Micro-Wave’s “secret screening,” 2 X Agnès Varda, Tower Records’ rise and fall, and the Marquee Film Festival
Thursday
Autism in Love (6:30p — Central Library, Rm 302)
Matt Fuller’s trisected look at four subjects on the Autism Spectrum has relationships on its mind. That’s probably because this is aimed at dispelling myths about the “coldness” of those on the spectrum. Fuller looks at a young man in his early 20s as he searches for a partner as well as a middle-aged husband on the brink of a divorce. Sandwiched in between them is a married couple’s relationship successes and hiccups, as the high-functioning pair learns to deal with each other’s peccadilloes and imperfections. In the end, Autism in Love is all about amour, how it starts, how it can stop, and everything in between. (FREE.)
All freakin’ weekend
The Marquee Film Festival (Thurs-Sun — Union South Marquee)
Couldn’t make the drive to Sun Prairie to see Mistress America? Or maybe you tried Goodnight Mommy on that day Sundance’s projector went kaput. WUD Film’s FREE Marquee Film Festival is filling in the gaps on your annual watch list, with stuff like the alternately humbling and devastating Amy Winehouse documentary, compiled exclusively from pre-existing video and photographs. There’s also a wondrous fantasy hybrid that eschews conventional coming-of-age stories for a unique directorial debut from Leah Meyerhoff; she’s also giving a lecture on women in media as part of the festival. 14 films over four days is a lot to see, and it’s even more to write about, so we’re happy to share the load with our friends at Madison Film Forum.
All Things Must Pass (Sundance)
Tower Records’ demise in 2006 is often attributed to P2P sharing networks and the rise of digital music. Basically, the internet did. But how much culpability does technology share in the once-great music chain’s bankruptcy? Director Colin Hanks, along with the backing of over 1,500 crowdfund donations look at the ubiquitous rise and unceremonious fall of the retail giant. What’s more, it’s coming to Madison in what’s shaping up to be a supremely limited theatrical release.
Saturday
Jane B. par Agnès V. + Kung-fu master! (Le petit amour) (7:00p + 9:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Maybe it’s a French thing, but the twilight years haven’t stopped Jean-Luc Godard, Claire Denis, Agnès Varda from working; Varda released her new short film Les 3 Boutons earlier this year. The feminist visionary and “Grandmother of French New Wave,” recognized for her pioneering realism, is the focus of one of Cinematheque’s fall series too, with a pair of FREE double-bills across two separate weekends. The first highlights two of Varda’s little-seen collaborations with actor-singer Jane Birkin. “Jane B. by Agnès V.” looks at the highs and lows of Birkin’s career through a fantastical microscope and features both Serge Gainsbourg and a 17 year-old Charlotte Gainsbourg. In Kung-fu master!, Birkin plays a much older woman who falls for a teenager (played by Varda’s son, Mathieu Demy).
Sunday
Micro-Wave Cinema “Secret Screening” (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Brandon Colvin tells enthusiasts of super cheap, indie cinema what they’re in for each semester with his micro-budget series schedule. And he does it early. All of which is to say, we’ve known about this week’s “secret screening” since late summer and yet haven’t learned much since. There’s a promised Skype Q&A with… someone, a brief synopsis here and a Facebook event photo. Beyond that, the only way to find out is to show up. (FREE.)
Monday
Exposed (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Nastassia Kinski plays a good old Wisconsin farm girl who, after ending an affair with her college professor, hikes out to the Big Apple. There she meets a violinist (Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev) which sets her off on a trail of political dealings and criminality. Harvey Keitel co-stars as an underground kingpin in this 1983 release from James Toback, the last Marquee Monday of the semester for WUD Film and Cinematheque. (FREE.)
Wednesday
Cemetery of Splendor (7:00p — Madison Museum of Contemporary Art)
Jenjira Pongpas plays the patient head of a hospital caring for soldiers, all of whom seem unable to wake from a sudden rash of comas. Instead, a seeming clairvoyant uses her powers to communicate with them in Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s opaque, gently rhythmic follow-up to Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Weerasethakul has enjoyed a complicated relationship with his home country in Thailand, often using strange mythologies and dreamy storytelling to critique the country’s tumultuous politics and violent history. His latest appears to be no different, riffing on an overbearing government and General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s coup in 2014. Before they wrap another season of curated arthouse cinema, Spotlight Cinema wants to put you to sleep. (Admission is FREE to MMoCA members and $7 for everyone else.)