Film Comment Selects Festival Brings Film History to You

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 17 February 2012 01:00

Written by Sean Cusack

This week, Film Comment magazine brings a handpicked lineup of films that are alternately previewing prior to their theatrical runs or quite possibly never coming back to the big screen- the rare and the rediscovered, the unclassifiable and the underrated, the sacred and the profane, the cute and the creepy, the tough and the tender and the naked and the dead in the 12th incarnation of its famed Film Comment Selects annual series.

This massive 32-film salute to cinephiles everywhere has something for everyone, from psychodrama freak-outs to future shock, high art to low brow, the strange to the sweet, and the silly to the serious.

It features several appearances -- as well as a special surprise from film critic J. Hoberman -- by filmmakers and cast including:

• Eric Atlan
• Sara Driver
• James Franco
• JKerri Kenney
• Kenneth Lonergan
• Joshua Marston
• Paul Rudd
• David Wain

A few of the exciting films featured this year include:

A Stoker
(2010)
Dir. Alexei Balabanov
An elderly, not-all-there Afghan war veteran known as “the major” feeds the murder victims of cops and mobsters into an apartment building furnace while working on an epic historical novel in the latest nihilistic crime drama from this Russian provocateur.

Despair
(1978)
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Based on a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, scripted by Tom Stoppard, and starring Dirk Bogarde, Fassbinder’s first English-language film, a black comedy about a chocolate manufacturer plotting the perfect murder, is a must-see for all, not just Fassbinder completists.

Margaret
(2011)
Dir. Kenneth Lonergan
This is the story of self-involved teenager Lisa’s emotional turmoil after witnessing (and perhaps being in some way responsible for) the death of a pedestrian hit by a bus. Shot in 2007, Margaret then spent three long years in the editing room as writer-director Lonergan battled with producer Scott Rudin and the film’s eventual distributor, Fox Searchlight, over its running time.

The film, whose title is derived from the poem “Spring and Fall: To a young child” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, is one of risk-taking ambition that deserves its due as a fascinating, often wrenching drama of moral crisis in post-9/11 New York. The film stars Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeannie Berlin.

Face to Face
(1975)
Dir. Ingmar Bergman
Liv Ullmann is front and center in this underseen Bergman film, playing a disturbed psychiatrist who has an affair with a fellow doctor (Erland Josephson), only to succumb to a nervous breakdown seemingly triggered by haunting memories from her past.

Faust
(2011)
Dir. Aleksandr Sokurov
Winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion, Russian master Aleksandr Sokurov’s idiosyncratic and playful reinvention of Goethe’s play positions Faust’s craving of knowledge and power (i.e., the Enlightenment) as the source of 20th-century evil.

Role Models
(2008)
Dir. David Wain
Wain’s inspired third feature turns Hollywood’s pious, “be yourself” genre deservedly on its ear with the cheerfully irreverent tale of two disillusioned energy-drink salesmen (Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott) serving out a community service sentence in a youth mentoring program.

Headhunters
(2011)
Dir. Morten Tyldum
A slick, charming corporate recruitment specialist leads a double life as an art thief in this twisty and fast-paced thriller that heralds the arrival of an exciting new directorial talent—and will keep you guessing all the way to its finale.

Silent House
(2011)
Dirs. Laura Lau, Chris Kentis
In this perfectly executed real-time thriller from the directors of Open Water, Elizabeth Olsen finds herself trapped inside the dilapidated cabin her family is readying for sale. With no contact to the outside world and no way out, panic turns to terror. Join directors Laura Lau and Chris Kentis in person for Q&A after the screening!

Wanderlust
(2012)
Dir. David Wain
Meet George and Linda, a typically overextended, stressed-out Manhattan couple. When George is downsized out of his job, they find themselves with only one option: to move in with George’s obnoxious brother in Atlanta. But en route, they stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community  populated by a cast of eccentric characters who look at life through a different prism. Money? It can’t buy happiness. Careers? Who needs them? Clothes? Only if you want them. Is Elysium the fresh start George and Linda need? Or will the change of perspective cause more problems than it solves? Starring Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Alda, Justin Theroux, Ray Liotta, and Malin Akerman.

Land Passion War of the Dead Christ Worlds
A special Event featuring J. Hoberman in person! Based on 25 years of stunt projections and class presentations at NYU and Cooper Union, it’s Doomsday USA, starring Asia Argento, Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Dennis Hopper, and the mind of Mel Gibson. With subtitles!

Come see old masters rub shoulders with young turks, and witness film history in the making.

Tickets are:

• $13 for the general public
• $9 for Students and Seniors
• $8 for Film Comment members

Savings are available on four-film ticket packages, ranging from $28 for members to $40 for the general public. Screenings will be held at Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater.

For more information and screening times, visit: Filmlinc.com/films/series/film-comment-selects-2012

Film Comment Selects
February 17th – March 1st, 2012

Walter Reade Theater
165 W. 65th St
New York, NY

Extreme Private Ethos: Japanese Documentary Series

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 16 February 2012 05:00

Written by Sean Cusack and Renzo Adler

While a new wave of Japanese documentaries emerging from the fallout of the March 11 tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, The Asia Society (725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, NYC)  will mark the anniversary of this inauspicious occasion, from March 10 to the 31st, 2012, by looking at doccumentaries past with Japan in Extreme Private Ethos: Japanese Doccumentaries.

This special film series features six films made by Japan's most controversial douccmentary makers. The Society, founded in 1956 by famed philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art, and has become a cornerstone in the proliferation of quality Asian films and performance art in the United States.

Read more: Extreme Private Ethos: Japanese...

New Nordic Cinema Showcase 2012

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 16 February 2012 05:00

Written by Sean Cusack

A rare treat for any foreign film buff, the Scandinavia House of New York City brings some of the most influential and successful Nordic films to the streets of the Big Apple.

Featuring popular award-winning films, from Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Norway and Sweden you will not find anywhere else, including performances by Stellan Skarsgård from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the upcoming summer blockbuster The Avengers, the New Nordic Cinema Showcase allows a glimpse into the rapidly expanding and evolving film industry of the Scandinavian countries. The showcase runs from February 29th – May 4th in the Victor Borge Hall. All films are subtitled in English.

Read more: New Nordic Cinema Showcase 2012