Category: Site Index

Friday, May 12 – Thursday, May 18

~ Sean Gilman

Featured Film:

An Autumn Afternoon at the Seattle Art Museum

With the Seattle International Film Festival only one week away, two big spring retrospectives come to an end this week with two of the best movies of the past 60 years or so, both playing on 35mm film. SIFF wraps up its David Lynch series with his masterpiece, the 2001 dream/nightmare Mulholland Dr. It plays Friday through Sunday only at the Film Center. But while Lynch is frequently revived on Seattle Screens (though not, as SIFF has mostly done, on 35mm), the conclusion of SAM’s Yasujiro Ozu series is the must-see film of the week. Ozu is no stranger here either, of course, but this week they’ve got his final film, and what I think is his very best, 1962’s An Autumn Afternoon, which is more rarely revived. It captures more of the things that made Ozu great, the funny, the bittersweet, the devastating, than any other film, along with his sublimely idiosyncratic approach to framing and cutting and his most expressive use of color.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Baahubali: The Conclusion (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi Our Review
Lowriders (Ricardo de Montreuil) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review Dubbed and Subtitled, Check Listings
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987) Thurs Only

Central Cinema:

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Fri-Tues
Mamma Mia! (Phyllida Lloyd, 2008) Fri-Sun, Tues

SIFF Egyptian:

Chasing Trane (John Scheinfeld) Fri-Sun

AMC Factoria:

Baahubali: The Conclusion (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi Our Review

Century Federal Way:

Baahubali: The Conclusion (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Telugu Our Review
Lahoriye (Amberdeep Singh) Fri-Thurs
Meri Pyaari Bindu (Akshay Roy) Fri-Thurs
The Fifth Element (Luc Besson, 1997) Sun & Weds Only Our Review

Grand Cinema:

A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Podcast
Frantz (François Ozon) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch, 1992) Sat Only Our Podcast
Transit (Hannah Espia, 2013) Mon Only
I Am the Blues (Daniel Cross) Tues Only
Bonnie & Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967) Weds Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Buster’s Mal Heart (Sarah Adina Smith) Fri-Mon, Weds & Thurs
Two Women (Vera Glagoleva) Fri-Thurs
Red May: The Eco-Suicidal Contradictions of Capitalism: Is Capitalism Nuts, or is it Me? Sun Only Panel Discussion

Landmark Guild 45th:

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review Subtitled
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Juho Kuosmanen) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Chuck (Philippe Falardeau) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Baahubali: The Conclusion (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi, Tamil & Telgu, Check Listings Our Review
Radha (Chandra Mohan Chintada) Fri-Thurs
Norman: The Moderate Rise And Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (Joseph Cedar) Fri-Thurs
Sarkar 3 (Ram Gopal Varma) Fri-Thurs
The Fifth Element (Luc Besson, 1997) Sun & Weds Only Our Review

Regal Meridian:

Baahubali: The Conclusion (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi Our Review
A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Podcast
Norman: The Moderate Rise And Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (Joseph Cedar) Fri-Thurs
Lowriders (Ricardo de Montreuil) Fri-Thurs
Chuck (Philippe Falardeau) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Trainspotting 2 (Danny Boyle) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

BANG! The Bert Berns Story (Brett Berns & Bob Sarles) Fri-Thurs
Short Films From and About the Middle East for Young Audiences Sun Only
Ice (Robert Kramer, 1969) Weds Only 16mm
Starless Dreams (Mehrdad Oskouei) Thurs Only

AMC Oak Tree:

Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

This Is Not What I Expected (Derek Hui) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Love Off the Cuff (Pang Ho-cheung) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Battle of Memories (Leste Chen) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Baahubali: The Conclusion (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi Our Review
Lowriders (Ricardo de Montreuil) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Can’t Help Falling in Love (Mae Czarina Cruz-Alviar) Fri-Thurs

AMC Seattle:

Norman: The Moderate Rise And Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (Joseph Cedar) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

An Autumn Afternoon (Yasujiro Ozu, 1962) Thurs Only 35mm Our Podcast

Landmark Seven Gables:

A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Podcast

SIFF Film Center:

David Lynch: The Art Life (Jon Nguyen, Olivia Neergaard-Holm & Rick Barnes) Fri & Sun Only
Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001) Fri-Sun 35mm
Yemeniettes (Shawn Thompson and Leon Shahabian) Sun Only

Regal Thornton Place:

The Fifth Element (Luc Besson, 1997) Sun & Weds Only Our Review

SIFF Uptown:

Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Sun
Risk (Laura Poitras) Fri-Sun

Varsity Theatre:

3 Generations (Gaby Dellal) Fri-Thurs
Folk Hero and Funny Guy (Jeff Grace) Fri-Thurs
Tracktown (Alexi Pappas & Jeremy Teicher) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (James Gunn) Our Review
The Lost City of Z (James Gray) Our Review
The Fate of the Furious (F. Gary Gray) Our Review

The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Juho Kuosmanen, 2016)

~ Ryan Swen ~ 1 Comment

weigh

When considering the standard cultural landmarks of the peculiar but plentiful subgenre of the boxing movie – Raging Bull, Rocky, Ali – a pattern seems to emerge. The genre seems to invite, by dint of the sport’s popularity, prominence, and propulsive energy, either big emotions or big narratives, whether it be emotional self-flagellation, the archetypal underdog, or a sense of the central figure influencing the national zeitgeist. The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, surprisingly, deals with all of these ideas to one extent or another, but this entry into the subgenre eschews virtually all sense of grandeur in favor of an intensely lowkey and somewhat light character study.

Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki follows the true story of the eponymous Finnish boxer (Jarkko Lahti) as he trains to fight for the World Featherweight Title, the first world championship bout held in Finland. His training is followed with intense interest by his fellow countrymen, who hold his title challenge as a major source of national pride. Olli is essentially besieged as he attempts to focus on the match – and lose enough weight to become a lightweight – by many, including coach/manager/slightly antagonistic friend Elis (Eero Milonoff), who invites a documentary film crew to film Olli’s progress and continually forces him to attend dinners to accrue sponsors. All the while, he is bolstered by his growing love for his friend Raija (Oona Airola), something frowned upon by Elis.

Continue reading “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Juho Kuosmanen, 2016)” →

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (James Gunn, 2017)

~ Ryan Swen ~ 1 Comment

team

It is mostly accurate to say, without hyperbole, that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is simultaneously the most overpraised and the most unfairly maligned blockbuster franchise of modern times. Rarely has any strictly commercial film or series of films inspired such reams of glorification or barbs of hatred, as both sides seem to hail the MCU as alternatively the lifeblood and the death knell of cinema. Both of these extremist positions are, of course, ridiculous; the idea that one series, even the most profitable, could make or break American blockbuster cinema, let alone world cinema, is intensely narrow-minded. Perhaps a more rewarding and certainly more revealing approach is considering each incarnation, pros and cons, as its own discrete unit, despite Marvel’s insistence on making them blend together in a maze of references and character continuities.

Such dueling intentions typify, for better or worse, the latest such entry in the series: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The rather fascinating sequel to the 2014 film follows its eponymous protagonists a few months after the events of its predecessor, as they experience all of the camaraderie and squabbling that befits a team that has stayed together that long. It is a surprisingly non-narratively focused film, though, in the MCU tradition, it ends up being just as high-stakes as normal. Functionally speaking, it is split into two plotlines. One follows Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and Drax (Dave Bautista) as they explore the planet that comprises Peter’s father who abandoned him as a child, a cosmic being known as Ego (represented in a humanoid form by Kurt Russell). The other follows Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) as they are separately captured by a faction of the Reavers, headed by Yondu (Michael Rooker), Peter’s adopted father who seeks to regain his standing within the Reavers as a whole.

Continue reading “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (James Gunn, 2017)” →

Friday May 5 – Thursday May 11

~ Sean Gilman

Featured Film:

A Quiet Passion at the Seven Gables, the Meridian and the Grand

One of our favorite movies of 2016, which Evan wrote about last fall at the Vancouver Film Festival and which we also discussed on the latest episode of The Frances Farmer Show, finally opens here at the Seven Gables and the Meridian and in Tacoma at the Grand. It’s an Emily Dickinson biopic starring Cynthia Nixon and directed by Terence Davies that is simultaneously a classical literary biography and a distinctly Davies kind of film, and somewhat surprisingly, is as bitingly funny as any film released last year. There are a couple of fine Chinese romantic comedies at the Pacific Place in Love Off the Cuff and This Is Not What I Expected, and we haven’t yet made it out to Herman Yau’s Shock Wave or Baahubali 2 (although everyone else seems to have seen it), but I doubt there’s anything better to do in town this week than see A Quiet Passion.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi
The Mayor (Park Inje) Fri-Thurs
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

Kedi (Ceyda Torun) Fri-Thurs
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987) Thurs Only

Central Cinema:

Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971) Fri-Mon
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (Danny Leiner, 2004) Fri-Mon
Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch, 1992) Weds Only Our Podcast

SIFF Egyptian:

Chasing Trane (John Scheinfeld) Tues Only

AMC Factoria:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi

Century Federal Way:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Tamil & Telgu, Check Listings
Manje Bistre (Baljit Singh Deo) Fri-Thurs

Grand Cinema:

A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Podcast
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
The Devil’s Candy (Sean Byrne) Sat Only
The Kind Words (Shemi Zarhin) Mon Only
Chasing Trane (John Scheinfeld) Tues Only Live Music & Discussion

Grand Illusion Cinema:

Buster’s Mal Heart (Sarah Adina Smith) Fri-Thurs
Red May: Capitalism, Technology, Subjectivity Sun Only Panel Discussion

Landmark Guild 45th:

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review Subtitled
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Juho Kuosmanen) Fri-Thurs
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi, Tamil & Telgu, Check Listings
Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review Subtitled
Babu Baaga Busy (Naveen Medaram) Fri & Sat Only

Regal Meridian:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi
A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Podcast
Shock Wave (Herman Yau) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Trainspotting 2 (Danny Boyle) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (Matt Tyrnauer) Fri-Thurs
Starless Dreams (Mehrdad Oskouei) Sun Only
Searching Skies and other Shorts Weds Only Filmmaker in Attendance
Glen and Randa (Jim McBride, 1971) Weds Only 35mm
Rhythm Assemblies: Films by Reed O’Beirne (Reed O’Beirne) Thurs Only Director in Attendance

AMC Oak Tree:

Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

This Is Not What I Expected (Derek Hui) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Love Off the Cuff (Pang Ho-cheung) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Battle of Memories (Leste Chen) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi
Trainspotting 2 (Danny Boyle) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Can’t Help Falling in Love (Mae Czarina Cruz-Alviar) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

Late Autumn (Yasujiro Ozu, 1960) Thurs Only 35mm

Landmark Seven Gables:

A Quiet Passion (Terence Davies) Fri-Thurs Our Review Our Podcast

SIFF Film Center:

David Lynch: The Art Life (Jon Nguyen, Olivia Neergaard-Holm & Rick Barnes) Fri-Sun
Iraqi Odyssey (Samir) Thurs Only

Sundance Cinemas:

Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent (Lydia Tenaglia) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review

SIFF Uptown:

Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs
Risk (Laura Poitras) Fri-Thurs
September Storm (3D) (Byron Haskin, 1960) Tues Only 
Ape (3D) (Paul Ledar, 1976) Tues Only
One More Time With Feeling (Andrew Dominik) Weds Only

Varsity Theatre:

Queen of the Desert (Werner Herzog, 2015) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Below Her Mouth (April Mullen) Fri-Thurs
Saturday Night Fever (John Badham, 1977) Weds Only

In Wide Release:

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (James Gunn) Our Review
The Lost City of Z (James Gray) Our Review
The Fate of the Furious (F. Gary Gray) Our Review

Love Off the Cuff (Pang Ho-cheung, 2017)

~ Sean Gilman ~ 1 Comment

love_off_the_cuff_07-h_2017

Love Off the Cuff starts with a horror movie, a tale set in the recent past about a village terrorized by a monster that eats children. As creepy as it is ridiculous, it functions as a none-too-subtle allegory for the crisis at the heart of the relationship between Cherie (Miriam Yueng) and Jimmy (Shawn Yue), which we’ve seen grow from its beginnings at shared cigarette breaks in Love in a Puff to the inevitable break-up/reunion cycle in Love in the Buff. Seven years on from the first film (which remains arguably the best romantic film of the decade), Cherie and Jimmy are comfortably living together back in Hong Kong, but visits from long-lost family members serve to highlight the rut they’ve found themselves in. Cherie’s father, who abandoned her, her mother and her brother years ago, shows up with a very young bride-to-be and looks to party with Jimmy. While Jimmy’s visiting godmother turns out to be a much younger woman (“She’s from Canada, they’re very liberal there. What if she prances about in her bra?” Cherie fearfully exclaims). The two visits inspire insecurity in Cherie: she’s jealous of the younger woman and fearful that Jimmy will turn out like her lecherous father, but more devastatingly they highlight the degree to which she was already dissatisfied with Jimmy’s childishness.

Continue reading “Love Off the Cuff (Pang Ho-cheung, 2017)” →

This Is Not What I Expected (Derek Hui, 2017)

~ Sean Gilman ~ 2 Comments

好吃20161008_004 copy

One of two romantic comedies that tried and failed to unseat the powerhouse Fast & the Furious 8 at the Chinese box office this past May Day weekend, This Is Not What I Expected opens here on Friday, a week after its counter-part Love Off the Cuff. It’s a totally pleasant film that surfs gently on the charm of its lead actors, recalling at times the softer screwballs of the 1930s, or more exactly the modern imitations of those classics. It’s essentially You’ve Got Mail, but where the two leads secretly communicate not via letters or emails, but through food. Zhou Dongyou, who was exceptional last year in Derek Tsang’s SoulMate, plays a manic pixie who repeatedly runs afoul of aloof billionaire Takeshi Kaneshiro (aging nicely more than 20 years after Chungking Express and Fallen Angels). Kaneshiro is a fastidious foodie, a buyer and seller of hotels who checks into an aging inn somewhere in Shanghai and finds all of the food lacking. Except, that is, for a soup made by Zhou, known to Kaneshiro only as the woman who mistakenly vandalized his truck in an act of revenge for her roommate. Kaneshiro and the chef refuse to meet each other, instead using the peculiar qualities of food to bond.

Continue reading “This Is Not What I Expected (Derek Hui, 2017)” →

The Frances Farmer Show #11: A Quiet Passion, Chungking Express and Fallen Angels

~ Sean Gilman

After a lengthy absence, The Frances Farmer Show returns with a quick look at some films playing on Seattle Screens, including a preview of Terence Davies’s Emily Dickinson biopic A Quiet Passion, which opens here on May 5th. We then discuss Wong Kar-wai’s mid-90s masterpieces Chungking Express and Fallen Angels.

You can listen to the show by downloading it directly, or by subscribing on iTunes or the podcast player of your choice.

Friday April 28 – Thursday May 4

~ Sean Gilman

Featured Film:

Baahubali 2 at Various Multiplexes

One of the most-anticapted movies of 2017 opens this week at the Lincoln Square, the Meridian, the Parkway Plaza in Tukwila, the Century in Federal Way and the AMC in Lynnwood (along with a handful of other theatres in outlying areas). The sequel to the 2015 epic Baahubali: The Beginning, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion promises more of the same from director SS Rajamouli: lush romance, bloody battles, and a fantastical CGI mise-en-scène beyond the bounds of acceptability in decrepit Hollywood. In the first part, a young man of immense strength named Shividu, living in an isolated village, discovered that he was the disinherited prince of a glorious kingdom. A lengthy flashback revealed the treachery of his uncle in (probably) murdering his father after a mighty battle in which Shividu’s father was declared king. We’ll have at least one review of the movie up this week as soon as we can see it. Note that there are three different versions playing around town, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The film was made in Telugu, and tickets for it in that language are the most expensive, followed in price by tickets for the shows in Tamil, and finally Hindi,  which appear to be regularly priced. The movie is only playing in its original Telugu version at Cinemark/Century theatres.

Playing This Week:

AMC Alderwood:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi
The Mayor (Park Inje) Fri-Thurs
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

Ark Lodge Cinemas:

Kedi (Ceyda Torun) Fri-Thurs
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs

Central Cinema:

Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987) Fri-Mon, Weds
The Breakfast Club (John Hughes, 1985) Fri-Mon

Cinerama:

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki & Masayuki, 2007) Fri Only
Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004) Fri Only
Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988) Fri & Mon Only
Ponyo (Hayao Miyazaki, 2008) Sat Only English Dubbed
Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) Sat Only
The Red Turtle (Michaël Dudok de Wit, 2016) Sat Only
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Shinichirō Watanabe, 2001) Sat Only
Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1996) Sat & Tues Only
Porco Rosso (Hayao Miyazaki, 1992) Sun Only
Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) Sun Only
Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988) Sun Only
Castle in the Sky (Hayao Miyazaki, 1986) Sun Only
From Up on Poppy Hill (Gorô Miyazaki, 2011) Mon Only
My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988) Mon Only
Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988) Fri & Mon Only
The Secret World of Arrietty (Hiromasa Yonebayashi, 2010) Tues Only
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Hayao Miyazaki, 1984) Tues Only Our Podcast
Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii, 1996) Sat & Tues Only
Pom Poko (Isao Takahata, 1994) Weds Only
Kiki’s Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989) Sun Only Our Podcast
Paprika (Satoshi Kon, 2006) Weds Only

SIFF Egyptian:

Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs

Century Federal Way:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi, Tamil & Telgu, Check Listings
Manje Bistre (Baljit Singh Deo) Fri-Thurs
The Mayor (Park Inje) Fri-Thurs
Men in Black (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1997) Sun & Weds Only

Grand Cinema:

Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Tommy’s Honour (Jason Connery) Fri-Thurs
Raw (Julia Ducournau) Fri & Sat Only
The Midnight Orchestra (Jerome Cohen-Olivar, 2015) Mon Only
Karl Marx City (Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker (III)) Tues Only Directors in Attendance
Ayanda (Sara Blecher) Mon Only
Tanna (Martin Butler & Bentley Dean) Tues Only
The Fits (Anna Rose Holmer) Weds Only

Grand Illusion Cinema:

The Transfiguration (Michael O’Shea) Fri-Thurs

Landmark Guild 45th:

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review Subtitled or Dubbed in English, Check Listings
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs

Cinemark Lincoln Square:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi, Tamil & Telgu, Check Listings
Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review Subtitled
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Men in Black (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1997) Sun & Weds Only

Regal Meridian:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi
Trainspotting 2 (Danny Boyle) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

Northwest Film Forum:

Karl Marx City (Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker (III)) Fri Only Directors in Attendance
Shungu: The Resilience of a People (Saki Mafundikwa, 2009) Sun Only Director in Attendance
Punishment Park (Peter Watkins, 1971) Weds Only

AMC Oak Tree:

Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

AMC Pacific Place:

Love Off the Cuff (Pang Ho-cheung) Fri-Thurs
Battle of Memories (Leste Chen) Fri-Thurs

Regal Parkway Plaza:

Baahubali 2 (SS Rajamouli) Fri-Thurs Hindi
Trainspotting 2 (Danny Boyle) Fri-Thurs
Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs
Can’t Help Falling in Love (Mae Czarina Cruz-Alviar) Fri-Thurs

Seattle Art Museum:

Good Morning (Yasujiro Ozu, 1959) Thurs Only 35mm

Landmark Seven Gables:

Graduation (Cristian Mungiu) Fri-Thurs Our Review

SIFF Film Center:

My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea (Dash Shaw) Fri-Sun Our Review
Inland Empire (David Lynch, 2006) Thurs Only

AMC Southcenter:

Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo) Fri-Thurs

Sundance Cinemas:

Their Finest (Lone Scherfig) Fri-Thurs

Regal Thornton Place:

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Fri-Thurs Our Review Subtitles

SIFF Uptown:

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) Mon, Tues & Thurs Only Our Review Subtitled Only
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea (Dash Shaw) Mon-Thurs Our Review 
NFFTY 2017 Fri-Sun Full Program
Cinema Twain (Val Kilmer) Thurs Only Val Kilmer in person

Varsity Theatre:

Queen of the Desert (Werner Herzog, 2015) Fri-Thurs Our Review
Below Her Mouth (April Mullen) Fri-Thurs
Voice from the Stone (Eric D. Howell) Fri-Thurs

In Wide Release:

The Lost City of Z (James Gray) Our Review
Free Fire (Ben Wheatley) Our Review
The Fate of the Furious (F. Gary Gray) Our Review

The Lost City of Z (James Gray, 2016)

~ Sean Gilman ~ 1 Comment

lostcityofz-hunnam-jungle-hat

…a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes
On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated—so:
“Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges—
“Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!”

–Rudyard Kipling, “The Explorer”

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood
straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on.

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones.

They carried them
to the flatlands
And they died along the way
But they built up
with their bare hands
What we still can’t do today.

And I know she’s living there
And she loves me to this day
I still can’t remember when
Or how I lost my way.

He came dancing across the water
Cortez, Cortez
What a killer.

–Neil Young, “Cortez the Killer”

James Gray’s adaptation of the story of early 20th Century British explorer Percy Fawcett, based on a New Yorker article and subsequent book by David Grann, is as beguiling, beautiful and ultimately confounding as the Amazonian jungle in which it is largely set. Shot on actual film by the great Darius Khondji (Seven, My Blueberry Nights) the film has a granular opulence rarely seen in the Hollywood cinema today, lush details of both the rain forest wilderness and the rich dark warmth of the woods and leathers of English libraries that are overwhelmingly tactile and mesmerizingly immersive, which, combined with the film’s languorously fluvial pacing washes away all the gaps and inconsitencies and oddities in the screenplay, leaving only the impression of the grace and tragedy of the human impulse toward transcendence.

Continue reading “The Lost City of Z (James Gray, 2016)” →

Graduation (Cristian Mungiu, 2016)

~ Ryan Swen ~ 1 Comment

two

There is a seemingly inconsequential moment roughly a quarter into Graduation where the protagonist, Dr. Romeo Aldea (Adrian Titieni), enters the office of his friend, the police inspector (Vlad Ivanov), and sees two bowls filled with marbles. The inspector explains with no small degree of weary acceptance that he uses them to symbolize two time-based demarcators and to reflect on his current state of affairs. The first represents the amount of days he has lived, and the second is for the amount of days before he can retire at 65, something he quickly states could change based on a revision in Romania’s laws.

This moment of interaction, perhaps the least plot-related moment in an otherwise intensely focused movie, is a kind of key to Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation. The Romanian director burst out into the world cinema stage with his 2007 Palme d’Or winning film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a singularly harrowing and powerful movie about a woman’s struggle to obtain an illegal abortion for her friend in 1987 Romania. In many ways, Graduation functions as an elaboration of that film’s immensely compressed dealings with the nature of bureaucracies and corruption–something, it should be noted, that forms a primary concern for various filmmakers in the Romanian New Wave.

Continue reading “Graduation (Cristian Mungiu, 2016)” →