Thinking Outside the Multiplex in Indiana (June 24, 2011)

by HELEN GEIB

Four new releases this week, a very positive change from last week’s zero: a documentary about an unconventional New York photographer, two familial relationship comedy-dramas starring British actors, and a Bollywood comedy. Plus I really must get to The Tree of Life sooner rather than later.

TOTM aspires to completeness! If you know of a limited release film, special screening, festival, or other movie-related event coming up, or something happening this week that isn’t listed here, please leave a comment or send me an email using the “contact us” form.

Note: Title links lead to the movie’s official website.

LIMITED RELEASE THEATRICAL FILMS OPENING IN INDIANA THIS WEEK

Beginners- Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer star as a father and son who draw closer after dad comes out of the closet (at 75) and discovers he has cancer. Melanie Laurent co-stars in this well-reviewed drama from writer-director Mike Mills (Thumbsucker). Beginners starts today at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.

Bill Cunningham New York- A documentary about a very unusual fashion photographer: for decades, Bill Cunningham has ridden his bike around New York City taking candid photos of the clothes people wear. Bill Cunningham New York starts today at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.

Double Dhamaal- Bollywood gets in on the creative sequel naming trend with this follow-up to the 2007 comedy Dhamaal, apparently a loose remake of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Sanjay Dutt and the rest of the large principal cast return, as does director Indra Kumar. Double Dhamaal starts today at the Republic Theatres Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis, where it is scheduled for full daily showtimes.

Submarine- This coming of age comedy-drama is an adaptation of a novel by Joe Dunthorne. Craig Roberts stars as a teenager dealing- or trying to deal- with his parents’ splintering marriage and his one-sided crush on a girl in his class. Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins co-star as the parents. AMC surprises me again as Submarine starts today at the Showplace Washington Square 12 in Indianapolis, formerly the last Indianapolis AMC theater I would have expected to see in this column (a distinction now held by Traders Point).

THEATRICAL HOLDOVERS (AND “RE-OPENINGS”)

35 and Ticking- Comedy about a group of thirtysomething friends dealing with the issues that description implies. Nicole Ari Parker, Kevin Hart, Keith Robinson, and Tamala Jones head the cast. Evidently doing well despite having no advertising, 35 and Ticking holds over for a third week at the AMC Showplace Washington Square 12 in Indianapolis.

The Beaver- Jodie Foster directs Mel Gibson (and herself) in this drama that has, probably inevitably, been overshadowed by its star’s off-screen meltdown. Gibson plays a clinically depressed husband and father who has alienated his family and just about everyone else. When he starts carrying around a beaver hand puppet, it becomes an unlikely instrument of healing. The Beaver returns to Indiana this week courtesy of the Cinemark Movies 6 in Mishawaka.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D- The artistic justification for 3D. Werner Herzog directed this justly extremely well reviewed documentary about the oldest known cave paintings, in Chauvet Cave in France. The cave is and always will be inaccessible to most people- but this film is the next best thing to being there. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D continues its tour around the state, opening this week at the AMC Honey Creek 8 in Terre Haute and holding over at the AMC Showplace Muncie 7.

Everything Must Go- Will Ferrell burnishes his indie movie credentials in this dramedy about a man in personal, professional, and spiritual crisis. When his fed-up wife throws him and his stuff out of the house, he holds a yard sale where “everything must go.” Co-starring Rebecca Hall (The Town) and Laura Dern. Everything Must Go opens this week at the Yes Cinema in Columbus and continues (at reduced showtimes) at the Movie Buff Theatre in Indianapolis.

Incendies- At the reading of their mother’s will, Jeanne and Simon are handed two envelopes and instructions to give them to their father- who they thought dead- and a brother they didn’t know they had. When they travel to their mother’s Middle Eastern home country, they discover a shocking family history and an incredible story of survival. This Canadian film has received extremely positive reviews and was an Oscar nominee for best foreign language film. Incendies continues at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema with one matinee showing a day.

Jane Eyre- Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) directed this- beautifully filmed and acted- latest version of Charlotte Bronte’s novel; Mia Wasikowska plays the title role, while Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Sally Hawkins, Judi Dench, Imogen Poots, and Simon McBurney are in the supporting cast. Jane Eyre continues its long run at Fort Wayne’s Cinema Center.

Of Gods and Men- This powerful French drama returns to Indiana this week with showings at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne. The story follows the rhythm of monastic life as a small group of French Trappist monks in Algeria debate whether to leave or stay in the face of increasing Islamist terrorism during the 1990s civil war. Director Xavier Beauvois’ artful docudrama won the 2010 Cesar (France’s Oscars) for best film and the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Tree of Life- Terrence Malick’s new film. Do you need more of a reason to see it? Hm, well, it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year and it stars Sean Penn as a man reflecting on his childhood and his fraught relationship with his father, played by Brad Pitt. There will be unconventional storytelling and lyrical beauty. The Tree of Life continues at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.

FILM FESTIVALS, NON-THEATRICAL SCREENINGS, AND MOVIE-RELATED EVENTS IN INDIANA THIS WEEK

For additional information on the films, and when and where they’ll be showing, follow the links under “Outside the Multiplex” in the sidebar.

State Wide

The Fathom Events “Lord of the Rings” series concludes Tuesday at 7 with the extended edition of The Return of the King, at various theaters around the state. The promotional tagline- see them the way they were meant to be seen, on the big screen!- is exactly right.

Indianapolis and Central Indiana

The Wiz is tonight’s movie in the IMA’s summer series on the terrace; all films start at dusk, with doors opening at 6:30 (6 for members) for picnicking. The Landmark Keystone Art Cinema’s midnight movie series continues with Goonies on Friday and Saturday. 13 Assassins must have done extremely well last weekend; it screens Friday and Saturday at the negligibly earlier time of 11:30. (Unfortunately for those of us who long to see it at a normal time of day, that still counts as a midnight show.)

The Artcraft Theatre in Franklin will have matinee and evening shows of Grease today and tomorrow. If you’ve been putting off seeing Born to Be Wild 3D at the Imax Theatre at the Indiana State Museum, don’t wait any longer; Cars 2 takes over the screen except for a few morning shows.

Southern Indiana

Only two shows at the IU Cinema this week: the Brazilian drama Paulista tonight at 7 and the documentary Desert of Forbidden Art, about a school of exiled Soviet painters, tomorrow at 7. (By the way, if the lack of announcements for July is anything to go by, the Cinema is going on summer break next month.) It’s quieter than usual at the Ryder too, which has a few shows of Hey, Boo- a documentary on Harper Lee- and two shows each of the frustrating Italian thriller The Double Hour and the music documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson?.

Northern Indiana

Cinematheque for All will screen the well-reviewed Tulpan (2008), filmed in Kazakhstan, on the Purdue University campus on Wednesday.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND

The Indy Film Fest starts July 14 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The full lineup is now online; you can build your own screenings calendar and purchase tickets through the site. The festival runs through July 24.

The Landmark Keystone Art Cinema’s “coming soon” listing for next week includes the documentaries Page One: Inside the New York Times, title self-explanatory, and Buck, about a revered horse trainer. I’d be a little surprised if two documentaries opened in the same week, but you never know.

Films and events scheduled for next Friday:

Zoolander is the next movie in the IMA’s Summer Nights Film Series. The Big Lebowski will be the midnight movie at the Landmark Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.