Bienvenue y’all, and a friendly reminder that film board applications are due to the Film Studies office on March 5! This year’s Academy Awards were important for two reasons, neither of which involved the unobjectionable victory of the unobjectionable “The Artist.” The first is the complete, cultural cementing of the Scorsese drinking game; if you weren’t as dedicated as the gals from “Bridesmaids” who committed to it on national TV, then you missed over 15 opportunities to blunt the horror of Billy Crystal’s awkward tuxedo with libation. The second is Bret McKenzie, Oscar-winner, who was truly the most talented man in the room (depending on the room). The end of the film series’ third calendar is equally delightful. We’ve got good, old-fashioned storytelling this week: a lyrical coming of age story in 1960s Jerusalem, an experiential account of occupation Italy, an infernal force haunting in New York, and an adventure (the sword-fighting makes up for any kissing that may or may not be included) set, once upon a time, on a small farm in the country of Florin…
1968. USA. Dir: Roman Polanski. With: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes. 136 min.
8 p.m. Wednesday, February 29. $5.
This film is Grade-A horror, y’all; with nary a pint of cartoon blood nor a single dismemberment, Polanski creates a truly dark and terrible timeline of hidden threats and inescapable fate. Whether you know what’s up with Rosemary’s baby or not, Mia Farrow’s performance as the increasingly desperate mother-to-be is worth the price of the admission alone, but the film’s unsung hero, its wry sense of humor, is what gives the world the plausibility that makes its horror all the better/worse.
2010. Israel. Dir: Nir Bergman. With: Yehuda Almagor, Roee Elsberg. 110 min.
8 p.m. Thursday, March 1. FREE.
This Jerusalem Film Festival winner takes the story of Peter Pan, but sets it about as far from Neverland as you could possibly go: Israel on the eve of the Six Day War. Precocious dreamer Aharon finds a way to keep himself from growing up. He is caught in the present tense, yet he must contend with his parents, still haunted by the Holocaust, and his friends, future fighters in the Israeli army. Bergman, also a force behind the Israeli version of “In Treatment,” constructs a fine musing on growth and the life of an outsider.
1987. USA. Dir: Rob Reiner. With: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright. 98 min.
8 p.m. Friday, March 2. $5.
“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
1945. Italy. Dir: Roberto Rossellini. With: Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi. 100 min.
8 p.m. Saturday, March 3. FREE.
Any account of “Rome, Open City” ought to begin with its making: Rossellini shot on the blasted streets of Rome just months after the end of the German occupation during World War II, and no set could replicate the reality and scale of the damage done to the eternal city. The thing that makes “Rome, Open City” worth your time this Saturday night, though, is the enthralling humanity of its characters, a series of mostly good-hearted people caught up in events far larger and crueler than themselves. It’s tense, tragic, and at times incredibly funny. In short, the film is an experience of life being lived.