs of classic films by the Czech New Wave filmmaker best known for the once “banned forever” 1968 masterpiece A Report on the Party and the Guests.

(4)    “Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur” (January 11-February 23) – a major retrospective of works by the late, controversial Italian poet, writer, and filmmaker who had a distinctive Freudian/Marxist/Christian world view.

 

All films will show in the Aitken Auditorium of the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Boulevard in University Circle. Unless noted below, admission to each program is $9; $7 for Cinematheque members; $6 for those age 25 & under. A second film on the same day generally costs $6 or the prevailing “25 & under” price. The Cinematheque accepts cash and check only. Free parking for filmmakers is available in the adjacent CIA lot, located north of the building off of East Blvd. For further information, advance screeners, or images, call (216) 421-7450 or visit www.cia.edu/cinematheque

 

Cinematheque programs are supported by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council.

JANUARY 3-5

 

Friday, January 3, at 7:00 pm &

Sunday, January 5, at 8:25 pm

SHORT TERM 12

USA, 2013, Destin Daniel Cretton

If there is any justice, Brie Larson will be nominated for an Oscar for her electrifying performance in this wrenching, moving, woefully under-seen film that has a 98% “fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes.com. She plays a twenty-something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers, where she must quell the demons of her unpredictable, volatile charges—in addition to her own. Blu-ray. 96 min. shortterm12.com

 

Friday, January 3, at 9:00 pm &

Saturday, January 4, at 7:05 pm

THE ACT OF KILLING

Denmark/Norway/UK, 2012, Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn

The most original, startling, and indelible documentary of the past year. The once feared, now elderly leader of Indonesia’s notorious 1960s death squads re-enacts some of his crimes—and demonstrates his murder techniques—for a foreign film crew, lending a human face to unspeakable atrocities. “More terrifying than any horror film, and more intellectually adventurous than just about any 2013 release, The Act of Killing is a major achievement, a work about genocide that rightly earns its place alongside Shoah as a supreme testament to the cinema's capacity for inquiry, confrontation, and remembrance.” –Village Voice. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. Blu-ray. 115 min. theactofkilling.com

 

Saturday, January 4, at 5:30 pm

The Films of Jan Nemec

Imported New 35mm Archive Print!

DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT

DÉMANTY NOCI

Czechoslovakia, 1964, Jan Nemec

Jan Nemec’s impressive (and thoroughly cinematic) debut feature is an hallucinatory WWII film about the thoughts of two young Jewish men who manage to escape from a train bound for a concentration camp. It was co-written by celebrated Czech author Arnošt Lustig. “Masterful.” –Time Out New York. New 35mm print from the Czech National Film Archive, Prague. Subtitles. 64 min. Preceded at 5:30 by Nemec’s 11-min. diploma film A Loaf of Bread (Sousta, 1960), based on a Lustig story. Special admission $10; Cinematheque members $8; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners. www.comebackcompany.com

 

Saturday, January 4, at 9:20 pm &

Sunday, January 5, at 6:30 pm

IL FUTURO

Italy/Chile/Germany/Spain, 2013, Alicia Scherson

A recently orphaned teenage girl is enjoined by her brother and his gym buddies to seduce an aging, now-blind, ex-1960s-sword-and-sandal movie star (Rutger Hauer) so that they can rob the one-time Mr. Universe. But she and the strongman, both lost souls, discover an unexpected bond. From a novel by Roberto Bolaño. “Excitingly unclassifiable.” –Village Voice. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 94 min. www.strandreleasing.com

 

Sunday, January 5, at 4:00 pm

The Films of Jan Nemec

Imported 35mm Archive Print!

PEARLS OF THE DEEP

PERLICKY NA DNE

Czechoslovakia, 1966, Vera Chytilová, Jaromil Jires, Jirí Menzel, Jan Nemec, Evald Schorm

Five wry, surreal, subversive short stories by celebrated Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal (Closely Watched Trains) are brought to the screen by Jan Nemec and four other filmmaking firebrands in this omnibus film that is almost a manifesto of the Czech New Wave. Nemec’s segment is set in a nursing home, where two old men stay alive by telling each other stories of their illustrious lives. “Compelling time capsules of defiance and love.” –Village Voice. 35mm print from the Czech National Film Archive, Prague. Subtitles. 107 min. Special admission $10; Cinematheque members $8; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners. www.comebackcompany.com

 

JANUARY 9-12

 

Thursday, January 9, at 6:45 pm &

Saturday, January 11, at 9:20 pm

I USED TO BE DARKER

USA, 2013, Matthew Porterfield

The third feature by the exceptionally talented young Maryland filmmaker Matthew Porterfield (Putty Hill) tells of an Irish teen runaway who seeks refuge in Baltimore with her aunt and uncle, both musicians, only to discover that they are in the middle of a tense separation. With Adèle Exarchopoulos, star of Blue Is the Warmest Color. "A dreamy, detached chronicle of dissolution and renewal." -NY Times. Cleveland premiere. Blu-ray. 90 min. www.iusedtobedarkermovie.com

 

Thursday, January 9, at 8:35 pm &

Friday, January 10, at 7:00 pm &

Saturday, January 11, at 7:20 pm

CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1915

France, 2013, Bruno Dumont

Juliette Binoche is “mesmerizing” (Variety) in the new film from the director of Humanité and Hadewijch. Binoche plays emotionally troubled sculptor Camille Claudel, one-time model and lover of Auguste Rodin. Now confined to a mental institution, she tries to convince her doctor that she is sane, while waiting in hope for her poet brother, Paul Claudel. “Possibly Dumont’s finest.” –Film Comment. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 97 min. www.kinolorber.com

 

Friday, January 10, at 9:00 pm &

Sunday, January 12, at 7:15 pm

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR

LA VIE D’ADÈLE - CHAPITRES 1 & 2

France/Belgium/Spain, 2013, Abdellatif Kechiche

Famous now for its torrid lesbian sex scenes, the 2013 Cannes Palme d'Or winner will be remembered for decades for its superlative performances and its heartbreaking delineation of a young woman's quest for true love and sexual fulfillment. Unmissable and unforgettable! No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. Blu-ray. 179 min. ww.ifcfilms.com/films/blue-is-the-warmest-color

 

Saturday, January 11, at 5:00 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Print!

ACCATTONE

Italy, 1961, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pasolini’s sympathy for Italy’s underclass and his preference for non-professional actors can be seen in this, his first film. Set in a squalid section of Rome, the movie focuses on an impoverished young ne’er-do-well (“accattone” or “scrounger’) who scrapes together a paltry living as a pimp and petty thief. Film debut of Franco Citti (The Godfather). Subtitles. 120 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, January 12, at 3:30 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Print!

MAMMA ROMA

Italy, 1962, Pier Paolo Pasolini

A middle-aged prostitute (the great Anna Magnani) tries to distance herself from her sordid past for the sake of her teenage son in this moving drama that was originally banned in Italy. Subtitles. 110 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, January 12, at 5:40 pm

The Films of Jan Nemec

Imported 35mm Archive Print!

A REPORT ON THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS

aka THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS

O SLAVNOSTI A HOSTECH

Czechoslovakia, 1966, Jan Nemec

“Banned forever” by Czech authorities, this allegorical Czech New Wave classic tells of an outdoor, sit-down dinner party that is rudely interrupted by a gang of mysterious thugs. “The most famous and certainly one of the most important masterpieces of the Czech film renaissance.” –Amos Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art. 35mm print from the Czech National Film Archive, Prague. Subtitles. 71 min. Special admission $10; Cinematheque members $8; age 25 & under and those who pay to see Mamma Roma at 3:30 $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners. www.comebackcompany.com

 

JANUARY 16-19

 

Thursday, January 16, at 6:45 pm

Phil Skerry discusses

SHADOW OF A DOUBT

USA, 1943, Alfred Hitchcock

Dr. Phillip J. Skerry, film scholar and Professor Emeritus at Lakeland Community College, has just published a new book that links physics (!) and the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Dark Energy: Hitchcock’s Absolute Camera and the Physics of Cinematic Spacetime (Bloomsbury, 2013) “applies the theories of dark energy, entropy, black holes, and quantum mechanics to Hitchcock’s technological genius and camera aesthetics” (quoting the book jacket). Tonight Dr. Skerry explains some of his ideas as they relate to a 1943 thriller that Hitchcock often cited as his best American film. Shadow of a Doubt, co-written by Thornton Wilder, follows a young woman as she slowly gleans that her beloved Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) may be the notorious “Merry Widow” murderer. Skerry calls Uncle Charlie a “Prince of Dark Energy” and he will explain why before and after the screening. He will also sell and sign his book. 35mm. 108 min. plus discussion.

 

Friday, January 17, at 7:30 pm &

Saturday, January 18, at 9:30 pm

LET THE FIRE BURN

USA, 2013, Jason Osder

Philadelphia’s war on the radical, African American activist group MOVE—which culminated on 5/13/85 with the city’s bombing of a MOVE-occupied row house, killing 11 and destroying 61 neighboring homes—is recounted via an assortment of newsreels and other archival film clips in this spellbinding found-footage assembly that unfolds like a suspense thriller. “A riveting chronicle…Seamlessly fashioned…Relives an incredible chapter in American history.” –NY Times. Cleveland premiere. Blu-ray. 95 min. www.letthefireburn.com

 

Friday, January 17, at 9:25 pm &

Saturday, January 18, at 7:40 pm

THE SQUARE

AL MIDAN

Egypt/USA, 2013, Jehane Noujaim

The recent political upheavals in Egypt—from Tahrir Square and public elections to the removal of two presidents and recurrent military rule—are personalized in this galvanizing account of six young activists (a singer-songwriter, a human rights advocate, a Muslim Brotherhood member, et al.) and their very different roles in the revolution. This New York Film Festival selection won the world documentary prize at Sundance and a People’s Choice audience award at the Toronto Int’l Film Festival. “Offers more than just pictures of a revolution; it lets you into the mind-set of those fighting for their future, and that makes all the difference.” –Time Out New York. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 90 min. theesquarefilm.com

 

Saturday, January 18, at 5:00 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Print!

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW

IL VANGELO SECONDO MATTEO

Italy/France, 1964, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Probably the greatest life of Christ ever filmed! Pasolini turned exclusively to Matthew’s Gospel for this direct, unvarnished life of a radical, activist Jesus. It was shot in Italy in b&w with non-professional actors (including Pasolini’s mother). The magnificent music ranges from Bach to Billie Holiday. “Pasolini’s most satisfying movie.” –Time Out Film Guide. Subtitles. 137 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, January 19, at 3:45 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Print!

THE HAWKS AND THE SPARROWS

UCCELLACCI E UCCELLINI

Italy, 1966, Pier Paolo Pasolini

In Pasolini’s delightful comic fable, a father (Totò), his son (Ninetto Davoli), and a talking crow embark on a picaresque journey to emulate St. Francis of Assisi and bring the Gospel to the birds. Like The Gospel According to St. Matthew (see 1/18 at 5:00), this is a singular mix of Christianity and Marxism, with a terrific Ennio Morricone score. Subtitles. 91 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, January 19, at 5:40 pm

The Films of Jan Nemec

TOYEN

Czech Republic/France, 2005, Jan Nemec

Jan Nemec employs a series of hallucinatory visions to pay tribute to the late Czech Surrealist artist Marie Čermínová (known as Toyen) who sheltered a Jewish fellow painter in her Prague apartment during WWII. Subtitles. 35mm. 63 min. www.comebackcompany.com

 

Sunday, January 19, at 7:15 pm

KING: A FILMED RECORD…MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS

USA, 1970, Sidney Lumet, Joseph L. Mankiewicz

The life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the monumental events of the Civil Rights movement have largely been reduced to a handful of familiar film clips and sound bites. This epic documentary, produced by Ely Landau and newly restored to its long unseen, complete and uncut version, paints a sweeping, detailed picture of the years 1955 to 1968 via extensive archival news footage. Includes some complete speeches by Dr. King, as well as stirring testimonials by movie stars of the era (Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Paul Newman, Burt Lancaster, et al.). Selected for the National Film Registry in 1999. Blu-ray. 185 min. afilmedrecord.com

 

JANUARY 23-26

 

Thursday, January 23, at 6:45 pm

Special Free Screening!

THE VIVIAN MAIER MYSTERY

VIVIAN MAIER: WHO TOOK NANNY’S PICTURES?

UK, 2013, Jill Nicholls

The late street photographer Vivian Maier is the shutterbug of the moment. Born in New York in 1926, raised in France, and living and working as a nanny in Chicago for 40 years, the reclusive Maier was secretly a prolific, self-taught photographer who documented life in the Windy City for decades. But her thousands of stunning pictures were never shown during her lifetime and, in fact, were only discovered after her 2009 death. A selection of Maier’s work will be seen in the show “Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows,” 1/10-2/23 at the Cleveland Print Room, 2550 Superior Ave. This BBC documentary about her is being shown in conjunction with the exhibition. DVD. 50 min. Admission free; screening sponsored by Herb Ascherman.

 

Thursday, January 23, at 8:00 pm

DESIGN IS ONE: LELLA & MASSIMO VIGNELLI

USA, 2012, Kathy Brew, Roberto Guerra

Lella and Massimo Vignelli are two of the world’s most influential designers. Among myriad accomplishments in many fields, they designed the NYC subway map and also popularized Helvetica in the U.S. The Italian-born couple is profiled in this new documentary. With Milton Glaser, Michael Bierut, Peter Eisenman, et al. Cleveland premiere. Blu-ray. 79 min. Screening co-sponsored by the Cleveland chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, as part of AIGA Cleveland's celebration of the national centennial. AIGA Cleveland members $7.  www.designisonefilm.com

 

Friday, January 24, at 7:30 pm

LE JOLI MAI (THE LOVELY MONTH OF MAY)

France, 1963, Chris Marker, Pierre Lhomme

Here's a new, 50th-anniversary restoration of Chris (La Jetée) Marker's landmark essay film, a snapshot of Paris during the spring of 1962, after the end of the Algerian War. Marker and cameraman Pierre Lhomme cull 55 hours of interviews with Parisians (talking about both their personal lives and politics) into a witty two-and-a-half hour choral city symphony with interstitial narration spoken by Simone Signoret. Music by Michel Legrand. "Simultaneously illuminating and funny." -Time Out London. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 145 min. www.icarusfilms.com

 

Saturday, January 25, at 5:00 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

TEOREMA

aka THEOREM

Italy, 1968, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Terence Stamp stars in one of Pasolini’s greatest and most enigmatic films. Stamp plays a mysterious man who moves in with a wealthy Italian family and proceeds to seduce everyone in the household—from the maid to family members of both sexes and different generations. With Silvana Mangano, Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli, and Anne Wiazemsky. Music by Ennio Morricone. “[Pasolini’s] most perfect fusion of Marxism and religion…A film that is both political allegory and mystical fable.” –Time Out Film Guide. Subtitles. 105 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, January 25, at 7:05 pm &

Sunday, January 26, at 8:35 pm

BASTARDS

LES SALAUDS

France/Germany, 2013, Claire Denis

Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni, Michel Subor, and Lola Créton head the all-star cast in Claire Denis' latest film, a noir nightmare in which a sailor goes ashore to investigate the recent suicide of his brother-in-law and the possible abuse of his traumatized niece. He uncovers an unsavory, morally bankrupt world of money, power, sex, duplicity, and betrayal. A 2013 New York Film Festival selection. "Grips you entirely." -NY Times. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. Blu-ray. 100 min. www.ifcfilms.com/films/bastards See next blurb for another Claire Denis film.

 

Saturday, January 25, at 9:05 pm &

Sunday, January 26, at 6:30 pm

New 35mm Color Print!

TROUBLE EVERY DAY

France/Germany/Japan, 2001, Claire Denis

Claire Denis’ most maligned—and perhaps misunderstood—film has been re-released by The Film Desk in a new 35mm color print. It’s a strange, shocking drama about an American newlywed (Vincent Gallo of The Brown Bunny) and a promiscuous French woman (Béatrice Dalle of Betty Blue) who discover that they share the same all-consuming, twisted sexual hunger. A mysterious medical clinic and radical scientific experiments enhance the creep factor. Music by the Tindersticks. “Five stars (highest rating)…[An] inimitable horror film.” –Time Out New York. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 102 min. www.thefilmdesk.com

 

Sunday, January 26, at 4:00 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

OEDIPUS REX

EDIPO RE

Italy/Morocco, 1967, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pasolini’s rendition of Sophocles’ tragedy (about a man who unknowingly marries his mother) straddles both 20^th-century Italy and the ancient world. Franco Citti (Accattone), Silvana Mangano, Alida Valli, and Julian Beck star in this color rarity, which boasts stunning cinematography of the Moroccan desert. Subtitles. 104 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

JANUARY 30 – FEBRUARY 2

 

Thursday, January 30, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, February 2, at 8:40 pm

BEYOND OUTRAGE

aka OUTRAGE BEYOND

AUTOREIJI: BIYONDO

Japan, 2012, Takeshi Kitano

Actor-director Beat Takeshi's funny-violent sequel to his 2010 yakuza thriller Outrage chronicles a nationwide war between two rival Japanese gangs that is ignited by an all-out police crackdown on organized crime. Voted third best Japanese film of 2012 by the Japanese movie magazine Kinema Junpo. Cleveland theatrical premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 112 min. magnetreleasing.com/beyondoutrage

 

Thursday, January 30, at 9:00 pm &

Sunday, February 2, at 6:30 pm

DRUG WAR

DU ZHAN

China/Hong Kong, 2012, Johnnie To

The new nail biter by HK crime movie master Johnnie To—about a captured drug lord who helps a narcotics cop pursue an even bigger fish—was one of the best reviewed movies of 2013: "the best Hong Kong action movie since Infernal Affairs" (San Francisco Chronicle); "close to greatness" (Time Out New York); "arguably [To's] best film" (Village Voice). Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 107 min. www.variancefilms.com

 

Friday, January 31, at 7:00 pm &

Saturday, February 1, at 9:15 pm

MR. NOBODY

France/Germany/Canada/Belgium, 2009, Jaco Van Dormael

Jared Leto and Sarah Polley star in this ambitious, expansive sci-fi film from the director of Toto the Hero. It tells of 118-year-old Nemo Nobody, the last mortal man in a world that has achieved immortality, who reflects on the key moments in his life and on the alternate paths he could have taken. A cult classic in the making, Mr. Nobody won Magritte Awards (Belgian Oscars) for Best Film and Best Director and the Audience Award for Best Film at the 2010 European Film Awards. "In a parallel reality, more movies would have this degree of insane ambition." -A.V. Club. In English. Cleveland theatrical premiere. Blu-ray. 141 min. www.magpictures.com/mrnobody

 

Friday, January 31, at 9:40 pm &

Saturday, February 1, at 7:00 pm

THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN

Belgium/Netherlands, 2012, Felix Van Groeningen

This Belgian bluegrass (!) movie was nominated for five 2013 European Film Awards (the most nominations for any movie this year) including Best Film, Director, Actress (Veerle Baetens, who won), Actor, and Screenplay. It is also Belgium's official entry for this year's foreign film Oscar. The movie chronicles the love affair between a female tattoo artist and a Belgian banjo player, and the child who changes and challenges their relationship. Includes superb performances of traditional bluegrass music. "A beautifully composed, soul-stirring drama about love, family, sex, sorrow, faith, and music." -RogerEbert.com. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 111 min. tribecafilm.com/tribecafilm/filmguide/brokencircle

 

Saturday, February 1, at 5:00 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

PIGSTY

PORCILE

Italy/France, 1969, Pier Paolo Pasolini

According to The Time Out Film Guide, Pigsty “is not only an exquisitely revolting satire, it is also Pasolini’s most fascinating piece of cinema.” A kind of warm-up for his even more unsavory Salò, Pigsty tells two outré stories about consumption. One, set during the Middle Ages, follows a cannibalistic bandit; the other, set during Germany’s post-WWII “economic miracle,” focuses on the affluent son of an ex-Nazi industrialist who grows unnaturally enamored of pigs. The all-star Euro-counterculture cast includes Jean-Pierre Léaud, filmmaker Marco Ferreri, Ugo Tognazzi, Pierre Clémenti, Franco Citti, Anne Wiazemsky, and Ninetto Davoli. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 99 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25-18 $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, February 2, at 4:00 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

MEDEA

Italy/France/W. Germany, 1969, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Legendary opera diva Maria Callas makes her only screen appearance in Pasolini's “primitive” version of Euripides' tragedy. Callas proves an imposing, imperious presence as the "barbarian" sorceress who becomes Jason's wife, then wreaks terrible revenge when he betrays her. Subtitles. 110 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

FEBRUARY 6-9

 

Thursday, February 6, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, February 9, at 8:00 pm

CENTRO HISTÓRICO

Portugal, 2012, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice, Aki Kaurismäki, Manoel de Oliveira

Four of Europe's greatest filmmakers contribute segments to this portmanteau film about the northern Portuguese city of Guimarães, 2012 European Cultural Capital. Aki Kaurismäki tells a typically droll tale of a sad sack cafe owner. Pedro Costa revisits Portugal's colonial past. Victor Erice looks at the city's age-old but fast-vanishing textile industry. And Manoel de Oliveira (now 105 and still directing movies!) focuses on a group of picture-taking tourists. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. DVD. 80 min.

 

Thursday, February 6, at 8:25 pm &

Friday, February 7, at 7:15 pm

GMO OMG

USA/Haiti/Norway, 2013, Jeremy Seifert

A filmmaker who’s also a young father investigates the potential health risks of GMO's (genetically modified organisms) that now infiltrate much of the world's non-organic food supply. This documentary also looks at how corporations manufacture, manipulate, and control seeds. With Dennis Kucinich. “Fantastic.” -Village Voice. Cleveland premiere. Blu-ray. 90 min. www.gmofilm.com

 

Friday, February 7, at 9:05 pm &

Saturday, February 8, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, February 9, at 1:15 pm

THE GREAT BEAUTY

LA GRANDE BELLEZZA

Italy, 2013, Paolo Sorrentino

The acclaimed new movie from the director of last year's Cinematheque hit This Must Be the Place (with Sean Penn as a retired rock star) won 2013 European Film Awards for Best Film, Director, and Actor! The Great Beauty finds filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino back in his native Italy, and working again with his chameleonic Il Divo star, Toni Servillo. Here Servillo loses himself in the role of Jep Gambardella, a one-time literary lion turned jaded journalist in Rome, who squanders his life partying with the super rich and being seen with celebrities. But now this world-weary cynic and sensualist senses the emptiness of his existence, so scours his life for something authentic. This flamboyant La Dolce Vita update is intoxicatingly rendered with an ever-roaming (Rome-ing?) camera and wall-to-wall music. It’s a vibrantly colored x-ray that reveals Berlusconi's Italy to be stylish and seductive, but also superficial and soulless. "A fantastic journey around contemporary Rome and a riot of lush imagery juggling past and present, sacred and profane, gorgeous and grotesque." -NPR. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. 35mm color & scope print! 142 min. Special admission $10; Cinematheque members $8; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, February 8, at 5:15 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Print!

NOTES FOR AN AFRICAN ORESTES

APPUNTI PER UN’ORESTIADE AFRICANA

Italy, 1970, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pasolini's documentary captures his preparations for an Africa-set film version of the Ancient Greek play Orestes (about a man who kills his mother). Though the movie was never made, the documentary survives as a fascinating time capsule of 1970 Africa and as a portrait of Pasolini himself. With jazz great Gato Barbieri. "Key to an understanding of the particular Freudian-Marxist-Christian worldview that was Pasolini's." -J. Hoberman. Subtitles. 70 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Saturday, February 8, at 9:30 pm &

Sunday, February 9, at 6:30 pm

THESE BIRDS WALK

Pakistan/USA, 2013, Omar Mullick, Bassam Tariq

The humanitarian work of Pakistan’s foremost philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and his Karachi social-welfare organization the Edhi Foundation is best seen in the lives of the orphaned and runaway children that have been rescued from war, brutality, and poverty, given temporary shelter, and sometimes returned to their families. This acclaimed and deeply moving new documentary introduces us to some of the spirited “lost boys” who have been saved by Edhi. “An emotional, aesthetically striking experience…Cuts more deeply than words.” –Scott Tobias.  “The most beautiful documentary I can remember.” –Filmmaker Magazine. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 71 min. www.edhidoc.com

 

Sunday, February 9, at 4:00 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

THE DECAMERON

IL DECAMERON

Italy/France/W. Germany, 1971, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Giovanni Boccaccio's ribald medieval tales of love, lust, sex, deceit, malefaction, and murder are rollickingly, bawdily brought to the screen in the first part of Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" (three adults-only films based on three celebrated story cycles). Franco Citti, Ninetto Davoli, and Pasolini himself star. Music by Ennio Morricone. The trilogy continues with The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights on the next two Sundays. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 111 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25-18 $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners and no second-film discount for those seeing The Great Beauty at 1:15.

 

FEBRUARY 13-16

 

Thursday, February 13, at 6:45 pm &

Friday, February 14, at 9:15 pm

50th Anniversary!

THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG

LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG

France/W. Germany, 1964, Jacques Demy

Our Valentine’s Day presentation! A French shopgirl (Catherine Deneuve, luminous) loves a mechanic but marries another man in Jacques Demy's groundbreaking, all-singing musical—a romantic, candy-colored concoction with a bittersweet aftertaste. Music by Michel Legrand. Palme d'Or winner, Cannes 1964. Subtitles. 35mm. 91 min. Special thanks to Florence Almozini, French Embassy, New York.

 

Thursday, February 13, at 8:35 pm &

Sunday, February 16, at 8:35 pm

THE END OF TIME

Switzerland/Canada, 2012, Peter Mettler

This enthralling, transcendental new essay film traverses the globe to explore the nature of time. Moving from the giant particle accelerator outside Geneva to the lava flows of Hawaii, from decaying Detroit to the tree where Buddha found enlightenment, filmmaker Peter Mettler limns the links between destruction and renewal, mysticism and modern science. “[Recalls] the work of Terrence Malick, Werner Herzog and the late Chris Marker…Immersive and hypnotic…A ravishingly beautiful experience.” –Hollywood Reporter. Cleveland premiere. Blu-ray. 114 min. theendoftimemovie.com

 

NO EARLY FILM FRI., FEB. 14

 

Saturday, February 15, at 5:15 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Print!

LA RICOTTA

Italy/France, 1963, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Originally included in the four-part anthology film Ro.Go.Pa.G. (with segments directed by ROssellini, GOdard, PAsolini, and Gregoretti), this 35-min. movie is one of Pasolini’s key works. A funny but scabrous attack on institutional Christianity, the film was seized by authorities for “insulting the religion of the state” and Pasolini spent four months in prison for making it. Orson Welles stars in the movie (the title refers to ricotta cheese), playing a pompous film director shooting a biblical epic about the death of Jesus. But he is callously oblivious to the plight of the poor, starving extras who are acting in his Passion play. La Ricotta will be preceded at 5:15 by What Are the Clouds? (Che cosa sono le nuvole?), Pasolini’s segment from the 1968 omnibus film Capriccio All' Italiana, in which Totò and Ninetto Davoli play puppets who comes to life. 35mm color & scope print! Subtitles. Total 57 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners. Another Pasolini short shows as part of The Witches on 2/15 at 9:05 & 2/16 at 6:30.

 

Saturday, February 15, at 6:45 pm

THE RAPE OF EUROPA

USA, 2006, Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, Nicole Newnham

Co-produced by Robert Edsel (who wrote the book The Monuments Men that inspired George Clooney’s new film), this superb documentary traces the fate of European art treasures that were systematically looted by the Nazis during WWII and, in many cases, rescued and preserved by heroic museum directors, curators, and art historians. The film also serves as a superbly succinct history of the war in Europe, for those too young to know anything about the epic conflict. Blu-ray. 117 min.

 

Saturday, February 15, at 9:05 pm &

Sunday, February 16, at 6:30 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

THE WITCHES

LE STREGHE

Italy/France, 1966, Mauro Bolognini, Vittorio De Sica, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Franco Rossi, Luchino Visconti

Five major Italian filmmakers—including Pasolini, De Sica, and Visconti—contribute segments to this five-part rarity that does not deal with witches of the supernatural variety. Silvana Mangano stars in all five episodes, playing everything from a famous movie star to an unhelpful good Samaritan. She is supported in individual stories by other famous actors: Alberto Sordi, Totò, and even a very young Clint Eastwood! Pasolini’s amusing 30-min. segment, The Earth as Seen from the Moon (La Terra Vista Dalla Luna) with Totò, Ninetto Davoli, and Laura Betti, follows a widowed father and his son as they search for a new wife and mother. Music by Ennio Morricone. Subtitles. 35mm. 105 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25 & under and those who pay to see a previous film on 2/15 or 2/16 $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

Sunday, February 16, at 3:45 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

THE CANTERBURY TALES

I RACCONTI DI CANTERBURY

Italy/France, 1972, Pier Paolo Pasolini

The second part of Pasolini's sexy, scatological, slapstick-laden "Trilogy of Life" (see 2/9 at 4 pm) finds an all-star cast (Pasolini, Franco Citti, Laua Betti, Hugh Griffith, Tom Baker, et al.) bringing some of Chaucer's randy tales of horny students, willing wives, and clueless old men to exuberant life. The director takes liberties with some stories. Music by Ennio Morricone. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 123 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25-18 $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.

 

FEBRUARY 20-23

 

Thursday, February 20, at 6:45 pm &

Sunday, February 23, at 8:25 pm

New 35mm Restoration!

NORTHERN LIGHTS

USA, 1978, John Hanson, Rob Nilsson

Winner of the Camera d'Or for best first film at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival, this landmark American independent film—shot in b&w in bitterly cold, wintry North Dakota—chronicles the efforts of Great Plains farmers to organize the populist Nonpartisan League in the early 1900s. "Extraordinary filmmaking." -Time Out Film Guide. Cleveland revival premiere. 93 min. An Artists Public Domain/Cinema Conservancy Release. www.artistspublicdomain.org

 

Thursday, February 20, at 8:40 pm &

Saturday, February 22, at 7:10 pm

50th Anniversary!

THE TRAIN

USA/France, 1964, John Frankenheimer

Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau, and Michel Simon star in this terrifically exciting WWII thriller, in which members of the French Resistance try to stop a train loaded with stolen French art treasures from leaving for Nazi Germany. Has a 100% "fresh" rating on RottenTomatoes.com. 35mm. 133 min.

 

Friday, February 21, at 7:30 pm

An Evening with Charlie Korsmo

MEN DON’T LEAVE

USA, 1990, Paul Brickman

Charles Korsmo is a law professor at Case Western Reserve University. But before he became a lawyer and teacher, he was Charlie Korsmo, a very successful child actor in a number of high profile Hollywood films—Dick Tracy (second-billed to Warren Beatty as the “Kid”), Hook (playing Jack “Jackie” Banning), What About Bob?, et al. Tonight Korsmo appears in person to answer audience questions about his short-lived screen career—and his decision to leave acting—after a screening of the first movie he appeared in, Men Don’t Leave, which he thinks may also be the best. Paul Brickman’s follow-up to Risky Business remains the last movie Brickman has directed, as well as one of the most overlooked and underappreciated Hollywood films of the past 25 years. Jessica Lange and her future American Horror Story castmate Kathy Bates star in the movie, a funny and very moving tale of a recently widowed woman trying to raise two sons in Baltimore. Arliss Howard, Chris O’Donnell, and Joan Cusack co-star. 35mm. 113 min. plus Q&A. Special admission $10; Cinematheque members $8; age 25 & under $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners. Thanks to Paul Brickman.

 

Saturday, February 22, at 5:15 pm &

Sunday, February 23, at 6:30 pm

COUSIN JULES

LE COUSIN JULES

France, 1972, Dominique Benicheti

Hailed as a masterpiece when first released in 1972, then forgotten for 40 years, this serene ode to rural France and life’s simple pleasures chronicles the daily existence of an 80-ish blacksmith (the filmmaker's cousin) who lives on a farm with his elderly wife of many years. Painstakingly shot in color, scope, and stereo over a five-year period, the movie has been restored after the filmmaker’s recent death and is now being rediscovered around the world. "A ravishing, totally immersive work, in which we not only enter into the subjects’ world but also into the very rhythms of their lives." -50th New York Film Festival description (2012). "Thoroughly transporting." -Village Voice. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. Blu-ray. 91 min. lecousinjules.com

 

Saturday, February 22, at 9:45 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

SALÒ, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM

SALÒ O LE 120 GIORNATE DI SODOMA

Italy/France, 1975, Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pasolini's notorious final film (made before his brutal 1975 murder) is one of the most controversial, revolting, and disturbing movies ever made. Transposing the Marquis de Sade's 1785 novel to Mussolini's Italy, the film is set at a palatial villa where beautiful young people are humiliated, abused, and tortured by sadistic and powerful members of the upper class. Intended as a parable about fascism, it's an explicit, dispiriting downer and remains banned in several countries even to this day. Michael Haneke regards it as one of the ten best movies ever made. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 114 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25-18 $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners and no second film discount.

 

Sunday, February 23, at 3:45 pm

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Poet and Provocateur

Imported New 35mm Color Print!

ARABIAN NIGHTS

IL FIORE DELLE MILLE E UNA NOTTE

Italy/France, 1974, Pier Paolo Pasolini

The final part of Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" (see 2/9 at 4 pm) is the longest and most intricate. Filmed in Yemen, Eritrea, Iran, and Nepal, this opulent work follows a young man as he searches for his beloved slave girl who has been kidnaped. But this main narrative is dissected and amplified by a series of other erotic tales. With Ninetto Davoli and Franco Citti; music by Ennio Morricone. No one under 18 admitted! Subtitles. 130 min. Special admission $12; Cinematheque members $9; age 25-18 $7; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.