Lourdes (2009) directed by Jessica Hausner
Friday, March 19, 7:30pm Women With Vision at the Walker
"People flock to the purportedly miraculous healing waters in the French town of Lourdes when they think science has failed. Exploring religion and the origin of belief, Lourdes focuses on Christine (Sylvie Testud), wheelchair-bound with multiple sclerosis, who uses the pilgrimage to create a social life. “Hausner walks a tightrope . . . between medicine and the Madonna—and the result is an austere, measured, skeptical, sensitive film that lingers in the mind for days” (London Evening Standard). Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Film Festival."
First Men in the Moon (1964) directed by Nathan Juran
Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20, 7 and 9pm
The FX Magic of Ray Harryhausen at the Trylon
"Three intrepid turn-of-the-century voyagers are jettisoned to the moon via hair-brained science and DIY space travel. Not only do they discover a strange race of large bipedal insect aliens known as Selenites, but they also uncover their evil plan to conquer the earth! Harryhausen, a fan of the H.G. Wells novel, was personally responsible for persuading Columbia to fund this unique adaptation."
MN Docs Program 1: Ida's Story and Pride of Lions Saturday, March 20, 1:30pm Women With Vision at the Walker
Ida’s Story (2009): Introduced by director Barbara Wiener
A 90-year-old Ukrainian Jewish woman shares her childhood memories of a prolonged emigration to the United States after the Russian Revolution.
Pride of Lions (2009): Directed by Louise Woehrle and John Woehrle and introduced by director Louise Woehrle
Sierra Leone’s brutal, 11-year civil war is shockingly chronicled in this film that weaves history
with intimate stories of survivors determined to move beyond their scars.
ODDSAC (2010) directed by Danny Perez
Saturday, March 20, 7pm Cedar Cultural Center
"Opening with torch-wielding villagers and a wall bleeding oil, ODDSAC attaches vivid scenery and strange characters to the wonderful melodic wavelengths of the band Animal Collective, revitalizing the lost form of the “visual album.” Working on the project for three years with friend Danny Perez, Animal Collective pushes the boundaries of the music video and joins music visionaries like The Residents, Devo, and Daft Punk, who previously connected film imagery with their songs."
Vision (2009) directed by Margarethe von Trotta
Sunday, March 21, 3pm
Women With Vision at the Walker
"A portrait of the fascinating Hildegard of Bingen, a central figure of the medieval Catholic Church, is the latest film from “the most important woman director to emerge from the New German Cinema” (Senses of Cinema). Hildegard, a 12th-century Benedictine nun, was also a mystic, author, linguist, scientist, philosopher, herbalist, healer, poet, and composer—a range of talents that invited controversy, leading the Church to sanction her for expressing her visions from God. Barbara Sukowa renders a bravura performance."
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) directed by Nathan Juran
Sunday, March 21, 5:20 and 7pm
The FX Magic of Ray Harryhausen at the Trylon
"Humans unwittingly unleash the rage in the Ymir, a giant sulfur-loving reptile brought back from Venus and one of Harryhausen’s most iconic creatures. Shot on location in Italy—because Harryhausen wanted to vacation there—the film’s finale features the most unique death match the Roman Coliseum has ever seen."
Trash Film Debauchery
Wednesday, March 24, 7:30pm
TFD at the Trylon
The name says it all. Check out the Trylon's website to see what's playing. Here's a tease:
"In a future world ruled by good-looking people, a terrorist group of mutants leaded by Ramon Yarritu kidnap the daughter of Orujo, a rich businessman, to claim for the rights of the ugly people. Escaping from the police in their spaceship, Ramon try to kill his gang in order to get all the ransom. The trip ends abruptly when they crash in Axturiax, the planet of the crazy miners where no woman lives."
Angel Face (1952) directed by Otto Preminger
Thursday, March 25, 7:30pm
The Heights Theater
"Starring JEAN SIMMONS, ROBERT MITCHUM. Directed by OTTO PREMINGER. This fantastically over the top Noir has got to be one of the best films to come out of HOWARD HUGHES’ bizarre and destructive ownership of RKO, and ranks right up there with LAURA as one of Otto Preminger’s best. JEAN SIMMONS is spot on as a beautiful and calculating ice cold heiress who lures ROBERT MITCHUM into a web of murder and deception. The classic and haunting score is by the great DIMITRI TIOMKIN."
Stay the Same Never Change
Thursday, March 25, 7:30pm
Women With Vision at the Walker
"Photographer and video artist Nakadate draws from previous work—in which she put herself in sexually risky positions—to create a provocative tale of heartland teens and their plays for attention during a hot summer in the Midwest. The unflinching approach and quirky humor of this debut feature have drawn comparisons to the work of Todd Solondz and Harmony Korrine. It was selected for the Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors New Films series and the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, which called it 'weird and delightful . . . a raw, audacious effort that burns with such originality and honesty.'"
The Waiting List (2000) directed by Juan Carlos Tabio
Thursday, March 25, 7:30 Cuban Film Festival at St Anthony Main
"A desperate group of people wait at a rundown Cuban transit station for the next bus to arrive. The problem is, it never shows up. While a number of busses pass by the station, and others that are either full or at the end of the line stop by, it soon becomes obvious that the bus everyone was waiting for has left them high and dry. While one of the would-be passengers, Emilio, uses his downtime to win the affections of the beautiful Jacqueline, most of the rest decide that if they're stuck without anywhere to go, they might as well make the station a better place to wait, and they begin forming a plan to turn the decrepit bus terminal into a showplace that people would look forward to visiting."
Opening
Prodigal Sons (2008) directed by Kimberly Reed
MFA at St Anthony Main
"In this impressive personal documentary, filmmaker Kimberly Reed attempts to reconcile with her long-estranged brother Marc, with whom she's been a rival since childhood. Their paths diverged long ago: Marc was permanently debilitated in a car more »accident, while Kim left their small-town roots on a journey of self-discovery. Full of twists and turns involving Hollywood royalty and sexual and gender identities, high school reunions in Montana and family reunions in Croatia, Prodigal Sons sensitively examines family bonds and questions if we can ever truly reinvent ourselves"
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009) directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Uptown Theater
"The most popular European film of 2009, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an award-winning mystery thriller based on Stieg Larsson's international best-selling novel about a disgraced journalist and a troubled young female computer hacker who investigate the mysterious disappearance of an industrialist's niece. Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvis) and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves."
The Runaways (2010) directed by Floria Sigismondi
Lagoon Theater
"Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning star in this music-fueled story of The Runaways, the ground-breaking, all-girl, teenage rock band of the 1970s. The film follows two friends, Joan Jett (Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Fanning), as they rise from rebellious Southern California kids to rock stars of the now legendary group that paved the way for future generations of girl bands. Joan and Cherie fall under the Svengali-like influence of rock impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) who turns the group into an outrageous success and a family of misfits. With its tough-chick image and raw talent, the band quickly earns a name for itself — and so do its two leads: Joan is the band’s pure rock 'n' roll heart, while Cherie, with her Bowie-Bardot looks, is the sex kitten. Written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, the film chronicles Joan and Cherie's tumultuous relationship on and off stage, as the band starts to break out."
Fist Tank (2009) directed by Andrea Arnold
Lagoon Theater
"Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold (the 2005 short Wasp) follows up her powerful feature debut Red Road with her second feature to win the Cannes Jury Prize. An emotionally stunning coming-of-age story set in a British housing complex, Fish Tank is electrified by the breakthrough performance of its young star Katie Jarvis, who was cited by indieWIRE as "the discovery of Cannes." Jarvis plays Mia, a 15-year-old girl in a constant state of war with her family, her school and her neighbors, without any constructive creative outlet for her considerable energies save a secret love of hip-hop dancing. When she meets her mother's charming and mysterious new boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender, Hunger), she is amazed to find him returning her attention, and believes he can help her start to make sense of her life — though his seemingly tender demeanor may hide a much more treacherous interior."
Repo Men (2010) directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Area Theaters
"Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed."
The Bounty Hunter (2010) directed by Andy Tennant
Area Theaters
"A bounty hunter learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure."
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) directed by Thor Freudenthal
Area Theaters
"Live-action adaptation of Jeff Kinney's illustrated novel about a wise-cracking junior high school student."
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