City Guide
October Films
Everyone's a Critic: arborweb's culture blog
Ann Arbor District Library. FREE. 327-4555. AADL multipurpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave., various times.
Oct. 25: “Berkeley in the Sixties” (Mark Kitchell, 1990). Award-winning documentary about student activism at the University of California from the Free Speech Movement to women’s liberation and the Black Panthers. Followed by a discussion led by U-M Community Scholars Program faculty and students. 6-8:30 p.m.
Ann Arbor Docu Fest. Screening of a different documentary film every Wed. FREE. 929-9979. Event Theater (lower level of Elmo’s T-Shirts), 220 S. Main, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3: “Here Comes the Sun” (Rob van Hattum, 2010.). VPRO (The Netherlands) documentary about the future of solar energy with particular emphasis on the development of the German renewable energy industry.
Oct. 10: “People and the Land” (Tom Hayes, 1997). PBS documentary about life in occupied Palestine. Followed by “Israel and Palestine: What the Media Leave Out,” a videotaped talk by ifamericansknew.org director Alison Weir, a reporter turned activist.
Oct. 17: “Kinshasa Symphony” (Claus Wischmann & Martin Baer, 2010). Documentary about central Africa’s only symphony orchestra that also touches on the Congo, the people of Kinshasa, and the nature of music.
Oct. 24: “Deforce” (Daniel Falconer, 2010). Documentary that explores factors other than the decline of the auto industry in the decades-long decline of Detroit.
Oct. 31: “The Battle for Marjah” (Ben Anderson, 2011). HBO documentary about the realities of counter-insurgency warfare told by Anderson, a journalist embedded with a company of marines.
Ann Arbor Korean Independent Film Festival. In conjunction with the U-M Center for Korean Studies “Korea Days” (see Oct. 4 Events listing). FREE. 764-1825. Natural Sciences Bldg. Auditorium (except as noted), 830 North University, various times.
Oct. 4: “Pungsan” (Jeon Jae-hong, 2011). A silent messenger who carries messages back and forth between separated families in North and South Korean is enlisted to smuggle the mistress of a high-ranking North Korean defector out of the north. The unexpected passion between the messenger and the mistress threatens political chaos. 7 p.m.
Oct. 5: “Talking Architect” (Jeong Jae-eun, 2011). Documentary about contemporary Korean architecture. 1636 SSWB (1080 South University), noon. Leafie, a Hen into the Wild, Oh Seong-yun’s 2011 animated film about an amazing hen who dreams of a life outside her cage. Ann Arbor District Library Multipurpose Room (343 S. Fifth Ave.), 7 p.m.
Oct. 6:“Mirage” (Yang Jeong-ho, 2011). Thriller, with supernatural elements, about a successful writer who wakes up after a night of drinking with no money or papers. When he finds his bag, it’s a bag that’s been missing since his childhood. 2 p.m. Pink, Jeon Soo-il’s 2011 drama about a world-weary middle-age woman who runs a condemned bar that caters to drifters and lost souls. 5 p.m. Jesus Hospital, Lee Sang-cheol and Shin A-ga’s award-winning 2011 drama about a girl who believes she’s received a message from God through her dying grandmother. 8 p.m.
Oct. 7:“Re-encounter” (Min Yong-keun, 2011). Drama about a veterinarian’s assistant whose high school sweetheart shows up one day and tells her that the child they had when they were 18 is, contrary to what they thought, still alive. 2 p.m. The Journal of Musan, Park Jung-bum’s 2010 drama about a poor North Korean refugee trying to adapt in capitalist South Korea. 5 p.m. The King of Pigs, Yeon Sang-ho’s brutal 2011 animated film about 2 former schoolmates who, at a reunion dinner, look back on their school days and remember a friend of theirs who stood up to a particularly cruel group of bullies. 8 p.m.
Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. $5 suggested donation. 327-0270. 704 Airport Blvd., 8 p.m.
Oct. 20:
Oct. 19: “Francisco Cisco Pancho”
(Franz Reichle, 2011). Documentary about Francisco Varela, the Chilean
biologist, philosopher, and neuroscientist who cofounded the Mind and Life
Institute to promote dialogue between science and Buddhism. Discussion
follows.
Oct. 1: “The
Giant Mechanical Man” (Lee Kirk, 2012). Comedy, filmed in Detroit, about a
street performer and the zoo worker who falls for him. Jenna Fischer, Chris
Messina. 7 p.m.
Oct. 4: “Manhattan
Short Film Festival” (various directors, 2012). Screening of the 2012
finalists from arguably the largest short film festival in the world. Followed
by a chance to vote for your favorite. 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5-11: “Butter” (Jim
Field Smith, 2011). Comedy, set in small-town Iowa,
about an adopted girl who has a talent for butter carving.
Oct. 6: “Her
Telling Heart” (Eli Meissner, 2012). Gala premiere screening of this short film, written by Heidi Philipsen-Meissner. A a feminist adaptation of Poe’s
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” it’s told through the story of a young woman who grows
fearful of her watchful uncle as her secret past resurfaces. The
screening is preceded by a reading of the story by Michigan actress Barbara
Coven-Ellis. Followed by a discussion with Philipsen-Meissner,
a U-M Residential College grad who also stars in the film, and director of
photography Patrick Elliot. Advance tickets available at ticketweb.com. 1 p.m.
Oct. 7: “Alice
in Wonderland in 3D” (Tim Burton, 2010). Computer-animated live action
fantasy based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice books. Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp. Kids 12 & under,
free. 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 8: “The
Myth of the American Sleepover” (David Robert Mitchell, 2010). Coming-of-age drama about 4 young people in suburban Detroit in
search of love and adventure during the last week of summer vacation. 7
p.m.
Oct. 12: “Queen
Elizabeth” (1912). See Oct. 12 Newberry Consort listing in Events. 8 p.m.
Oct. 13-18: “Farewell, My
Queen” (Benoit Jacquot, 2012). Drama
about the relationship between Marie Antoinette and one of her female servants
in the days leading up to the revolution. French, subtitles.
Oct. 15: “Robocop” (Paul Verhoeven, 1987). Sci-fi action film set in a crime-ridden
Detroit. Peter Weller. 7 p.m.
Opens Oct. 19: “2 Days in
New York” (Julie Delpy, 2012). Delpy and Chris Rock star as a Manhattan couple whose
relationship is tested when French relatives come for a visit. English & French, subtitles.
Oct. 22: Double feature. “Roger & Me” (Michael Moore, 1989) is a snarky yet
earnest documentary about filmmaker Moore’s effort to track down GM chairman
Roger Smith while exploring the effects of plant closings on Flint, and “Blue Collar” (Paul Schrader, 1978) is
a drama about a trio of Detroit auto workers--played by Richard Pryor,
Harvey Keitel, and Yaphet Kotto--who
get caught up in their union’s ties to organized crime. 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 & 24: “Stars in
Shorts” (various directors). Screening of several short films that feature
major stars such as Judi Dench, Colin Firth, and Lily Tomlin.
Oct. 25: “Nosferatu” (F.W. Murnau, 1922).
Silent horror classic, with live organ accompaniment on the
Barton Theater organ by Steven Ball. Tickets $10-$15.
7:30 p.m.
Opens Oct. 26: “The Imposter” (Bart Layton, 2012). Documentary about the young
Frenchman who convinced a grieving Texas family he was their missing
16-year-old son.
Oct. 28: “Ariel & Zoey & Eli Too.” The singing trio of local
13-year-old twins Ariel and Zoey Engelbert
and their 10-year-old brother Eli host the premiere of clips from the 3rd
season of their nationally syndicated TV show and perform some of their songs.
80% of the proceeds benefit the Neutral Zone. $5.
Oct. 29: “Gran
Torino” (Clint Eastwood, 2008). Drama, set in Highland Park, about an
embittered, recently widowed Korean War veteran who develops a friendship with
a young Hmong neighbor who had attempted to steal his prized 1972 Ford Gran
Torino. Clint Eastwood.
Oct. 3: “Come Drink with
Me”
(King Hu, 1966). Action film, set during the Ming dynasty, widely considered
one of the best Hong Kong films ever made. Preceded by
a reception with the film’s costar, Cheng Pei-pei.
Michigan Theater.
Oct. 27: “Touch of Zen” (King Hu, 1971). Action film about a female fugitive who teams up with an
unambitious scholar-painter to plot against a corrupt eunuch. Angell
Hall Auditorium A (entrance at the Fishbowl on the east side of the building).
Oct.
5: “Lady and the Beard” (Yasujiro Ozu, 1931). Silent comedy about a young man who has difficulty making it in
modern society until he does away with some of his old-fashioned ways, such as
wearing an unfashionable beard. With music spun by DJ arwulf arwulf.
Oct.
12: “I Flunked, But…” (Yasujiro Ozu, 1930). Comedy about college students who cheat by writing notes on the
back of their friend’s shirt. When the shirt is dry-cleaned, they flunk.
With live music by keyboardist Stephen Warner.
Oct.
19: “A Straightforward Boy” (Yasujiro Ozu, 1929). Rarely seen
fragment of this short silent comedy about a kidnapping. Much of the film is
missing, including the middle scene where the kidnappers unsuccessfully attempt
to return the boy they snatched. With live music by DJ Chris McNamara. Also, screening
of The
Kid (Charlie Chaplin, 1921),
a silent comedy that stars Charlie Chaplin in his first feature as The
Tramp and Jackie Coogan as a streetwise orphan he
takes under his wing.
Oct. 26: “Tokyo Chorus” (Yasujiro Ozu, 1931). Silent comedy about a
married man who faces unemployment after standing up for an older colleague.
Oct. 4: “Washington Square” (Agnieszka Holland, 1997). Splendid adaptation of Henry James’s novel
about a young woman torn between love and duty. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney.4448 East
Hall, 530 Church, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 7: “Total Eclipse” (Agnieszka Holland, 1995). Adaptation of the 1967
Christopher Hampton play about the passionate and
violent relationship between the 19th-century French poets Verlaine and
Rimbaud. Leonard DiCaprio, David Thewlis. 4 p.m.
Oct. 7: “Copying Beethoven” (Agnieszka Holland, 1997). Fictional
version of the triumphs and heartaches of Beethoven’s last years. Ed
Harris. 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 10: “In Darkness” (Agnieszka Holland, 2011). Drama about a
sewer worker in a Nazi-occupied Polish city who uses his knowledge of the
city’s sewer system to shelter a group of Jews. 7 p.m.
Oct. 9: “Rite of Spring
Mash-Up.” A mash-up of different choreographers’ versions of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
Oct.
19:
“The Love of Beer” (Alison Grayson,
2011). Documentary about women beer brewers. Beer
& food samples are served.
Oct. 10: “Beetlejuice” (Tim Burton, 1988). Horror comedy about a
young couple who become ghosts haunting their former
home who hire an obnoxious bio-exorcist to scare off the house’s new
inhabitants. Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec
Baldwin, Winona Ryder.
Jewel Heart Buddhist Center. FREE. 994-3387. Jewel Heart (1129 Oak Valley Dr. between Ann Arbor-Saline
Rd. & Ellsworth), 7 p.m.
Michigan Theater Foundation. Unless there is a live show in the
main theater, 2 or 3 different films are shown, usually 3 times, almost every
night. For complete, updated schedules, see michtheater.org or call 668-TIME.
Tickets (unless otherwise noted): $10 (children under 12, students with ID,
seniors age 55 & older, & U.S. veterans, $8; MTF members, $7.50; Wed.,
$7). Michigan Theater, times TBA unless otherwise noted.
U-M
Center for Chinese Studies Fall Film Series. A retrospective of films by King Hu, a
pioneering master of martial arts action films. Mandarin,
subtitles. Free. 764-6308.
Different locations, 7 p.m.
U-M Center
for Japanese Studies Fall Film Series. This year’s film series features silent films
by Yasujiro Ozu, aka Silent
Ozu. With narration by benshi (Japanese
silent film narrator) Ichiro Kataoka. FREE
(except as noted). 764-6307. U-M Natural Science Auditorium, 830 North
University, use the entrance nearest the Diag, 7 p.m.
U-M Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies Agnieszka Holland Film Retrospective. Part of a
series of 7 screenings presented in conjunction with Holland’s U-M Copernicus
Lecture at the Michigan Theater on Oct. 10 (see listing). FREE. 764-0351.
Michigan Theater (except at noted), various times.
UMMA “UMS on Film.” A series of films designed to expand
understanding of the artists and cultures represented in the University Musical
Society’s season of performances. FREE. 764-0395. UMMA
Auditorium, 525 S. State, 7 p.m.
Washtenaw Whole Foods Market. FREE.
Preregistration recommended. 975-4500. Whole Foods, 3135 Washtenaw, 6:30-9:30
p.m.
WCBN-FM. FREE admission.
763-3500. Arbor Brewing Company (114 E. Washington), 8:30 p.m.
