It’s mid-September, classes are getting settled, and the season’s two major film festivals have come and gone. At the distribution feeding frenzy that is the Toronto International Film Festival, firms gobbled up William Friedkin’s “Killer Joe” (Texas, Matthew McConaughey, murder, etc.), Andrea Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights” (The Moors, Heathcliff, the delirium of passion, etc.), and ‘the other’ Steve McQueen’s “Shame.” The latter, a hit at Venice, concerns a sex addict played by Michael Fassbender, who incidentally won some acclaim in David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method” for his portrayal of pyschoanalyst Carl Jung, a man who treated, and apparently also diddled, sex addicts. Venice also saw new work from star directors Roman Polanski, Abel Ferrara, and Whit Stillman. However, none shone quite as bright as the great Alexander Sokurov, who took the Golden Lion for his free-form adaptation of the Faust legend. Some of you might be interested to know that Mr. Sokurov has shaved his previously formidable moustache. Does this interest you? Email me. We can be friends and do friend things. We can go to the movies together like friends. Here are four movies we can see:
SUBMARINE 2010
Dir.: Richard Ayoade. 97 min. With: Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins.
Wednesday, Sep. 21, 8 pm. $5.
The British haven’t been afraid of putting a film in the hands of a talented comedian, an approach that has recently begotten some pretty fantastic results (see: Morris, Chris; Iannucci, Armando). Fans of the “IT Crowd” will be pleased to know that next funnyman to direct his very own film is none other than Richard Ayoade, also known as Moss. The film concerns the adventures of an intelligent but affected 15 year-old as he attempts to lose his virginity and save his parents’ marriage. It’s a must see for fans of Ayoade, Wes Anderson, and Wales.
JUNGLE FEVER 1991
Dir.: Spike Lee. 132 min. With: Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorria.
Thursday, Sep. 22, 8 pm. FREE.
Catching the Brooklyn provocateur at the top of his game, Lee’s 1991 masterwork sets the wide-ranging effects of an interracial relationship against the darkest days of the crack epidemic. Aided by a vast, star-studded cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, Anthony Quinn, John Turturro, Ruby Dee, and Ossie David, Lee constructs a complex panorama of late 20th-century urban society, full of his trademark energy and biting wit. It’s a must see for fans of New York, crack, and Blade.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 1963
Dir.: Terrence Young. 115 min. With: Sean Connery, Lotte Lenya.
Friday, September 23, 8 pm. $5.
The mechanism is… “Oh James, James… Will you make love to me all the time in England?” James Bond: “Day and night.” Go on about the mechanism. It’s a must see for fans of the Cold War, gadgetry, and intercourse.
DAY OF WRATH 1943
Dir.: Carl Theodor Dreyer. 97 min. With: Lisbeth Movin, Thorkild Roose.
Saturday, September 24, 8 pm. FREE.
Film History students may remember Dreyer for his silent masterpiece “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” but the great Dane, one of cinema’s preeminent auteurs, was active well into the sound era. Burning with a hypnotic intensity only Dreyer could provide, the film uses seventeenth-century witch-hunts to explore twentieth-century political hysteria. But if that sounds too high-minded for a Saturday night, the film also contains one of history’s most gloriously twisted love triangles. It’s a must see for fans of the lighting in baroque paintings, Lutherism, and incest.