Commentary Track

by MIKE MACCOLLUM

News flash! It’s another snoozer of a week for new releases of art/specialized films in Indiana – unless you live in (or don’t mind driving to) Columbus…. Terry Gilliam (and maybe John Woo, too) ride to the rescue of central Indiana moviegoers who crave a little variety next Friday; for your somewhat limited options around the state this week – and a complete listing of limited release films opening around the country – read on below….

(For showtimes, directions and other such information on Indiana theaters and other venues, follow the links in the “Outside the Multiplex: Moviegoing in the Hoosier State” section of the sidebar.)

LIMITED RELEASE THEATRICAL FILMS OPENING IN INDIANA THIS WEEK

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – The Yes Cinema in Columbus presents the Indiana debut of this collaboration between Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage, starting Friday, January 1. And in case you were wondering when (or if) this Bad Lieutenant will play elsewhere in Indiana… then keep wondering. The movie has made enough money in the theaters it has played in so far ($1.36 million over just 38 days in – at most – 96 theaters, per Boxofficemojo) that a booking at the Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis would seem like a good possibility – but there is nothing on the film’s official site (or Facebook page, or Myspace page, or Twitter account) about future engagements. Anyhow, go to the Yes Cinema’s site for show time information. I wish I could go to Columbus for this one, by the way, since the praise keeps coming in. In addition to this review from our own Nir Shalev a few weeks ago, Roger Ebert named this one of the best films of the past decade – not in the top ten, but still – and Nicolas Cage was named Best Actor by the Toronto Film Critics Association a few weeks ago.

Winter Wonderland – That crazy ol’ Internet is a great thing. Companies go the trouble of putting up sites to let you know that a movie exists, or will be in theaters on such and such a date – but then they sometimes tell you little or nothing about the movie itself. Here’s all I know about this animated program from the Kidtoons people, which I pass along to you thanks to the marvels of cut and paste: “Join Franny, Olivia & Maggie as they use their powers of imagination to take you on lots of fantastical adventures, from Rescuing Reindeers, playing at the circus to magical snow in NoWhereLand… The perfect winter treat for chilly weekend fun.” This appears to be a combination of two or more animated short films, one featuring “Franny” (a character new to me) and another one with the cartoon pig Olivia – but beyond all of this, I know no more. Whatever it might be, the mysterious Winter Daydreams will be shown at 11:10 AM daily at the Showplace East in Evansville, and at 1 and 3:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday at the Studio 10 in Shelbyville. (On what passes for an official site for Kidtoons, the theater listings page claims that other venues – like the Carmike 20 in Fort Wayne and the Rave Jefferson Pointe 18 in the same city – will also be showing Winter Daydreams, but I did not see the film on the “schedule” pages of these theaters on their websites.)

THEATRICAL HOLDOVERS, FILM FESTIVALS, REVIVAL SCREENINGS, AND OTHER SPECIAL SHOWINGS IN INDIANA THIS WEEK

Black Dynamite – Plays at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne on Saturday, January 2, at 8:30 PM.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day – Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, Julie Benz, Peter Fonda, Judd Nelson, and Billy Connolly star in Troy Duffy’s sequel to his 1999 crime drama The Boondock Saints, which will be showing at the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis starting this week. This is an Indianapolis-area exclusive showing – and (as far as I can tell), the G14 is also the only theater in the state showing The Boondock Saints II this week.

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas/Olivia: Winter Wonderland – This double-feature for children will be shown at 1 PM and 2:40 daily this week at the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis, according to both the weekly e-mail from the theater and the movietickets.com “schedule” page for the theater. (As noted above, both the Studio 10 in Shelbyville and the Showplace East in Evansville will be showing another “Kidtoons” program, Winter Daydreams, this week – but the G14 will apparently be keeping the Curious George/Olivia combo around for another week.)

An Education – Starts Friday at the Regal Shiloh Crossing 18 in Avon, and continues for another week (albeit with no shows on Monday or Wednesday) at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne; go to the Cinema Center site for show times at that venue.

Les Contes D’Hoffman – The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Jacques Offenbach’s opera – a not-very-faithful-to-the-facts version of the life of German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann – will have an encore showing in Hi-Def at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, January 6, at the Castleton Square 14, ShowPlace 16 with IMAX and Galaxy 14 in Indianapolis, along with the Hamilton 16 with IMAX in Noblesville, and eleven other theaters across the state. Go to the Fathom Events site for more info.

Lewis and Clark: The Great Journey West – This 2002 film will be showing this week at the IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis on Tuesday through Thursday at 11:15 AM and 3 PM.

Mall of America and 0% Down – These two short films by Josephine Meckseper will be shown simultaneously (on different walls of the same gallery) at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through February 7, 2010.

Me and Orson Welles – Continues for another week (albeit with no shows on Monday or Wednesday) at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne.

No Impact Man – The Ryder Magazine and Film series of Bloomington presents what appears to be the Indiana debut of this documentary on Saturday and Sunday; it’s about a family trying to live lives that have minimal (or no) negative impact on the environment. For show times, go to The Ryder’s official site.

Omer Fast: The Casting – This fourteen minute, four channel video installation continues at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through February 21, 2010. The piece intercuts excerpts from the artist’s conversations with a soldier about to leave for his second tour of duty in Iraq with footage of actors mimicking the dialogue.

Pirate Radio – Both Indianapolis area Cinemarks, the Washington Market and the Greenwood Corners, will be showing this movie again this week, but for just one or two shows per day: 12:55 and 3:35 PM at the Washington Market location, and 11:55 AM at Greenwood Corners.

The Road – Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce and Charlize Theron face the end of the world for another week at the Keystone Art in Indianapolis, the ShowPlace 7 in Muncie, and the ShowPlace 16 in Schererville (all of which will have four shows a day), along with the Showplace East in Evansville (with three shows a day), the Carmike 20 in Fort Wayne (which will have two shows a day), and the ShowPlace East 11 in Bloomington (with just one show per day).

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – The seventies cult fave returns to the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis this Saturday night at 10 PM – or so says the weekly e-mail from the theater that I received today. There was nothing about Rocky Horror showing Saturday on the movietickets.com “schedule” page for the G14 the last time I checked, but I suspect that an e-mail directly from the theater is more likely to be correct than a schedule provided by an outside party.

Still Bill – That’s Bill as in Bill Withers, who wrote or co-wrote a number of classic songs – including “Just the Two of Us,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me” and “Lovely Day.” This documentary about Withers will be shown at the Earth House Collective in Indianapolis on Thursday, January 7, starting at 7 PM; admission is $5 for non-members.

35 Shots of Rum – The Ryder Magazine and Film series of Bloomington brings back Claire Denis’ French drama for more showings this Saturday and Sunday. Go to The Ryder’s site for show time and movie information.

3 Idiots – The Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis will be showing this Indian film on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 5:30 and 9 PM, according to the manoranjaninc.com page. Manoranjaninc also recently updated their page to add a few show times next weekend (at 9 PM on Friday and Saturday, January 8 and 9).

Under the Sea 3D – This 2009 IMAX documentary will have be shown at the IMAX Theater in the Indiana State Museum this week, on Tuesday through Thursday at 12:30 and 1:50 PM.

Vera Drake – Imelda Staunton stars in Mike Leigh’s 2004 drama, which will be shown at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne on Wednesday, January 6, at 7 PM; admission is free.

The Young Victoria – Emily Blunt ,Rupert Friend, Jim Broadbent, Miranda Richardson, Paul Bettany and Thomas Kretschmann all hold over for another week at both the Keystone Art in Indianapolis and the Village Park 17 in Carmel.

OPENING ELSEWHERE

The Chaser – A former detective turned pimp finds that his stable of “girls” is steadily growing smaller, and he doesn’t know why they seem to be leaving him. When he sends Mi-jin out to meet a client – and she also vanishes – he realizes that there is a common thread in these disappearances, and sets out to investigate. The Chaser won seven Korean Film Awards, including best film and director. It was made available on video on demand in the US last April (!), and opened on Wednesday, December 30, at the IFC Center in New York City. (Don’t expect a wide theatrical release to follow, by the way; The Chaser is set for DVD release in the US on January 12.) By the way, the official US site for the film linked above doesn’t seem to have a trailer on it – but an English-language trailer for The Chaser can be found here on youtube.

Dancing with the Devil – This is a documentary that goes inside the drug wars in the “favelas” of Rio de Janeiro. Filmmaker Jon Blair got access to the drug traffickers (who see the police as corrupt thugs who prey on the slum residents) and to a former drug dealer who is now a minister. The minister is trying to talk the drug lords into stopping the violence, and seems to be on the verge of convincing one especially powerful trafficker – but he may not give up his guns after all. Dancing with the Devil started Friday, January 1, at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco.

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond – Bryce Dallas Howard plays Fisher Willow, a rebellious young heiress in this film, which has based on a (recently-rediscovered) original screenplay by Tennessee Williams. Fisher decides to stir up her oh-so-proper family – and local society – by paying the son of her father’s caretaker to be her date at various social functions. Soon enough, however, she finds herself falling in love for real, and learns that her money can’t solve all of her problems. Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn, Ann-Margaret, Mamie Gummer and Will Patton co-star in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, which started on Wednesday, December 30, at five theaters (four in Los Angeles, one in New York City).

Neelathaamara – A servant girl falls in love with the son of the family who own the house in which she works. That’s the story of this Malayalam-language film from India, which started January 1 at the Phoenix/Big Cinemas Novi Town Center 8 in Novi, MI. Although the reviews I have found online note that yes, this isn’t exactly a new story, they also say that the way the simple story is told here constitutes a good part of the film’s appeal. Neelathaamara is a remake of the 1979 Malayalam-language film of the same name; the film’s Wikipedia page claims that this is the first time a Malayalam-language film has been remade. In the unlikely event that that is true, then this must be the most original/creative film industry in world history…

Old Partner – This documentary follows an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lee, who have a farm in a very rural area of South Korea. A forty-year old ox helps them work the land, but he is more than just a “farm animal” – Mr. Lee clearly loves the ox that he and his wife depend on, and even seems to regard him as a friend and co-worker…. so much so that Mrs. Lee thinks of the ox as a rival for her husband’s affections. Old Partner – which started Wednesday, December 30, at the Film Forum in New York City – doesn’t seem to have an official US site, but the page for the film on the Film Forum site can be found here, and a trailer is here on youtube.

What’s the Matter with Kansas? – The state of Kansas was once a hotbed of radical/socialist politics, but many citizens now think of themselves as hard-core conservatives. This documentary – based on the book of the same name by Thomas Frank – interviews several people on both sides of the political divide to investigate this transformation. What’s the Matter with Kansas? starts Friday, January 1, at the Lumiere in San Francisco, but this is another one of those movies that actually has had previous theatrical play (a September 18-24 run at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, and a booking at the Liberty Hall Theater in Lawrence, Kansas, that started December 11) that I did not know about until now; I am including it in this week’s column for the sake of completeness.

The White Ribbon – Michael Haneke (Cache; The Piano Teacher; both versions of Funny Games) wrote and directed this film, which is set in a German village in the months leading up to World War 1. After a long period of relative peace and tranquility, strange events begin to plague the area. At first, most of these events (like a death that occurs when someone falls through rotting wood in their floor) could be written off as accidents – but then it becomes obvious that these malicious acts are very deliberate in nature. As the villagers become increasingly worried, the local authority figures try to reassert their strict control of the area – and the village teacher begins to suspect that one or more his young students may be responsible for many of these crimes. The White Ribbon – which was shot in glorious black and white – doesn’t seem to be as confrontational/provocative as many of Haneke’s past films, based on the reviews I’ve skimmed; also, it has received a number of awards (the Golden Palm and two other prizes at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival; Best Film, Best Director, and Best Writer at the 2009 European Film Awards), and is the official German submission for a Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 82nd Academy Awards. The White Ribbon started Wednesday, December 30, at three theaters (two in New York City, one in Los Angeles); its official US site says that it is scheduled to open on February 19 at the Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis, and on March 4 at the Browning Cinema at the University of Notre Dame.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND

No news on upcoming art films from the Keystone Art Cinema’s page this week, although (as noted above) the site for The White Ribbon says that it will open at that theater on February 19. (And TWR will be at the Browning Cinema at the University of Notre Dame on March 4, per the film’s official site.) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is still scheduled to start at the Keystone Art on January 8, according to the theater’s home page – which said nothing about Red Cliff opening there (on January 8 or otherwise) the last time I checked. (On the other hand, the film’s US distributor, Magnolia Pictures, still had that date for Red Cliff on its “playdates” page – or at least they did the last time I checked….)

Manoranjaninc.com had a January 7 play date at the Georgetown 14 for Adhurs on their site for a while – but recently postponed the film to January 13 at 8 PM. The only other news from the manoranjaninc site this week was that the Amitabh Bachchan drama Rann was there for a while with a “To Be Determined” opening date at the G14 – but when I checked again today, Rann was gone.