antiplex
coming up at boston's independent moviehouses - the brattle, harvard film archive, mfa and coolidge

Saturday January 10
Free Screening! METROPOLIS Brattle Theatre saturday, january 10, at 4:00
Special Event Free Screening! Elements Of Cinema Metropolis at 11:00 am Free Screening! Discussion follows film. (1927) dir Fritz Lang w/ Brigitte Helm, Fritz Rasp, Gustav Froelich, Theodor Loos [124min] Perhaps the most famous and influential of all silent films, METROPOLIS takes place in 2026, when the populace is divided between workers who must live in the dark underground and the rich who enjoy a futuristic city of splendor. The tense balance of these two societies is realized through images that are among the most famous of the 20th century. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/events/2009/images/janfeb-elements-metropolis.jpg one day only
It Always Rains on Sunday MFA saturday, january 10, at 11 am
It Always Rains on Sunday by Robert Hamer (UK, 1947, 92 min.) On another rainy Sunday in London, as Rose Sandigate (Googie Withers) goes about her daily, mundane chores, she discovers her ex-lover, Tommy Swann (John McCullum), hiding in her toolshed after his escape from prison. The film combines Hitchcockian suspense with French poetic realism to create a portrait of post-war British life. "A bleak thriller realized with utter vibrancy, Robert Hamers savory stew of Londons lower class roils with an emotional brutality and precision that most films dont dare attempt, let alone achieve. Dense and compact, melodramatic but never maudlin." (Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York). Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. showing through jan 15
La Leon MFA saturday, january 10, at 3:30 pm
La Len by Santiago Otheguy (2007, 85 min.). Surrounded by a labyrinth of waterways meandering through lush wilderness, Alvaro lives a simple, lonely life harvesting reeds and fishing. In this remote area of Argentina, Alvaros homosexuality and his love for books aggravates his isolation. The only link between this boundless territory and the city is the water-taxi "El Len. Its captain, El Turu, feels threatened by Alvaro's differences and continually harasses him. But Alvaro doesnt know that El Turus masks an inner turmoil. showing through jan 15
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. With Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison US 1957, 35mm, b/w, 96 min. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. With Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Webber US 1967, 35mm, color, 97 min. An affectionate homage to Los Angeles, Mackendrick's last film offers a sunny dream of mid-1960s Malibu as a small town of surfers, bodybuilders, real estate agents and movie stars. Tony Curtis returns, in a softer version of Sweet Smell's desperate huckster, as a transplanted New York salesman who lands in the romantic comedy landscape of speculative real estate and romance, caught between a radiant Claudia Cardinale as a giddy Italian actress and a tragically beautiful Sharon Tate as a beach blanket beatnik. Mackendrick’s underappreciated satire of California hedonism and the war between the sexes remains one of his broadest and most accessible comedies. Browse Other Series from this Season imdb mrqe --> one day only find/upload a trailer
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The Brattle Selects 2009: THE SHINING Brattle Theatre saturday, january 10, at 2:45 0:00
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Who Does She Think She Is? MFA saturday, january 10, at 1:15 pm
Who Does She Think She Is? By Pamela Tanner Boll (2008, 84 min.). From the director of Born into Brothels, Boll's new film Who Does She Think She Is? features five bold women who navigate some of the most problematic intersections of our time: mothering and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. showing through jan 17
Music By Ben Rudnick And Friends Coolidge Corner saturday, january 10, at 10:30am
$10 adults / $8 kids, seniors and Coolidge members Ben Rudnick Friends play the hippest family music around. With countless awards to their credit, including FOUR Parent’s Choice awards, their adventurous, high-energy blend of happy, upbeat acoustic music is guaranteed to entertain the entire family. Bending musical styles from country to bluegrass, rock to second-line New Orleans, their original songs and fun takes on familiar tunes make you sing, make you dance and make you happy. Join the fun! imdb mrqe --> one day only
Sunday January 11
A High Wind in Jamaica Harvard Film Archive sunday, january 11, at 3:00 pm
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. With Anthony Quinn, James Coburn, Gert Fröbe US/UK 1965, 35mm, color, 104 min. One of Mackendrick's most ambitious and powerful films, A High Wind in Jamaica is an epic seafaring fable about three English siblings captured by pirates in the Caribbean seas and determined to become permanent members of the crew. A clear departure from Mackendrick's comic forte, this most underrated gem of his career offers an unexpectedly astringent and unflinching vision of childhood as an inspirational yet ultimately selfish force that unsettles the adult world. Mackendrick’s theme of destructive innocence is crystallized in the conflict between the cocksure young stowaways and the salty sea dogs marvelously portrayed by James Coburn and Anthony Quinn, each in their very best character actor modes. one day only
BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK Brattle Theatre sunday, january 11, at 8:15
Repertory Series The Brattle Selects 2009 Bad Day At Black Rock at 3:15, 7:30 Double Feature w/ LONELY ARE THE BRAVE. (1955) dir John Sturges w/ Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin [81 min] Re-envisioning the Western has long been a favorite pastime of Hollywood’s greatest directors. Here, John Sturges takes what could be a standard old-fashioned Western and transplants it to post-WWII Arizona. Tracy’s John J. Macreedy comes to the backwater town of Black Rock to deliver a posthumous medal to the family of a heroic Japanese-American soldier killed in battle. Upon arrival, however, he discovers the townsfolk are a tightlipped, uncooperative and potentially murderous lot. Outstanding performances all around make this a terrific film that stands as both a progressive morality tale and a tension-filled thriller. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2009/images/janfeb-brattle-bad.jpg showing through jan 12
It Always Rains on Sunday MFA sunday, january 11, at 1:15 pm
It Always Rains on Sunday by Robert Hamer (UK, 1947, 92 min.) On another rainy Sunday in London, as Rose Sandigate (Googie Withers) goes about her daily, mundane chores, she discovers her ex-lover, Tommy Swann (John McCullum), hiding in her toolshed after his escape from prison. The film combines Hitchcockian suspense with French poetic realism to create a portrait of post-war British life. "A bleak thriller realized with utter vibrancy, Robert Hamers savory stew of Londons lower class roils with an emotional brutality and precision that most films dont dare attempt, let alone achieve. Dense and compact, melodramatic but never maudlin." (Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York). Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. showing through jan 15
La Leon MFA sunday, january 11, at 3:30 pm
La Len by Santiago Otheguy (2007, 85 min.). Surrounded by a labyrinth of waterways meandering through lush wilderness, Alvaro lives a simple, lonely life harvesting reeds and fishing. In this remote area of Argentina, Alvaros homosexuality and his love for books aggravates his isolation. The only link between this boundless territory and the city is the water-taxi "El Len. Its captain, El Turu, feels threatened by Alvaro's differences and continually harasses him. But Alvaro doesnt know that El Turus masks an inner turmoil. showing through jan 15
Mandy; Sammy Goes South Harvard Film Archive sunday, january 11, at 7:00 pm
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Who Does She Think She Is? MFA sunday, january 11, at 11 am
Who Does She Think She Is? By Pamela Tanner Boll (2008, 84 min.). From the director of Born into Brothels, Boll's new film Who Does She Think She Is? features five bold women who navigate some of the most problematic intersections of our time: mothering and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. showing through jan 17
Beep Music And Movie Party Coolidge Corner sunday, january 11, at 10:30am
$5 children /$10 adults Join BEEP (Brookline Early Education Program) for our second annual family music event! Come sing, dance and play at the Coolidge with other young children and their families. Features live interactive musical performances and musical short films. All proceeds support BEEP literacy programs and classroom libraries. one day only
Monday January 12
BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK Brattle Theatre monday, january 12, at 0:30
Repertory Series The Brattle Selects 2009 Bad Day At Black Rock at 3:15, 7:30 Double Feature w/ LONELY ARE THE BRAVE. (1955) dir John Sturges w/ Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin [81 min] Re-envisioning the Western has long been a favorite pastime of Hollywood’s greatest directors. Here, John Sturges takes what could be a standard old-fashioned Western and transplants it to post-WWII Arizona. Tracy’s John J. Macreedy comes to the backwater town of Black Rock to deliver a posthumous medal to the family of a heroic Japanese-American soldier killed in battle. Upon arrival, however, he discovers the townsfolk are a tightlipped, uncooperative and potentially murderous lot. Outstanding performances all around make this a terrific film that stands as both a progressive morality tale and a tension-filled thriller. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2009/images/janfeb-brattle-bad.jpg final showing
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Whisky Galore!; The Maggie Harvard Film Archive monday, january 12, at 7:00 pm
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The Third Man Coolidge Corner monday, january 12, at 7:00pm
Based on Graham Greene’s novel, this very cinematic film noir is set in Vienna, and stars Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. Directed by Carol Reed. (1949) 1h33m one day only
Tuesday January 13
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Wednesday January 14
Empty Nest MFA wednesday, january 14, at 6 pm
Empty Nest by Daniel Burman (Argentina, 2008, 91 min.) Daniel Burman's superbly imaginative and entertaining Empty Nest is a comedic look at the problems inherent in married life and the difficulties associated with keeping a long-term relationship new and exciting. Burman invites the viewer into the quasisurrealist world of playwright Leonardo (Oscar Martnez) and his wife Martha (Cecilia Roth). At once hilarious and nostalgic, Burman's film ponders reality itself while offering a profound consideration of memories and how they are created. In Spanish and Hebrew with English subtitles. Description adapted from the Toronto International Film Festival. Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. showing through jan 25
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The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) MFA wednesday, january 14, at 8:10 pm
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath (US/Laos 2008, 100 min.). Filmed over the course of 23 years, The Betrayal is an epic story of one family's journey from war-torn Laos to the mean streets of New York in the 80's to the present. Thavisouk Phrasavath tells the story of himself as a young man struggling to survive a war and the hardships of immigrant life. His mother tells her own astonishing tale of perseverance as a soldier's wife. Breathtaking and compelling, renowned cinematographer Ellen Kurass directorial debut is a remarkable collaboration with co-director Phrasavath a poetic, deeply personal film about the hidden, human face of wars collateral damage. In English and Lao with English subtitles. one day only
The Brattle Selects 2009: REPO MAN Brattle Theatre wednesday, january 14, at 10:30 2:30
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Thursday January 15
Empty Nest MFA thursday, january 15, at 5:50 pm
Empty Nest by Daniel Burman (Argentina, 2008, 91 min.) Daniel Burman's superbly imaginative and entertaining Empty Nest is a comedic look at the problems inherent in married life and the difficulties associated with keeping a long-term relationship new and exciting. Burman invites the viewer into the quasisurrealist world of playwright Leonardo (Oscar Martnez) and his wife Martha (Cecilia Roth). At once hilarious and nostalgic, Burman's film ponders reality itself while offering a profound consideration of memories and how they are created. In Spanish and Hebrew with English subtitles. Description adapted from the Toronto International Film Festival. Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. showing through jan 25
It Always Rains on Sunday MFA thursday, january 15, at 1:45 pm
It Always Rains on Sunday by Robert Hamer (UK, 1947, 92 min.) On another rainy Sunday in London, as Rose Sandigate (Googie Withers) goes about her daily, mundane chores, she discovers her ex-lover, Tommy Swann (John McCullum), hiding in her toolshed after his escape from prison. The film combines Hitchcockian suspense with French poetic realism to create a portrait of post-war British life. "A bleak thriller realized with utter vibrancy, Robert Hamers savory stew of Londons lower class roils with an emotional brutality and precision that most films dont dare attempt, let alone achieve. Dense and compact, melodramatic but never maudlin." (Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York). Co-presented by The Boston Jewish Film Festival. final showing
La Leon MFA thursday, january 15, at 3:50 pm
La Len by Santiago Otheguy (2007, 85 min.). Surrounded by a labyrinth of waterways meandering through lush wilderness, Alvaro lives a simple, lonely life harvesting reeds and fishing. In this remote area of Argentina, Alvaros homosexuality and his love for books aggravates his isolation. The only link between this boundless territory and the city is the water-taxi "El Len. Its captain, El Turu, feels threatened by Alvaro's differences and continually harasses him. But Alvaro doesnt know that El Turus masks an inner turmoil. final showing
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Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North by Katrina Browne, Alla Kovgan, and Jude Ray (2008, 86 min.). When filmmaker Katrina Browne discovers that her ancestors, the DeWolfs, a highly respected Northern family, used to be the largest slave-trading family in US history, she and nine relatives embark on a journey along their ancestors slave trade routefrom quaint Bristol, Rhode Island, to the slave castles in Ghana, and the familys former sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba. Confronting guilt (or the lack of it), grief, and questions of their own privileges, the family members begin to develop a vision of how to reconcile their own lives with their familys past. Browne traces a brave journey that provides a glimpse of how we can work our way through the rough tangle of the black-white divide. Discussion with the directors follows the January 15 screening. showing through feb 1
Friday January 16
Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Naglaa Fathi, Farid Shawki, Ezzat el-Alaili Egypt 1978, 35mm, color, 130 min. Arabic with English subtitles Alexandria, Why? marked a radical, newly introspective turn in Chahine’s active career, a sharp departure from his Fifties musicals and melodramas and his later epics and political films. The first of Chahine's four film semi-autobiography, entitled “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” Alexandria, Why? focuses on a precocious adolescent whose dreams and colorful attempts to become an actor unfold against the vivid backdrop of Alexandria during World War II. A rich ensemble cast inspires Chahine's young thespian hero with a wealth of dramatic subplots—at turns hilarious and touching—about wartime life. The autobiographical nature and nostalgic flavor of Alexandria, Why? make it one of Chahine’s most accessible works, a charming and entertaining film that also delivers a potently subversive and impassioned anti-war message. An E DDirected by Youssef Chahine. Egypt 1991, 35mm, color, 22 min. Arabic with English subtitles one day only find/upload a trailer
Promise to the Dead MFA friday, january 16, at 8 pm
Promise to the Dead by Peter Raymont (Canada, 2006, 92 min.). On September 11, 1973, Chiles military attacked its government. As the coup took hold, the democratically elected president Salvador Allende called government members to the presidential palace to stand against their attackers, facing certain death. Ariel Dorfman was Allendes cultural advisor, and should have been called too; he later discovered his name had been struck from the list so he could live to tell what happened that day. Three decades later, Dorfman is an internationally respected writer and human rights activist, winner of the Sir Laurence Olivier Award for the play Death and the Maiden. Filmmaker Peter Raymont travels to Chile with Dorfman in late 2006, at the time when Augusto Pinochet, is dying. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. one day only
Short Program: Youth Producing Change MFA friday, january 16, at 6 pm
Short Program: Youth Producing Change (78 min.). The Countdown by Rene Dongo (US, 2007, 6 min.) shares an artists hope that society can work to fill the empty space left by September 11. Women Empowerment by Bridges to Understanding (South Africa, 2007, 5 min.) reflects the harsh reality South African mothers face in raising children alone in their township. I Want My Parents Back by students of the Media Arts Center San Diego (US/Mexico, 2007, 11 min) shows the impact of U.S. immigration policies on families. Islands of the People by Students of the Atira Womens Resource Society (Canada, 2007, 6 min.) A 13-year-old girl makes a commitment to learn the Haida language from her grandmother, one of the last living people who can speak, read, and write in Haida. The True Cost of Coal by Students of the Appalachian Media Institute, Appalshop Inc. (2007, 8 min.). Mountain communities rally to protect their rights, land, and health. The Hidden Cost of Cashme one day only
Repertory Series The Brattle Selects 2009 Braffle Winner Ewan O'Sullivan Selects Das Boot: The Director's Cut at 7:00 Buy Tickets (1981) dir Wolfgang Peterson w/ Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer [209 min] Before fronting Hollywood blockbusters like The Perfect Storm, Wolgang Peterson directed this masterpiece of claustrophobic widescreen action. The crew of a German submarine during World War II struggles with both the reality of life underwater and the ideology they are meant to be fighting for. Gut-wrenchingly realistic in its portrayal of the incredible danger of submarine warfare, DAS BOOT remains a thrilling and compelling WWII film to this day. Not to be missed on the big screen! http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2009/images/janfeb-brattle-boot.jpg one day only
Saturday January 17
DDirected by Youssef Chahine. With Hind Rustum, Farid Shawki, Youssef Chahine Egypt 1958, 35mm, b/w, 90 min. Arabic with English subtitles Chahine himself stars in this melodrama of poverty and sexual frustration that shocked Arab audiences in the 1950s. The filmmaker is remarkably effective as a crippled newsvendor who lives alone in a squalid, pinup-lined shack and whose obsession with a beautiful young lemonade stand vendor leads inevitably towards violence. One of the decisive turning points in Chahine’s long career, Cairo Station marked a new visual daring and embrace of ambitious and controversial subject matter, an attempt to rejuvenate formula-driven mainstream Egyptian cinema by judiciously adding formal and thematic elements from both neorealism and German expressionism. one day only find/upload a trailer
Project Kashmir MFA saturday, january 17, at 3:30 pm
Project Kashmir by Senain Kheshgi and Geeta V. Patel (2008, 89 min.). Two American friends, one Hindu and one Muslim, enter the war zone of Kashmir to investigate the 60-year rivalry between their homelands India and Pakistan. Beautifully shot, the film captures the physical splendor of Kashmir, while expertly interweaving deeply moving personal stories of Kashmiris with those of the two American women, who strive to reconcile their ethnic and religious heritage with the violence that haunts their homeland. In English, Urdu, Kashmiri, and Hindi with English subtitles. one day only
The Sparrow Harvard Film Archive saturday, january 17, at 9:15 pm
Directed by Youssef Chahine. With Seifeddin, Salah Kabil, Mohsena Tawfiq Egypt 1972, 35mm, color, 105 min. Arabic with English subtitles A vivid portrait of a nation in chaos, The Sparrow is set against the background of Egypt’s shocking defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel, a traumatic event that transformed Egyptians' confidence in Nasser into ambivalence towards a leader suddenly revealed to be deeply fallible. Eschewing traditional narrative in favor of an episodic ensemble piece focused on the hunt for a politically connected crime kingpin, The Sparrow'sheady combination of realist and expressionist elements is meant to disorient the viewer and evoke Chahine’s vision of a country suddenly gone far astray. one day only
USA vs. Al-Arian MFA saturday, january 17, at 1 pm
USA vs. Al-Arian by Line Halyorsen (Norway, 2007, 98 min.). A passionate, outspoken pro-Palestinian activist, university professor Sami Al-Arian was charged in 2003 with funding and supporting a Palestinian terrorist group and held in prison awaiting a trial for two-and-a-half years. USA vs. Al-Arian is an intimate family portrait that documents the strain brought on by Al-Arians trial, a battle waged both in court and in the media. A tight-knit family unravels before our eyes as trial preparations consume their lives. In Arabic with English subtitles. one day only
Who Does She Think She Is? MFA saturday, january 17, at 11 am
Who Does She Think She Is? By Pamela Tanner Boll (2008, 84 min.). From the director of Born into Brothels, Boll's new film Who Does She Think She Is? features five bold women who navigate some of the most problematic intersections of our time: mothering and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. final showing
Davey The Clown Coolidge Corner saturday, january 17, at 10:30am
Children and Seniors: $8, Adults: $10 DAVEY THE CLOWN is a physical comedian, juggler, unicyclist and accordionist. His show is big and funny - perfect family entertainment. It contains silly juggling, amazing magic, incredible unicycling (on a six-foot unicycle,) wacky antics, beautiful and rousing accordion music, balloon sculpture, tons of audience participation, and a rubber chicken! Kids (and adults!) can't get enough of Davey the Clown! one day only