Welcome back to Cinefiles! I hope you’ve all enjoyed exhaustive conversations on the merits of “The Hunger Games,” relished Joffrey’s latest slap on the season premiere of “Game of Thrones,” or inwardly cackled at Betty Francis’ new look on “Mad Men.” It’s been a good couple of weeks for visual entertainment, and we’ve got plenty more coming at the Goldsmith: a colorful, classic Hollywood drama, a hilarious space opera, an epic Indian biopic, and whatever on earth “The Holy Mountain” is.
But before I go mad from my thesis and lose the ability to process language, a senior’s parting words: the film series is special. There’s magic in rediscovering your favorite movies among 400 close friends and discovering new films that would’ve never crossed your radar. It isn’t something that happens just anywhere. I’m unspeakably grateful to all of the people who keep the series running, to my friends who willfully obstruct crowd flow out of the theater to discuss and hug and laugh about films right afterwards, and to the black-and-white calendars that have been such a huge part of my Wesleyan career. The film series is special. Keep watching, y’all.
1974. Mexico. Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky. With: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horacio Salinas. 114 min. 8 p.m.
Wednesday, April 4. $5.
Jesus Christ. Rainbows. Limbless Dwarves. Handlebar Mustaches. Goats.
It’s kind of impossible to make coherent sense of “The Holy Mountain.” This film is a trip, which shouldn’t be surprising because it was financed by John Lennon and made by the crazed surrealist responsible for “El Topo.” It isn’t for the faint of heart. But those of you willing to plumb the depths will be rewarded with transfixing visuals, masterfully unhinged artistry, and enough sex, drugs, and violence to keep you off HBO for at least a year.
1994. India. Dir. Shekhar Kapur. With: Seema Biswas. 119 min.
8 p.m. Thursday, April 5. Free.
True story: an Indian woman victimized by abuse turned to banditry and not only paid back her oppressors with some Spartacus: Vengeance, but also won a gang war, evaded police capture for years, and got elected to Parliament. Phoolan Devi, the titular bandit queen, had a run to rival Robin Hood; this fictionalized telling of her life has drawn both attention and controversy. Before the film, Gayathri Khemadasa will play selections from her Phoolan Devi opera, and after the film, History Professor William Pinch will lead a discussion.
1997. USA. Dir. Paul Verhoeven. With: Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards. 129 min.
8 p.m. Friday, April 6. $5.
Is the dazzling military strategy of landing a bunch of men on planets to run and shoot at random less of a stretch than believing Denise Richards is a crack starship pilot? Of course. Is Neil Patrick Harris’ propaganda infomercial (“Aim for the nerve stem!”) midway through the film more awesome than his unexplained psychic abilities? Yes. And if you’ve ever wondered where the uniforms of the Alliance soldiers in “Firefly” come from, well, here you go. Leave your copies of “BSG” at home, friends. This movie is just a silly-stupid good time, set in glorious space.
1958. USA. Dir. Vincente Minnelli. With: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. 137 min.
8 p.m. Saturday, April 7. $5.
If you like cowboy hats, carnivals, Frank Sinatra, scathing attacks on the American middle class, drunk humor, or CinemaScope, boy, is this movie for you. When a disillusioned army vet returns to his Indiana hometown with a dim-witted Chicago floozy in tow, shenanigans ensue. “Some Came Running” is one of Minnelli’s most lush and colorful creations, a gorgeous, garish melodrama of drunks, sluts, gamblers, and small-town pettiness. Dean Martin is at his coolest, Shirley MacLaine at her most adorable, Sinatra at his sharpest, and Minnelli at the height of his powers.
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