City Guide
Everyone's a Critic: arborweb's culture blog
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.
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.
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.
Oct. 20: Screening of a feature film or several shorts TBA with spiritual themes. Followed by discussion.
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.