With Spring Break’s powers of destruction over all that is productive finally beginning to wane, film events have kicked up in Madison once again. Watch as local venues and programmers alike tremble in fear and awe over the impending shadow of the Wisconsin Film Festival.
I only jest, but this is a significant week if only for the fact that the Wisconsin Film Festival kicks off in just 10 days. Here’s a rundown of what to expect in Madison film this week and where you can expect those Madison film-related things. I’ll also offer my personal recommendation at the end, so there’s plenty of room for the beloved pastime of rebuking of my advice in the comments below.
WUD Film Presents: The Fade (Wednesday)
WUD Film didn’t go away; they just took a break, basking under the warming sun beams of Baja California.
None of that is probably true, but WUD does start up its programming again this week by partnering with the Arts Institute and screening The Fade, a documentary that looks to provide social significance to the barber shop’s place in African-American life. And while I could only hope to pull off such edgy hairstyles, I’ll continue to display my cultural ignorance through awkward vernacular. The Fade screens at the Union South’s Marquee at 7pm, and it’s free of charge, holmes.
Sundance Classics: Casablanca (Wednesday)
Hot on the heels of last week’s American Beauty comes Sundance at Hilldale with a much better entry, Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca. I would rattle off a line from one of Humphrey Bogart’s many iconic quotables, but you’d probably just roll your eyes and push me away like usual. Casablanca screens twice at 1:35 and 7:10pm. If you’re planning on dressing up in cosplay and still need an Ingrid Bergman lookalike as a partner, I’ve got just the soft cheek bones you’re looking for.
WUD Film Presents: Footnote (Thursday and Friday)
WUD Film, Talmud Film. Footnote tells the complex and likely way-too-intellectual relationship of an Israeli father and son, both professors vying for their country’s top academic prize. Footnote screens both Thursday and Friday at 9:30pm, but if you’re still on the fence, read our own Len Ziegler’s review first. Because he’s just that good.
WUD Film Presents: Lincoln (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)
Apparently winning two Academy Awards makes Lincoln the “most honored film of the year” now, if we’re to believe those recent commercials. I’m still skeptical on how praiseworthy Spielberg’s latest really was this past year, but you’ll have five (yes, five) chances to decide for yourself when Lincoln screens at the Union South Marquee. Check out our blathering, overblown, self-indulgent screening calendar for full details.
Cinematheque: Tchoupitoulas (Friday), Navajo Joe (Saturday)
The Cinematheque wraps up its Premiere Showcase programming with the New Orleans-set Tchoupitoulas on Friday which [insert your gumbo joke here]. The mighty mighty string of Spaghetti Westerns also chugs along with Saturday’s Navajo Joe, answering the age old question of “What the hell does Burt Reynolds look like without a mustache?” To paraphrase director Sergio Corbucci, ruggedly weird.
Sundance at Hilldale This Weekend: Ginger & Rosa, No, and On the Road (Friday)
Three — that’s right — three new features are opening this weekend at Madison’s Sundance theater, and they’ll all be tough to find anywhere else in the area. If you thought two hits of Casablanca was impressive, boy are you a sucker.
Ginger & Rosa is worth checking out just to see what Orlando director Sally Potter is cooking up next. Actress Elle Fanning — yes, of Dakota kinship — hasn’t blown up on the mainstream scene yet, even after rocking the heck out of Super 8. That said, she’s been a hit for some time on the indie circuit, and her performance, here as the daughter of a man who begins an affair with her best friend, has earned her significant praise already. Buy low, people because Elle Fanning’s stock is going up.
No should probably be changed to “Yes” considering its impressive 93% “Fresh” rating from 87 Rotten Tomatoes critics. I’m not the best at math, but even I can see the promise in Pablo Larrain’s political drama about dictator Augusto Pinochet’s 1988 “re-election.” Gael Garcia Bernal’s presence seals the deal.
On the Road has attracted significant attention, if not for adapting Jack Kerouac’s book, then for a certain Twilight star’s ahem… interesting break from typecast. But really, if Viggo Mortensen as William S. Burroughs doesn’t do it for ya, we might be done here.
Opening Wide: Jurassic Park 3D and Evil Dead
It’s been twenty years since Jurassic Park gave people a clever thing to say to their friends as they dashed toward the restroom. To celebrate Spielberg’s groundbreaking combination of special effects wizardry and Laura Dern’s deceptive agelessness, Jurassic Park is coming back to theaters in 3D. Re-releases really do move in herds.
In keeping with the theme of studios pillaging stuff that scared the crap out of you decades ago, Fede Alvarez’s remake of The Evil Dead, definitively titled Evil Dead to avoid any confusion, opens wide this weekend. Starring Jane Levy alongside a pack of hip and trendy twenty-somethings, Evil Dead looks to disgust unsuspecting Suburgatory fans and piss off many a self-righteous horror geek.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Ocean Waves (Sunday)
If you haven’t yet checked out the Cinematheque’s spectacular Studio Ghibli series, we don’t want to be associated with your ilk. The Chazen Museum’s 2pm screening of Ocean Waves this Sunday looks to be a rare treat. From Princess Mononoke to Whisper of the Heart, the Studio Ghibli masters can tell a coming of age story like nobody’s biz, and Ocean Waves looks to be no exception. Toss in the added bonus that Tomomi Mochizuki’s feature, developed exclusively for Japanese television, isn’t even available on DVD in the U.S., and really, why haven’t you cleared your plans yet?
- You can always find more information about what’s playing in Madison by checking out our Screening Calendar