Movie Musts: 5 Film Events To Catch This Week
By Joel Wicklund in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 27, 2015 6:30PM
Oliver Reed in "Blood in the Streets" (©1973 Mega Film)
We run down five single-day screenings you won't want to miss this week. Though it should also be noted that with their limited theatrical windows, Clouds of Sils Maria (read our review here), Ex Machina, The Wrecking Crew, The Duke of Burgundy, Tangerines (look for the Chicagoist review Friday) and other regular runs may also be worthy of prioritizing. But you can hold on that little Avengers sequel opening Friday; we're pretty sure it will hang around a while.
Man in the Shadow - Doc Films (University of Chicago), Wednesday, April 29, 7 p.m. & 9 p.m.
Doc Films continues its Orson Welles centennial salute with this rarely shown 1957 western that gives their revival series its name. I've yet to see it, but there are plenty of reasons to take a chance on this one. Welles was an actor-for-hire in this film, but assuming the part of a corrupt land baron seems perfect for this particular era of his career, as he would play his definitive villain role the following year in his own oddball masterpiece, Touch of Evil. The film's director Jack Arnold was a sure-handed craftsman, best known for his classic horror/sci-fi films (It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Incredible Shrinking Man), but he made several respected westerns, such as No Name on the Bullet. And the screenplay is by Gene Coon, who was a key writer and producer on the original Star Trek series.
Selections From Feratum Fest Curated by Little Mexico Film Festival - Comfort Station, Logan Square, Wednesday, April 29, 7 p.m.
This free event features seven science fiction, fantasy and horror shorts recently screened at Mexico's Feratum Fest, a relative newcomer on the international film fest calendar. Many who have attended the event have praised it as a great showcase for new Latin American genre filmmakers. You can check out descriptions for all the shorts showing here.
Blood in the Streets - Doc Films (University of Chicago), Thursday, April 30, 7 p.m.
Though not as worshipped as the country's giallo thrillers, horror films or spaghetti westerns, Italy's poliziotteschi films'—violent, action-driven police and crime dramas—have a worldwide cult following. Doc Films' spring series continues with this 1973 film (also known as Revolver), with the great Oliver Reed as a prison warden whose wife is kidnapped by criminals demanding the release of an inmate. Reed arranges the release, but then holds the prisoner as his own hostage to try and ensure his wife's safety. This doesn't pop up on the revival circuit very often.
Caché - Block Cinema (Block Museum of Art, Evanston), Friday, May 1, 7 p.m.
I run hot and cold in my responses to the output of Austrian "feel-bad cinema" specialist Michael Haneke (Amour, Funny Games), but this 2005 drama is one of my favorites of his films, and certainly one of his most intriguing. Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil star as a well-to-do couple who find a series of videotapes outside their home—tapes that show someone is watching and recording them. A dark chapter from the childhood of Auteuil's character becomes the center of the story, but Haneke withholds a lot and plays with the sequencing of scenes to force the audience to confront bigger issues than just the mystery at hand. A compelling work that demands multiple viewings.
Restoration (and the Midnight Insanity Collection) - Chicago Critics Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre, Friday, May 1, midnight.
The third edition of the Chicago Critics Film Festival has several promising attractions, including this showing of Restoration, the latest from local filmmaker Ryan Oliver. Oliver's film Air Conditions —a horror tale of a repair visit gone wrong—immediately put him on my radar with its assured style and offbeat narrative hook. The trailer for Restoration, a blending of horror and car culture, makes it look like an even more confident work, so I'm really looking forward to it. At 45 minutes, Restoration is too long to get much play in shorts programs and too short to release as a feature, so kudos to the CCFF programmers for giving it a showcase with some complementary genre shorts to fill out the program. Oliver is scheduled to appear at the screening.